If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 corinthians 5:17
This is one of the hardest truths for us to grasp in all of the Bible. If the old has really gone, then why do we still face the same old temptations? Why do we still struggle with the same temperament?
The Bible tells us that we are a new person, but we still live in the same flesh, and the same world. We are still surrounded by the same problems and face the same battles. So, what’s new? If there has been such a big change, why is the Christian life so difficult?
Many people have concluded that there is nothing essentially new at all. They have decided that being a Christian is a matter of making a commitment to Jesus Christ in which you repent and believe. It involves making an effort to live a better life that will hopefully turn out to be pleasing to God. And if you do this, God will give you a bit of help by His Holy Spirit—because after all, God helps those who help themselves.
But here’s the problem. Making a commitment involves a change in what you believe. Making an effort involves a change in how you behave. Getting some help will make a difference in what you can achieve, but none of these things change who you actually are.
Jesus Christ offers more than a change in what you believe, how you behave, and what you can accomplish. The heart of the gospel is about a change in who you are. It involves a whole new identity. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation!
Would you say you have merely made a commitment to live a better life, or are you a whole new person in Christ?
