DailyRhema

Daily Rhema is a teaching ministry for Christians, centered on the finished work of Christ. It posts inspiring teachings and testimonies on weekdays. These short and systematic messages are suitable for personal devotion or Bible Study.

Monday, March 12, 2007

6.3 You are a new creation in Christ

For the next one month, we will run through powerful verses that tell us 1) who we are, 2) what we have, and 3) what we can do in Christ.

Today, we start with a verse that tells us who we are in Christ. If you can, read it out aloud. Try to memorize it as a memory verse and meditate upon it.

(2 Cor 5:17)
Therefore, if anyone is IN CHRIST, HE IS a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

When we received Christ, the old man died. We are a brand new person in Him. We have taken on His identity. He has taken our sin, our condemnation and our shame. We experience the new life of Christ that flows from within us.

I heard this story about the most notorious criminal in Norway nick-named H.P. He was a former boxing champion, a motorbike gang leader and a fearsome hit-man. Even the police who saw him on the street would call for cover. One day, he heard the message about salvation in Christ and he was born-again. There was a transformation within him. He became a new creation in Christ and his old man died.

The press came to interview him. They wanted him to talk about his old life as a criminal. He told them that he has no old life; he is a new man. The police would find him in the streets – not creating trouble or going on drugs, but sharing the gospel and passing out tracts. The policemen who once feared him now rejoiced at his salvation. H.P. even shared his testimony on national TV and was featured in the police magazine.

Think about the transformation that Christ can bring. Saul, the greatest sinner who persecuted the Church became Paul, the greatest preacher of the gospel. It was a 180 degrees change. Today, when we keep meditating on the fact that we are a new creation, we will experience transformation from within.