New Human

Ephesians 4:22-24 , “That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”.
Human life is like a rolling ball continues to spin sometimes ran ran left sometimes right, one point is above, is under the immediate, predictable sometimes running, sometimes also difficult to predict. And life continued to run without stopping, only death that can stop human life.

So many people wanted her life can be so successful. Various kinds of self-development efforts carried out so that human life is significant change to meet success in life. And in Christianity there are several ways to do so that human life is experiencing significant changes:

First, decide that the old ways.
Verse 22 … says: “That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man.” The Apostle Paul wrote this verse is addressed to the life of the church in Ephesus from idolaters to the totality of his life the old man that is a wrong way of life where they are still double the Lord with the worship of idols in the temple of Artemis.

Artemis is a goddess of ancient Greece, and worship are performed against a very hysterical, they have a priest who issued a thundering sound and dress like women and they have thousands of women priests who become prostitutes devotion, they worship with music with dance and shout and roar up to the people doing sex party is hard to describe, and chopping their own bodies and to worship their gods in their temple prostitution.

Human life is now not the same as the Ancient Greek life but materialism (desire for wealth and goods with little interest in ethical or spiritual) and consumerism (the ideology or lifestyle who regard luxury items as a measure of happiness, pleasure) also mammonism (love of money, the pursuit of worldly wealth) have become the idols of modern human life.
Because of that, how long or desires for success in the ride by misleading lust that will direct us to the greed of desolation should we leave behind.

Second, change our mindset.
Verse 23 … says: “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind”.
Spirit or spirits (Hebrews רוח read: ru-ach) is a third element that make up human life. Paul says that man consists of three elements: body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Elements of the physical body is a manifestation that we can touch, also called the soul lives in the blood, while the third element is the spirit that gives human consciousness. Physical body may perish, but the human spirit is eternal.

The renewal of the spirit include circumstances in which our spirits are in the process of communion with God that is not dotted and sustained in prayer, praise and worship conducted at any time or times specified in the worship of God.
In various religions and philosophies, the soul is the part that is not physical (immaterial) of a person.
Usually believed to include the mind and soul personality, very happy devil wear our body such as: eye in all desires, our hearing with things that are not good, mouth with dirty sayings and slander to rob the soul, mind, our personality to be dragged to destruction, but God loves us and He often wore the human spirit to admonish through conscience that brings the soul, mind and personality in safety.

After human death, then that will be included in the judgments of God is the human soul, not the spirit or the body, because the human spirit is the breath that gives back to the breath of life and the human body will return to dust, who lives a soul that will go to the creator.Therefore, the Apostle Paul reminds us that we must change our mindset, our actions must take is to step in communion with God, renew our minds with positive thoughts that are pleasing to God.

Third, put on the character of Christ.
Verse 24 … says: “And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Speaking of the new man means that we will strip off the old man, old man mean men who no longer fit for use because it is not pleasing to God, , where the old man was full of lust that is misleading the desires of the flesh.
In the Book of Galatians 5:19-21 says: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

God is the Holy One, and as human beings who have been newly created by the will of God in in righteousness and holiness we should pursue the fruits of the spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, because there is no law against such things (Galatians 5:22) . This is the picture of the character of Christ that we must wear replace our old man character.
God is more interested in us than what we do and God is more concerned with our character than our deeds.

Manusia Baru

Kehidupan Yang Baru

Efesus 4:22-24, “yaitu bahwa kamu, berhubung dengan kehidupan kamu yang dahulu, harus menanggalkan manusia lama, yang menemui kebinasaannya oleh nafsunya yang menyesatkan, supaya kamu dibaharui di dalam roh dan pikiranmu, dan mengenakan manusia baru, yang telah diciptakan menurut kehendak Allah di dalam kebenaran dan kekudusan yang sesungguhnya”.

Kehidupan manusia bagaikan bola yang menggelinding terus berputar kadang berlari kekiri kadang juga berlari kekanan, suatu ketika berada di atas, seketika juga berada dibawah, terkadang mudah ditebak larinya, terkadang juga sulit ditebak. Dan kehidupan itu terus berlari tanpa berhenti, hanya kematianlah yang bisa menghentikan kehidupan manusia.
Begitu banyak orang menginginkan kehidupannya itu bisa sukses. Berbagai macam usaha pengembangan diri dilakukan supaya kehidupan manusia itu mengalami perubahan yang berarti untuk menjemput kesuksesan dalam hidup. Dan di dalam kekristenan ada beberapa cara yang harus dilakukan supaya kehidupan manusia itu mengalami perubahan yang berarti:

Pertama, memutuskan cara-cara yang lama.
Ayat 22… mengatakan: “bahwa kamu berhubung dengan kehidupan kamu yang dahulu harus menanggalkan manusia lama.” Rasul Paulus menulis ayat ini ditujukan kepada kehidupan jemaat yang ada di Efesus yang berasal dari penyembah-penyembah berhala untuk dalam totalitas kehidupannya harus menanggalkan manusia lama yaitu cara hidup yang salah dimana mereka masih menduakan Tuhan dengan penyembahan kepada berhala-berhala di kuil Artemis.

