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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
November 10
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Today's Pathway:
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Yesterday we saw that Paul taught that when a person receives Christ as Savior he becomes a new creature in Christ. In the second half of verse 17 he writes that the "old things are passed away". There is a complete change that takes place when someone gets saved. The old ways are gone. The verb tense for "passed away" indicates something that took place at a point in time in the past. In other words, the moment I was saved my whole life was changed by God. I was freed from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). I was no longer bound by sin (Romans 6:18). I was no longer obligated to follow after the world's philosophies and desires because God had made me new. The believer still has a sin nature, but there should be a radical difference between how a man thought, spoke, and behaved before salvation and how he does after salvation. Romans 6:6 tells us,
"our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
In I John 3:6-10 John spells out the fact that one of the evidences that a man is saved is that he will be different from the unsaved world. He writes,
"Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God."
It must be noted here that John is not saying that believers never sin (I John 1:8), but he is saying that they will not be habitually sinful or maintain a sinful lifestyle. It should be a cause of concern when people profess to be saved and yet continue to live like they did before their alleged conversion. Paul commended the Thessalonian Christians because they
"turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (I Thessalonians 1:9).
That is how a Biblical conversion looks. There is certainly a maturing process that takes place once someone becomes a child of God. But if "all things are become new", then there should be an obvious change.
Adam Clarke dealt with this issue in his commentary. He wrote,
"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 everlasting life. He was before full of pride and wrath; he is now meek and humble. He formerly had his portion in this life, and lived for this world alone; he now hath GOD for his portion, and he looks not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are eternal. Therefore, old things are passed away, and all things are become new."
An old camp chorus went like this:
"The things I used to do, I don't do them anymore...There's been a great change since I've been born again."
Is that your testimony?
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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