New Creation

Someone I know has a bit of a problem. She is a Christian, now, but in the past she lived and acted in ways that were very un-Christian, and people who remember that are bringing it to her attention.  At least that is what I understand her problem to be. I'll confess that I know her, but not well. I met her, at least once, sometime since we moved to Dulce, but outside of knowing some of the people she is related to I would be unable to tell you anything about what she was like then.

More recently, I have seen her at least three times in the last month. Our conversation wasn't anything substantial, and so I could only tell a person a bit more than I could have several years ago.  I do know where she goes to church, and between that fact and something I saw on Facebook I could tell anyone who cared to know that she is a new creation. She is the same person, with the same body, and the same family, but at the same time she is a totally different person. This change is true of anyone who places their faith in Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 the apostle Paul puts it like this:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

Not only did this person live and act in ways that were un-Christian before she came to faith, but everyone who calls on Jesus as their Savior and Lord did the very same thing. The specifics might have varied, but their effect was basically the same: To live as the god of our own life, rather than to live with faith in the Lord Jesus.

That difference is lost on those who don't love Jesus. When we have faith we can't wash away our past sins. Sometimes the things we did in the past have downstream consequences that will last until the day we die. But the truth of the Bible is that by faith in him, Jesus has removed the guilt and the punishment due those sins. 

We still live in the world, with the memories of our past. We will continue to struggle with sin. But our identity is no longer as sinners and rebels against God. Our identity is as children of God, who has made us a "new creation," so that we can joyfully live changed lives as his children. And, perhaps, those changes will begin to show our old friends the love that Jesus will also freely give to them. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.