Christ Grants us New Life
Christian man being baptised in the water
As I write this, the New Year is just around the corner. As you read this, the New Year will already have arrived! So what hopes and fears do you have for 2025?
Maybe you have given up making New Year resolutions. Maybe you used to try to change things or "turn over a new leaf" to be a better person. But it seemed every effort would end in failure or disappointment.
It certainly seems when we aim for self-improvement, we often fall short of the mark. So what does God say about this? In His Word the verdict is clear. We have all sinned and fall short of God's mark (Romans 3 v23), to be perfect as He is perfect. (Matthew 5 v48). In fact God's Word tells us we are dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2 v13) and a dead person is absolutely powerless to do anything about their state!
It seems our lives don't just need a new lick of paint or even a refurb, but a full demolition and rebuild. It's not a question of a "new leaf" but a "new life" - one we cannot give ourselves, it is a gift of God. (Ephesians 2 v8) That is why Jesus spoke of the need to be "born again". (John 3 v3) We go through a death to be raised to new life (Romans 6 v4) when we believe in Jesus. The transformation is total and radical - the word used in the New Testament gives us the word "metamorphosis" - and is done by the power of God through the Holy Spirit working in us. In God's eyes we are perfect, justified by Jesus' perfect sacrifice on the cross. We are a new creation.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Cor 5 v17 17)
If you are the Lord's, may you rejoice in the new life and new hope He has given you in Jesus, and may His power be at work in us all, continuing to transform us and make us more Christ-like throughout 2025.
And in those moments when we become discouraged and don't feel we are "a new creation", remember we are still very much a "work in progress" and that God sees us in and through the perfection of His Son. And one day that final, total metamorphosis will take place when we partake of Christ's glory in a new heaven and new earth.
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Rev 21 v5)
May such promises and the power of God at work in us keep us going and pressing forward in faith in the coming year.