Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Something fundamentally changes when you accept Christ.  Something profound and New takes place, that cannot have any part with the old (2 Corinthians 6:14).

Now for many, this is unrealized in this life, unless they are taught.  A Christian might live their whole life, and never realize what all Christ has bought for them.  But, as Jesus said, when a man believes, he is born again of a spiritual seed (John 3:3-5), and the old things are “passed away”.

Now, this does not necessitate that all behavior changes, but innermost man of the heart does.

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

1 John 3:9

The process of working out our salvation through all of our thoughts, members, actions, emotions, and words is commonly called ‘sanctification’.  In fact, Paul made it clear that it was in the context of being crucified, buried, and raised with Christ, that we are then to “put to death” what belongs to our earthly nature (Colossians 3:5).  This is fundamentally different than abstaining, or from controlling one’s behavior.  This is also different than attempting to put away or put to death our “old man” or “old self” (Colossians 3:9), as this has already been done.

Instead, when we are saved, our innermost nature has changed, and, spiritually, we are made new.  John wrote that that which is born of God does not sin, that is, in our spirit, which is one with the Lord, and sealed.  But, as Paul wrote in Romans 6:11, we must “reckon ourselves dead to sin”, and consider it to be already done.

This, then, is the difference.  The world can make and respond to rules of abstinence, but the fundamental nature of man, no matter how noble in appearance on the outside, is corrupt, thoroughly!    There is no soundness, and in the heart of every unsaved person on the planet is a sinner, condemned to destruction.  But, when the new comes, the old is done away with.  The old man is dead, and it is in that context that that which belonged to it must be put to death.

As we have seen, we have died with Christ, and the powers of the sin no longer have a sway over us.  It is simply up to us to believe it, but then also, from that place and by His Spirit, put to death the practices, as no longer being a part of us.

The New then beckons, to know fully the depths of the freedom of Christ.

And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

Galatians 2:4

Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven being as a treasure hidden in a field, that when a man found it, for joy, he went and sold all he had to buy that field (Matthew 13:44).  For the Jew, attempting to live holy and clean and pure before the Lord, the Law was everything.  As unable as they were to follow after it, it was all that could keep them clean before the Lord, keeping out the imminent destruction and corrupting influences of the world.

For a Jew who knew only the Law, to have a liberty by any means other than that of Moses was indeed an immense liberty.  True too, to any Gentile, then, who knew absolutely no purity at all, no cleanness, no rightness of heart or holiness, the liberty to live free from this life is the true rejoicing of the heart and the enlightening of the eyes.

This liberty was in the greatest of the word, that men might no longer be slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness, to live, and to love.  As Paul wrote, we are slaves to whoever we yield ourselves to, but the freedom to live for God has only ever come at the price of blood, and we can have it no other way.

Paul wrote that false brothers came to spy out that freedom.  Paul knew that it was only in trusting completely and only in that inner work of the Spirit that men could truly be free (Galatians 5:16).  It was for this reason that he was given the revelation of the Gospel he was, to teach them to live in that freedom.

Many people, not believing, would want to try to add things to the simple faith of the Gospel.  Many, through partial revelations about the basic principles of the world, would attempt to “add to” what was already a complete, and superior work.

It is not that there is not a “work” of the Gospel, but that it must be chosen completely, exclusively, and only.  For, even as Paul wrote to the putting to death whatever there was of the old nature:  sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Why command this?  Because the New Man is able to!  Not to simply abstain or resist the temptation, while that may be needed at times, but because of a new heart that loves only God, we are able to put it to death.  It is commanded because it is possible!

When something new comes, the old goes away, and God can have His way.

And, this is only the beginning of the new.

…even as unto babes in Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:1 (portion)

The beginning of the Journey is the step into the door.  The end is also the same.  The First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, for all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ (Colossians 2:3).