When Jesus came to earth, He announced that He had come to offer a full, abundant life to those who believe in Him (John 10:10). Indeed, Christ followers are given a new life when they place their faith in Him. They are no longer living for the world; they are living for Him. Following Jesus means that our lifestyle, the way we live day-to-day, changes. Others can observe that we are Christ followers simply by the way we live our lives.
We learn in 1 Peter 1 that followers of Christ have a new life in Christ. Peter writes in this passage of Scripture, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3). Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, we have new life in Him. When we think about the new life in Christ that we have, we often think of the eternal life we will have with Him one day. We do not as often think about the life we get to experience here and now because of what He has done. You see, because of Jesus, we get to experience new life right here and now. We get to experience freedom from sin and shame. We get to experience the freedom to live for and obey Christ. We get to experience the joy that comes from following Him.
The apostle Paul taught about the new life we have in Christ in 2 Corinthians 5. He explained that if we have placed our faith in Christ, “we have…died to our old life” (verse 14). Even more, we live for Christ instead of ourselves (verse 15). He continued this teaching about our new lives in Christ, saying, "Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (verse 17). Simply put, if we are Christ followers, we have died to sin, the world, and ourselves. We have been made alive in Christ.
Life becomes so busy and offers so many distractions that we often forget the extraordinary truth that we have new lives in Christ, both right here on earth and in eternity. It is time that we start living in light of this truth. We have been made new in Christ Jesus. Let’s live like it!
Memorize 2 Corinthians 5:17. As you memorize this verse, reflect on the truth found in this passage of Scripture. Reflect on the extraordinary truth that you have a new life in Christ. Ask God to help you live according to this new life He has given you.
11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
