TAKE OFF THE GRAVE CLOTHES

John 11 shows Lazarus raised from the dead by the power of Jesus, but Lazarus comes out of that tomb still tied up in grave clothes. Jesus says, “Loose him and let him go,” because Lazarus is alive, but he is still bound. The grave clothes did not make him dead anymore, but they sure did hinder his walk. That picture says a lot about born again people who really have passed from death to life, yet still stumble around in old habits, old thoughts, old shame, and old ways of thinking.

Ephesians 4 carries that same truth over into Christian living. Paul tells believers not to walk like the unsaved Gentiles walk, in the futility of their minds, darkened in understanding and alienated from the life of God. Paul does not tell them to put off the old man, because the old man is dead. Paul tells them to put off the former conduct of the old man, be renewed in the spirit of the mind, and put on the new man created in righteousness and true holiness.

The new birth is not a self improvement course. Christ does not call a person to polish up the old life. Christ makes a brand new creature. The struggle comes when believers keep identifying with who they used to be, what they used to feel, or what Satan tries to make them feel again. The truth says the old things are passed away, sin has no dominion, the devil has no more power, and the believer’s real identity is in Christ Jesus.

Wrong associations are grave clothes that stir people up, just like Jezebel stirred up Ahab. First Corinthians 15 says not to be deceived, because evil company corrupts good habits. That law works like gravity. Wrong friends, wrong music, wrong television, wrong education, wrong religion, and wrong pulpits can all sway the heart away from truth and toward confusion, fear, sin, and unbelief.

Solomon shows that even the wisest man can be turned when he thinks he can violate God’s law of association. His wives turned his heart after other gods. Past associations can also leave wrong thinking, guilt, shame, anger, and fleshly desires, but Christ has delivered the believer from the dominion of the past. Forgiveness cuts the cord of bitterness. Faith in God’s Word puts on the new clothes. The believer is not a victim, but a victor in Christ Jesus, free, forgiven, righteous, and new.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Alive, but still bound [37:46] Lazarus came out of the tomb alive, but the grave clothes still restricted every step. That picture makes plain that new life in Christ is real, even when old habits and old thinking still try to trip a believer. Freedom is not pretending the wrappings are not there. Freedom is hearing Jesus say, “Loose him and let him go,” and letting truth remove what death left behind. [37:46]
• 2. Identity beats behavior modification [45:38] Ephesians does not offer a cleaned up version of the old man. The new man is created by God in righteousness and true holiness, and that means the battle is first over identity. Shame tries to make a believer agree with the past, but faith agrees with Christ. Real change comes when the heart says, “I am who God says I am,” even when feelings are loud. [45:38]
• 3. Associations work like gravity [57:05] Wrong associations do not need permission to influence the heart. A person may think he is strong enough to handle them, but Scripture says, “Do not be deceived.” What surrounds the mind will eventually stir up belief, desire, and conduct. Wisdom chooses voices, friendships, and influences with holy seriousness. [57:05]
• 4. Forgiveness unties bitter grave clothes [01:21:17] Bitterness keeps the wound connected to the past and makes old injuries feel present tense. Forgiveness does not call evil good, and it does not deny what happened. Forgiveness releases the claim, breaks the tie, and refuses to let another person’s sin keep ruling the soul. A wounded spirit cannot be carried forever, but it can be surrendered to Christ. [81:17]
• 5. The past has no dominion [01:26:24] The believer’s past may explain certain battles, but it does not own the believer’s future. Christ has delivered from the power of darkness and made a new person in Him. Faith submits memory, shame, and desire to the Word of God. The confession becomes more than words: “My past has no dominion over me.”
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [35:34] - Jesus Stands at Lazarus’ Tomb
• [36:18] - Loose Him and Let Him Go
• [37:46] - Alive but Still Bound
• [42:21] - Ephesians 4 and the New Man
• [44:25] - Put Off, Renew, Put On
• [45:38] - Identity, Not Self Improvement
• [52:30] - Receiving Freedom by Faith
• [54:44] - Grave Clothes of Wrong Associations
• [57:05] - Evil Company Corrupts Good Habits
• [63:29] - Wrong Doctrine Can Corrupt Faith
• [70:37] - Choose Friends Carefully
• [73:14] - Solomon’s Heart Turned Away
• [81:17] - Forgiveness Breaks the Past
• [84:37] - Put On the New Man

Bible Reading

John 11:38-44
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” [37:46]

Ephesians 4:17-24
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 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. [45:38]

1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” [57:05]

1 Kings 11:1-4
Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. [01:13:14]

Observation questions

1. In the story of Lazarus, what details show that he was truly alive and yet still restricted in how he could move? [37:46]
2. In Ephesians 4, what three actions does Paul give believers concerning their former conduct, their minds, and the new man? [44:25]
3. According to 1 Corinthians 15:33 and the examples raised, what kinds of associations can shape a person’s beliefs and behavior?
4. In 1 Kings 11, what exactly turned Solomon’s heart away, and how plainly had God warned about that beforehand? [01:13:14]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go.” What does that picture help show about a believer who has real life in Christ but is still hindered by old thinking, shame, or habits? [39:43]
2. Ephesians 4 does not present the Christian life as fixing up the old man, but as putting off former conduct, renewing the mind, and putting on the new man. How does that change the way a person fights sin and discouragement? [45:38]
3. Paul says, “Do not be deceived,” before warning about bad company. Why is that warning so strong? In what ways can a person sincerely think certain influences are harmless when they are actually shaping the heart? [01:03:29]
4. Solomon was wise, yet his heart was still turned. What does that show about the danger of thinking a person is strong enough to stay close to ungodly influences without being affected by them? [01:15:11]

Application questions

1. What grave clothes seem most familiar right now: old shame, old habits, old thought patterns, fear, bitterness, or something else? How are those things hindering walk, peace, or confidence in Christ? [54:30]
2. The battle is not first about self-improvement, but about identity. Where is there a temptation to still identify with who was once lived, what was once done, or what was once felt instead of agreeing with who God says the believer is now? [47:40]
3. Wrong associations work like gravity. Are there friendships, voices, media habits, teachings, or environments that have been quietly stirring up unbelief, confusion, compromise, or fleshly desires? What would wisdom look like in dealing with those influences? [01:10:06]
4. Some past exposures were chosen, and some were forced unfairly. In either case, where does the past still seem to pull on thoughts, emotions, or reactions in the present? [01:17:54]
5. Bitterness ties the wound to the past. Is there someone who still needs to be forgiven so that the cord can be cut? What makes that hard, and what might it look like to truly release that debt to God? [01:21:17]
6. “I am not a victim. I am a victor in Christ Jesus.” In what area is there a need to stop speaking only from the injury and start speaking from redemption, forgiveness, and new life? [01:23:02]
7. Putting on the new man includes present-tense agreement with God’s Word. What truth needs to be confessed and believed more firmly this week: “I am forgiven,” “I am righteous,” “I am free,” “my past has no dominion,” or another promise from God? [01:26:24]