"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
There have been several times in my life that I have moved from one place to another. Overall, I have lived in many different places, in different states, and in different countries. Moving from one place to another was not just a simple process that ended when I began living in my new home. Once I had found a place and moved into it I then had to go through the process of learning to live in my new location. Moving into a new home may also mean that we have to leave some things behind, change some things, or begin some new routines because of the new location.
When we are born again, it is like moving into a new home; we have gone from one spiritual location to another. There are some things from the past that we will have to leave behind, we will have to change some things, and we will have to begin some new routines as we learn to live in our new spiritual location. If we try to live the same way in our new natural location like we did in our former home, it could, and probably would, create some problems. If we try to live as a Christian the same way that we did before we were Christians we will definitely have some problems.
Paul writes that the way he lived his new life in Christ was to live by faith in Jesus, the Son of God. As believers, we must learn to walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), we need to access the grace of God by faith (Romans 5:2), we use our faith to overcome the world (1 John 5:4), and we now fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). What does all that mean? It means that because of our spiritual relocation that we can't focus on natural things anymore and we can't just follow our old ways of talking, thinking, and living as we did before. Our new life in Christ is lived by faith in all that Jesus did for us.
Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
There have been several times in my life that I have moved from one place to another. Overall, I have lived in many different places, in different states, and in different countries. Moving from one place to another was not just a simple process that ended when I began living in my new home. Once I had found a place and moved into it I then had to go through the process of learning to live in my new location. Moving into a new home may also mean that we have to leave some things behind, change some things, or begin some new routines because of the new location.
When we are born again, it is like moving into a new home; we have gone from one spiritual location to another. There are some things from the past that we will have to leave behind, we will have to change some things, and we will have to begin some new routines as we learn to live in our new spiritual location. If we try to live the same way in our new natural location like we did in our former home, it could, and probably would, create some problems. If we try to live as a Christian the same way that we did before we were Christians we will definitely have some problems.
Paul writes that the way he lived his new life in Christ was to live by faith in Jesus, the Son of God. As believers, we must learn to walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), we need to access the grace of God by faith (Romans 5:2), we use our faith to overcome the world (1 John 5:4), and we now fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). What does all that mean? It means that because of our spiritual relocation that we can't focus on natural things anymore and we can't just follow our old ways of talking, thinking, and living as we did before. Our new life in Christ is lived by faith in all that Jesus did for us.