Colossians 3:8-10
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
The previous Daily Dose dealt with what most of us consider to be the “filthier” sins, having to deal with sexual immorality. The list we are dealing with today, as G. Campbell Morgan has called them, are “the sins in good standing.” These sins don’t get much attention until they have reached a certain level—an instance here or there does not seem to be a big deal. We all get angry. Sometimes we seek to get even. From time to time, we malign somebody’s reputation. We tell “little white lies.” Not the end of the world, right?
These sins of offense against others are universal, but of particular concern within the Body of Christ (Paul mentions the context of “one another’). Jesus said that the outside world will know we are His by the way we love one another (Jn 13:35), and so these sins also damage our gospel witness, besides hurting family members and serving to harden our hearts. It’s amazing what we can get used to…but we should never get comfortable with any sin pattern in our lives…filthy or otherwise.
Spurgeon said, “Anger is not always or necessarily sinful, but it has such a tendency to run wild.” Wrath is an explosive expression of anger. Malice describes a mean-spirited or vicious attitude or disposition. Slander is speech that denigrates or degrades. Lightfoot describes Obscene Talk as “foul-mouthed abuse.” The original Greek word was used to describe both abusive and filthy speech. Lying, as Matthew Henry has described, “Makes us like the devil.” It is contrary to the law of truth as well as the law of love.
As Believers, we are to discard our old repulsive habits like a set of filthy, worn-out clothes. Have you ever worn something that got so dirty…so filthy…that putting it in the washing machine would be fruitless? That is the way we are to view “the old self with its practices.” Sadly, we tend to stay comfortable with those old rags and continue to wear them, despite the obvious. Pastor John MacArthur said, “You can tell a lot about people in our society by the way they dress. From baseball players to bus drivers, from postal carriers to policemen, people wear the uniform of their profession.”
What profession will you “dress” for, today? Will you look like the old self with its practices…or the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator? We all must strive for the latter.
