YOU ARE A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST

You Are Not Who You Used To Be
You Are A New Creation In Christ

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 (ESV)

This is my wife's favorite verse, which means it holds a special place in my heart. I hope it will for you as well after today.

In Christ, your past doesn’t get to write the final chapter—Jesus already did.

You’re not a spiritual renovation project. You’re not the old you with a fresh coat of religious paint slapped on top. When you surrendered your life to Christ, something supernatural happened: the old you died, and a brand new creation was born (Galatians 2:20).

This is more than behavior modification. It’s a total identity transformation. I cannot fully explain what happens when a person surrenders to Christ, but the Bible makes is very clear, they are not the same. Over the next few weeks we are going to look at many of the verses that describe who you are and what that means for you. The best advice I have is to stop walking around letting the thoughts of the old you determine how you see yourself. Take to heart what you read and learn and begin to act like you are the son of a king. The Bile says you are joint heirs with Jesus. You come form a priestly and royal heritage the you are in Christ.

You no longer carry any of the labels from your past. Even if you struggle with your desires you no longer accept who you used to be. These words--shame, addict, failure, unworthy, broken no longer identify who you are. They are titles, and accusations from your past.. Those names don’t belong to you anymore. God has written a new name and a new identity over your life—redeemed, righteous, beloved, son, free, and more. As you will learn in the days ahead. 

The cross didn’t upgrade your life. It exchanged it. 

The old you was crucified with Christ. And the new you? The new you walks in freedom. Not perfectly. Not without battles. But no longer under the weight of condemnation. That’s not your address anymore.

So stop answering to what Jesus already buried.

Walk like the new man God raised up.

Faith In Action
John Newton was not just a man with a rough past, he was a trafficker of souls. As a slave trader, he profited from human misery, chaining men, women, and children in the bowels of ships for profit. By his own admission, he was spiritually bankrupt, morally blind, and utterly lost.

But God wasn’t finished with him.

In 1748, during a fierce storm that nearly destroyed his ship and took his life, Newton cried out to God in desperation. That moment didn’t instantly make him a saint, but it broke something in him. The proud slave trader had been confronted by a greater Master.

What followed was a slow, steady transformation—one marked by years of conviction, repentance, and surrender. Over time, Newton left the slave trade altogether, entered ministry, and eventually became a fierce advocate for abolition. He would later mentor William Wilberforce, a key figure in the fight to end the British slave trade.

His life of misery moved him to write the hymn, Amazing Grace, which has echoed through the centuries as the pure cry of every heart that understands their place before God. We are but wretched sinners in need of a savior, and only through the power of Jesus Christ can we be made new. We will post the lyrics and the song below. 

In his old age, nearly blind, Newton said:

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still, I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”

Newton didn’t sanitize his story. He knew what he had done. But he also knew Who had saved him, and that changed everything. He didn’t hide from his past, but he refused to live under its weight.
His identity was no longer defined by the chains he once used, but by the grace that had broken his own.

The Bottom Line
Being a new creation means your past may explain how you got here, but it no longer gets to define who you are. Your mistakes, trauma, and regrets might be part of your story, but they’re not the headline anymore. In Christ, your identity isn’t anchored to your worst moment. It’s rooted in His finished work. You are not the sum of your failures, you are the result of His grace. God doesn’t label you by what you’ve done; He calls you by what He’s made you: redeemed, restored, and made new.

Something to Think About
Are you still carrying the identity of who you used to be? Or,  are you embracing who God says you are?

Are you putting prison walls up or tearing them down?

What negative thoughts about yourself do you need to let go of?