April 16
Becoming New
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The Scripture is full of descriptions of the believer's new spiritual life. God promises He will give us a new heart. In Ezekiel 36:26, God says that He will "give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; [He] will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
God also will give us a new song. The psalmist wrote, "He has put a new song in my mouth-praise to our God . . ." (Psalm 40:3).
The Bible also promises there will be a new self. Ephesians 4:22-24 says, "That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."
As believers, our spiritual lives are new, but we still have the capacity to sin. And though we have the capacity of sin, the tyranny and penalty of sin in our lives has been broken. However, sin's potential has not been fully removed, because we have two natures within that are constantly at battle: a new nature and an old nature. As you know, it's very easy to sin. It comes naturally to us. But the new nature doesn't come naturally; it comes supernaturally. These two natures are battling, and each day, you determine which nature you are going to build up. Which will prevail? The one you build up the most. Every time you obey God and resist sin, you are building the new nature.
Copyright (c) 2004 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.