“Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP

I think the greatest gift of salvation this side of the ross is a “new life.” Steeped deep in our sin, death beckoned at the door of destruction! Jesus ward the disciples that the goal and purpose of the enemy is death and destruction.

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” John 10:10 AMP

The reality is that when we experience the transformational power of the sacrifice of Christ, all things will become new. Our old life is gone, and we are now “born again” unto a living hope! Life before the cross was tedious and painful. The very lie we believed would bring us happiness and joy only resulted in pain and suffering. Many a prisoner have experienced the abandonment of Satan as they find themselves now alone and locked behind bars for life filled with regret and a knowledge that they were deceived! There is however hope that springs eternal!

Our verse today offers an exciting possibility if we would embrace it! Change is difficult! It isn’t easy to walk away from the familiar and enter the unknown! When we cling to our old ways and sameness, we resist the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is easy to make an idol of routine, finding our security within the boundaries we have built in our lives. Remember that each day has twenty-four hours, each one presenting a unique set of circumstances to which we respond. Don’t try to fit today into yesterday’s mold! 

Notice that our verse spells out exactly the areas of change that God desires, “…the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” Once we take up the cross in our lives, our thinking and behavior begins to align with those of our creator! The challenge is, do we really want that change in our lives? 

The Greek word for “new” here is the word meaning “What was not there before; What has only just arisen; Different from the usual.” It is the regeneration of our spirits that allow this new awaking to take place in our life. Kittle in his Theological Dictionary of the New Testament describes it this way.

“It carries the sense of the unfamiliar, unexpected, wonderful, and unheard-of things.”

What a beautiful way to describe the relationship we now enjoy this side of the cross! We are all on the journey of sanctification on our lives. AS we continue to walk and experience the goodness of God, the unfamiliar become familiar and we learn to trust and obey! Our very nature is transformed from pursuing sin to pursuing God! While that is the truth, God has been pursuing us the whole time, even when we were walking in our sin! 

“But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 AMP

The Apostle Peter penned these words of the Holy Spirit.

“For indeed Christ died for sins once for all, the Just and Righteous for the unjust and unrighteous [the Innocent for the guilty] so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit;” 1 Peter 3:18 AMP

We have been given a new lease on life. When we experience the transformational power of Christ and are fulfilling the words of Jesus, “Ye must be born again!” AS we face the unknown on this new journey, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us to a place of still waters. Are you pressing to know Him more? Are you taking the path of the new and not looking back to the old? The choice is yours! Have a new and blessed day! Pastor Ken