"Burying The Old Man"
Dear Friends and Family,
Have you ever found yourself wondering, “WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE SO MANY DIFFICULTIES IN LIFE?” You may have asked yourself that question over and over again, and at one point wondered if God even cared about you. First of all I want you to know that God does truly care.
I would like to share some of my thoughts on the subject of difficulties in life. The other day we attended a water baptismal service, and the next day I started having thoughts concerning water baptism and how it impacts your life.
All of us either had or still have an Old Man within us. The Old Man is the sinful self nature of men and women. It has affected or is still affecting you. This old man has control over you, and because he (the sinful nature) is a part of you, he is weighing you down. You can’t see him because he is inside you and is in control.
As a Christian you thought once you accepted Jesus into your heart and were saved that everything would change and you would be free.
In part that is true. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. The thing that passed away was your sinful nature (the old man). But that was only the first step. He did die, but he is still part of you, and dragging you down.
You must bury the old man or he will bury you. Satin will use him to destroy you.
1. Financially ( something always comes up to take your money)
2. Mentally (not content, tormented, and depressed,)
3. Physically ( that old man is heavy, he'll keep you run down, so you can’t get things done )
4. Spiritually ( you can’t seem to be able to get into God’s presence )
When you find yourself in this position, you start all over again asking why? Why is all this happening to me?
Let me ask you a question. Have you been water baptized since you’ve been saved?
John the Baptist said to repent and be baptized. Repentance means turning around, turn from your old sinful life style. The reason you’re having problems is you haven’t buried the old man. When he died, he began to decay, and your life began to decay as well. Then it’s problem after problem.
The Devil wants you to believe that you don’t have to be water baptized. He will tell you “the thief on the cross didn’t get baptized, so you don’t have to either” and by accepting that lie, the old man will remain tied to your back, dragging you down.
Your salvation is three fold.
1. You accept Jesus into your heart, and your sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus.
2. You repent and turn away from your sinful life style.
3. The old man (the part of you that is still hanging on to you) is washed away and buried
through water baptism.
Three things water baptism does.
1. Your testimony of the death of the old man. ( you accept Jesus as your Savior)
2. The burial of the old man. (when you are submerged in the water)
3. The resurrection of the new man. (when you come up from the watery grave)
Not being water baptized is one reason, but not repenting is another reason. John the Baptist said to repent and be baptized. But too many have only been baptized and haven’t repented. It’s like putting on your sock and leaving your shoes off, and wonder way holes are in your socks (“socks” meaning your life). We need to repent, turn from our sinful nature and turn toward God, and be water baptized.
“The Old Man Is Back”
Many have been saved, have repented, and have been water baptized for quite some time. At first everything seemed to be going OK. But as time went on, it seemed as if your old problems started coming back. You ask yourself why, why is all this happening to me?
1. Financially ( something always comes up to take your money)
2. Mentally ( tormented, depressed, not content )
3. Physically ( that old man is heavy, he'll keep you run down, so you can’t get things done )
4. Spiritually ( can’t seem to be able to get into God’s presence )
What has happened is you started compromising with the world. Things that used to be wrong aren’t wrong anymore, and you’ve become numb to sin.
So what’s the answer?
For many it is to repent and ask God for forgiveness and He is Just and will forgive you of your sins. But for others who have gone back into their old life style, dug up the old man, and want to get rid of him, they have to ask God for forgiveness, and repent. The old man has to die all over again. Next the old man has to be buried again, and that can only be accomplished through water baptism.
The scriptures tell us to “resist the Devil and he will flee”, but we lack the power in ourselves to resist. The answer is you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
John said in Mathew 3, Verse 11
"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier
than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire.
Jesus said in the book of Acts Chapter 1, Verses 5-9
(5) “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now.”
(6) Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at
this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
(7) And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father
has put in His own authority.
(8) "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
(9) Now when He had spoken these things,
while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
If you’ve been putting off getting water baptized, I encourage you to inquire at your church about getting water baptized as soon as possible. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll get that old man off your back.
We Love All of You,
Dick and Lena