Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
—2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
When you accept Jesus Christ into your heart, you are a new person. The old life is over, and you have a new one. That is so true, but how often the inference has been “now act like it.” Your new life is not acting out your new life. It is Jesus being your new life. You can’t make yourself right. Only Jesus can impart righteousness, and you received it when you accepted Him as your Savior. He took your sin and replaced it with His righteousness. Without understanding this amazing gift you received, you endlessly strive to live right. And you are forever frustrated by failure. If you could have lived right on your own, there would have been no need for a Savior.
You “felt” so good when Jesus came into your heart! And then that joy gradually faded as life happened. Your mind has to process and understand what you “felt.” You can’t go on feelings, because your natural mind will always betray you. Knowledge of who you are in Jesus is crucial to understanding your new life. Until, you are renewed in the “spirit of your mind,” by God’s Truth, you will keep struggling in your strength. The Word is your revelation—your teacher to explain what Jesus "bought" for you and "brought" to you. When the Holy Spirit renews your mind, you take on the attributes of Christ. You can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding and empowering you. Living right is then born of His Spirit and not of anything you do right. When living right is your accomplishment, you might tend to boast about it. When it is His, He is glorified, and you live "righteously” because He has made the change. Not you.
Spiritual growth comes with understanding how His gift of righteousness has changed your life. The Old Covenant died with Jesus. The New One was born with Jesus. Your old life died. Your new one began. You are a new person freed from the requirements of the law only because Jesus did what you never could. You could not pay the price. Just His righteousness could.
© 2019 Lynn Lacher
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