New converts Group

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Being a Christian means I am a new person with a new life. The sinner loves and enjoys many kinds of evil and hates many kinds of good. The Christian learns to love every good thing of God and learns to hate every form of evil. Such a change is not possible unless a man becomes a new person with a new life.

The new life which comes by changing a sinner into a Christian is described in Romans 6:1-11. A Christian will not accept to continue to live in sin because he has died to sin. When a man repents, he kills the body of sin. He buries the dead body of sin into Christ's death by being buried in baptism. Just as Christ was raised to new life, the Christian is raised up from baptism to walk in newness of life. Verse 6 says that the Christian crucified the old man to destroy the body of sin so that he would no longer be a slave to sin. Verse 11 says that the Christian declares himself dead to sin that he might be alive to God in Christ. The Christian deliberately killed the old body of sin to get a new life in Christ.

Colossians 3:5-11 tells how the body of sin is killed. The Christian puts all the kinds of sin he ever did to death. He kills these sins by refusing to practice them anymore. He will not lie or abuse others anymore because he has "put off the old man with his deeds." You will never see that Christian going back to his old sins. Instead, the Christian has put on a new man. This new man is created by having proper knowledge of Christ. The Christian works hard to build his new life to look like Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians 4:21-24 Paul says to destroy all ways of that old sinful life. That old life of sin brought only corruptness (rottenness) through the lying hungers of evil temptations. Christians are to make their lives new by having a new spirit of mind. This new man is created in righteousness (right living in Christ) and holiness (giving oneself to God in purity).

Christians as new creatures are God's own workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). God has spiritually created us by giving us a new life. That new life has a purpose, and God gave both the new life and the new purpose. God created us in Christ to do good works. The purpose of the Christian's new life is to do God's good works.

The Christian's new life is a life of great blessings. In the old life of sin Satan ruled us as a destructive dictator. God loves us and helps us as our Father. The end of the old life meant eternal death in hell. In the old life we feared God because we were His enemy. In the new life we live in peace with God as His children. The old life taught us the bitterness of hate. The new life teaches us the joy of love. In the old life we were slaves to sin. In the new life we are sons of God. If you are a Christian you have a new life. Enjoy that life, and use that life to honor and glorify God.