Woe is me

Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." -Isaiah 6:5

Isaiah responded in this way after seeing a vision of a thrice holy God, he starts by crying out a 'woe'. This is an expression of a cry of grief or despair, this was not a cry of excitement and joy. Albert Barnes describes Isaiah's woe in this manner, " Wo is me! - That is, I am filled with overwhelming convictions of my own unworthiness, with alarm that I have seen Yahweh."
A true understanding of the holiness of the Almighty One will cause the sinner to proclaim 'woe is me'. To see how holy God is causes one to see how sinful we truly are.


Matthew Henry goes into more detail in his commentary, 'In this figurative vision, the temple is thrown open to view, even to the most holy place. The prophet, standing outside the temple, sees the Divine Presence seated on the mercy-seat, raised over the ark of the covenant, between the cherubim and seraphim, and the Divine glory filled the whole temple. See God upon his throne. This vision is explained, Joh_12:41, that Isaiah now saw Christ's glory, and spake of Him, which is a full proof that our Saviour is God. In Christ Jesus, God is seated on a throne of grace; and through him the way into the holiest is laid open. See God's temple, his church on earth, filled with his glory. His train, the skirts of his robes, filled the temple, the whole world, for it is all God's temple. And yet he dwells in every contrite heart. See the blessed attendants by whom his government is served. Above the throne stood the holy angels, called seraphim, which means “burners;” they burn in love to God, and zeal for his glory against sin. The seraphim showing their faces veiled, declares that they are ready to yield obedience to all God's commands, though they do not understand the secret reasons of his counsels, government, or promises. All vain-glory, ambition, ignorance, and pride, would be done away by one view of Christ in his glory. This awful vision of the Divine Majesty overwhelmed the prophet with a sense of his own vileness. We are undone if there is not a Mediator between us and this holy God. A glimpse of heavenly glory is enough to convince us that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Nor is there a man that would dare to speak to the Lord, if he saw the justice, holiness, and majesty of God, without discerning his glorious mercy and grace in Jesus Christ.'
If meditating on the holiness of God does not cause you to cry out 'woe is me', you do not understand or know the God of the Bible.

How did Isaiah see God? Matthew Henry tells us, 'See God upon his throne, and that throne high and lifted up, not only above other thrones, as it transcends them, but over other thrones, as it rules and commands them. Isaiah saw not Jehovah - the essence of God (no man has seen that, or can see it), but Adonai - his dominion.'

