INTRODUCTION: Don’t Polish a Dead Man
People today are taught that salvation will show itself in a change of lifestyle. That “if you really got saved,” we’ll see it. But that’s not Bible. God didn’t promise a reformed sinner—He promised a new creature.
You can shine up the old man all you want, but he’s still dead. Religion tries to fix the flesh. Jesus crucifies it and gives you something better: Himself. You have to know and understand that difference.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Let’s dig into the truth about the new man and expose the lie that lifestyle is the proof of salvation. People will say that your life must be changed or you were never saved. They will say you must do this and you must do that. You must do good works or you were never saved.
That doctrine is commonly called Lordship Salvation or Perseverance of the Saints, and it’s closely tied to Calvinism and Reformed Theology. Here are the most used labels:
Lordship Salvation
This teaches that if Jesus is not “Lord of all” in your life, He is not your Savior at all. They claim that true faith will always result in obedience and a changed life—and if it doesn’t, then you were “never truly saved.”
Key error: It confuses discipleship with salvation, requiring fruit as proof of faith instead of believing God’s Word.
Perseverance of the Saints
This is the “P” in the Calvinist TULIP. It teaches that all true believers will continue in faith and good works, and if they don’t, they were never truly saved.
Key error: It denies eternal security by making your works the evidence that you’re one of the “elect.” But we know salvation is not of works at any time.
Fruit Inspection / Backloaded Works Gospel
This is the practical result of the above doctrines. It says things like:
- “If you’re really saved, your life will show it.”
- “You’ll hate sin if you’re truly born again.”
- “If there’s no fruit, there was no root.”
Key error: It makes assurance dependent on your performance instead of God’s promise. Jesus performed everything. It’s not your performance that saves you or shows that you’re saved. It’s all the performance of Jesus.
Here’s some other things people say that adds works to salvation:
“Faith that doesn’t work isn’t real.”
→ Twisting James 2 to imply faith must produce works or it’s false.
“Salvation is free, but it will cost you everything.”
→ Self-contradictory and used to smuggle in discipleship as a requirement.
“You’ll never be the same if you truly got saved.”
→ Emotionally manipulative, placing the burden of proof on life change.
“True salvation produces holiness.”
→ Makes inward spiritual growth a requirement for assurance.
“If He’s not Lord of all, He’s not Lord at all.”
→ The classic Lordship Salvation slogan—elevates surrender over faith.
“Grace doesn’t give you a license to sin.”
→ A subtle accusation that those who believe in eternal security are living wickedly.
“You can’t just ‘pray a prayer’ and live like the devil.”
→ Targets sinners’ prayers but ends up denying belief alone saves.
“A faith that saves is never alone.”
→ Common Reformed phrase—faith must be accompanied by works to be “true.”
“You don’t just accept Jesus—you follow Him.”
→ Replaces believing with lifelong obedience.
“Believing about Jesus isn’t enough—you must believe in Him with your whole life.”
→ Ambiguous language used to add commitment and behavior to faith.
The Bible teaches:
John 6:47
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Salvation is by faith alone, and works come after, only if a believer chooses to walk in the Spirit. Or chooses to walk in the new man. The old man isn’t a changed man. The new man is a NEW MAN. But a saved person is not required to prove salvation.
The old man will never prove salvation. When you walk in the old man, you won’t look like a saved man or woman. And you will walk in the old man. The old man isn’t gone yet.
I. The Old Man Is Corrupt—Beyond Repair
Ephesians 4:22
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.
The Bible doesn’t say the old man is weak or needs improvement. It says he’s corrupt. The flesh can’t be fixed—it must be crucified. But people out there believe they are going to fix the old man. You aren’t fixing the old man. You aren’t repairing the old man.
That word “corrupt” means rotten, spoiled, unfit for use, ruined from within. The old man is not salvageable—he’s spiritually toxic and morally bankrupt. He is driven by deceitful lusts—desires that lie to you, promising pleasure but delivering bondage.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
People say, “Follow your heart.” But the Bible says your heart is a liar. That old nature inside you doesn’t need counseling—it needs crucifixion.
Romans 7:18
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Not one good thing. Not a trace. The flesh is not just weak—it’s incapable of producing righteousness. You can scrub it up with religion, get baptized in water over and over again, educate it with theology—but it will still rot with pride, lust, envy, and rebellion. Your old man is dying. And there’s absolutely zero chance for that old man to make it.
Romans 8:8
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
No matter how much effort, zeal, or sincerity comes from the old man—it cannot please God. God doesn’t want you to try harder in your flesh. He wants you to die to it.
Galatians 5:24
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Notice it doesn’t say they “tamed” the flesh. It says they crucified it. The only solution God offers for the old man is the cross. Jesus didn’t come to reform your nature—He came to replace it.
Application:
You can’t sanctify the flesh. You can’t trust the flesh. You can’t worship God in the flesh. You must put off the old man daily, because he’s not going to leave on his own. The flesh will follow you to church, read the Bible out of pride, and even try to do “good” for selfish gain. He must be stripped off and nailed to the cross every single day.
Don’t dress the old man up—kill the old man. Don’t justify him—judge him. Don’t give him CPR—give him a coffin.
No amount of lifestyle change will change your nature. You don’t fix sin nature—you bury it. The old man doesn’t need to be dressed up. He needs to be put off. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, says: “I die daily.
