Things That Pertain to Life & Godliness

THE NEW CREATION If there is any doubt about the power of the gospel of grace to change the life of those who are dead in sin, Paul brings clarity by declaring that what takes place when a person believes, is not behavioral modification leading to outward reform, but an inward change so dramatic that it is referred to as becoming a new creation. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). This is regeneration through the Spirit of God. “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace wemight become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Tit 3:4-7). The loving kindness of God is just what we needed at just the right time. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom 5:6). Paul further explains the dramatic shift that takes place by describing how God exerts His mighty power to bring us out of sin and death. He states in Colossians 1:13, 14 that God “delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdomof his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. As a new creation we have been given all that we need to live a godly life in Christ. Romans 6:32 states, “He who did not spare The loving kindness of God is just what we needed at just the right time