The Phony You

By Erik Neilson

Romans 6:6-11 "Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God." (The Message)

The old "me" is gone. Notice the words "death" and "dead"? The old Erik, that version of me that God never intended, has been killed, embalmed, stuffed in a coffin, and buried. He is a distant memory, a bad dream, a painful reminder of stupid immaturity. But thankfully he not longer exists. He’s dead right? He doesn't come around anymore...except. Except…when I choose to bring him back. How I hate it when he shows up. (For those of you thinking I've developed Multiple Personality Disorder, it's okay. I'm speaking metaphorically...Jesus did it all the time so it's allowed.)

The old me lived at odds with Jesus Christ. He was a rebel, a spiritual rogue. Godly living, the Holy Spirit’s power, the authority of Scripture, the fellowship of believers meant nothing to him. He lived for carnal pleasures, made decisions that only prospered him, didn’t care for others, served himself, and was a spiritual wasteland. The old me really sucked.

The old me, is the same as the old you. It’s who we all are, or would be, without Christ as Lord of our lives. So why do we let him back in? Why do we open the coffin and let him walk around? Why do we listen to that “dead language”? We’ve been set free from the chains that keeps that guy enslaved…why assume his identity once more? Why be him for even a moment more?

The simple answer is that our spirits have been washed clean by the blood of Christ, but we still live in corruptible fleshly bodies that will battle carnality until we inherit the new body waiting for us in heaven. But rather than dealing with the philosophical, let’s be practical.

When a brother (or sister) in Christ confronts you and you make some lame excuse, you’re letting the phony you back in. When you can’t pray because you’re too proud to confess a sin to God, you’re letting the impostor reign. When you avoid dealing with an issue in your marriage because it will expose an area of weakness in your life, you’re letting that fraud hurt your wife. When you want to come forward on Sunday to ask for prayer the phony fills you with pride and you naively think, “I’ll just handle it myself.” When you want to boldly challenge someone’s outright sin and you shrink back…you guessed it…you’re letting that old stinker win the day.

So what do we do? Stand close to Christ. Respond to this situation as if Christ were standing next to you. Would you lie in front of Lord Jesus? Would you neglect your wife beside the sinless Messiah? Would you mutter some explanation to the brother that’s trying to help you if Jesus were in the room? Of course you wouldn’t. (And if you were dumb enough to try it Jesus would nail you!)

The phony appears when you’re weak. He goads you into sin, and shames you once you’re there. He whispers hollow words, and empty promises, and guarantees what he can’t deliver. He seeks to drown out the voice of the Spirit, and squelch the desires of your newly created heart. He’s Satan’s servant sent to derail Christians, or steal their joy. He’s death’s agent sent to seek your soul. His mission is despair, humiliation, and the destruction of your new self. If you give him an inch he’ll take you a mile in the wrong direction. It’s time to put him away!

Christ is in the room. He’s standing next to us all the time. Draw near to him. Lean on his strength when you’re feeling weak. Depend on him to deliver you from your old phony self. He took care of that fellow for you…he was “nailed to the cross with Christ”. Let’s leave him there and journey forward, triumphantly, and “never again let death have the last word.”