You Are New

¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
-2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)


²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
-Galatians 5:24 (NLT.)


⁶ For we know that our old self^[c] was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body^[d] may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, 
-Romans 6:6 (HCSB)


As I was thinking about what to write for this new day, I started thinking about our lives after Christ. I've said many times on the various broadcasts that there must be a distinct difference in our lives before Christ and after Christ. When you accept Christ as your Savior and Lord, you become a new person, so you are not the same one you were before. Think about Paul, who was on his way to Damascus to arrest the Christians he found there, until he had a life changing encounter with Jesus (Acts 9). After that encounter, where Paul met Jesus, he wasn't the same. He became one of the greatest missionaries of all time, writing most of the New Testament. After Paul met Jesus, he wasn't the same. Have you had that true, life changing encounter with Jesus?


Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." The sin nature that once ruled your life is gone, after you've given your life to Christ. The problem is that too many of us pick it up and continue to live in sin, even after we've given our lives to Christ. This can not be. Paul clearly teaches us that we are new people, the old things of life (sin) are passed away. Paul writes in Galatians 5:24 "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there." We have nailed the desires of our past sinful nature to the cross, and killed them there. Jesus hung on the cross to pay the debt of those sins, when you accept Him as Lord & Savior, you leave them there on the cross, never to pick them up again. Finally, Paul writes in Romans 6:6, "For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin's dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin." Our old self, the sin nature, was crucified with Christ on the cross so that sin will not rule over us. In yesterday's post, I challenged you to determine who your master is. Is your master sin? If so, then sin is ruling your life, and you are a slave to sin. Is Jesus your Master? If so, then you've left your past sin life crucified on the cross. 


Friends, make no mistake about this. Sin is powerful, and so is the sin nature of our lives. We are constantly battling the desires of sin in our lives. But, if we remember that the old is gone, that sin has been paid for, we can live the victorious Christian life. Have you had that life changing encounter with Jesus? Think About It.