Because of Jesus, I am New

Because of Jesus, I am New

There is nothing like early Christmas morning, seeing the joyful sight of a Christmas tree with beautiful gifts under it. My kids are at the age where there is such excitement about what is under the tree. Really, who doesn’t love getting new toys? There are some areas where almost all of us like the new. I think I can safely say we all appreciate our indoor plumbing, furnaces, air conditioning in the summer. Who still uses rabbit ears to watch your black and white TV? Does anyone still use an 8-track player or a Victrola?

On the other hand, I remember when Tara’s grandfather died, his closet was full of gift boxes, all filled with the sweaters everyone had given him for Christmas. He would get a gift, look at it, grimace, and say, “ugh, another sweater” without ever even opening it. He didn’t want anything new; he was comfortable with his old, threadbare sweaters. I think it’s a man thing: we call it “my favorite” while our wives call it “a rag.” When we put it on, they ask us, “Were you going to wear that old thing?”

There is often something comfortable about the old, the familiar. Sometimes the new comes with the fear of the unknown or (even worse) the fear of the known. One of the problems with the new is that it’s hard to adjust, especially when you’ve been doing something one way for years. Learning a new skill or a new language can be hard. I’ve found that every year, running shoe companies adjust their shoes – the kind I ran in for 5 years suddenly didn’t fit right anymore, and you couldn’t get the old ones anywhere. Many of us remember the New Coke fiasco from the late 80s, where Coca-Cola changed their formula and nobody liked the new stuff.

But what happens when the old way wasn’t working at all?

In the time of Isaiah, God’s people had disobeyed, and the leaders of Israel had gone astray. They had turned to idols and set themselves up as gods, and this has angered the Lord. Their prophets were all false, but God has something new in store. In Isaiah 42:10, he declares, Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. Let the desert and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops. Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim his praise in the islands. (Isaiah 42:10-12)

God commands that his people sing a new song. Why would God want a new song sung? Because God is doing a new thing! Songs in Bible times often (if not always) tell stories; every time you see a Bible character singing, whether it’s Moses, Zechariah, Mary, or people in heaven, read the lyrics of the song, because that’s going to be the most important part of that scripture. When God says we will sing a new song, he says that because he is going to give us new material for that song. God isn’t glorified in stale testimony; if your testimony of what God has done in your life is over a year old, then your testimony is stale and you need to sing a new song!

Who is singing? Everyone – from the ends of the earth. Those who go down to the sea, and the sea itself, which represented chaos and trouble. The desert, the place of trouble and temptation, is raising its voice. Even the homes of the enemies of God’s people are singing God’s praises, represented by Kedar (Ishmael’s son) and Sela (stronghold of Edom).

Why are they singing this new song? In Isaiah 43:18-21, God says: “Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

I love this scripture; it’s not a new thing just for the sake of doing a new thing. God is doing a new thing so God can receive the glory. God makes a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. God takes troubles, difficulties, the worst times, the worst places, and uses them to show his glory. Why is this? Because if God just used the good times, the nice places, and the easy, we would so easily be convinced that we had something to do with it. Because we will get the glory. Because we will not even notice that God has done anything at all.

God promises to make all things new. Listen to His words in Isaiah 65:17: “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

There is a time and place for remembering the past. I remember listening to my grandmother tell stories about what things were like way back when – especially because the stories got better with each retelling. God doesn’t tell us to forget the past. Look through the scriptures and see how many times you find the word “remember.” God actually calls us to remember – why? To remember Him and who He is and what He has done. Has God blessed you? Remember! Has God delivered you? Remember! So why would God tell Isaiah that the former things will not be remembered or come to mind? It is precisely because God is talking about past troubles, troubles caused by our sin, and because of Jesus, God has forgiven us and has wiped them out. It’s not that God has somehow forgotten them; He has made them not-exist.

Because of Jesus, we are new! God is doing a new thing with us! This is what God intended when he spoke through Ezekiel: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

You see, we can never make ourselves new. Why is it most of us make the same New Year’s Resolutions every year? Because we aren’t any good at changing who we are. But the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

This is why the former things aren’t remembered. Because we are not the same person any longer! When I was in high school, once a discipline notice came to my home regarding skipping school. Fortunately (for me) I was not the offender; it was a classmate with a similar name. So I wasn’t punished for the offense. This is something like what Jesus does for us, because we aren’t the same people who once lived sinful lives!

In Colossians 3, Paul explains what it means to live as new creations. The key point he makes is that we have taken off our old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. (You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9b-10).

Because of this, we are called to put everything that belongs to our earthly nature to death (Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5) and to rid ourselves of all kind of sins that punctuate our before-Christ lives (But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Colossians 3:8). The

Christians do not continue to sin like that. If your life is punctuated by anger, rage, slander, and filthy language, if you are consumed by evil desires and greed, if anything takes precedence over God, then you might want to consider whether or not you really are a Christian. If there is no evidence to support the fact that you are new, you might not be! That would be like taking a defective item back to the store for exchange, only to be given the same item in return. We have been made new in Christ; there is no reason to have all the same defects as the old!

What does a new creation look like? Here’s how Paul describes the new creation to the church in Colossae: as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14) We are compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. We bear with each other and forgive one another. And over everything, we love. What do you say – do you look like this? This can be the day you do. They say a tiger can’t change its stripes, but God can and will transform a person.

If these words don’t describe you yet, there are all kinds of books and studies that say they will get you there, the ten easy steps to patience or two weeks to compassion, and I’ve even heard sermons telling me to “fake it until you make it,” but the truth is we can’t achieve any of this by working harder or trying harder.

If we could succeed by trying harder, then Jesus would never have had to come. God would have just put on a pep rally and we would have tried harder. But we need Jesus. On our own, we fail again and again, but Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23) God’s mercy and compassion are new for us every morning. God has every reason to wipe us out every day, but because of God’s great love, we aren’t. Instead, through Jesus Christ, God makes us new.

So how do we become new? Remember your baptism and be thankful, because it is through our baptism that we are made new. Romans 6:4 tells us: We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

We are given a new life by the same power that raised Christ from the dead. It is the glory of the Father that enables us to live a new life. When we try to do it on our own, we are essentially telling God that we don’t need him, that we can do it without him. So instead, we press into God, actually relying on him for everything. It will make everything different. It will transform your approach to finances. It will transform your relationships with other people. It will transform the way you work. It will transform everything. If this isn’t happening, it’s not because you don’t have enough of God; it’s only because you are not surrendering everything to Him. If you are a Christian, if you have accepted Jesus’ free gift, God has already given you all of Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit. So invite the Holy Spirit’s transformation. Because of Jesus, you are a new creation.

To the new us, Jesus gives us a command. In John 13:34, he makes the command, even calling it a new command: A new command I give you; Love one another. That doesn’t seem new, does it? We all know we’re supposed to love one another. But Jesus takes it to another level. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

Don’t think this is just some touchy-feely version of love when we just force ourselves to just nice to each other. How did Jesus love his followers? He gave his life for us. When we love each other with the love of Jesus, we sacrifice for one another. The Christian life is not all about you. It’s not all about me. It’s never about each one of us looking out for our own interests. It’s about loving one another. It’s about loving other people, even when you don’t like them very much. There are some people who have stubbornly refused to love. I know this because God has convicted me on this, that there are people I don’t want to love. So what do I do? Pray for them. Ask God to transform your heart to make you loving.

Because of Jesus, we are new.