Did you know if you’re a true follower of Christ you have died? Did you know you were made into a new person? This may seem pretty strange and I’ll be honest, it is a strange concept!
“For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
Romans 6:4 NLT
and,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
This death is usually not sudden. Becoming/being this new person also seems to be a process. Before God, we’re seen as new, but if we are honest with ourselves… we still sin and do things as if the Holy Spirit wasn’t in us guiding every single choice. Hopefully, He’s guiding most, but certainly not all, right?. But with this awesome gift; being made new, comes a responsibility to… try.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Philippians 4:8 NLT
Did you catch that?
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
How about now?
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Yes. I just made you read that three times! Let’s do an inventory of the last week, shall we? Did we do anything, think anything, say anything that does not meet the requirement of that verse? I sure did. Here’s an example!
I allowed frustration to get the best of my attitude at work. A coworker was doing their job through a process of control; sure, it wasn’t in the most gracious way, however, it was still their job. It directly affected me and my response was getting frustrated and bothered by their approach. What I should have done was look at their actions, understand why they were doing what they were doing and then approach the situation with humility and be helpful. Instead, I did what I was supposed to begrudgingly: which only affected me negatively! That person moved on with life and went on to the next thing. It was me who brewed in frustration for the day.
When we do this, anything that doesn’t line up with God’s will, we are behaving like what Paul refers to as “the old man” in Ephesians 4:21-22 NKJV. This is the person we were before we met Christ. AND this is the person we were while we were meeting Christ (like myself, I was in the process of meeting my Jesus for seventeen years before I really understand who He was to me and who I should be to Him). Additionally, this old man is the person we were this last week when we did/said/felt those things we should not have.
So clearly, this whole business about being a new creation is indeed a process. And it’s our duty to not let the old man back in. We were that person but now we’ve got a responsibility to our God to move on!
Were you in a relationship before you got married? Were you on a sport’s team before your current one? Did you have a different math teacher last year? Do you have a new boss?
How do you think your spouse would feel if you went on a date, right now, with the person you used to date? Imagine your teammates’ frustration as you scored a goal on your own team in order to help your former. Imagine your math teacher’s confusion when you submitted a homework assignment from the previous year, instead of the one they just assigned you. Imagine you still reporting to your old boss and not your new one and how awkward of a situation that would be for your new boss.
Imagine how God feels. He sent His own Son to die for our sins, the rightful punishment for our wrongs (Romans 6:23) and He suffered the worst of deaths in a human body all so He could redeem us and call us His own, again. And then we go and sin. And sin and sin and sin.
OK, I really don’t mean to guilt us here! But are you on the same page with me now regarding how we’ve got to try and do our best for our new spouse, coach, teacher, leader: Lord?
Awesome! I’m glad you agree! So… how do we do this? Paul writes a frustrated memoir of sorts about his temptation:
“15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
…
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.”
Have you ever felt like Paul? He perfectly captures the battle with sin!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
“21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
Ephesians 4:21-24 NKJV
“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”
Romans 6:6 NKJV
“He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.”
1 Peter 2:24 NLT
Honestly, there is not much to say after these verses. But they don’t really give a “how to quit sin” guideline. Yet they do tell us something. Jesus died for us and we are healed. We are also to “put on” the new creation. To be renewed in the spirit of our mind. This tells us it’s a choice. We have to choose to be this new creation. We have to choose to protect our mind and dwell on the things that Philippians 4:8 tells us about. Matthew 15:11 tells us that it is what comes out of us that defiles us.
You see, we’ve got to control the input into our lives which will, in turn, affect the output. If we guard our hearts and minds, we will have a WAY better chance at resisting our “old man.”
“23 Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
24 Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.
25 Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
26 Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
27 Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.”
Proverbs 4:23-27 NLT
Life is hard. But God wants us to be near Him and every time we sin, we push Him away. The best way to be the one He has “re-made” us to be is by looking at these verses and making sure there is nothing in our lives that is dragging us down or anything that is tied to the old man. If you’re married: you don’t date your ex. If you join a new team: you don’t play for the old one. If you’ve got a new teacher: you do their assignments, not your old one’s. If you’ve got a new boss: you answer to them, not your old one. We don’t belong to the old one. Don’t let him/her back in!
A good Psalm to end this article off with would be Psalm 101.
Let’s do our best this week to behave/think/speak like we are NEW in Christ.