Change Your Life - Know New Discipline
- Paul Downie
- May 7
- 18 min read
Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV
[22] You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
In the city of Mostar, there is a bridge. And not just any bridge. This bridge is one of the most historically significant bridges in the world.
It was commissioned by legendary Ottoman king Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557.
Charged to build it under pain of death, the builder Mimar Hayruddin actually made preparations for his own funeral ahead of the day the scaffolding was removed. But the bridge stood: a magnificent piece of Turkic architecture, using mortar that allegedly contained egg whites.
However, during the incredibly ugly Balkan Wars, the bridge was used as a supply line for Bosnian troops, and so the Croats bombed it.
As a sign of peace and co-operation between the nations, this beautiful bridge over the River Neretva was reconstructed in 2004, at the enormous cost of USD 15.5 million.
But all who visit are dazzled by the sight.
It’s one of Europe's lesser-known, but nonetheless striking, monuments to peace and co-operation, in a country where both are badly needed.
Bridges are quite wonderful structures. There are many famous bridges throughout the world. A few years ago, we travelled across what was then the longest road bridge in the world: the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge.
Here, in these verses, we see the most magnificent bridge ever constructed.
It is the bridge from our old life to our new life.
It is the bridge from a life that will only ever result in pain and suffering, to a life that will only result in eternal joy and satisfaction.
These verses can also be compared to a very simple act many of us perform without even thinking about it. We get up. We remove the clothing we have worn. We wash ourselves. We put on fresh clothes.
That is the image Paul uses.
It is very, very simple.
Yet deeply profound.
As we examine these, and other, verses which help us to understand the meaning of our old and new lives, I want you to understand something very clearly, and that is the nature of this bridge.
There are grand bridges like the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the Forth Road Bridge or the Manhattan Bridge or the Golden Gate Bridge which are important, and may span the gap between different towns or cities or even counties, but those who travel across them remain within their countries.
However, there are others, like the Øresund Bridge, where you leave one country behind and enter another.
What we are doing by crossing from our old life to our new one is as radical as crossing a bridge between two enemy states. It is even more radical than crossing Glienicke Bridge during the Cold War, or the Bridge of No Return between North and South Korea now.
And there us a sharp demarcation line between these two states. That demarcation line is formed of two commands:
Matthew 22:35-40 NIV
[35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” [37] Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Love is the demarcation line.
On one side of the border is obedience to God, which is motivated by love for God, our neighbours and ourselves.
On the other side is disobedience to God, which is motivated by hatred for God, our neighbours and ourselves.
Once we understand things in this way, what we are asked to do in putting off some attitudes and behaviours and putting on others, becomes not a chore or an obligation, but a gesture of love. We see that what God wants us to do is for our good. He is not a killjoy, He is a bringer of joy.
Let's start our simple but very profound journey through these verses by looking firstly at the things we must Put Off.
Put Off
Ephesians 4:22 NIV
[22] You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
We used to visit the Philippines in January when my daughter was small. It made sense.
It’s very cold in Scotland then. In the Philippines, it’s dry and not too warm yet. It’s also fiesta season, so there is lots of good food and parties to be had.
But it always presented a problem. We had to wear winter jackets and clothes to go to the airport in the UK and to travel home again. They were heavy, bulky and very warm. Our Filipino family tried them and very quickly took them off again. They were overheating in the twenty-eight degrees Celsius, eighty to ninety percent humidity. They had to be removed.
They weren’t right for the environment.
They had to be taken off.
It’s exactly like that with the attitudes and actions from our life before we followed Jesus – or, if we were young when we made the decision, the attitudes and actions of those who do not follow Jesus. These too are inappropriate – at least as inappropriate as a winter jacket in the tropics.
So what are these attitudes and actions?
Paul provides a couple of lists:
Ephesians 4:17-19 NIV
[17] So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. [18] They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. [19] Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
Romans 1:21-32 NIV
[21] For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. [22] Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools [23] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. [24] Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. [25] They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. [26] Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. [27] In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. [28] Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. [29] They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, [30] slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; [31] they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. [32] Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Galatians 5:19-21 NIV
[19] The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Colossians 3:5-8 NIV
[5] Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. [6] Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. [7] You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. [8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
These ‘acts of the flesh’ which those who are without Christ are ‘greedy’ to commit are often absolutely awful: flagrant and deliberate violations of God’s law for which, when punishment is meted out, I have no doubt that we would cheer, or at the very least, be relieved that justice was done.
Others are very much more subtle: like gossiping, slander, jealousy, selfish ambition, factions. For a great many in our day, these are how they get ahead in business. They are considered normal – even commended.
But not for Christians. Not one bit. They are utterly wrong and anathema for us.
Why?
Because each and every one of them, without exception, is a violation of the commands to love God, others or ourselves. They are, in fact, an expression of hatred along one of these horizons, against God, other people or ourselves.
