New & Renewed & Transformed
Is having a devotional about being new on the first day of the new year cringe? Yes, but let’s look past the fact it is and focus on the message from the devotional. I feel like it is a good time to discuss this fundamental biblical belief.
The fundamental biblical belief is in Christ we are new. Christ died for our sins and rose from the grave. If you have been saved by Jesus Christ, you also have died and been raised with Christ (see Romans 6:8, Colossians 3:1). The old self, which was full of fleshly desires (sinful desires) died, and Jesus made us a new creation. This newness brings a new perspective like verse 16 says in 2 Corinthians 5. This newness is life not death. It is righteousness (right standing with God and holiness (to be set apart). We have become a completely new creation no longer like the world.
The question is why then do we still sin? Because this is a reality in our spirit but not in the realm of our minds. You see our mind is composed of our will, intellect, and emotions. The world has influenced and continues to influence our mind. We also live in a fallen world where sin runs rampant, and sometimes we are tempted to sin.
Even though we have a new self, we will be tempted to go back to the ways of the old self. Sinful desires are going to try and creep up in us and we will be tempted to act on them. Sometimes we will give in, because we are not perfect, but one day we will arrive (see Hebrews 10:14, 1 John 3:2). Until then we will have to choose to put off our old self, be renewed in our minds, and put on the new self (see Ephesians 4:22-24). This looks like surrendering ourselves daily as I discussed in the devotional titled, Costly. We will have to get into the Word to be transformed in our minds to get some of the deep sinful beliefs and motives out of us (see Romans 12:2).
While this will be difficult, we can be encouraged that we will not be doing it alone. Praise God, Who has given us The Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth. (See John 16:13) We do not have to do it on our own (in reality we cannot) but we rely on Him. The Holy Spirit will reveal in us the sin and will mold us to look more like God. We are being sanctified, meaning we are being made to look more like Christ. As we walk with Him, we are new, being renewed, and being transformed into His likeness.
