On B H
New Softw By Rev. William M. Cwirla
ave you ever tried running new software on an old computer? I have. My old laptop comes to mind—my trusty old road warrior. I’ve replaced the keyboard, the hard disk, and the logic board, three batteries and a few other spare parts from eBay. It’s not my primary computer, which is a desktop, but I try to make the old laptop as compatible as possible. However, I find that the new versions of software just don’t run well on old hardware.
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H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 10
That’s a picture of the Christian life. Luther called it being “simul justus et peccator,” which is Latin for simultaneously a righteous saint and a damned sinner. We sometimes speak of our “Old Adam” or “sinful nature” and our “new man” in Christ. Old You and New You. Old You is the sinner born of Adam, hopelessly infected with the virus called sin. New You is the saint born of God, pure and holy. The Scriptures call Old You the “outer man” or the “flesh” and New You the “inner man” or the “spirit.” The key to understanding the Christian life as it is lived by faith is that New You is hidden “in, with and under” Old You—a Christ-mind operating an Adam-body. In Baptism, the Spirit has given you a new operating system, new software, New You. You have the mind and the will of Christ. You delight in the Law
