Off with the Old, On with the New (Eph. 4:25-28)

The old self, that Paul is encouraging the church to put off and be replaced by the new man, was one completely defined and corrupted by deceitful desires (Eph. 4:22). Having been deceived by Satan to chase after the lusts of the flesh, the pleasures of this world, and the pride of life, we chose to find our satisfaction and joy in anything and everything but God. Yet, as Augustine famously wrote, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” As new creations in Christ, we no longer live for ourselves but for our God and for others. In this sermon, Pastor Matt encourages the church to put off falsehood, anger, and dishonest gain and instead to put on truthful speech, righteous passion, and diligent generosity in view of the gospel of grace.