or perhaps one who is not a church member at all. The determining factor is the renewing by the Spirit of God. The third grouping is bar barians or Cythians. This speaks of educational and social background, while bond or free is the cultural basis. In each of the four cases, all men are the same in the sight of God. God has told us to kill certain things, to put off others and now to be ready to put on something of a definite nature. Once we have deadened these members which are offensive, once we have put off these aspects of our relationship with others that ruin our testimony and fruitfulness, there are certain things which we must put on. We cannot be left in a spiritual vacuum as it were. In Colossians 3:12 we read, "Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mer cies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering." Then in verses 13 and 14 we find the com pletion of this list of seven perfect things we are to wear as believers. Christianity is not a negative sys tem. Do not try to put on any of these things without first of all tak ing off all of the old. If you wear the newwithout discarding the old, you will find yourself in a hopeless mess. We cannot wear the robes of charity until we take off the rags of sensuality. In new things to wear we are told first of all to put on "bowels of mercies." This represents the seat of one's emotions or that which medical science refers to as the solar plexis, the region just below the diaphragm which contains the nerve endings. Whenever difficul ties come, some sudden tragedy Page 19
ter than those ads. Did you know that the Lord has a way whereby we may maintain our eternal youth? It is by being renewed in knowl edge after the image of God who created us. One of "Dear Abby's" columns intrigued me in which a reader asked how she might get her youth fulness back again. She wrote, "I'd like to have that old sparkle back in my eyes. How can it be done?" Abby, in a wisdom beyond her un derstanding, sagely pointed out, "Why, to get the sparkle back in your eyes, you would have to be born again." She really meant physically, however, we know that a spiritual renewal is needed. Man desperately needs to be born again by personal faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 3:11 tells us, "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all, and in all." There are four different sets or categories given here. Each one tells us some thing extremely important. The first is nationality. In the body of be lievers, there is no room for us to say, "We have more prominence because we are of this nationality, or we are of this background ethi cally." When it comes to the cross of Jesus Christ, all men are equal, for all are sinners and desperately in need of Cod's redemption. The second is circumcision or uncir cumcision. This was a religious rite performed by the Jewish people. Regardless of one's religious back ground, every man is equal. Just because you are a member of a certain church does not mean you are any better than one who be longs to a different denomination
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