I would go even further and say that these lists, however extensive, are not exhaustive. What Paul is saying we should put off is not just one of the attitudes or actions mentioned in one of these lists, but any attitude or action that is not driven by love.
Do you want proof of this?
Galatians 5:13-15 NIV
[13] You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. [14] For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [15] If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Romans 13:8-9 NIV
[8] Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. [9] The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
John 14:23-24 NIV
[23] Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. [24] Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
1 John 4:19-21 NIV
[19] We love because he first loved us. [20] Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. [21] And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Obedience means love, because love is both the law itself and the fulfilment of the law.
We must take off everything that is not an expression of love towards God, our neighbour or ourselves. They are simply not part of our new life in Christ.
They have to go.
The tense of the Greek verb translated as ‘to put off’ means that the action is completed in the past – it’s not something that continues to the present day. And that is what should happen with these attitudes and actions. They should be part of our past, not our present and definitely not our future.
When we go for a medical check-up, the doctors are screening us to check if we have ailments that require immediate intervention so we can either manage or get rid of them.
For us to live a proper, disciplined, repentant Christian life, it would do us no harm to search ourselves for attitudes and actions such as these, or any un-loving thought or deed, and throw them out of our lives.
Growth in our spiritual life is just not possible without it.
So we see what it is we must put off and why. Now we move in to see how we should Be Made New.
Be Made New
Ephesians 4:23 NIV
[23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
Now, this verse is really telling.
After all, when someone gives their life to Christ, what changes?
Of course, their position before God, particularly relating to their salvation, changes. That much is sure.
But what else?
It’s a little known or preached-on fact that when someone repents and follows Jesus, their mind ought to change.
Romans 12:2 NIV
[2] Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This is not just towards spiritual things either. Hiding in some of our best-known and best-loved verses are teachings that refer to our attitude towards other people. For example:
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NIV
[14] For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. [15] And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. [16] So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. [17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Do you see it? Because of the reconciliation achieved for us on the cross, we ought not to think of others from a worldly point of view.
Paul makes this even more plain in his letter to the church in Philippi:
Philippians 2:1-5 NIV
[1] Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, [2] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. [3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. [5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
There is such a thing as a Christian mind. But it is not purely intellectual, theological, philosophical or theoretical. It is absolutely grounded in the messy practicality of human life.
And its heart is obedience to the greatest commandment – to love:
John 13:34-35 NIV
[34] “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
We cannot live in obedience to God if we do not love. That is just how things are.
But this is also a tremendous challenge to us as Christians. I have worked in Christian communities that are rich in theological orthodoxy, but poor in love. That cannot happen. These two states cannot co-exist. If you believe the right theology then you know that you must love your neighbour to follow Jesus. And, as the Pharisee discovered when he asked Jesus about this, you don’t get to be choosy about who your neighbour is (Luke 10:25-37).
But, at the same time, live without the framework and foundation of theological orthodoxy can be misguided and hollow, tolerating things God has disallowed and permitting hate-fuelled attitudes and behaviours to flourish unchallenged. That cannot happen either.
We must have both: theological orthodoxy must increase our desire to love; love must be framed and directed by theological orthodoxy.
So, we see then that it is not enough to simply take off our old attitudes and actions. It would be like removing all your clothes and standing outside on a freezing cold winter’s day: you will feel brutally exposed and will long to clothe yourself with something – anything – to shelter against the cold.
But before we put on new attitudes and actions, they must be guided like a small rudder guides a big ship. And that guidance is not provided by just knowing the right things, but by feeling the right things.
The feeling that we should have is love. That should motivate and drive and guide our desire to be not just theoretically ‘holy’, but practically holy.
We have seen that we should put off our old attitudes and actions, and be renewed in our thinking and mindset by love, for God, our neighbours and ourselves. However, we should also Put On.
Put On
Ephesians 4:24 NIV
[24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
These days there are virtual reality apps that allow you to look at decor or furniture, or even clothes, and see how they will look if you decide to purchase them.
Maybe you want to see what this new life looks like. Maybe you want to see it so you can decide if it is worth it.
Paul is happy to oblige:
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
[32] Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Galatians 5:22-24 NIV
[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
What’s more, this change in attitude and action creates such a change in us that we stop seeing people as belonging to categories and groups, and start seeing them as people made in the image of God:
Galatians 3:27-28 NIV
[27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:11-17 NIV
[11] Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. [12] Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. [14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. [15] Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. [16] Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. [17] And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
So let me make this clear: there is no room at all in any church for racism, sexism, genderism, colourism. Cliques have no place either.
The church must, first and foremost, be places of love, not bias or hatred.
And we must be vessels of love.
