Ephesians 4:22-24
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
When we received Christ as our Savior and Lord of our lives, as believers we should never be the same as we were before, because in Christ Jesus we have a “new life”. This reality of a “new life” in Christ has been stated as a reality in believer’s life since the time in Acts 5:20, when the angel of God told the apostles to proclaim to the masses about the “new life”, “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.”. Anyone who has Christ in their life should be continually experiencing this “new life” in Christ in many different ways.
Our “new life” that we live in Christ is something which God has purposed and has been predetermined by Him, which we also must remember is a life time process. What the Bible teaches us about our “new life” in Christ is that God has a unique plan and objective for each one of His children.
But in spite of this reality that every Christian should be experiencing, there are some who will never experience some aspects of this “new life” because for some reason they have not been taught and or refuse to give up their old way of living. Ephesians 4:20-23, “20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires…”.
Please Read Acts Chapter 10
The Apostle Peter in Acts 10:9-16 was given the choice to continue to believe and live as he did before in his “…former way of life, and to continue his old way of thinking, “old self”; or, to experience a new characteristic of his life in Christ. Acts 10:11-13, 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
God had a plan to use Peter in ways he could not imagine and for him to experience something completely different than what he considered normal within his Jewish context of understanding of how his “new life” in Christ should be lived. However, Peter did not realize that he was being hindered by a religious and cultural barrier which he had considered as correct and normal all his life. Acts 10:14, “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
The religious and cultural barriers that Peter had in his life were practiced from birth. This was taught by his parents and his rabbi that certain things should never be accepted or done. It was something he saw his family and his friends always do and was totally accepted. Peter’s barriers gave him his identity as a devout Jew. Peter’s barriers would not only be a hindrance for him to be used by God, but it would also hinder others from knowing Jesus.
It is important to realize that God needed to show Peter that he had unrecognized barriers in his life which he considered normal. We also need to realize that like Peter, we have barriers that are hindering us from being used by God and experiencing the reality of His will in our lives. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome about this very point, that there needed to be a change in their lives in order to experience the reality of God’s will and the life God intended them to have in Christ Jesus. Romans 12:2 (New Living Translation), “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
There are some important points we first must understand about what could be some possible barriers or hindrances in our lives. The Collins English Dictionary gives two great definitions that apply to our Scriptural context. “A barrier is something such as a rule, law, or policy that makes it difficult or impossible for something to happen or be achieved. A barrier is a problem that prevents two people or groups from agreeing, communicating, or working with each other.”
What are the many different types of barriers in our lives that prevents us from being the believer in Christ that God created us to be and to be used by Him in ways we cannot even imagine? As you consider these few points, prayerfully ask God to show you if any of these points mentioned are influences to the barriers that that are in your life.
All of these points and many other things can contribute to create barriers which will prevent us from being who God created us to be in Christ Jesus and experiencing the new life we have in Him. However, we must never forget the fact that will always be true as long as we continue to live in Christ which Paul said to encourage the Corinthian church, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17
Pastor John
For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
