Bulletin Articles
New
We all like new things, or at least things that are new to us. The new car, the new house, the new computer, the new …fill in the blank. We speak about the New Year and perhaps new beginnings. There is something special about newness. Sadly, we often tire of something after the newness has worn off and we are ready, again, for something else new. Yet what if we can have something new that stays new, is constantly being renewed, and forever keeps its newness? This is what we have in the gospel of Jesus!
New Creatures: When we become disciples of Jesus, we become new creatures: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). As we are born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:3-5), we are buried with Christ in baptism and raised to walk in “newness of life” (Rom 6:4). The “old self” was crucified with Jesus so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (as is characterized by the old self). Being the “new creation” is not just a one-time event but is a continual effect of being in Christ.
Paul had more to say about putting off the old and putting on the new. If we are raised up with Christ, we are to seek the things above where Christ is (Col 3:1-2). We are to put to death the “what is earthly” in us: “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (v. 5). Putting off the old self with its practices, we are to “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (v. 10). This includes putting on “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (vv. 12-14). With new attitudes and new hearts, we are continually renewed in Him. Likewise, Paul wrote about putting off the old self, that “former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:22-24).
Renewed in Mind: In contrast to being conformed to the world, we are to be living sacrifices for the Lord and “transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:1-2). We must not allow ourselves to slip back into the old self, conforming to the world and its evil desires. God will renew our minds daily when we trust Him.
Renewed in Courage: When faced with significant discouragement in his work, he could still say, “we do not lose heart” (2 Cor 4:1). He may have been afflicted, persecuted, perplexed, and struck down, but he knew he was not crushed, driven to despair, forsaken, or destroyed. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (v. 16). Because of his eternal perspective, knowing that what is seen is temporary and what is not seen is eternal, he could focus on what was most important, trust God, and be renewed day by day.
A New Covenant: We live according to a “new covenant,” which was promised by the Lord through the prophets. For example, the Lord promised through Jeremiah that He would “make a new covenant” with His people (Jer 31:31-34). The Hebrews writer quotes this, calling the new covenant “better” than the old as it is enacted upon “better promises” (Heb 8). He concludes this thought by saying, “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” It is this “new covenant” of which the Lord spoke when He gave instructions concerning the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:25).
New Heavens and New Earth. The theme of newness runs from beginning to end of Scripture, pointing us to the end times in which we look forward to a “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:8-13). This points us to heaven itself, God’s dwelling, and the “new Jerusalem” where the former things have passed away and He who sits on the throne says, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev 21:1-15). The glory of God illuminates the eternal city where the newness never wears off and God’s people will never tire or battle with the “old” again.
If we do like what is new, then we need to understand that there is nothing greater than the newness we have in Jesus Christ. We share in a new covenant, look forward to the newness of God’s presence, and, while remaining on earth, live a new life that is continually being renewed through His Spirit and His word. The old is gone. The new has come!
