Living a New Life in Christ

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Ephesians 4:22-24

 to take off^[a] your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, ²³ to be renewed^[b] in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on^[c] the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.

(CSB)

The culture of the early church was a culture of Roman occupation, oppression both from the Romans and the religious elites, and the threat of martyrdom.  However, in the context of this oppressive culture, the church brought cultural transformation wherever it went proclaiming the Gospel message (Acts 17:6).  While Christians in many parts of the world live in oppressive cultures like the culture in which the early church functioned, in many other parts of the world, the oppression is more mental and emotional.  To bring transformation to oppressive cultures, believers must live a new life in Christ that others will find attractive and beneficial in their lives. 

This process of life transformation begins at salvation when we accept Jesus as our savior.  This represents an instantaneous process of conversion as God forgives our sins by the shed blood of Jesus at the cross (Ephesians 2:8).  Acceptance of this substitutionary sacrifice for our sins provides instantaneous forgiveness of sins with the rewards of eternal life and escape from Gods condemnation (John 3:16-17).  Failure of one to accept this gift leads to a life of eternal condemnation and separation from God.  If you are reading this and have not accepted this gift from God, I encourage you to do so now by praying with me.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

While the process of salvation and forgiveness of sins is instantaneous, the process of life transformation to living a life of obedience to God is an ongoing process of mental and spiritual transformation (Romans 12:2).  This process involves one adhering to foundational theological principles.  The good news is that one does not need a PhD in theology to incorporate these principles into their life but must simply believe in these non-negotiable truths.

1)      Creation and the fall (Genesis 1-3) – One of the main objections some have to accepting Jesus as their savior is how a loving God could allow the evil, death, and destruction seen in the world.  The truth is that God did not create these things but that they came about because of the rebellion of Adam and Eve.  What God created was Good (Genesis 1:31) and only became cursed through the sin of humanity (Genesis 3:8-19).  This sin caused separation of humanity from God the creator with Adam and Eve evicted from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23-24), but with the promise of a redeemer to restore the lost relationship between humanity and the creator (Genesis 3:14-15). 

2)      Israel and the law (Genesis 15:1-6; Exodus 20:1-17) – The nation of Israel is the nation God chose for the promised redeemer to come from (Isaiah 7:13-14).  This promised redeemer from the lineage of King David is the fulfillment of the promise God gave to David of an eternal kingdom with someone of his lineage eternally reining on the throne (2 Samuel 7:14-16).  The foundational principles of the law contained in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) are God’s expectations of living a Godly life.  As one honestly studies these laws, they must admit to violating as least one of them at some point in their lives.  With just one violation of the law separating one from God, the law illustrates the hopeless state of humanity (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:23) and the need for a redeemer. 

3)      Christ and the New Covenant (John 1:1-5) – That redeemer is Jesus Christ who as God in the flesh, lived a sinless life.  This living of a sinless life allowed Jesus to be the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God who once and for all provided forgiveness of sin, reconnecting fallen humanity with God their creator (2 Corinthians 5:21).  However, the sacrificial lamb did not remain in the grave but resurrected on the third day, conquering death, and then ascended to sit at the right hand of God the Father, administering a New Covenant of grace and reconciliation with God the Creator (Hebrews 1:3). 

4)      Heaven gained, and Hell feared (John 3:16-18) – This new life in Christ means one gains eternity with God in heaven and escapes the condemnation of Hell (John 3:16-18).  From this restored foundation, one’s faith can come alive manifesting in Good works (James 2:14-26).  When an unbelieving world sees a believer in Christ doing Godly works in the context of an evil and oppressive world, some will want to know more about how a believer finds the strength to do these good works.  This opens the door for sharing the Gospel with them, fulfilling the “Great Commission.” (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). 

One choosing to make Jesus their savior has an instantaneous identity shift.  However, at conversion God does not transport a new believer from the earth and instead calls them to be ambassadors for Christ in an ungodly world (2 Corinthians 5:20).  The duty of an ambassador is to demonstrate the benefits of citizenship of their country in a foreign land.  Through the consistent practice of prayer, Bible study, meditation on Scripture, and coming together for encouragement, believers in Christ can become good ambassadors for Christ, promoting the benefits of accepting Jesus as Savior.  I therefore urge everyone reading this to join me in dedicating themselves to living a new life in Christ.