22 You were taught to leave your old self—to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self becomes worse, because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do. 23 But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, 24 to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy. - Ephesians 4:22-24 (NCV)

What is the old man, you might ask? The old man is the condition of man in his rebellion. It's the condition of man in his fallen nature. Man cannot live independent of God. Without God, we are left to our evil ways and evil destruction. Why? Man without God is man in his rebellion. 

being darkened in their understanding, []excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; - Ephesians 4:18 (NASB)

There are four conditions that describe the condition of man in his rebellion : darkened, separated, ignorant and hardened. While many fail to realize it, it is all true. We cannot do well without God. From the time of the fall in the garden, we see how the life of man deteriorated into corruption. The nature of the fallen man is to grow in wickedness. 

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of []their hearts was only evil continually. - Genesis 6:5 (NASB)

Sometimes when we see certain portions of the bible, we don't take our time to digest the word of God. The nature of an unsaved man is very bad. Even the best of an unsaved person is still pretty bad. Somehow, everyone thinks if we can just be good enough, we might make heaven. Going to Heaven has nothing to do with being good or bad, but has everything to do with choosing the life of Jesus, and we can only embrace the life of Jesus when we give our lives to Him. 

The bible says, "and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually." The bible is still the most relevant book you'll ever read. When you look at how the world works, you can only agree with God that man is truly wicked. And when we come to Christ, we have to learn to deal with the old sinful nature. I think this scripture above should make us see our need for God. Even as believers, we don't always get it right. But that's why we are learning. We have to train ourselves to hear the voice of God. We can learn to walk in the ways of God by following the patterns laid out for us in the bible. 

                                                                 What is the condition of your heart?

"The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it? - Jeremiah 17:9 (NASB)

All my life I heard the expression, "trust your heart" and when we hear such words, we'd feel at peace and then make whatever decisions that we want to make. But no! Don't trust your heart. The heart is the life of man. Everything we are, is a result of the condition of our heart. The heart of man is also synonymous with the spirit of man. When the bible says heart, it really means our spirit. The real you is your heart. You can know a lot about a person when you know their heart. 

We have also heard expressions like, "he has a good heart. Or she has a good heart." Words you'd hear if perhaps you wanted to date somebody. Why the heart? The heart of man is his life. What is in our hearts? When we feel pain, it affects our heart. When we feel betrayed, it affects our hearts. If we sin, it's because we have allowed our heart to be contaminated. Every time, we ought to check the condition of the heart, because, if we can keep our hearts healthy, we can have a godly life. Now, a person who is unsaved cannot walk like Christ. It is impossible! That's why, the first chapter deals with our salvation. If you are not saved, you might want to go back to the first chapter and come back later. 

As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man. - Proverbs 27:19 (AMP)

Everything depends on the condition of our heart. The heart is a like a mirror that shows us who we are. If there is sin in our hearts, then we have to honestly learn to deal with the sin. It's always hard when we have to self check. But we need to be able to watch over our own souls. Because being saved today, doesn't mean it will be the same tomorrow. Here is what Jesus says. 

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. - Mathew 24:13 (NKJV)

How will we be when Jesus returns? That's the question we should be able to answer. Jesus calls us to a life where we watch and pray. Watching our souls. Watching out for the thief (satan) who will do everything to keep us away from living the godly life that God planned for us. We need to watch out for the times we are living in. What is God communicating to us in the present? Now is the time to deal with the old man. And the old sinful nature loves to keep us entangled in useless things. 

                                                        Guard your heart 

23 So above all, guard the affections of your heart,[]
for they affect all that you are.
Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being,

for from there flows the wellspring[] of life. - Proverbs 4:23 (TPT)  

Why does God want us to guard our hearts? These are some of the questions we should be asking. God really looks out for us. I know for some of us that are only used to sensual realities, it might be hard to grasp the spirituality of our lives. And, it does take some training to see how much God loves us. We cannot only operate in the sensual realm. We also need to develop our spiritual senses. When we do, we'll have the capacity to take in all of that God desires for us. 

Guarding our hearts doesn't mean shutting out people or building walls around us. But it does mean to have some boundaries. Boundaries are not bad. It doesn't mean we are secretive. It just makes everything workout better. In the garden, God set some boundaries. Adam could eat from any tree except the one tree that we all know. We may never know why God put that boundary, but we all know what happened when Adam failed to stay within his bounds. 

Having boundaries protects us. When we have these boundaries, it then matters who we talk to. It matters with whom we share our deepest thoughts and secrets. Having secrets is not bad. Even God has secrets. But He reveals them only to those He trusts and those who have reverent fear of Him. 

14 The []secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
[]And He will make them know His covenant. - Psalm 25:14 (NASB)

Even God has secrets. God doesn't reveal everything He knows with everyone. That's why everyone seems to have a totally different kind of relationship with Him. How much God allows us to know about Him depends on how deeply intimate we are with Him. And when we go deeper, we'll experience an even deeper kind of relationship. 

In marriage, there's a high kind of intimacy that allows the couple to interact at a sexual level. That's why sexual sin has very serious repercussions. God designed sex for married people who honor Him. Guarding our hearts has a lot to do with whom we engage our lives. Who are our closest friends? Who have we allowed in our circle?

Even Jesus had a different kind of relationship with all his disciples. We should know that Jesus had more than 12 disciples. It's just that, the twelve are the ones He had a deeper relationship with. And from those very twelve, He still chose three that even had a closer relationship. Guarding our hearts also means watching out for the manifestation of the old man. 

Dealing with the old man or sinful nature has a lot to do with crucifying its desires. That's how we deal with it. That's basically the first step in learning how to overcome sin in our lives. 

24 Now those who []belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. - Galatians 5:24 (NASB)

If we are going to live godly lives, we first have to acknowledge that we cannot do it on our own. And the second thing we must acknowledge is that we can only live above the desires of the flesh if we have given our lives to Christ. The bible says, "now those who belong to Christ Jesus." This kind of life is only possible for us that have chosen Jesus. Living in Christ is exciting. If we haven't given our lives to Jesus, we cannot expect to live a godly life. 

What is the old man again? The old man is the sinful nature of man that only grows in corruption. We have to learn to deal with it. And that's something we all have to learn to do. 

Prayer

 Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
 And see if there is any []hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.  -  Psalm 139:23-24 (NASB)