Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Here once again we must look at this verse from the standpoint of who Paul is speaking to in order to get a proper understanding. He is speaking to Jews in Rome.

A Jewish perspective would be appearance, to not just look like but to appear to be Christ. They have no righteousness of their own, so putting on Christ is putting on His righteousness. What that means to them because of their long history is vastly different than my own experience. Even our definitions of righteousness differ and that also has to be taken into consideration.

The important part is what follows, which both cultures can and should agree. Our actions, what we do and what we say, dictates who is in charge. Do not give in to ungodly desires. God is making it abundantly clear what is expected of us. We have all gone thru the long list of restriction, the do not list.

Now we are encountering lists that are associated with right action. Righteousness was predicated in not sinning, now it is predicated on doing the right thing because that is who we are and not a commandment.

I can put on a robe and look good. I can take it off and reveal that it was only the robe that mattered. If Christ is in you, you have a new identity, a new character, a new creation, and you cannot take that off. You do however have to discover who you are in Christ. That is where Paul just took us in asking for a transformed mind.

The devil would have you think you are not changed. He will use every influence at his disposal to convince you that Christ is not in you. What we refer to as flesh is perhaps his only opportunity to influence us.