Stop was a wake up call : a good place to begin

New Creation II Corinthians 5:17 tells us, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. When we receive Jesus Christ as our saviour and confess Him as the Lord of our life, a spiritual transformation takes place in our heart and we become new creatures in Christ. The old sinful nature in our heart is replaced by the new nature of God, which introduces us to new ways of acting and new ways of thinking. We are made brand new in Christ. Philipp's translation says, For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether... TCNT says, Therefore, if any one is in union with Christ, he is a new being... The Basic translation reads, So if any man is in Christ, he is in a new world... Salvation carries us into a new world and gives us the opportunity to start our life all over again with a clean slate. No matter what mistakes you have committed in the past, they are all washed away by the blood of Christ and you get to start a fresh, new life in God. The TCNT says, ...your old life has passed away; a new life has begun. The phrase a new creature is translated from the Greek adjective #2537 kainos which the Vines Dictionary defines as not new in time but new as to form or quality, of a different nature, a new spiritual and moral character that is fashioned after the pattern of Christ. Titus 3:5 says it this way, ...according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Thayers Lexicon says that the word translated regeneration denotes the restoration of a thing to its pristine state. In other words, we have been regenerated, created anew, and given a new, pristine life in Christ. This spiritual rebirth lifts you into a new position of grace that makes you righteous in Gods sight because He now sees you through the blood of Christ. You are a brand new creation, one that never existed before, all of the old things have passed away. You have a new heart, a new personality, and a new, pristine life in Christ.

Old things are passed away The phrase old things is translated from the Greek #744 archaios and means that which has been from the beginning, primal, old, ancient. In other words, the primal instincts of your previous carnal, sinful life are replaced with the new nature of God.

Vines Dictionary says that archaios refers to things that characterized and conditioned the time previous to conversion in a believers experience. They have now become new, i.e. they have taken on a new complexion and are viewed in an entirely different way. Before our conversion we were full of pride and anger; but now we are motivated by our new nature of love and humility. Before we lived according to the flesh and tended to satisfy our own selfish, carnal desires; but now we walk according to the Spirit and seek not to please ourselves, but to please God. The Amplified Bible says, ...the old *previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away; Behold, the fresh and the new has come... All of the things that characterized your previous life have been washed away, and you get to start over with a fresh and a new life in Christ. Colossians 1:21,22 confirms this idea by saying, in Gods eyes you are holy, unblameable, faultless and unreproveable; because He sees you through the blood of Christ. The Amplified says that you are, ...holy and faultless and irreproachable in... the Fathers presence. You must renew your mind to these scriptures and begin to see yourself the same way that God sees you. Completely renovated and restored to a pristine state. You have been made a new creature by the blood of Christ.

Love constraineth us In II Corinthians 5:14, Paul tells us what drives this new creature, For the love of Christ constraineth us... The word used here is the Greek #4912 sunecho which means to constrain, to hold together, to hold fast like a prisoner. Various translations read, It is the love of Christ which compels us (Conybeare), It is Christs love that controls me (Goodspeed), The very spring of our actions is the love of Christ (Philipps), For the love of Christ leaves us no choice (NEB). We have become prisoners of Gods love. Compelled and motivated by love, it has become the spring of our actions, the inspiration of our desires. Love is the controlling influence of our new life in Christ. The Amplified says, For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us... As the love of Christ takes us over, we no longer want to live in selfishness and unforgiveness. We no longer want to hold grudges or feel resentment towards anyone. Walking in love becomes the chief aim and goal of our life.

The next verse adds, And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. We no longer desire to live for self. Self is no longer in control. We are compelled to live our life for Christ, following His plan and giving Him complete satisfaction with our life.

Ministry of Reconciliation II Corinthians 5:18 continues, And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. We have been reconciled to God. The Greek word used here is #2644 katallasso which means to return into favor with, to cease being angry with someone, to make friends again. The dictionarys definition of reconcile is to reestablish a close relationship, to settle or resolve differences, to bring oneself to accept someone, to make peace. God is no longer your enemy; He has become your friend through the blood of Christ. And He has given to all of us the ministry of reconciliation, commanding us to make peace with every one and to tell them that God is now their friend through the sacrifice of Christ. Becks translation says, But God has done it all. When we were His enemies, through Christ He made us His friends and gave us the work of making friends of enemies. Hate is foreign to the new creature. Bitterness no longer takes root. Condemnation is removed, because we have been reconciled to God. Paul continues in verse nineteen, To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. God is no longer imputing our trespasses and holding them against us. The Greek word used here is #3049 logizomai which means to reckon, count, compute, weigh, or to take inventory of. In other words, contrary to religious teaching, God is no longer taking inventory of our sins to shame us. The blood of Christ has erased every sin from our record. Various translations read that God is, ...not counting their sins against them (Philipp), ...not charging mens transgressions to their account (Wey), ...no longer holding mens misdeeds against them (NEB). This revelation of Gods reconciliation will change the way that we look at one another as well. II Corinthians 5:16 says, Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh... We must stop viewing

one another after the standards of the flesh, and holding their past against them. Instead, we must see them through the eyes of God; we must see them as forgiven, cleansed, as new creatures in Christ. TCNT says, ...from this time forward, we refuse to regard anyone from the worlds standpoint... Philipps translation says, This means that our knowledge of men can no longer be based on their outward lives... NEB says, With us therefore worldly standards have ceased to count in our estimate of any man... No matter what anyone has done in their previous life, now that they are born-again, they get to start all over with a fresh, clean slate. Not only in Gods eyes, but in our eyes as well. Because in Christ, we are all brand new creatures, new spiritual beings; the past has been washed away and we have been given a fresh opportunity to become all that God wants us to be.

In Christ Galatians 6:15 makes this statement, For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Religious exercise counts for nothing in Gods eyes. The only thing that matters is, Are you born again? Have you been filled with the new creature as the result of your conversion? The Amplified says that the only thing that counts with God is, ...a new creation *the result of a new birth and a new nature in Christ Jesus, the Messiah+. Adam Clarke writes, It is vain for a man to profess affinity to Christ according to the flesh, while he is unchanged in his heart and life, and dead in trespasses and sins; for he that is in Christ, that is, a genuine Christian, having Christ dwelling in his heart by faith, is a new creature; his old state is changed: he was a child of Satan, he is now a child of God; he was a slave of sin, and his works were death; he is now made free from sin, and has his fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. The only genuine proof that we have truely become born-again is the presence of Gods new nature residing in our hearts. It is living proof that our lives have been transformed from darkness to light, from sin to holiness. And if you are genuinely born-again, you will give everyone a chance to start all over again. You will no longer judge them according to their past life. You will help them realize their new life in Christ. Romans 4:8 says, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute (#3049) sin.