Saturday, May 17, 2014

New Creations in Christ

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus...  -Romans 8:1 (KJV)


Romans 8:1 makes what I believe is a startling statement; there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.  I wonder if we realize the implications of this.  We were condemned in the sight of God, lost, without hope, and unable to save ourselves.  We were at best wandering away from God.  We were at worst plunging headlong toward our own destruction.  Sounds like many people in the world today; they are hurtling toward their own ruin by their choice of going against Almighty God.   

Yet, because of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary and His resurrection, we are no longer condemned.  Blasphemers, liars, thieves, pagans, prostitutes, addicts, and murderers can be washed clean by the shed blood of Jesus Christ – and include me personally as a sinner saved by the grace of God.  “A murderer can be saved?”  You ask.  Paul the Apostle referred to himself as being worse than a murderer.  He told Timothy in I Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation; that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”  Some have referred to the scandalous nature of the gospel, meaning that the vilest sinner can be made pure because of Jesus Christ.  
 
Being made pure is just the beginning.  In Jesus Christ we are given a total makeover.  We become new creations in Jesus, different from the way we used to be.  I am intrigued with what I read about new surgical procedures going on here and around the world.  Those disfigured in their faces because of an accident can receive a face transplant.  I am trying to get my mind around what it would be like to look at yourself in the mirror and you have a different face.  In Jesus Christ we are new creations, the old has passed away, and everything has become new.  We no longer walk in fear, anger, bitterness, and worry.  Instead, we walk forward in the peace Jesus brings.

I pray the Lord richly blesses you today.