In Scripture, the term 'old man' refers to a person's nature before accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is rebellious against God's authority, disobedient to His commands, completely blind to His glory, and unbelieving when it comes to His promises.
Paul spoke of the change that is to take place in every follower of Christ ... Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
When a believer is revitalized in his mind by the divinely inspired truths found in God's Word, he is then equipped to cast off the 'old' and put on the 'new'.
The 'old man' cannot be reformed. If he is not put to death, conversion does not occur ... For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Romans 6:6
God judged, condemned, and poured out His wrath on the 'old man' when Jesus died on the cross. Christianity is not an 'upgrading' of your old nature ... but the 'replacing' of it.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
Churches are full of religious people who have merely trained their 'old man' to be a law-abiding citizen, a hard worker, a faithful friend, and an example of right living.
THAT IS NOT CHRISTIANITY
Those who have truly surrendered their life to Jesus Christ are made new. And that transformation is the evidence of (and, the only way your weary soul can find assurance of) ... personal salvation.
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