Now, listen, the heart here is not, "Repent before it's too late," But rather, "live this way because of your new identity." This whole image that Paul's painting of, "put on Christ... put on the armor... put off the deeds of darkness..." He's saying this because you are now made new. Because of what Christ has done and the return of Christ, we find ourselves in the middle, with this awesome responsibility to show the world that we've been changed, that the power of God rescues people. When I brought nothing to the table, I had nothing to deserve the grace of God. And yet He has poured it out on us. And that's the motivation for us. We don't have anything to brag about. He has declared us righteous, and because that is our new identity, we live differently. This is not meant to be mere behavior modification... No. Listen, we've been made new in Christ. And that newness comes with responsibility, and it comes with things that we do.
