Be A Put On

 

In Colossians 3, Paul says we are to play a "part" – Put on the new man/woman. Put on kindness and mercy, longsuffering and love. 

Colossians 3:9-10 … since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

What does it mean to "put on" the new self? It means that your conduct should match your faith.

Most Christians say, "Accept me the way I am. I'm grumpy before I have my morning coffee, and that's just the way it's gonna be."

Put off that old man/woman, counters Paul and "put on the new."

Everyone is deciding who to be in the drama of life if you're not careful, you'll make the wrong choice and pick the wrong part.

Whenever we try to put on roles, the question will be "Will it work, or will you end up with a mess on your hands? There is only one role that will ultimately any man/woman. It is the role of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14)

What does it mean to put on Christ? In verses 12-14, Paul list the following characteristics, traits also clearly seen in Jesus: mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, forbearance, forgiveness and love. Therefore, to put on Christ means to exhibit these same qualities.

You see, all of true biblical Christianity is, in a sense, put-on. It's a choice I make to put on Jesus Christ. It's a choice I make to ask, "What would Jesus do if He was tired and a woman came to Him with a problem?"

As He sat by a well, exhausted, a woman who was living with a man and who had already had five husbands approached Him. Jesus began a dialogue with her that resulted not only in her salvation, but in the salvation of many (John 4:29, 30)
 

To put on Christ means to continually ask "What would Jesus do in this situation?" and as you choose to put Him on, you will ultimately find yourself becoming in the role and the role becoming you. Being grouchy or brusque, impatient or unforgiving because "that's just the way I am" is then no longer an option because God didn't save us to keep us the way we are. He save us to change us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

The word "Christian" means "little Christ." That is the only role that will satisfy us presently and reward us eternally. Put on kindness. Put on longsuffering. Put on mercy. Put on patience. Above all put on love. But you'll fail miserably if you try to put them on without putting Him in.

You can say, "I admire Jesus' kindness and compassion, so I'm going to try to imitate Him." If you have Him in your heart, that's great. Without Him, you don't have a chance. You'll fail over and over again until finally you say, "This doesn't work!" and give up.

In this drama of life, Jesus is the Director in our hearts. He's the One who whispers in our hearts and brings Scriptures to our minds, the One who enables us to play His part once we open our hearts to Him.

We run in circles until we finally say, "The one thing I am is a Christ-Follower, and I'm going to play that part all the days of my life." 

The Bible uses many illustrations to teach what happens when we choose to let Jesus be Lord of our lives.

1. Because Christ died for us, we have been crucified with Him (3:3-5)
2. Our old, rebellious nature died with Christ (3:9, 10)
3. Christ's resurrection guarantees our new life now and eternal life with Him later (3:1, 3)

The process is acted out in baptism (Col. 2:12), based on our faith in Christ. (1) The old sinful nature dies (crucified). (2) We are ready to receive a new life (buried). (3) Christ gives us new life (resurrection).

Resources: The Glo Bible App, NIV Life Application Study Bible, Jon Courson's New Testament Commentary on Colossians