It is interesting to note the Seraphim and the placement of their wings; two covering their faces, two covering their feet, and two being of use for flying purposes. Again, Matthew Henry elaborates, 'Special notice is taken of their wings (and of no other part of their appearance), because of the use they made of them, which is designed for instruction to us. They had each of them six wings, not stretched upwards (as those whom Ezekiel saw, Eze_1:11), but, 1. Four were made use of for a covering, as the wings of a fowl, sitting, are; with the two upper wings, next to the head, they covered their faces, and with the two lowest wings they covered their feet, or lower parts. This bespeaks their great humility and reverence in their attendance upon God, for he is greatly feared in the assembly of those saints, Psa_89:7. They not only cover their feet, those members of the body which are less honourable (1Co_12:23), but even their faces. Though angel's faces, doubtless, are much fairer than those of the children of men (Act_6:15), yet in the presence of God, they cover them, because they cannot bear the dazzling lustre of the divine glory, and because, being conscious of an infinite distance from the divine perfection, they are ashamed to show their faces before the holy God, who charges even his angels with folly if they should offer to vie with him, Job_4:18. If angels be thus reverent in their attendance on God, with what godly fear should we approach his throne! Else we do not the will of God as the angels do it. Yet Moses, when he went into the mount with God, took the veil from off his face. See 2Co_3:18. 2. Two were made use of for flight; when they are sent on God's errands they fly swiftly (Dan_9:21), more swiftly with their own wings than if they flew on the wings of the wind. This teaches us to do the work of God with cheerfulness and expedition. Do angels come upon the wing from heaven to earth, to minister for our good, and shall not we soar upon the wing from earth to heaven, to share with them in their glory? '
'And one called out to another and said, Holy Holy Holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory' - 'How this song was sung. With zeal and fervency - they cried aloud; and with unanimity - they cried to another, or one with another; they sang alternately, but in concert, and without the least jarring voice to interrupt the harmony.
2. What the song was; it is the same with that which is sung by the four living creatures, Rev_4:8. Note, Praising God always was, and will be to eternity, the work of heaven, and the constant employment of blessed spirits above, Psa_84:4. Note further, The church above is the same in its praises; there is no change of times or notes there. Two things the seraphim here give God the praise of: -
(1.) His infinite perfections in himself. Here is one of his most glorious titles praised: he is the Lord of hosts, of their hosts, of all hosts; and one of his most glorious attributes, his holiness, without which his being the Lord of hosts (or, as it is in the parallel place, Rev_4:8, the Lord God Almighty) could not be so much as it is the matter of our joy and praise; for power, without purity to guide it, would be a terror to mankind. None of all the divine attributes is so celebrated in scripture as this is. God's power was spoken twice (Psa_62:11), but his holiness thrice, Holy, holy, holy. This bespeaks, [1.] The zeal and fervency of the angels in praising God; they even want words to express themselves, and therefore repeat the same again. [2.] The particular pleasure they take in contemplating the holiness of God; this is a subject they love to dwell upon, to harp upon, and are loth to leave. [3.] The superlative excellency of God's holiness, above that of the purest creatures. He is holy, thrice holy, infinitely holy, originally, perfectly, and eternally so. [4.] It may refer to the three person in the Godhead, Holy Father, Holy Son, and Holy Spirit (for it follows, Isa_6:8, Who will go for us?) or perhaps to that which was, and is, and is to come; for that title of God's honour is added to this song, Rev_4:8. Some make the angels here to applaud the equity of that sentence which God was now about to pronounce upon the Jewish nation. Herein he was, and is, and will be, holy; his ways are equal.
(2.) The manifestation of these to the children of men: The earth is full of his glory, the glory of his power and purity; for he is holy in all his works, Psa_145:17. The Jews thought the glory of God should be confined to their land; but it is here intimated that in the gospel times (which are pointed to in this chapter) the glory of God should fill all the earth, the glory of his holiness, which is indeed the glory of all his other attributes; this then filled the temple (Isa_6:1), but, in the latter days, the earth shall be full of it.' - Matthew Henry

Isaiah sees the glorified Christ in His glory, exalted on His throne, filling the temple, and cries 'Woe is me', he follows that up with 'for I am ruined'.  This response is defined as 'to be dumb or silent, to be brought to silence'.
John Gill says "for I am reduced to silence", I am forced to be silent; he could not join with the "seraphim", being conscious to himself of his vileness, and of his unworthiness to take the holy name of God into his polluted lips, as follows: 'because I am a man of unlcean lips'.
How many of us can say, 'I do not have unclean lips'? Gossiping, slander, hateful speech, fits of anger, backbiting...these all proceed from 'unclean lips'.  Once more, we turn to commentary from Matthew Henry, 'I am a sinner; particularly, I have offended in word; and who is there that hath not? Jam_3:2. We all have reason to bewail it before the Lord, (1.) That we are of unclean lips ourselves; our lips are not consecrated to God; he had not had the first-fruits of our lips (Heb_13:15), and therefore they are counted common and unclean, uncircumcised lips, Exo_6:30. Nay, they have been polluted with sin. We have spoken the language of an unclean heart, that evil communication which corrupts good manners, and whereby many have been defiled. We are unworthy and unmeet to take God's name into our lips. With what a pure lip did the angels praise God! “But,” says the prophet, “I cannot praise him so, for I am a man of unclean lips.” The best men in the world have reason to be ashamed of themselves, and the best of their services, when they come into comparison with the holy angels. The angels had celebrated the purity and holiness of God; and therefore the prophet, when he reflects upon sin, calls it uncleanness; for the sinfulness of sin is its contrariety to the holy nature of God, and upon that account especially it should appear both hateful and frightful to us. The impurity of our lips ought to be the grief of our souls, for by our words we shall be justified or condemned.'

