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The New Year

Jan 3, 2009

Happy New Year!

Our God is a God of new things and a God of renewal.

I don’t know what you got for Christmas but we all love to get something new, don’t we?! A new watch, a new phone, a new car, a new kitchen. If any of these gifts were under your tree you would be rejoicing without a second thought. Especially if someone else has paid for it in full.

The good news of the Gospel tells us that through Jesus we have something new that is better than all those things combined. We have new life! The Holy Spirit says through Paul that Christians “…were therefore buried with Jesus 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.” Romans 6:4 This is the greatest gift of all. And it is something we all want and we all need. A new life. A life free from the same old habits. A life free from the distraction and dominion of sin. A life free from self-centeredness and self-worship. A life free from the snares of materialism, greed, loneliness, despair, and the like.

This new life comes in two stages. “Already” and “Not Yet’

The first stage is described in 2 Corinthians 5:17 where it says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” This is the new life that we already have. When we trust in Jesus for our justification, when we look to him as the basis for our self-worth, when we count on his righteous life and work on the cross for our right standing with God and with man, we become a new creation. Right there on the spot. If you have trusted in Jesus as your Lord and as your Savior, then you are a new creation. If you have not done it yet, you are just a prayer away. As Jesus said, “Repent and believe the good news.” Becoming a new creation is that simple and that profound.

But there is part of becoming a new creation that has not yet happened.It is in the future. It will happen at the end of time when Jesus returns to judge humanity.

Jesus predicted this future day many times. The book of Revelation is a vision of what will happen. Towards the end of that vision John records what he sees. Just look at how many times he uses the word “new.” Revelation 21:1-5 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Though our faith in Jesus makes us new creations, we still wrestle with overcoming our sins and giving God full control over our lives. But there is a day coming when All of creation will be made new. After that day, sin and its effects will no longer screw with us. God will be our God and we will be his people. Everything will be made NEW.

We long for this day whether we are Christians or not. We all like new stuff. And we all wish we could be new ourselves. That is why so many diets, organic foods, and gym memberships are so popular. They are part of the human longing to be made new.

The good news is that Jesus offers us new life, both now and in the future, regardless of the shape of our body or the status of our abs.

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