Put Off, Put On: A Simple Technique for Thinking Biblically
This is one of the most personally helpful concepts that I’ve come across as I’ve studied how to provide biblical counsel. It’s the simple concept of ‘putting off’ and ‘putting on.’
The Bible – and particularly the apostle Paul – uses this language often. For example,
“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”
Colossians 3:9-10
Here, the language is very clear: Christians have already ‘put off’ the ‘old self,’ which means that they need to renounce certain practices (in this case, lying). And in place, they need to put on a new set of practices, because they have ‘put on’ the ‘new self.’
Romans 13:13-14 employs the same concept:
“Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
A longer passage, Ephesians 4:17-32, gives a longer explanation of the same idea, with the specific command to “put off your old self” (v. 22) and to “put on the new self” (v. 24). But what exactly does this mean?
Because Christians are new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), we are called to a different set of practices. The Christian life, in part, consists of now aligning our practices to correspond with our new reality. This is not an immediate process; it takes work – hence, the apostolic commands.
‘Putting off’ means divesting ourselves of practices, habits, and even ways of thinking.
But ‘putting off’ is not enough. In fact, without a corresponding ‘putting on,’ it’s almost impossible to ‘put off.’ This is because humans are creatures of habit. We are used to doing certain things and thinking certain thoughts. Without a replacement, we are likely to fall back into the typical routines.
Consider someone whose sport requires complex physical skill. For example, a professional archer needs to use a very precise form to succeed in the sport. We’ve all heard that it’s easier to teach someone who has never done a skill before, than someone who learned it wrong. The problem is that Christians have been ‘learning how to do it wrong’ ever since they were born. We have lots of practice in the ‘practice’ of sin. We have to ‘unlearn’ the practice of sin. But without a corresponding practice to replace it with, we are likely to revert back to the sin that we are used to. In other words, we are like the professional archer who has learned the wrong technique; it’s important to stop doing it the wrong way – but we won’t truly succeed until we replace the ‘wrong way’ with the ‘right way.’
This is where ‘putting on’ comes into play. We need to replace our sinful practices with righteous practices.
This kind of ‘replacement’ approach is very helpful, but it is especially useful in dealing with sinful thinking.
Here is one way that I apply this concept, when dealing with my own sinful thinking.
> Keep a list of sinful thoughts (anxious thoughts; fearful thoughts; faithless thoughts; etc.). When you notice that the same thought keeps coming to mind multiple times, be sure to add it to the list. Many times, these various thoughts can then be summarized into a few different concerns of the same type.
> For each sinful thought on the list, write out the biblical counter-thought. What does the Bible say that you should think about this? What would be a more faith-filled perspective on this? For example, if you keep thinking “This would be terrible if X happens!” then the biblical counter-thought might be, “God’s ways are steadfast love and faithfulness toward me, no matter what happens” (Psalm 25:10). If you think, “I’m worried that Y could happen!” The biblical counter-thought might be, “My future is held in the hands of a loving Father who only brings into my life things that lead to my good and his glory.”
> Now, as you go about your day, watch your thoughts. Any time that you find yourself thinking sinful thoughts, immediately revert to the biblical counter-thought. Don’t allow yourself to dwell on the wrong thoughts; let God’s Word direct how you think.
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