[English Sermon 영어 설교]
Sunday, June 29, 2025 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn
Put Off Your Old Self and Put On the New Self (Ephesians 4:17-32)
2025. 6. 29. 주일예배 설교- 에베소서 강해 15
본문: 에베소서 4:17-32
제목: 옛 사람을 벗어 버리고 새 사람을 입으라
설교자: 손진국 목사
Last week, we saw that God, by establishing the church on this earth, has the vision and desire to expand His kingdom through that church as souls gain life and are transformed.
Today, it speaks of the transformation of the saints within the Lord's church.
What is the ultimate purpose of our life on a personal level? It is to become like Jesus Christ.
What does the Bible call the whole process of becoming like Jesus Christ? Salvation. So what is the purpose of our life? It is salvation, and that is becoming like Jesus Christ. How does today’s passage express that? [Verses 22-24] 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; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
To summarize this, it says: “Put off your old self and put on the new self.” So today’s message is ultimately about our salvation and speaks of the gospel.
Through today’s message, I hope that we may rediscover and realize once again the purpose of our life on this earth, and make a renewed decision accordingly.
What does it mean to put off the old self and put on the new self? The first point is...
1. Repent and believe in Jesus
[Verse 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
To achieve the purpose of becoming like Jesus, the first thing that must happen is that we must put off our old self. What does it mean to put off the old self?
As I said at the beginning, the purpose of our life is to become like Jesus Christ, and the whole process is salvation. Why is salvation the purpose of our life? Because in life we always encounter problems. And solving those problems can be seen as our life. Then what is the most fundamental problem that constantly arises in life? What is the root of all problems, the greatest issue of our lives?
It is sin. We are born in sin. David says in Psalm 51:5: [Psalm 51:5] Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Sadly, the undeniable truth is that all human life begins with sin. That’s why solving the fundamental problem of sin is salvation.
What is sin like? [Isaiah 59:2] But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Sin is the cause that separates us humans from God.
Last week’s sermon asked this question: "Are you connected with God?" Try asking the person next to you: "Are you connected with God?" What was your answer? Even if you didn’t say it out loud, what was your inner answer? "Yes, I am." "No, I am not connected." "I don’t know." Or did you think, "What’s the big deal if I’m not connected with God?" "It’s fine not to be connected." The reason we are not connected with God is sin. If the problem of sin is gone, we cannot help but be connected with God. Why? Because God's desire is to connect with humans, His greatest creation.
Just as parents want to connect with their children. Parents go to great lengths to connect with their children. I myself perform in front of my kids. I joke, rap, dance, do tricks.
But God goes even further than we do. He amazes people through nature, makes them smile with rainbows and auroras and wonders of the sky, and performs miracles beyond human understanding. But He doesn’t stop there. To connect with us, He goes to the extent of sacrificing His only Son. Why would He go that far? Because although He wants to connect with us, He cannot because of the result of sin.
What is the result, the wage of sin? [Romans 6:23] For the wages of sin is death, The result and wage of sin is death. A life that begins with sin ends in death.
But that death doesn’t end with dying once. [Hebrews 9:27] Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, Because of sin, we all die, but death is not the end. There is judgment. And what is the verdict after judgment? [Revelation 20:15] Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire refers to hell, where the fire never goes out. A life that began in sin and became disconnected from God ends in hell.
So remember that the purpose of life is to solve the problem of sin, the root of all problems. The one who came to solve that problem of sin, to forgive our sins, to save us, is Jesus Christ.
[Acts 16:31] They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
[John 5:24] "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."
[John 3:16] "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."
Believe that believing in Jesus Christ solves the problem of sin and death, grants eternal life, and allows us to be connected with God.
But what is today’s sermon title? It comes from the passage. Put off your old self and put on the new self. That is what we must do to solve the problem of our sin-ruined lives. Here the word "self" is used, which in Greek is "Anthropos." From this comes the word "Anthropology." The Old Testament is written in Hebrew. Do you know Hebrew well? As far as I know, you all know Hebrew well. Really? Quiz: What is "man" in Hebrew? "Adam."
So the command to put off the old self and put on the new self means to take off Adam, the first man who sinned against God and caused all humanity to die in sin, and to put on the last Adam, the new Adam, who came to solve our problem of sin and death and to give us eternal life. How does the Bible express this? [Romans 5:19] For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Who is the first man? Adam. The second man is Jesus Christ. [1 Corinthians 15:22] For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
You must take off the old self, Adam, to put on the new self, Jesus Christ. To wear new clothes, you must first take off the old ones. If you have beautiful new clothes, you must take off the old, worn, dirty, smelly ones to wear them. You can’t wear them over the old ones. Sometimes you see people with many layers, putting new clothes over old ones. Even if you wear nice new clothes, if you didn’t throw away the smelly old ones, people won’t want to come near you. You stink.
How do we take off the old self? By repenting. What was the first thing Jesus proclaimed when He began His public ministry? [Matthew 4:17] From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." [Mark 1:15] "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" What is the good news? Jesus is the gospel. The start of becoming like Jesus—the purpose of life, salvation—is repentance.
There is no faith without repentance. There is no salvation without repentance. What is repentance? [1 John 1:9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. What does it say to do with our sin? Confess it. Then He will forgive our fundamental problem of sin. That is salvation. The word "confess" in English comes from "con" + "fess." "Con" means "together." Contact (to be in touch), contract (an agreement together), community (a group together), communication (sharing together). "Fess" comes from the Latin for "to speak." Professor (one who speaks in front). So "confess" means to speak together. In other words, to agree with.
