Put On
Every Morning there’s a point that I put on my clothes to start the day. I would not dare go out without being properly dressed.
It is important to put on the right clothes. If I have a meeting, I dress differently than I would if I went on a walk and then to the gym to exercise. I dress differently if I am going to mow, work on a car, or do some other type of messy job than I would if I were going to church. I dress according to purpose.
I do not wear my good clothes to do messy work, and I do not wear messy clothes when I am going to be with people and desire to make a good first impression. The point is that I put on according to purpose.
Jesus spoke a parable.
Matthew 22:11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
If the man had been adorned in the proper garment, he would have been okay, but he was cast out because he lacked the proper attire. Of course, this is speaking of how the man was not born again and, therefore, did not have the proper garments to start with. But it also reveals the benefit of appropriate raiment according to context.
It is wise to put on according to context, which is also true regarding spiritual things.
Ephesians 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Verse 24 says it so clearly. Put on the new man. What is that verse saying to us?
We’re being told to let the new man be what others see in our decisions and actions. When our outward behavior is in step with the new man we have become in Christ, we are properly adorned. When that is not the case, it is akin to someone showing up at a formal wedding in droopy basketball shorts, flip flops, and a ratty tee shirt, unshaven and unkempt. They stick out like a sore thumb for not-so-good reasons. They are out of place and out of context.
A believer in Christ will also stick out oddly when they behave as though they are not in Christ because they refuse to be adorned with the new man. They may claim to be in Christ, but their behavior fails to offer any convincing proof due to being contrary to what they claim to be true. It results in causing others to struggle to be convinced. This is why Paul said,
1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Putting on the new man is an important part of our effective witness to others. I encourage you today to put on!