Artemis adalah seorang Dewi Yunani kuno, dan penyembahan yang dilakukan terhadapnya sangat histeris, mereka memiliki imam yang mengeluarkan suara yang gemuruh dan berpakaian seperti wanita dan mereka memiliki ribuan imam wanita yang menjadi pelacur-pelacur bakti, mereka menyembahnya dengan musik dengan tarian dan teriakan dan meraung hingga orang-orang melakukan pesta seks yang sukar untuk dilukiskan serta memotong-motong tubuh mereka sendiri dan menyembah dewa mereka di dalam kuil pelacuran mereka.

Kehidupan manusia sekarang tidak sama dengan kehidupan Yunani Kuno tapi materialisme (keinginan untuk harta kekayaan dan barang-barang dengan sedikit minat dalam hal etika maupun spiritual) dan konsumerisme (paham atau gaya hidup yg menganggap barang-barang mewah sbg ukuran kebahagiaan, kesenangan) juga mammonism (cinta uang, mengejar kekayaan keduniawian) telah menjadi berhala-berhala dalam kehidupan manusia modern.
Karena itu, cara yang lama atau keinginan-keinginan untuk sukses yang ditunggangi oleh nafsu yang menyesatkan yang akan mengarahkan kita pada keserakahan yang membinasakan harus kita tinggalkan.

Kedua, mengubah pola pikir kita.
Ayat 23… mengatakan: “supaya kamu dibaharui di dalam roh dan pikiranmu”.
Roh atau roh ( Ibrani רוח baca: ru-ach ) adalah unsur ketiga yang membentuk kehidupan manusia. Paulus menyebutkan bahwa manusia terdiri dari tiga unsur: tubuh, jiwa dan roh (1 Tes 5:23). Unsur tubuh jasmani adalah wadag yang dapat kita raba, jiwa disebut juga nyawa ada di dalam darah, sedangkan unsur ketiga yaitu roh adalah yang memberi manusia kesadaran. Tubuh jasmani dapat binasa, tetapi roh manusia bersifat kekal.
Pembaharuan dalam roh meliputi keadaan dimana roh kita berada dalam proses persekutuan dengan Tuhan yang tidak putus-putus dan berkelanjutan dalam doa, pujian dan penyembahan yang dilakukan setiap saat ataupun waktu-waktu tertentu dalam suatu ibadah kepada Tuhan.
Dalam berbagai agama dan filsafat, jiwa adalah bagian yang bukan jasmaniah (immaterial) dari seseorang.
Biasanya jiwa dipercaya mencakup pikiran dan kepribadian, Iblis sangat senang memakai tubuh kita seperti: mata dalam segala keinginannya, pendengaran kita dengan hal-hal yang tidak baik, mulut dengan perkataan-perkataan kotor dan fitnah untuk merampas jiwa, pikiran, kepribadian kita supaya diseret kepada kebinasaan, tapi Allah begitu mengasihi kita dan Dia sering memakai roh manusia untuk menegur lewat hati nurani yang membawa jiwa, pikiran dan kepribadian dalam keselamatan.

Sesudah kematian manusia, maka yang akan masuk dalam penghakiman Allah adalah jiwa manusia, bukan roh atau tubuh, karena roh adalah nafas manusia akan kembali kepada yang memberikan nafas kehidupan dan tubuh manusia akan kembali kepada debu, yang tinggal adalah jiwa yang akan menghadap penciptanya. Oleh karena itu Rasul Paulus mengingatkan pada kita bahwa kita harus mengubah pola pikir kita, tindakan yang kita harus ambil adalah melangkah dalam persekutuan dengan Tuhan, memperbaharui pikiran-pikiran kita dengan pikiran yang positif yang berkenan di hadapan Tuhan.

