2 CORINTHIANS 5:17
Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new
person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

A NEW LIFE

As the at-risk teenagers took their seats in the youth room, William bowed his head, breathed a silent prayer, then spoke. “Some people don’t let me forget I’ve been in jail,” he said. “Sometimes, I’m the one who doesn’t let me forget all the bad things I’ve done.” He held up his Bible, smiling. “But God says He’s given me a new life. And He’s offering the same gift to you.” Like William, some of us struggle to feel forgiven and accept that we’re rescued, redeemed, restored—new creations defined by our Savior’s love for us, not by the sins that once bound us. The apostle Paul, who considered himself the worst of sinners (1 TIMOTHY 1:12–17), affirmed that believers in Jesus needed to stop seeing people and Christ from “a human point of view” (2 CORINTHIANS 5:16). As “new people” (or “new creations”) who’ve been reconciled to God through Jesus’ death and resurrection, our sins are no longer counted against us (VV. 17–19). After having received this new identity, God’s children become living ambassadors for Christ (V. 20). Our past sins can’t trap or tarnish us.

When we focus on our insufficiencies instead of God’s ever- sufficient grace, it’s hard to live like we trust God. But even in that struggle, God can help us see ourselves as redeemed people who are called and empowered to live for Jesus—pointing others to the hope we have in Him.

XOCHITL DIXON

When has someone, including yourself, made you believe you’re trapped or tarnished by your past sins? How does Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin and the forgiveness He offers give you hope for the future?

Mighty Jesus, please help me live as if I’ve truly received the new life You’ve given me and encourage others to accept the new life You offer those who place their trust in You.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | 2 CORINTHIANS 5:11–21

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.

The cross is the universal symbol of Christianity . . .
One beam horizontal, the other vertical . . . One
represents the width of his love; the other the height
of his holiness. The cross is the intersection . . . where
God forgave his children without lowering his standards.
MAX LUCADO

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He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.
By his wounds you are healed.
1 PETER 2:24

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In His death on the cross, Jesus took all our wrongdoing
on Himself and offered us His forgiveness. Because
He carried our burden, we don’t have to suffer the
punishment we deserve.
MARVIN WILLIAMS

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