We should all be as Isaiah was, crying out in woe, being struck silent before a thrice holy God when we come before His throne, acknowledging our sins then sitting in utter silence of our shame. The beauty of this vision ends so gloriously and magnificently - 'Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven."  Is. 6:7-8
No sooner had Isaiah, in his brokenness, confessed his unclean lips and his sins were atoned for; the words of confession had barely left his mouth and were immediately followed by the burning coal touching his lips; this is a picture of grace. This signifies the tender mercies of God; He reveals His holiness to those who belong to Him by taking them deeper into who He is, this in turn causes us to see our deepest sins as the holiness of God brings the vileness of man to the surface. We cry out just as Isaiah did, 'I am ruined, I am undone, I am loathsome, vile, broken over my horrific sins against this God who is grandeur, majestic, exalted high above the heavens and the earth; and God responds with such grace, love, mercy and kindness..why? Because He gets glory!! We praise Him when He lifts the weight of sin from us and causes our heavy hearts to once again be lifted up with the pulley of His amazing grace. The blessedness of forgiveness is worthy of praise and adoration of the God who forgives sin and restores His people....

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light!
Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.
 He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away
Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; Mountains and all hills; Fruit trees and all cedars; Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and winged fowl;  Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; Both young men and virgins; Old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.
And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones; Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the LORD!
-Psalm 148

Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty

This message is from Pastor Gary Gilley of Southern View Chapel.

God is our strength

Living for Christ

'Dear brothers and sisters, we must always remember that the time is short and nothing should be put off for tomorrow. We must live each day as though it were our last. We must work the works of Him who has called us as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work (John 9:4). Let us put our hand to the plow and not look back. For the joy set before Christ, He endured the cross, despising its shame. For the joy set before us, let us also endure the suffering and weariness that often accompany true discipleship and run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1-2). 
If we are to die in Christ without regrets, we must live for Christ without reservation!'

Paul David Washer, from the 70th edition of Heartcry Magazine

Owning Up

"It is time for us Christians to face up to our responsibility for holiness. Too often we say we are 'defeated' by this or that sin. No, we are not defeated, we are simply disobedient. It might be good if we stopped using the terms 'victory' and 'defeat' to describe our progress in holiness. Rather we should use the terms 'obedience' and 'disobedience'. When I say I am defeated by some sin, I am unconsciously slipping out from under my responsibility. I am saying something outside of me has defeated me. But when I say I am disobedient, that places the responsibility for my sin squarely on me. We may, in fact, be defeated, but the reason we are defeated is because we have chosen to disobey. We have chosen to entertain lustful thoughts, or to harbor resentment, or to shade the truth a little.
We need to brace ourselves up and realize that we are responsible for our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. We need to reckon on the fact that we died to sin's reign, that it no longer has any dominion over us, that God has united us with the risen Christ in all His power, and has given us the Holy Spirit to work in us. Only as we accept our responsibility and appropriate God's provisions will we make any progress in our pursuit of holiness."

Jerry Bridges, from his book "The Pursuit of Holiness" published by Navpress

What does arsenokoites really mean?

There is a debate between true believers and deceivers that this word does not refer to homosexuals, that Paul was not referencing to homosexual activity when he spoke this word in 1 Corinthians 6:9 . Another claim made for denying that Paul was speaking out against homosexuality is in stating that men were having sex  with temple prostitutes who were both male and female, and that this was limited to shrine temple prostitution based on Jewish philosopher Philo's writings, so it does not apply to homosexuals who are in a loving relationship.  This is a horrific twisting of the original meaning of arsenokoites and complete twisting of the context of the verse. There is no doubt that arsenokoites does indeed refer to men lying with men, regardless of the situation.  Are we to listen to a philosopher or are we to listen to God? Homosexuality was indeed rampant in Paul's day and at the time of Paul writing this epistle, so to assume Paul was clueless to this sin is erroneous.  We will see this in a bit in commentary from Guzik.

