Living a New Life in Christ
A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or trace all the chain of circumstances in the process of their conversion; but this is not to say they’re unconverted.
Christ said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Like the wind, which is invisible, yet the effects of which are plainly seen and felt, is the Spirit of God in its work on the human heart. That regenerating power, which no human eye can see, brings a new life in the soul; it creates a new being in the image of God.
While the work of the Spirit is silent and imperceptible, its effects are clearly seen. If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God, a person’s life will bear witness to the fact. While we can’t do anything to change our hearts or to bring ourselves into harmony with God, and while we must not trust at all to ourselves or our good works, our lives will reveal whether the grace of God is dwelling in us.
A change will be clear and decided between what they have been and what they are. The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts.
n Those who become new creatures in Christ Jesus will bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22, 23). They will no longer behave according to their former lusts, but by the faith of the Son of God they will follow in His steps, reflect His character, and purify themselves even as He is pure. The things they once hated they will find they now love, and the things they once loved they hate.
There is no genuine repentance without a reformation of one’s life. If wrongs are righted, if a person confesses their sin to the wronged and demonstrates a love for God and fellow humankind, then be sure that they’ve passed from death to life.
In the heart renewed by divine grace, love is the principle of action. It modifies the character, controls the passions, subdues hate and purifies one’s affections. This love, cherished in the soul, sweetens a person’s life and sheds a positive influence on all those around them.
n But there are two errors which God’s children—particularly those who have just come to Him—especially need to guard against.
The first is that of looking to their own works, trusting to anything they can do, to bring themselves into harmony with God. Those who attempt to become holy by their own works in keeping the law are attempting an impossibility. All that we can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness and sin. It is the grace of Christ alone, through faith, that can make us holy.
The opposite and no less dangerous error is that belief in Christ releases us from keeping the law of God at all; that since by faith alone we become partakers of the grace of Christ, our works have nothing to do with our redemption.
n Notice, however, that obedience is not merely outward compliance, but the service of love. The law of God is an expression of His nature, the embodiment of the great principle of love.
If our hearts are renewed in the likeness of God, if the divine love is implanted in the heart, when humans are renewed after the image of God, His new-covenant promise to “put my laws in their hearts” (Hebrews 10:16) is fulfilled.
And when God’s law is written on your heart how does it shape your life?
Obedience—the service and allegiance of love—is the true sign of discipleship. Thus the Scripture says, “This is love for God: to obey his commands” (1 John 5:3). Instead of releasing us from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us sharers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience.
n We do not earn salvation by our obedience; for salvation in a free gift from God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit of faith (see 1 John 3:5, 6). This is the true test. If we abide in Christ, if the love of God dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts and actions will all be in harmony with the will of God as expressed in His holy law. “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as [Christ] is righteous” (1 John 3:7).
The so-called faith in Christ which professes to release men from the obligation of obedience to God, isn’t faith but presumption. “By grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by by works, so that no-one can boast.” But “faith, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (Ephesians 2:8; James 2:17).
The condition of eternal life is still what it’s always been—what it was in paradise before the fall of our first parents—perfect obedience to the law of God. If eternal life were to be granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be jeopardised.
It was possible for Adam, before the Fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God’s law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we can’t perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God.
But Christ has made an escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He offers to take our sins and give us His righteousness.
If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, as sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned.
More than this, Christ changes the heart. He abides in your heart by faith, so you may say, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Then with Christ working in you, you will exhibit the same spirit and do the same good works—works of righteousness, obedience.
There are some who’ve known the pardoning love of Christ and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realise their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been renewed.
I say, don’t draw back in despair, for we will often have to bow before Jesus because of our mistakes, but we aren’t to become discouraged. Even if you’re overcome by the devil, you’re not cast off, not forsaken and rejected by God.
Christ is there with God, interceding on our behalf. The Bible says, “If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). He desires to restore you to Himself, to see His own purity and holiness reflected in you. And if you yield yourself to Him, He who began the good work in your life will carry it forward.
But note also, the closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes, for your self-perception will become clearer. This is evidence that Satan’s delusions have lost their power; that the influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you.
No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in a heart that doesn’t realise its sinfulness. The soul transformed by the grace of Christ will discover His infinite purity and beauty. When we see how sinful we are, we will turn to Him who can pardon. When we reach out to Christ, then He comes with power to help.
Our sense of need drives us to the Saviour and to the Word of God. The more we see of His beautiful character, the more we will be like Him.
Adapted from Steps to Christ. (see below)
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