Whom do we speak together with? [1 John 1:10] If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, whom do we call a liar? God. What does God say? That Adam sinned, and through his sin all humanity became sinners. But many people say, "I’m not a sinner." By not agreeing with God, they make Him a liar.
What about you? Do you think God is a liar? Or do you believe God is always right? Then do you agree with His statement that we are sinners? If you agree, you will confess: "I am a sinner." "My life as a sinner is death, despair, and hopelessness." To quote Pastor JinJun Roh from the recent retreat, we confess: "I am totally doomed." "I am completely hopeless." Even if you say, "But I’ve lived a decent life," "I have an impressive education and career," "I’m in a high position," "I have great dreams and visions," no matter how much you earn, how high you climb, how good your character is—if you are still in your old self, the end of your life is death. The fact that death awaits proves we are sinners. So even if we seem to live splendidly in this world, if we remain in the old self, our life is a cursed life, running toward death with no hope. Therefore, turn back. Place your hope in the new self, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. We can only have dreams, hope, and vision when we are clothed in Jesus and are in Jesus.
I bless everyone here to become believers who live meaningful lives according to the Lord's will in Jesus through repentance and faith.
[Application] Do you acknowledge the fact that life without the Lord has no hope? Have you put off the old self and put on the new self?
2. Change Your Way of Life and Habits
What did we say it means to take off the old self and put on the new self? We said it means to repent, acknowledging that one was born a sinner and is living in sin, and to believe in Jesus Christ, who is the true truth. Have you repented and believed in Jesus Christ? When did you believe? In the past. In fact, in today’s message, Paul is encouraging the believers in the Ephesian church to put off the old self and put on the new self now, in the present.
In other words, this refers to the way of life and habits that must take place even today in the lives of those who have repented, believed in Jesus, and been saved. In today’s passage, there are expressions in verses 20 and 22 ([Verse 20] That, however, is not the way of life you learned, [Verse 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) that appear more clearly in the English Bible than in the Korean. Do you know what it is? “Way of life.” It refers to the way we live and our habits.
However, many people misunderstand something. They think that believing in Jesus and receiving salvation is important, but the shape or attitude of our lives is not that important.
They think it’s good if it changes, but even if it doesn’t, it’s fine. Some even believe that the way of life and habits cannot change. So you often hear things like, “Can a person really change?” “Isn’t this much change enough?” You may also hear things like, “If a person changes suddenly, they might die.”
They believe that receiving forgiveness of sins and eternal life by believing in Jesus is important because it is about salvation, but that the issue of changing one’s way of life and habits is a secondary matter unrelated to salvation, so it’s not that important.
But do you know? That salvation in the Bible is not just one thing? Salvation can be divided into three stages in terms of time. This is something we study in the “Start with Faith” or “Grow with Faith” Bible studies. Time flows as past, present, and future. Among them, the most important is the present.
Many believers think of salvation only as the moment they believed in Jesus and were saved.
But while that is very important, it is only part of the whole of salvation.
Salvation can be divided into three types.
[John 5:24] “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” It says here that they have eternal life, have crossed over from death to life. This happens at the moment one believes in Jesus. Therefore, this salvation is the past salvation received when one believes in Jesus and is baptized. It refers to the salvation of the spirit, freedom from the consequence/wage of sin. The theological term for this is “justification.” However, many people think that once you believe in Jesus, all salvation is complete. But this past salvation can be seen as the beginning of the process of change to become like Jesus.
The second salvation appears in Romans chapter 13. [Romans 13:11] And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. It says here that salvation is nearer. It refers to something in the future that has not yet been fulfilled. Those who received this letter are believers in Rome. They have already believed in Jesus and received the salvation of their spirits. Yet Paul tells them that salvation is nearer. What does that mean? Future salvation. This refers to the salvation that will be fulfilled when the Lord returns. At that time, our imperfect bodies will be clothed with the perfect resurrected body.
It refers to the salvation of the body, freedom from the presence of sin, and in theological terms, it is called “glorification.” This is the completion of salvation.
What connects past and future salvation is the present salvation. [Philippians 2:12] Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Here, “continue to work out your salvation” is in the present tense. The present tense implies repetition. The spiritual salvation that began by believing in Jesus and the future salvation—the resurrection of the body that will be fulfilled when the Lord returns—have something in between that we must work out during our life on earth. That is the present salvation, the salvation of the soul, and the process of gaining freedom from the power of sin. For believers who have received the spiritual salvation in the past by believing in Jesus and will one day wear the resurrected body when Jesus returns, what is important? The salvation of the spirit by believing in Jesus in the past has already been accomplished. Future salvation is not up to us. Only the Father knows the day Jesus will return, and when He comes, the resurrection will take place. Therefore, what is important for us is the present salvation that we must live out daily. This is called sanctification, the process of salvation.
Today’s passage tells us to put off the old self and put on the new self. This means that, as believers who have repented and believed in Jesus, we must throw off the way of life and habits of the old sinful self, and follow the way of life and habits of the new person, Jesus Christ.
The concrete contents of the way of life and habits we must change appear from verse 25 and onward. We will share those next week.
[Application] How has my way of life and habits changed since believing in Jesus? What part has changed the most, and what part needs to change the most in the future?
하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.
Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.