2 Corinthians 5:17
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!
Becoming a Christian is not making a new start in life; it is receiving a new life to start with.”
—Anonymous, from Men of Integrity, (September/October ‘99).
The hope of New Life begins with Jesus-
Matthew 1:21
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Jesus means "The Lord Saves" Jesus came to earth to save us because we can't save ourselves from our sin and it's consequences.
The hope of new life is guaranteed by Jesus' resurrection -
Romans 6:5
If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We can enjoy our new life in Christ as we are united with Him in His death and resurrection. Our evil desires, our bondage to our dependencies and our live for for sin died with Him. Now resurrected with Him through faith we have unbroken fellowship with God.
The hope of new life is freedom from bondage to our dependencies -
Colossians 2:13-14
When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross.
Before we believed (Steps 2&3) and committed our lives to God our nature was evil. We disobeyed, rebelled and ignored God. In recovery, living our new lives God has crucified the old rebellious nature and replaced it with a new loving one. God doesn't take us out of the world or make us robots - we will feel like going back some times to the old life. The difference now is that through faith we are equipped to cope with whatever comes our way.
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