“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;”
What were your resolutions this year?
Every January, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions.
They join a gym, start a budget, commit to eating healthier, or promise to be more patient. There is something deeply human about wanting a fresh start. We recognize that things are not quite what they should be, and we long for the opportunity to begin again.
The problem is that a new calendar doesn’t create a new heart.
External changes can be valuable, but they cannot undo the past. They cannot erase guilt, heal a broken relationship with God, or free us from the power of sin. Left to ourselves, we may improve certain habits, but we remain the same people underneath.
Paul points us to something far greater than self-improvement.
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”
Notice where the change begins.
Paul does not say, “If anyone tries hard enough…” or “If anyone finally gets his life together…” He says, “If anyone is in Christ.”
Everything depends on being united to Jesus.
This is one of Paul’s favorite ways of describing the Christian life. Again and again, he speaks of believers being “in Christ.” It is more than a figure of speech. Through Baptism and faith, Christ has joined you to Himself. His death has become your death. His resurrection has become your resurrection. His righteousness has become your righteousness.
Because you are in Him, God says something astonishing:
“The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
That doesn’t mean Christians no longer struggle with sin. You know from experience that the old sinful nature still fights against the new life God has given. There are days when you wonder whether anything has really changed at all.
Paul is not denying that struggle. He is declaring a deeper reality.
Your identity is no longer determined by who you were apart from Christ.
You are not defined by your greatest failure. You are not trapped by your past. You are not forever the person you used to be.
God has made you new.
This is why the Christian life is filled with hope. The Lord who began this good work in you has not finished yet. Even now, He is continuing to shape you through His Word, to strengthen you through His Sacraments, and to conform you more and more to the likeness of His Son.
One day, when Christ returns, that work will be complete. Every trace of sin will be gone, and you will stand before Him exactly as He has promised.
Until then, you live in the joyful tension of what is already true and what is still being revealed.
You are a new creation.
Not because you have reinvented yourself.
Because God has reconciled you to Himself through Christ.
Let’s pray…
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for making me a new creation through Your Son. When I become discouraged by my failures or tempted to believe that I can never change, remind me of what You have already declared to be true.
Continue Your work within me through Your Word and Sacraments. Help me to live each day in the confidence that I belong to Christ and that You are making all things new.
Keep my eyes fixed on the day when Your work in me will be complete.
Through Jesus Christ, my Lord.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
