old man, and put on the new man." Col. 9-10. Consult these
Persecutions, and that little Book of Martyrs, the 11th of the
Hebrews, and Mr. Fox's Acts and Monuments, with many other treatises that are extant, do abundantly evidence that from age to age, and from one generation to another—they those who been born after the flesh have persecuted those who have been born after the spirit; and that the seed of the serpent have been still a-multiplying of troubles upon the seed of the woman, Gal. 4:29. But a believer's future glory and pleasure will abundantly recompense him for his present pain and ignominy.
But such as will have Christ for their Savior and sovereign, but still with some proviso or other—namely, that they may keep such a beloved lust, or enjoy such carnal pleasures and delights, or raise such an estate for them and their children, or comply with the times, and such and such great men's desires, or that they may follow the
Lamb only in sunshine weather, etc., these are still Satan's bondslaves, and such as Christ can take no pleasure nor delight to espouse himself unto. But,
3. The third word of advice and counsel is this, namely, "Put off the old man, and put on the new man." Col. 9-10. Consult these scriptures. [Eph. 4:22-24; Gal. 6:35; 1 Pet. 2:2.] You must be new creatures, or else it had been better that you had been any creatures than what you are: 2 Cor. 5:17, "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." The new creature includes a new light, a new sight, a new understanding. The new creature sees sin to be the greatest evil, and
Christ and holiness to be the chief good, Psalm 38:4, and Cant. 5:10.
When a man is a new creature, he has a new judgment and opinion, he looks upon God as his only happiness, and Christ as his all in all,
Col. 3:11, and upon the ways of God as ways of pleasantness,
Proverbs 3:17. The new man has new cares, new requests, new desires. Oh that my soul may be saved! Acts 2:37, and 16:30; Oh that my interest in Christ may be cleared! Oh that my heart may be adorned with grace! Oh that my whole man may be secured from wrath to come! 1 Thes. 1:10.
The new man is a man of new principles. If you make a serious inspection into his soul, you shall find a principle of faith, of repentance, of holiness, of love, of contentment, of patience, etc.
[Phil. 1:29; Acts 11:18; 1 Thes. 4:9; Phil. 4:11; 1 Cor. 4:12.] There is not any one spiritual and heavenly principle respecting salvation, but may be found in the new creature. The new man experiences a new combat and conflict in his soul. "The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit lusts against the flesh." "I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind," Gal. 5:17, and
Romans 7:23. The new man experiences a combat in every faculty.
Here is the new judgment against the old judgment, and the new will against the old will, and the new affections against the old affections.
And the reason is this; because there is flesh and spirit, sin and grace co-existent and cohabiting in every faculty of the soul; renewing grace is in every faculty, and remaining corruption is also in every faculty, like Jacob and Esau struggling in the same womb, or like heat and cold in the same water, and in every part of it.
The new man also combats with all sorts of known sins, whether they are great or small, inward or outward, whether they are the sins of the heart or the sins of the life. This conflict in the new man is a daily conflict, a constant conflict. The new creature can never, the new creature will never, be at peace with sin; sin and the new creature will fight it out to the death. The new creature will never be brought into a league of friendship with sin.
The new man is a man of a new life and conversation. A new life always attends a new heart. You see it in Paul, Mary Magdalene,
Zaccheus, the jailor, and all the others that are upon Scripture record. [See 1 John3:14; 2 Cor. 6:14; Psalm 120:5, 139:21, and 42:4.]
The new man has new society, new company: Psalm 119:63, "I am a companion of all those who fear you, and of those who keep your precepts," Psalm 16:3, "My goodness extends not to you, but to the saints who are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight." Holy society is the only society for people with holy hearts, and in that society can no man delight, until God renews his heart by grace.
Many men be as the planet Mercury, good when in company of those that are good; and bad when in company of those that are bad. These are those who put honesty to an open shame. [Cicero had rather have no companion than a bad one.] Clothes and company do oftentimes tell tales in a mute but significant language. "Tell me with whom you go, and I will tell you what you are," says the Spanish proverb.