Introduction: Nothing like putting on CLEAN CLOTHES! Doesn’t it feel good to take off DIRTY CLOTHES? WOW! Nice!! But remember, washing the dirty clothes makes them clean again. That is the GOOD news!

In this text of Scripture today, some dirty clothes are mentioned along with some clean clothes. See which ones perhaps you need to “take off” and then “put on.” Then do it!

1. TAKE OFF the dirty clothes which need WASHING! (Colossians 3:8–9) – “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.”

Do you ever get angry? Tell the truth. Really, should that question be rephrased this way: How many times a day do you get angry?

According to research, the average man “loses it” about 5 to 10 times a day, whereas women somewhat less—well, some women. Throwing tools, kicking dirt, or verbally ventilating is the outcome of internal anger when expressed.

Similar to a pot when it reaches its boiling point… some call it “blowing a gasket”! Does that make sense?

By the way, the word for anger, ὀργή, occurs thirty-six times in the Greek New Testament. This list—“anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth”—seems to be interconnected; more specifically tied to the “old man,” that which we were before being born again by the Spirit of God.

Those stains can ruin not only what you are wearing but what you are doing. In other words, our testimony can get soiled very quickly.

Question: Do you feel dirty? Do you need to CHANGE your CLOTHES?

2. PUT ON some clean clothes! (Colossians 3:10–12) – “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him… Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.”

After going through the wash, these CLEAN clothes are refreshing. Put them on.

Please look over the description again and notice the cleanliness of these outward garments:
“mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.”

Are you wearing these clean clothes? If so, thank God for it! After all, these outward signs are a direct result of an inward change.

Praise the Lord for His life-changing power that transforms our “old self” into a likeness of His “new life.”

Conclusion: Is your washing machine working? Jesus Christ, in this case, operates like a washing machine—He gets the stain out! So don’t forget to put your dirty clothes in God’s washing machine…

“the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”