First, from Strong's concordance -  'arsenokoites': a male engaging in same-gender sexual activity
Definition: a male engaging in same-gender sexual activity; a sodomite, pederast.
From Strong's exhaustive concordance, 'homosexual'- From arrhen and koite; a sodomite -- abuser of (that defile) self with mankind.

We move on to Thayer's Greek lexicon for 'arsenokoites' -STRONGS NT 733: ἀρσενοκοίτης ἀρσενοκοίτης, ἀρσενοκοιτου, ὁ (ἄρσην a male; κοίτη a bed), one who lies with a male as with a female, a sodomite: 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:10. (Anthol. 9, 686, 5; ecclesiastical writings.)
Thayer's Greek definitions defines 'arsenokoites' as 'one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual'. Even if you drop the 'modern' terminology - homosexual - you still get the same meaning.

Let's look at commentary concerning this verse, starting with John Calvin, who wouldn't even put a label on this except to call it what God calls it, abominable, "The fourth description of crime is the most abominable of all -- that monstrous pollution which was but too prevalent in Greece." Same sex activity was so very prevalent among the Greeks and so widely accepted, just like we see today.

Albert Barnes commentary states "Abusers of themselves with mankind - ἀρσενοκοῖτοι arsenokoitoi. Paederastae or Sodomites. Those who indulged in a vice that was common among all the pagan; see the notes at Romans 1:27. " Albert did not have a clue as to the word homosexual, but he defined it perfectly.

Clarke's commentary states "The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom - The unrighteous, αδικοι, those who act contrary to right, cannot inherit, for the inheritance is by right. He who is not a child of God has no right to the family inheritance, for that inheritance is for the children. If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, Romans 8:17. There are here ten classes of transgressors which the apostle excludes from the kingdom of God; and any man who is guilty of any one of the evils mentioned above is thereby excluded from this kingdom, whether it imply the Church of Christ here below, or the state of glory hereafter. Several of the evils here enumerated will not bear to be particularly explained; they are, however, sufficiently plain of themselves, and show us what abominations were commonly practised among the Corinthians. " He, like Calvin, could not even speak of the evils of men with men, that's how degrading and defiling this perversion is. True believers can hardly stand to utter the word 'homosexual'.

Theologian John Gill cuts right to the chase in his commentary on 'arsenokoites' by bluntly stating "Nor abusers of themselves with mankind; sodomites." That's pretty cut and dry and black and white, but isn't that how it should be concerning this abomination?

Guzik's commentary states "Since this is such a clear condemnation of homosexuality, those who would like to justify the practice say Paul is speaking of homosexual prostitution, not a “loving, caring homosexual relationship.” But taken in context, there is no doubt God is speaking of homosexual acts of all kinds with the words malakoi (homosexuals, which literally refers to male prostitutes) and arsenokoitai (sodomites, a generic term for all homosexual practice).
i. Paul was not writing in or of a “homophobic” culture. Homosexuality was rampant in Paul’s culture; fourteen out of the first fifteen Roman emperors were bisexual or homosexual. At the very time Paul was writing, Nero was emperor. He had taken a boy named Sporus and had him castrated. He then married him (with a full ceremony), brought him to the palace with a great procession, and made the boy his “wife.” Later, Nero lived with another man, and Nero was declared to be the other man’s “wife.”
ii. In this list of sins, homosexuality (not some “special” version of homosexuality) is described. But it is described right along with other sins, many of which those who so strongly denounce homosexuals are themselves guilty of. Can fornicators or adulterers or the covetous or drunkards rightly condemn homosexuals? Of course not.
iii. Christians err when they excuse homosexuality, and deny that it is sin. But they also err just as badly when they single it out as a sin God is uniquely angry with." Paul probably had more understanding of the deterioration of a culture spiraling out of control as made evident by rampant sexual immorality than any of us do.

