Old Man

We all have pet peeves; you know, those things that make us cringe or blink or gasp.  Referring to a parent or spouse as “old man” or “old woman” never seems right. Apostle Paul, however, wrote about the old man, but not in a disrespectful way. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:6). All – and only – because of Christ, Christians are free of the old [man] or sinfulness; no longer are we chained to the reign of sin in our lives.  This freedom – because of Christ’s death and resurrection – make us free to live in newness of life.  “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).  This is terribly exciting news to Believers: we aren’t chained to the old ways or past – we live in new.  We must, however, make a daily deliberate choice to embrace the new to rule over the old man.  In this case, it’s perfectly okay to say: In Jesus’ Name, be done old man!