(This is the second post in a series.)
The first fruit of redemption that we’ll discuss is conversion.
What is conversion?
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
“…in Christ…”
Have you ever considered what it means to be “in Christ”? Simply put, it is to have absolute assurance that Christ is the complete and perfect propitiation for our sin and by faith—through grace—we believe in His work on the cross.
It is to rest in Him and to know that He resides in us. It is also to let Him live through our lives so He may be glorified in all that we do (yes, everything…that means eating, drinking, working, playing, resting…everything). It is not just having belief with no result, but it is knowing with full confidence that the Lord is fighting for us.
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4).
That’s what it is to be in Christ.
What does it mean to be a new creation? or to have newness of life?
“New” implies a new nature quite different from anything that previously existed. This “new” is not comparable to adding a new paint job; for this is just applying a new thing to the old—simply a cover up. Rather, this “new” is like the complete stripping of a wall to the bare bones—the foundation. Everything old is removed and rebuilt in perfection.
And guess what? The same goes for our new nature. Before Christ, our nature was totally and utterly depraved, trodden down and hopeless. Now, like that wall, our old nature has been torn completely down, burned up and blown away in ash. A new creature has been built, a nature that is perfect through Christ alone and whose sin has been washed away by His blood.
Redemption by the blood of Christ has converted us from children of wrath into children of glory. From darkness to light. From an enemy, into a son of God.
“Behold,” the Word proclaims, “the new has come.” It blows me away when I meditate and think upon the “new”. There’s no stopping after we say a prayer and get saved, only to see no corresponding result or fruit. Our life is completely transformed and every action, every thought and every deed is new. It is through Christ that we live and it is Him who enables us to live a life that is centered on the cross. This should be the proper response because we are no longer our own but have been bought with a price—the blood of the Lamb.
“People are strange”
True conversion is that strange thing a lot of non-believers notice but do not quite understand. It is what separates us from the world. Conversion completely changes our hearts and minds so that our affections are rightly fixed where they ought to be: on Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Just as God created life out of darkness, so it is with the believer.
We now have true life.
Stop right now to consider and meditate on the many ways that God, in your own life, has made the old pass away and the new come.
Do you have faith in Christ? If so, you have been converted. Rejoice, you have been born again!
Other posts in this series:
One Comment on "Fruits of Redemption: Conversion"
Hallelujah!