You Are a New Creation

Restoration is a beautiful thing, isn't it? We've seen a house go from not having any floors (c'mon Fixer Upper fans) to the most gorgeous house in the neighborhood- that's the power of restoration.

While restoration of a car, furniture, or a house is in fact incredible, there's something much better that all of us can experience. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He doesn't merely restore us, He makes us completely new.

I love the way the Living Bible states 2 Corinthians 5:17, "When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!"

Three things we learn from this verse:

1. You're a brand new person.

2. You're not the same anymore.

3. Your new life has started.

This is literally like looking at your former self before that wonderful day you surrendered yourself to Jesus and it being like you stepped out of yourself into a completely different person.

The habits of the old you may not automatically stop, but the Holy Spirit who lives in you will influence you to halt before making those same old decisions again.

Colossians 3:9-10 says, "Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." This verse is telling us that when we became a Christian, we put off the old person we were and all the things that person used to do, and we've put on a new person whose mind is being renewed.

Jesus made you brand new as soon as you prayed to Him, but this is a covenant partnership toward living in the abundance and promises He made in His Word.

So who does the renewing?

We do- this is our part in the partnership.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

When you've been living in sin, you have a world-view. When you become a Christian, you now have the responsibility of learning a Biblical-view. The opinions you had about this sin or that sin no longer matter- what matters is the truth and standard of the Word of God.

God doesn't expect any work on our part to be saved. Salvation is a gift given to us by grace- all we have to do is accept it- we didn't deserve it and we can't work to earn it. But, He does expect us to take action in creating relationship with Him and receiving what He promised to believers.

The Enemy had you when you were in sin- he wasn't too concerned about you until you accepted Jesus. He doesn't like losing souls to the One True King. He will most certainly try to get you back by trapping you in sin, but we have James 4:7 to stand on, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Let's break it down...

Make a decision that you will never turn away from the Lord- you are submitted (or committed) to Him and His ways, make it known that you have divine protection over your life (Psalm 91) as a child of the King, take action against the Enemy's plight by using your weapons of prayer and praise, and the Devil absolutely has to run from you.

Hallelujah!