1 John 2:15-16 (NKJV) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
It was Satan who showed Jesus the world and all that it has to offer as a form of temptation. Temptations come through the eyes and work through our emotions to make us succumb to them. Longings, desires, impulses, and cravings for either material things or people all come through our senses. The “old man” is governed by the sin nature and is a slave to sin. It is dictated and driven by the need to gratify the self, at times instantly. By gratifying their desires for luxury goods and to maintain particular lifestyles, many people have end up in debt.
The “old man” takes pride in its possessions, achievements, and lifestyles. Mammon was our god before we received Christ. When Jesus asked the rich young ruler to give everything away and follow Him, He wasn’t against him possessing wealth and power. He was dealing with the god of mammon in his life because nobody can love God and mammon at the same time. Therefore, he had to quit serving mammon and follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Sadly, he could not give it up because that’s where his identity and security were. Many are still struggling like him today.
The “old man” ’s security is established on its possessions and achievements. Its understanding is darkened and thinking closely associated with the world values and principles. But all worldly pursuits are deceitful, because life will still be empty after you have obtained them. It is vanity of vanities because all these are perishables, unable to be carried into eternity.
The “old man” lives in the kingdom of darkness, dictated by the sin nature with Satan as its god. Because the “old man” ’s identity is in “doing” and its sense of self-worth, it is tormented emotionally because of the insecurity of falling behind. It can make people behave irrationally at times, be harsh towards others, and even live immorally just to be accepted and applauded.
A polar bear who has been caged all its life was found unable to survive in nature. Behaving just like it was still caged, it failed to adjust to its new environment and lifestyle. How about us? Are we still living in the “old man” and its lifestyle after we have received Christ? The devil will attempt to deceive us into thinking that we still belong to his kingdom, but let’s not be like the polar bear! Instead, let’s live our lives differently once we have been set free from the bondage of the evil one, moved into a new kingdom and become a disciple of Christ, and let’s start living out of our new being in Christ.
Sermon Series: Living out the New Identity
在基督里活出新造的你
约翰一书2:15-16 不要爱世界和世界上的事。人若爱世界，爱父的心就不在他里面了。因为，凡世界上的事，就像肉体的情欲、眼目的情欲，并今生的骄傲，都不是从父来的，乃是从世界来的。
向耶稣展示世界及其间一切荣华的是撒旦，牠以此试探耶稣诱惑来自眼目然后触动我们的情感使我们屈服。对人或对物的渴望、欲望、冲动和贪恋都来自我们的感官。 “旧我”受制于罪的本性，是罪的奴仆。 “旧我“被满足自我的需要所支配和驱使，而且往往是即时满足。为了满足自己对奢侈品的欲望和维持特定的生活方式，许多人最终负债累累。
令这个“旧我“引以为豪的是资产、成就和生活方式。在我们接受基督之前，玛门是我们的神。当主耶稣要求那位年轻财主放弃一切并跟随他时，主耶稣并不是反对他拥有巨大的财富和权力。主耶稣是在处这位年轻财主生命中的玛门，因为人不能同时爱神又爱金钱。因此，他必须舍弃侍奉玛门，全心全意地跟随耶稣。不幸的是，这位年轻财主无法放弃财富，因为他的身份认同和安全感维系于此。今天许多仍在作着和他一样的挣扎。
“旧我”“的安全感建立在其财富和成就之上。其理解力被蒙蔽，思维与属世的价值观和准则高度相关。但是所有属世的追求都具有欺骗性，即便你成功获得所有一切，生命却仍是空虚。这是虚空的虚空，因为所有这些都会朽坏，无法随你进入永恒。
这个“旧我“居住在黑暗的国度里，受制于罪的本性，撒旦是它的神。因为这个“旧我”的身份认同建立于行为和自我价值之上，唯恐落于人后的不安全感使“旧我”在情感上备受折磨。 它导致人们时常表现得不理智待人苛刻，甚至为了得到认可和掌声而过着不道德的生活。
人们发现一只从小就被关在笼子里的北极熊无法在野外存活。 它的行为就像它仍然被关在笼子里一样，未能适应新的环境和生活方式。 那我们呢？我们接受基督之后，是否仍然生活在“旧我”的生活方式中？撒旦会试图欺骗我们，让我们误以为自己仍然属于撒旦的国，让我们不要像那头北极熊！相反，我们摆脱了来自撒旦罪的捆绑，进入一个全新的国度，成为基督的门徒，我们要活出一个全然不同的基督里新造的人。
讲章系列：活出新身份
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