II. The New Man Is A Creation That God Creates—Not Something You Decide to Become
Ephesians 4:24
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
You didn’t turn over a new leaf. You didn’t make a better choice. People love to take the credit. People want the credit. That’s man-centered religion. God created something new inside you. That new man is holy and righteous because it’s made by God. It’s not a cleaned-up you—it’s Christ in you.
Salvation is not self-improvement—it’s supernatural creation. People love to take the credit. They say, “I changed. I repented of my old ways. I surrendered everything.” But the truth is—God made something new inside you. That new man is holy and righteous, not because you are—but because God created him that way.
Colossians 3:10
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
You are now a dual-natured being. The old man still exists—but you also have the new man inside. You don’t walk holy by reforming the old man—you walk holy by yielding to the new one.
Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
You don’t become the new man by trying. You become the new man by trusting.
And you live like the new man not by effort—but by walking in the Spirit. Please make sure you understand this.
III. There Is A War Inside Every Believer
Galatians 5:17
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
The Christian life isn’t automatic victory. It’s a war between your old man and the new man. If a believer walks in the flesh, he will not show a changed lifestyle—even though he’s saved.
Romans 7:24-25
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Paul wasn’t unsaved—but he felt defeated when walking in the flesh. You can have the Holy Ghost inside you and still live like the devil if you feed the flesh.
Paul wasn’t lost—he was frustrated. Even as a Spirit-filled apostle, he struggled with his flesh. That proves something: salvation doesn’t eliminate the battle. It just gives you the power to win.
IV. Walking In The New Man Is A Daily Choice
Romans 6:11
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The new man is already inside you if you’re saved—but you have to choose to walk in him. God won’t force obedience. He gave you the Spirit, but He won’t make you follow. That’s why victory is possible every day, but not automatic. You have to reckon yourself dead to sin—count it as true—and live like the old man is dead.
Galatians 5:25
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
You’re alive in the Spirit by salvation—that’s your position. But walking with the Spirit is your decision—that’s your practice. You can be saved and sealed, and still walk in defeat, bitterness, lust, or pride if you ignore the new man and feed the flesh.
Key truth:
A changed life is possible, but it only shows up when you walk in what God already gave you. Not because you’re proving your salvation, but because you’re yielding to it.
You don’t need to “do more” to be spiritual—you need to yield more to God and to His ways. Every single day, you must choose which man you’re going to walk in.
V. Lifestyle Is Not Proof Of Salvation
Let’s be clear: Salvation is not of works—before, during, or after.
You are not saved by works. You are not kept by works. And you don’t prove salvation by works. The moment you make lifestyle the measuring stick of salvation, you’ve replaced faith with performance.
John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
The moment you believe, you have everlasting life. Not “eventually,” not “as long as you stay faithful,” not “if you show it”—you have it immediately and eternally. That is God’s promise, not man’s process.
Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. That’s not based on performance, perfection, or personal growth. It’s based solely on position—being in Christ. Even if a believer stumbles, fails, or walks in the flesh, salvation remains intact. The verse describes walking in the Spirit—not as a condition of salvation—but as the proper walk after salvation.
Romans 4:5
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Look closely. God justifies the ungodly, not the “improved.” Not the changed old man. Faith alone is counted as righteousness. Not faith plus works. Not faith that works. Just faith.
Nowhere does the Bible say a changed life is required to prove you’re saved. That’s Lordship Salvation—a backloaded works gospel. People say things like, “If you’re really saved, you’ll live like it.” But what does the Bible say?
Titus 1:16
They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
This verse shows that works can lie. Someone can appear godly on the outside and still be reprobate on the inside. So how can lifestyle prove anything?
Matthew 7:15-16
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
This passage isn’t about judging salvation. It’s about identifying false prophets. The “fruits” are not lifestyle habits—they’re words, doctrine, teaching. The whole context is about discerning truth from error, not saved from unsaved.
Matthew 12:33-37
Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
This confirms that “fruit” refers to words and teaching, not outward behavior. A man’s doctrine reveals what kind of tree he is—not whether he quit smoking or cleaned up his act.
Key Truth:
If lifestyle proves salvation, then every Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness looks more “saved” than a carnal Christian. That’s not the Gospel. That’s deception.
The Gospel is not “Believe and behave.” The Gospel is “Believe and live.”
The moment you start inspecting fruit to determine salvation, you’ve made man’s obedience the evidence instead of God’s promise. That’s not Christianity. That’s bondage.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
No boasting. No backdoor works. No proving. Just faith. And that’s all God requires. STOP ADDING OTHER THINGS TO SALVATION. It’s not a prayer, it’s not asking, it’s not works after salvation to prove your salvation, it’s not baptism in water, it’s not being good, it’s not living a good life. Salvation is only in Jesus Christ.
Conclusion: Don’t Pretend the Old Man is Good—Feed The New Man
Stop looking for lifestyle changes as proof of salvation. Stop judging people by what they look like on the outside. Stop trying to change your old man. He’s dead. Bury him.
Instead—walk in the new man. Feed the Spirit. Renew your mind with Scripture. And let God’s righteousness come through God’s creation in you.
Titus 3:3-4
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Titus 3:5-7
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
It’s not about change—it’s about creation. The new man is real. He’s alive. He’s never dying. He’s never going away. And if you walk in him, the world will see Jesus—not a better version of your old man. There is no better version of the old man. Make sure you understand this.
Colossians 2:10
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.
You don’t need another experience. You don’t need a sign. You don’t need holy water. You don’t all these rituals. You don’t need to prove yourself. You are complete in Christ. So don’t try to change the old man. Walk in the new man. Let’s pray.
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