1) NEW LORD
When we give our lives over to Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin. We have a New Lord, Jesus, who has defeated sin and death and who frees us to live in joy. We long to live for Jesus and we desire to do the things that He wants us to do because He loves us and we love Him. The greatest thing about having Jesus as our New Lord is that all of the other "gods" in our life are dethroned. Everything else will not and cannot liberate us the way that Jesus does, which is completely.
2) NEW CREATION
We also become New Creations, changed from the deepest part of who we are to become who Christ wants us to be. You cannot change your behaviors, attitudes, personas, without first being changed from the inside. It begins at your heart. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 says it best: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away, behold, the new has come." God desires us to be born again in Him and live a new life as a new person in relationship with Him, rather than by changing our outward appearances.
3) NEW IDENTITY
With a New Lord and as a New Creation, we receive a New Identity that we put on through faith. Ephesians 4:22-24 says this: "put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self,created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." The sinful nature (our flesh) does not submit to God, because it is our "old selves", but our regenerated nature (our spirit), by God's grace, can take off the old self and put our new self on to live a life that reflects our God. This is how we can all live our lives as acts of worship to God - we have New Identities.
0 comments:
Post a Comment