Just Be Yourself?

But that is not the way you learned Christ--assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:20-24


We hear it said often, "Just be yourself! Be true to self!" We never learned this from Christ or His Word. We hear it from our sinful flesh and the devil and the world. This old self was a slave to sin and could never nor would it ever listen to the truth. It had no choice before conversion to do anything but be true to its sinful self. (see Romans 3:9-18) However, not so we who have been "renewed in the spirit ... created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Our God given faith by grace has given us now a new self, who can and should compete with the old self still lingering around and be renewed each and every day in Christ Jesus. This new self wars against the old self (see Romans 7) and must be defeated and corralled each and every day. (see 2 Cor. 4:16)

Daily in our confession of sin and turning to Christ for forgiveness, our lives are Gospel led to live now for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us on the cross that we might continue in His righteousness and holiness purchased and won for us and given to us continually in the means of grace. By this and this only do we live "The New Life" in Christ, by Christ and for Christ!

So we are not about being Ourselves, letting the old self rule. We are about the New Self, created and led by the Gospel of Jesus Christ in righteousness and holiness.