Synopsis of the Armenian Message

Col. 3:5-16

From Old to New

As the end of the year approaches, it is about time to evaluate ourselves just like businesses that do periodic inventories. It is time to look back to 2005 and evaluate our walk, our growth, our… We also look forward to 2006. We plan and we look forward with anticipation of change.

It is a time when we think about the old and the new. We buy new clothes to replace the old ones.

Apostle Paul uses the same terminology for our lives. “You have taken off your old self ...and have put on the new self” (vs 9).

He uses the verbs take off and put on, the image of clothing: taking off the old and putting on the new.

Let’s honestly evaluate our lives in 2005. How eager were we to take off the old? Did we commit ourselves to take off the old (the “earthly nature”) in our lives? According to the passage, our eleven vices (“old clothes”) are: “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry… anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other” (vs 5,8).

Paul lists the “new clothes” of the self as well. “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love…” (vs 12-14).

I wonder why Paul stresses the issue of forgiveness. Yes, forgiveness has an essential place in the renewing of “our clothes.” Do you have difficulty forgiving? Let me tell you how Jesus illustrated it in Matt 18. Remember the parable of the unforgiving servant? The servant owed his lord an amount of 10,000 talents, the equivalent of 3,840,000 dollars. In the days of Jesus 10,000 talents needed 8600 people to carry 55 lb each. If they queued, the line would go almost 4.5 miles. Having been forgiven, the servant could not forgive his fellow servant a debt of 100 denarii, the equivalent of $7.

Have you seen people wearing new clothes on top of old rags? That’s what we do if we don’t forgive. We keep wearing the old clothes from year to year. There was a child who came from a very poor family. She was in a camp where the counselor reminded the children to put on new underwear every night. She was not used to this practice. About five days later, the counselor realized what the child had done. She was wearing all underwear on top of each other!

We cannot “take off” our old clothes on our own. We cannot throw our old habits and get new ones without the changing power of Christ. So, as the year is ending, ask Jesus to help you to forgive others and leave the old and live the new.