The People's New Testament commentary on 'effeminate' says "This and the next phrase refer to a shameful crime quite prevalent among the heathen, the first submitting themselves to the foul sensuality, and the second actively abusing themselves with men, contrary to nature. Both are Sodomites. None guilty of any one of the list of vices given can be an heir of heaven." Again, we see an outright denial of entering God's kingdom by those who practice abominable things.


Albert Barnes lived from 1798 - 1870, John Gill 1697-1771, John Calvin 1509-1564, David Guzik is among the living, he is the director of Calvary Chapel Bible College, Germany, and the People's New Testament Bible Commentary was written in 1891. My point for bringing this up is this, most of these commentators never heard of the term 'homosexual' and yet, they had an understanding of what it meant, men with men. Where did they attain this knowledge? By going into the Greek and defining arsenokoites,  and by studying other verses throughout the Bible that speak out and/or condemn this sexual sin, verses like Leviticus 18:22, Genesis 19, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10, Genesis 18:20, 2 Peter 2:6, Jude 1:7.
We also cannot take Paul's words out of context, he was giving a list of sins that prohibit entrance into God's kingdom if continued on in stating "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. " Nowhere does Paul limit any of these sinful acts to a certain time period or to a specific event.
No matter how you label it, the Bible makes it clear, men with men is an abomination. This isn't to say all sexual sin is not just as grievous, however, the increase in sexual perversion is a sign of the rotting culture, it is also a sign of forthcoming judgment.
There is a wonderful study done by James B. DeYoung that points to the erroneous writings of Boswell and others who have severely twisted the Apostle Paul's meaning  and his writings, I highly recommend this read for all who either believe the lie or need to know the truth so they can rightly debate this. You can read a very detailed study on this subject byJames B. De Young Professor of New Testament Western Conservative Baptist Seminary here.

"Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. " Jude 1:7

" Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground." Genesis 19:24-25


God condemns ALL sex outside the covenant of marriage He ordained between a man and a woman, which definitely would include men with men and women with women. No matter how one may try and justify homosexuality by taking verses out of context or twisting their original meaning, in the end, the fact remains...sex is to be between a man and a woman within the covenant of marriage...there are NO exceptions.




There is hope for sinners through the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, He made atonement for sin and saves to the uttermost all who believe in Him. To believe in Christ is not a mere verbal profession, it is a forsaking of sin and a submitting to Christ as Lord and Savior. None of this is possible if you are not born again, and being born again is not humanly possible.  That is why 'free will' is an accursed gospel, we cannot regenerate ourselves, nor can we choose to believe because we are dead in sin {Eph. 2:1, 5}. Dead people choose nothing.
Cry out to God for His mercy. Most of us fear God because of wrath which is the consequence of sin, but few understand they have committed horrendous acts  against God by sinning willfully and repeatedly against His word.  May God be merciful and break sinners over their sins, drawing them to Christ and saving them from wrath, freeing them from sin's bondage.


See also my recent post entitled 'men with men' which is related to this post







My source for this study was http:// E-Sword.net and http://biblelexicon.org

Dealing Radically with Sin

This comes from John MacArthur...

If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. - Matthew 5:29–30
We must be willing, as Jesus teaches here, to relinquish whatever is necessary to protect us from evil and preserve righteousness. Mutilation will not cleanse our hearts, but Jesus’ figurative words call for dramatic severing of any impulse that could lead to sin (cf. Matt. 18:8–9).
In other words, we must deal radically with sin, as Paul says, “I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27). If we don’t purpose to carefully control the worldly influences around us, they will control us. Those we can’t control we should not hesitate to discard.
Cutting off harmful influences will not necessarily and automatically turn a corrupt heart into a pure one. But just as external acts of murder or adultery reflect internal hearts of sin, the outward act of fleeing sinful effects reflects the inward attitude that seeks holiness and God’s will rather than human pleasure.
Jesus reminds us again that His standards of righteousness are humanly impossible to attain. We have all been murderers and adulterers in our hearts, and often we don’t realize this because of sin’s subtlety and blinding effect. But the impossibility of measuring up to divine standards points to our need to receive a new heart and turn over our helplessness to His sufficiency.
Ask Yourself
How have you practiced this kind of severing in your Christian life? What familiar sins and seductions have proven so injurious in your past, it’s best if they’re just never in the same room with you?


