Put Off the Old Self | The Meaning of Life according to John the Apostle | Episode 02

John, earlier today I was reading something Luke wrote about what happened after Jesus ascended to heaven.

When you and Peter met the man who had been lame all his life.

Right, I remember it well.

He was a beggar in the temple, it was the only way he could survive.

So when he met you, he hoped to receive some money.

Yes, neither Peter nor I had anything to give him.

But Peter said to him, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"

And then he was healed.

Yes, Peter raised him up.

And at that very moment, he gained strength in his feet and began to run around in the temple. Many people there knew him because he had begged there his whole life. They were shocked to see him suddenly running around.

I imagine it must have been an incredible experience, a miracle.

So, how did you understand what Luke wrote?

Well, it shows God's power and that through Jesus's name, believers like you and Peter can truly heal people from illness.

Yes, all right, but I'm eager to hear what you think the main point of Luke's story is.

The main point? Well, I thought I just said it.

That miracles happen in Jesus's name.

What had the man done to be in need of healing?

John, he was born that way. He couldn't help it, could he?

Right, from birth, he was condemned to a life of begging with no hope of change.

It wasn't a result of any sin he had committed, it was something he was born with, something he could not be blamed for. There was no way out, not without a miracle.

That's true, but I'm still unsure why you think I've missed the main point.

The story of this man actually carries a deeper meaning, because in a way, we're all in the same situation as he was.

Now you lost me.

The story didn't end after the man was healed. Did you read on?

Uh, well, yes, but I'm still not quite sure what you mean.

My dear Polycarp, you need to read more carefully when you read the scriptures.

The miracle you've told me about is completely insignificant if you don't see it in the context of what happened next.

I guess that's why I'm still here to learn from you.

Can you find Luke's writings so we can read them together?

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Last time we talked about repentance and reconciliation with God. In this text, Peter emphasizes that repentance is not just distancing oneself from the wrongs one has done, it is about having a new mindset, a new way of thinking about one's life.

Yes, that makes sense.

I could turn away from my old life, but if I don't also make a decision that from now on, I will move in a completely new direction, it doesn't mean much.

And when you become so tired and weary of your old life that you repent with all your heart, you will begin to hate the old sins you lived in.

You don't want to live the way you did before, it shapes your thoughts and changes how you face life's challenges.

Yes, that's true.

But in return, as Peter said, when you change your mindset and repent, a completely new time will come, times of refreshing.

From the creator himself, who knows us better than we know ourselves.

Ah, I'm beginning to understand what you mean.

The lame man's life was completely transformed by God's intervention, and we can experience that too.

That's exactly the point.

God performed a miracle within the lame man, and from that moment, his life was completely changed, but what Peter is saying is that God will also completely transform the lives of everyone who change their mind and repent.

The lame man's miracle was extraordinary for him, but it pales in comparison to the miracle we experience when God sends renewal, comfort, and times of refreshing. Life truly becomes brand new.

But I have to ask, earlier in the passage, Peter spoke about how the Jews had crucified Jesus and chosen to release a criminal instead. Surely not everyone there took part in that, so he must have been addressing them as a group, to the Jews as a whole, and you were also one of them.

Yes, many of God's promises in the Torah are directed to us, the Jewish people. God spoke to us through the priests in the temple, and when we obeyed the law, the Jewish people prospered and enjoyed good times.

And when the people were disobedient, there was war. They were invaded and taken into captivity.

I've read several examples of this.

But God also spoke through the prophets about a time to come when each person would know the Lord personally and experience his presence, and Peter is saying that this time has now arrived.

Ah, so it arrived with Messiah.

It did. The invitation from God now applies not just to a specific group of people, nor to a family or group of friends.

Now it has become personal, a covenant, an agreement between God and me.

This changes everything.

It changes everything. You remember we talked about my young friend Felix a couple of days ago?

Yes, he felt empty and couldn't find meaning in life.

He came to me again yesterday and told me he had converted. He had sought out the person he'd wronged, asked for forgiveness, and made things right.

What do you think the result was for Felix?

It must have been a good one. He felt a burden had been lifted.

He'd become a completely different person. The one who had once only felt emptiness and found no meaning in life was now overflowing with joy.

I see what you're getting at. He experienced the miracle Peter spoke about.

Exactly. He had been reconciled with God, and God intervened in his life. This is an incredible experience and enormously significant.

That's why it probably came as a shock when I told him that his future was hanging by a thread.

What do you mean? Surely his future is secure now that he's been reconciled with God and received renewal and comfort from him.

If he stays steadfast in his new mind, his future is secure, but there's still that if.

Life is not over yet, and the sin that entered mankind through Adam and Eve, which we talked about in our previous conversation, has not suddenly disappeared from Felix.

That's true. You said in our last conversation that.

Reconciliation with God is only the beginning.

Exactly.

So now Felix must stay grounded in his new mind, so he doesn't fall back into his old sinful deeds again. The deeds of the flesh.

The deeds of the flesh. Can you explain what you mean?

Paul wrote about this to the church in Galatia, emphasizing that the works of the flesh are obvious. In other words, when sin controls our actions, it's clear to everyone that it is sin.

So, murder, violence, adultery, things like that?

Yes, revenge, sexual immorality, drunkenness, and so on. Everyone recognizes these as sin. The same applies to slander and many other things that cause harm.

Such sins damage both those who commit them, but also those who suffer because of them.

And these are the works of the flesh, works that I understand to be sin.

That is correct. Sin entered humanity through the fall, and as long as a person has not repented to God, the flesh remains in control, and sin is revealed through the body, through the flesh.

So the body that does the works of the flesh is what Paul referred to as the body of the flesh in one of his letters.

And what happens when one repents to God?

To have a change of heart and truly repent means making a decision to no longer carry out the works of the flesh.

But the flesh does not disappear when one repents, does it?

No, after you have repented, there are, in a sense, two people in one body. One is the old self, controlled by the flesh. You no longer want to listen to this voice, let alone obey it.

And the other person?

Yes, there is also a new person within with a new mind. This new self desires to do good, just as one resolved to do at the time of repentance.

Huh, so when one has repented, the old self is not supposed to have any influence over them anymore?

Correct. A genuine and radical conversion where you take on a new mind leads to the deeds of the flesh coming to an end. You stop doing what you know to be sin.

That's quite a dramatic change.

It is. Paul wrote about this in his letter to the church in Rome. See if you can find it.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

So what Paul is saying is that once I have a new mind, sin no longer has any power over me. It is there trying to pull and entice, but there is no response from this new person who has gained a new mind. The new man is dead to all the advances of the flesh.

Hmm, okay. And thus the works of the flesh come to an end.

Paul was crystal clear about this. Doing something you know is sin comes to a complete end when you repent and make up your mind.

Further on in his letter to the church in Rome, he explains this by going back to where Jesus began, baptism. Read it.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

In baptism, the old sinful life is buried. It is placed beneath the water, never to be seen again. The water also symbolizes being washed clean.

What do you mean by that?

When someone is physically dirty, it's visible to everyone. In the same way, someone who has done the works of the flesh is also stained, and others have suffered because of their actions. That means they must make things right for what they've done that has affected others. When they do, others will see them as clean, pure.

Once you have let the old man, the old self be buried, you have set things right and stand pure before others, then you are ready to begin a whole new era, a whole new life.

Tell me more.

Something new is created within us, where we begin to experience God's help. That's what it's really about. There is much to say about this, but I think we will have to continue next time we meet.