As we step into the New Year, I am overwhelmed by all the ‘new’ talk.
New cars.
New relationships.
New TV shows (eventually).
New diets.
New excuses.
In light of all this talk of ‘new things,’ it seems like I just can’t shake the idea of ‘new things.’ Being a pastor, it should come as no surprise that this reminds me of a verse from the Bible.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.”
—2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
This is a verse that is often quoted in the church, but seldom truly understood.
What is this saying to us? It is saying that when someone authentically turns from his/her old way of life and trusts in Christ to make him right with God that something about her fundamentally changes. But what is that something? Their hair? Their eyes? Their ice cream preference? The context helps us discern at least one of the aspects of this change
In the verse just before this one, the apostle Paul, a man who went from Christian-killer to Christian-enlister, is speaking to followers of Jesus about no longer seeing or relating to people simply based upon the externals.
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.” (2 Corinthians 5:16 ESV)
The NIV Translation perhaps captures this idea (“according to the flesh”) even better by saying “from a worldly point of view.” This reminds us that once Christ has done a transforming work in our lives, we should no longer approach people in the way the world does with abuse, neglect, dismissal, or contempt.
So the real, overarching point here is that
New creations should walk in a New way.
These verses illuminate a contrast between the two perspectives—the old one that flows from the world and the new one that flows from following Jesus.
When we are brought into life “in Christ”, we are brought into an entirely new way of relating God and people. What we once were—we no longer are. We are now new.
So, since it is true, where does this leave us?
With two questions whose answers lead to life change.
1. Have you been made new?
At New Year’s, people turn over a ‘new leaf,’ make resolutions to be thinner, more disciplined, more patient, more or less…everything. But at the end of the day, none of those external changes affect the internal reality of our ultimate orientation to God. Only truly trusting in the saving work of Jesus can do that. This begins by acknowledging our spiritual bankruptcy before God and trusting in Jesus.
2. If you have been made new, are you walking in your new life?
How do you perceive and relate to those around you? On the basis of the ‘externals’ (what people can do, buy, accomplish, etc.) or do we see that we surrounded by as eternal souls for whom Jesus died? Building upon this answer, what other areas of your life need a ‘renewing’ touch from Jesus?
In any case, the place that these questions leave us is the same no matter where we are on our spiritual journey. It is called repentance—agreeing with God that we are wrong and trusting in Him to make us right.
At Crossing, we are a church committed to repentance as a way of life—preaching the Gospel to ourselves daily and recognizing that we are though we are more sinful that we could ever know, we are more loved than we could ever imagine.
If you’d like to join the journey with us, we’d love to hear from you at info [AT]crossinglouisville.com