From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

Are you 'in Christ'?

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  - 2 Corinthians 5:17

There is much talk this day of being a Christian, and yet, continuing on in sin.  To tell such a person that it is not possible to be a Christian and continue on in sin is to force 'rules' and 'laws' on them, after all, we are under grace right? Indeed,  salvation is by God's grace, but living the Christian life does not give one a license to sin; the Apostle Paul speaks out against such a heresy in Romans 6:15, ' What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. ' There is widespread misconception that surrendering to the authority and lordship of Christ is not necessary, you can live any way you desire and still go to heaven. Such a view should cause one to question and examine themselves to see if, in fact, they are in the faith.  Obviously, such a person has no understanding of denying self, nor do they understand the power of God when He regenerates dead sinners.

The first thing I noticed from 2nd Corinthians 5:17 is that the new creation is based on a condition, one must be 'in Christ'.  Is this a mere profession, a claim made by those who say they are Christian? Here is what theologian and Presbyterian minister Albert Barnes says concerning this phrase-
 "The phrase to “be in Christ,” evidently means to be united to Christ by faith; or to be in him as the branch is in the vine - that is, so united to the vine, or so in it, as to derive all its nourishment and support from it, and to be sustained entirely by it. Joh_15:2, “every branch in me.” Joh_15:4, “abide in me, and I in you.” “The branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine; no more can ye except ye abide in me.” See also Joh_15:5-7, see the note on Joh_15:2. To be “in Christ” denotes a more tender and close union; and implies that all our support is from him. All our strength is derived from him; and denotes further that we shall partake of his fullness, and share in his felicity and glory, as the branch partakes of the strength and vigor of the parent vine."

The preposition 'in' means 'a fixed position, a relation of rest'. There is an intimacy with Christ, it's not just a relationship, it is a union and communion with Him; a reconciliation that bonds.  Resting in Christ means trusting in Him, relying on Him, living for Him. It is a total dependency on Him for every breath we take,  every circumstance, everything that takes place, whether good or bad, trusting in Him to see us through. It is a life totally surrendered to Him...His will, His way. There is no room for 'self' here, it's all Christ or nothing. There is no room for the love of the world, material possessions, personal goals and agenda, pet sins; all must be forsaken if one is to truly be 'in Christ'. There is no way anyone is in Christ if they have not been born from above by God. This is not a mere verbal profession spoken by someone with good intentions, the evidence that you are a new creation is proof you are in Christ. You cannot have one without the other, you cannot be in Christ and not be changed by that. There is a widespread false teaching that insists you can be Christian and not be changed, that repentance means only a change of mind. Yes, repentance does mean a change of mind, but what does a change of mind lead to? A change in behavior, a changed life. This is the new creation, the rebirth of the dead sinner by God will lead to a different way of thinking, speaking, and living.
'The old has passed away' - this is a reference to the old way of life, the bondage to sin. Again, we turn to Albert Barnes for commentary -
"In regard to all, it is also true that old things pass away. Their former prejudices, opinions, habits, attachments pass away. Their supreme love of self passes away. Their love of sins passes away. Their love of the world passes away. Their supreme attachment to their earthly friends rather than God passes away. Their love of sin, their sensuality, pride, vanity, levity, ambition, passes away. There is a deep and radical change on all these subjects - a change which commences at the new birth; which is carried on by progressive sanctification; and which is consummated at death and in heaven."
Is this not speaking of dying to self, to what we once loved and lived for? Sin's grip is gone, it no longer rules the life of the born again believer. We die to sin and our old way of living, and 'behold, the new has come'.   I feel it worthwhile to add Barne's commentary for this as well, it is worth reading -
"  That is, all things in view of the mind. The purposes of life, the feelings of the heart, the principles of action, all become new. The understanding is consecrated to new objects, the body is employed in new service, the heart forms new attachments. Nothing can be more strikingly. descriptive of the facts in conversion than this; nothing more entirely accords with the feelings of the newborn soul. All is new. There are new views of God, and of Jesus Christ; new views of this world and of the world to come; new views of truth and of duty; and everything is seen in a new aspect and with new feelings. Nothing is more common in young converts than such feelings, and nothing is more common than for them to say that all things are new. The Bible seems to be a new book, and though they may have often read it before, yet there is a beauty about it which they never saw before, and which they wonder they have not before perceived. The whole face of nature seems to them to be changed, and they seem to be in a new world. The hills, and vales, and streams; the sun, the stars, the groves, the forests, seem to be new. A new beauty is spread over them all; and they now see them to be the work of God, and his glory is spread over them all, and they can now say:
“My Father made them all.”
The heavens and the earth are filled with new wonders, and all things seem now to speak forth the praise of God. Even the very countenances of friends seem to be new; and there are new feelings toward all people; a new kind of love to kindred and friends; and a love before unfelt for enemies; and a new love for all mankind."

