Paint Stripper Illustration

[The Librarian]

Ephesians 4:22, 23: "That you should put away the old personality which conforms to your former course of conduct and which is being corrupted according to his deceptive desires; but that you should be made new in the force actuating your mind."

The verb, "put away"-- in the original Greek language is called the aorist tense. It indicates an action that is taken just once or once and for all. So it must be decisively (conclusively settled) stripped off.

To help you get the sense of this lets illustrate:

---

When one gives you advise on how to renovate your house, an antique, or a piece of old furniture, the worst words you can hear to solve the problem is: "The only thing you can do to make it right is to strip off the paint."

Why are these hated words? Well, have you ever used paint stripper? Do you know anyone who has ever told you that they like to strip ANYTHING? No one likes it. You get it on you. It burns. Splashes on your face or gets under the glove that you are using.. gooey, slippery, sludge. So why do we do it? Why do we subject ourselves to such torture? Because it is a necessity; there is no other alternative. It is the best solution. Why?

If it is not stripped completely you risk the new coating delaminating or peeling.

We have to do the same with our old personality. If we don't get it off completely, it will eventually cause our spirituality to delaminate. It is because, the old personality "is being corrupted" as the 'b' section of Eph. 4:22 indicates. Yes, the old personality is in a continuous course of moral degradation going from bad to worse, leading to defilement and death. So you have to get it off, like clothing that has the smell of a skunk!!!!! Get it off!!! Would you keep your socks on? No, we take everything off the first chance we get.