The true Christian life ought to be the most enticing, the most wonderful life there is, and the answer to many of life’s problems. The fact that it isn’t is because those who claim to be living it are not living that kind of a life. Certainly not the way they should be.
Because they have not understood that, above all, our calling is to love, and through that love to become righteous and holy. In fact, it is that love which makes us righteous and holy, not a rigorous adherence to religious rules and regulations. That is the mistake the Pharisees made.
It is love where the change Jesus Christ has made in our lives is most evident.
Conclusion
Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV
[22] You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
When I worked for an oil major, we had to be careful when we went to work. My country is quite left-wing. Environmental protesters don’t like oil majors. There was always a fear that someone could go a little too far in expressing that dislike. We had access to confidential records. There was always the possibility that someone could approach us with bad intentions and ask us to join them.
So we were asked to keep our ID pass, which allowed us access to the building, secure and out of sight, both for the company’s safety and our own.
It was better if most people didn’t realise who we were.
Christians, however, should be the opposite. People should know who we are, and not because we belligerently yell it in their faces or wear a cross around our neck or adorn our car with fish badges and inspirational verses.
These might be helpful, but are entirely superficial ways to identify ourselves as Christian – in the same way a dog collar or priestly vestments don’t necessarily testify to quality of character.
There are only two ways that genuine Christians should be identified:
Matthew 7:15-20 NIV
[15] “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. [16] By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? [17] Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. [19] Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. [20] Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
John 13:34-35 NIV
[34] “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Note: not just by the orthodoxy of your theology. That is important, but Jesus does not say that correct theology marks us out as Christians. It’s entirely possible for someone to have all the correct theology but still behave poorly because that theology is all in their head and not in their heart.
That was what happened with the Jewish leaders.
No, it is love that makes the difference.
Maybe you looked at this passage and are a little puzzled, because, although love is mentioned as part of the fruit of the Spirit, it is not mentioned here.
However, Jesus told us that the ultimate expression of the law is love: for God, our neighbours and ourselves. It is not hard, therefore, to see the attitudes and actions we should put off as acts of hatred, towards God, our neighbours and ourselves, and the attitudes we should put on as acts of love towards God, our neighbours and ourselves.
Between them is that renewal of the attitude of our mind. This renewal should itself be driven by love.
Love is everything for a Christian. It’s what saved them on the cross:
John 3:16 NIV
[16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
I don’t know if you have ever seen a Communist army marching, like, for instance, the Russians or the North Koreans. They have a steely-eyed focus. A dead-eyed stare. They are almost automatons.
That is how we see discipline.
Yet in the Bible it is not so.
As Paul says about the law and rules:
Colossians 2:20-23 NIV
[20] Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: [21] “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? [22] These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. [23] Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
In other words, rules, structure and order have their place and are useful – Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 14.
But it is not everything.
Even Paul prefixes this teaching with the incredible teaching on love in 1 Corinthians 13.
If our motivation to keep those rules, stay within that structure and follow the order is simply to tick the box or to check them off or even because it just seems the right way to do or the way it's always done, then our obedience stems from wrong motivation. Sooner or later all these ‘right’ things will become a drudgery and a chore.
We will eventually stop doing them, or begrudge that we have to.
But if they stem from a place of love – for God, our neighbours and ourselves – then our obedience will be a joy and our discipline a delight.
I know people who have decided that they need more discipline in their lives and so have joined the military or another armed force.
But that is not what you need to do to gain true Christian discipline.
What you need is love.
And if you lack it, go back in the Bible to see what Jesus has done for you, and for your neighbours, and ask Him to fill your heart with it, because He will.
Let me end this meditation by saying that I am fully aware that many so-called Christians do not understand this. As a result, they become incredibly narrow-minded and intolerant of those whose theologies vary from theirs in microscopic ways. They also act out of hate towards those who disagree with them to a much greater degree.
But ask yourself this: if you went to a market that you knew sold fake goods and bought a Rolex watch, would you complain to Rolex if it stopped working the moment you left the market?
Of course not! That would be silly!
Likewise, it’s not correct to judge real Christianity because of those who fake it.
Real Christianity changes lives because of love. Those lives are changed when they receive that love and pass it on. That is what drives the remarkable changes in attitude and action.
The fruit of the Spirit becomes visible in those who abandon themselves to this love and allow the Spirit to work.
So tell me, Christian, is this what happened to you?
In my next post, we will see what results from this change as we seek to Know Your Future.
Prayer
Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You love me. Help me to radiate that love to others and to be completely changed in my attitudes and actions. Change me, I pray. Amen.
Questions
What is it that should make us want to change? Why?
Do you think it’s correct that the attitudes and actions that belong to our old life are acts of hate, but the attitudes and actions of our new life are acts of love? Why/why not?
Do you think Christians should do this once in their lives, or many times, when they realise they have sinned? Why?
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