The way we think, what we love, live for, and desire centers solely on Christ as He becomes the center of our being, our reason for living and dying; He is our life. This world and the things we once loved are now repulsive whereas Christ and His gospel used to be repulsive to us; we now are consumed by the One who loves us and gave Himself for us. There is indeed evidence that this transformation has taken place, the old you is gone and the new you strives to please, honor and obey Him. This is so much more than a mere verbal profession, it is a way of life!

No Holiness...NO salvation

Here is a message that should be proclaimed throughout the land, this is  PastorJohn Innabnit who trembles at God's word and rightly divides truth. He proclaims truth and does NOT tickle the ear.

Give this a listen

God's judgment

When you look around, you see escalating wickedness; increased sexual immorality, sexual perversion, greed, murder, selfishness, etc. Where is all this headed? We are currently experiencing God's wrath of abandonment, but what lies ahead makes this type of wrath seem like a slap on the wrist.  This is a re-post of a message by John MacArthur that should be played from every pulpit in every church throughout the world.

You're Judgmental!!

This is the common accusation made by those who hate truth. I have been labeled as being judgmental, as I'm sure you have, when I presented God's truth that points to some besetting sin. However, that is not the kind of judging the Lord speaks of in Matthew 7:1-4. That's not to say I haven't been judgmental and critical of others in a wrong way, because I have. This is something the Lord has shown me as of late, I have neighbors that are unemployed and abuse drugs on a consistent basis. To my shame, I looked at them as a 'menace' more than as sinners who desperately need to hear the Gospel. God, in His mercy, is so good. He has convicted me of my sin, then opens a door for me to speak the Gospel to several of these neighbors. Isn't that truly amazing?  As I spoke to these neighbors, I learned much. There was pain, there were stories of growing up being physically abused, of seeing drugs abused by a parent. There was verbal abuse, being told they'd never amount to anything. As one neighbor told me her horror stories, tears streamed down her face.  How could I have been such an arrogant, uncaring, self righteous fool?  Here I have HUGE redwood trees in my own eyes and I'm trying to remove a spec from theirs?!?! This was truly a very deep blessing by God as He allowed me to speak to these hurting people. My advice is be very careful what you think and what you say about others, I have learned a very valuable lesson that I NEEDED to learn, and I praise God for it. There is only one Judge, and He judges justly.

I find this piece from J. R. Miller to be quite insightful on this very subject, it was a great help to me...

"Do not judge—or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?" Matthew 7:1-4.

It is better to have eyes for beauty—than for blemish. It is better to be able to see the roses—than the thorns. It is better to have learned to look for things to commend in others—than for things to condemn. Of course other people have faults—and we are not blind. But then we have faults of our own—and this should make us charitable.

continue on here...