New Creations....
Saint Paul declared "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold all things are made new."
So many people are trying to walk as Christians without really getting this revelation into their hearts. I simply ceased to be. The person that I was, does not exist, except in memories. The drug addict, alcoholic, heathenistic, self-seeking fool that once inhabited my body was buried in baptism with Christ, and in the likeness of Christ I rose again, but not a re-invented individual, but as Paul says, a new creature. This newness of life is something that is to be experienced by Christians everyday, and indeed we certainly experience it every time we falter into sin. Not only are we forgiven when we confess our sins, but we start afresh, without anything being on our record.
Paul says "Should we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.," but in the midst of our horrendous failures, His grace has been poured out in great abundance, and this is evidenced by the fact that we are not consumed by His very wrath.
"Such were some of you..."
Paul speaks to those in the early Church that had lived as self indulgent sinners, and were now partakers of the light. The thing that is so noticeable is the fact that he speaks in the past tense.
So many people are trying to walk as Christians without really getting this revelation into their hearts. I simply ceased to be. The person that I was, does not exist, except in memories. The drug addict, alcoholic, heathenistic, self-seeking fool that once inhabited my body was buried in baptism with Christ, and in the likeness of Christ I rose again, but not a re-invented individual, but as Paul says, a new creature. This newness of life is something that is to be experienced by Christians everyday, and indeed we certainly experience it every time we falter into sin. Not only are we forgiven when we confess our sins, but we start afresh, without anything being on our record.
Paul says "Should we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.," but in the midst of our horrendous failures, His grace has been poured out in great abundance, and this is evidenced by the fact that we are not consumed by His very wrath.
"Such were some of you..."
Paul speaks to those in the early Church that had lived as self indulgent sinners, and were now partakers of the light. The thing that is so noticeable is the fact that he speaks in the past tense.