Ketiga, mengenakan karakter Kristus.
Ayat 24… mengatakan: “dan mengenakan manusia baru, yang telah diciptakan menurut kehendak Allah di dalam kebenaran dan kekudusan yang sesungguhnya.” Berbicara manusia baru berarti kita akan menanggalkan manusia yang lama, manusia lama berarti manusia yang tidak layak lagi untuk di pakai karena tidak berkenan dihadapan Tuhan, dimana manusia lama itu penuh dengan nafsu yang menyesatkan yaitu keinginan-keinginan daging.
Dalam Kitab Galatia 5:19-21 mengatakan: Perbuatan daging telah nyata, yaitu: percabulan, kecemaran, hawa nafsu, penyembahan berhala, sihir, perseteruan, perselisihan, iri hati, amarah, kepentingan diri sendiri, percideraan, roh pemecah, kedengkian, kemabukan, pesta pora dan sebagainya. Terhadap semuanya itu kuperingatkan kamu — seperti yang telah kubuat dahulu — bahwa barangsiapa melakukan hal-hal yang demikian, ia tidak akan mendapat bagian dalam Kerajaan Allah.”

Allah adalah Yang Kudus, dan sebagai manusia yang baru yang telah diciptakan menurut kehendak Allah di dalam kebenaran dan kekudusan selayaknya kita mengejar buah-buah roh yaitu: kasih, sukacita, damai sejahtera, kesabaran, kemurahan, kebaikan, kesetiaan, kelemahlembutan, dan penguasaan diri, karena tidak ada hukum yang menentang hal-hal itu (Galatia 5:22). Inilah gambaran dari karakter Kristus yang harus kita kenakan menggantikan karakter manusia lama kita. Allah lebih tertarik pada diri kita daripada apa yang kita lakukan dan Allah lebih peduli pada karakter kita dari pada perbuatan kita.

Secularism in the Church

Secularism is the ideology or the belief that separate between the religious affairs of life the world of politics, technology, science, art, etc.. In religious studies, community at large in the western world consider to be secular. This is because religious freedom is nearly full with no legal or social sanctions, and also because the general belief that religion does not determine political decisions.

secularization is a change in society from close identification with the values and institutions of religion into the values and institutions of non-religious and secular. Secularization thesis leads to the belief that when people “developed”, especially through the modernization and rationalization, religion will lose its power in all aspects of social life and government.
Marxism, generally supports that the influence of religion in state and society is a negative thing. In the countries that have a confidence like that (like the Communist Bloc countries), religious institutions become subject under the secular state. Freedom to worship hindered and restricted, and the teachings of the church are also monitored to keep it in line with secular law, or even an official public philosophy. In western democracies, it is recognized that this policy violates freedom of religion.

There are three types of secularization facing the church:

First, there is a campaign against religion openly or concealed who deny the existence of the church. And pressure on the church came a barrage by certain groups, other than that there is regulation and legislation that created the central or local governments or inhibit the growth of incriminating church.
But the important lesson of the growth of the church since apostolic times is when the church was under pressure, persecution, and inhibited the fact that the church will travel, even rooted up so strong.

Second, the blurring of religious moral values
Blurring of religious moral values slowly went into the church. Some examples are: the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ in the celebration of Christmas, slowly but surely getting shifted to the appearance of the figure of Santa Claus and Christmas trees that eventually every celebration of Christmas without Santa Claus handing out gifts or Christmas tree then it will feel very awkward, though it describes a virtue but it began to shift the meaning of Christmas. The presence of Jesus as Savior as though it was never meant anything.

Blurring of the meaning of the word ̈’Christmas’ which was replaced with the word X’mas we unconsciously begin to accept the presence of X’mas said that we know the letter X implies vagueness or something is wrong or hidden in the letter by adding the word mas began to replace Merry Christmas word which means “In memory of the birth of Christ with good spirits” .
Also dress code for members of the church congregation experienced tremendous change where morale was declining religious, pieces of clothing that does not meet the standards of decency to appear before the Lord increasingly being ignored again this reflects the secularism has entered so deeply, so that the liturgy in the church is not sacred impress more.

Third, a form of lifestyle without God and it is considered normal.
The Church must face the reality of Christian community where life tends to start leading to modernization that negatively impact the Christian community lifestyle became consumptive, individualistic and Crime.

In addition to modernization, rationalism is also the largest contributor to a form of lifestyle without God, where the philosophical doctrine that states that the truth should be determined by evidence, logic, and fact-based analysis, rather than through faith, dogma, or religious teachings. So the verses Word of God which does not correspond to evidence, logic and facts will be removed by this group. There will be a heavy burden on the shoulders of every servant of God, the son of God and the believer to struggle to maintain faith and trust God’s truth.

Word of God in Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”.