I Didn’t Become a Better Me

I Didn’t Become a Better Me

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17

The Bible is not a self-help book.

Jesus did not die on the cross so I could become a slightly improved version of the man I used to be.

When I got saved, I did not become a new and improved ray mileur.

I became a new creature in Christ.

That distinction matters.

Much of what the world calls transformation is really improvement. We try to develop better habits, become more disciplined, manage our emotions, overcome weaknesses, think positively, and become a better version of ourselves.

Some of those things may be useful. There is nothing wrong with developing discipline or correcting bad habits.

But that is not the Gospel.

The Gospel does not say, “Come to Jesus and He will help you fix yourself.”

Jesus said we must be born again.

Paul said we become a new creation.

That is something altogether different.

One of the greatest lies believers can accept is that salvation merely cleaned us up on the outside while leaving the same old person underneath.

We can begin living as though God has simply thrown a clean robe over a filthy man and agreed not to look underneath it.

We think, “God forgave me, but deep down I’m still the same person.”

No.

Scripture says:

“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Salvation is not God pretending something happened.

Something happened.

Christ reconciled us to God.

Our sins were forgiven.

We were made alive in Christ.

We were brought from darkness into light.

We were given the Holy Spirit.

We became children of God.

Paul continues:

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” — 2 Corinthians 5:21

Notice where the power rests.

Not in us.

In Him.

My salvation was never dependent upon my ability to improve myself.

If I could have fixed myself, I would not have needed a Savior.

Jesus did not come to help the old Ray behave better.

The old man had to die.

Paul wrote:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” — Galatians 2:20

That is Christianity.

Not self-improvement.

Not religious rehabilitation.

Not turning over a new leaf.

Death and resurrection.

The problem is that many Christians have been made new but continue to think like the old person.

We still remember the sins.

We remember the failures.

We remember what people called us.

Sometimes we remember exactly who we were before Jesus found us.

And the enemy is more than willing to keep replaying those memories.

“You haven't really changed.”

“You know what you used to be.”

“You're still that same person underneath.”

But my past does not get the final word about who I am.

God does.

That does not mean Christians suddenly become incapable of sin.

It does not mean temptation disappears.

It does not mean we never stumble again.

Anybody who has walked with Jesus very long knows better than that.

There is still a battle between the flesh and the Spirit. There are still habits that must be put away, thoughts that must be brought into obedience, and areas of our lives that must be surrendered to God.

But we fight that battle from a completely different position.

We are not trying to become God's children.

We are God's children.

We are not trying to earn reconciliation.

We have been reconciled through Christ.

We are not trying to manufacture a new life.

Christ has given us one.

That is why Romans 8:6 warns us: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Where we set our minds matters.

If I continually define myself by my failures, I will live chained to something Christ has already broken.

If I continually stare backward at the man I used to be, I will have a difficult time walking forward as the man Christ has called me to be.

There comes a point when we have to believe what God has said about us more than we believe what our feelings say about us.

I say this often: We judge our emotions by the Word of God. We do not judge the Word of God by our emotions.

You may not always feel like a new creation.

Feelings change.

God's Word does not.

You may wake up some mornings painfully aware of your weaknesses.

You may stumble.

You may have days when you wonder how somebody who belongs to Jesus could struggle the way you do.

Take it back to Scripture.

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.”

Not someday.

Not after you finally get everything right.

Not after you become spiritually impressive.

In Christ.

That is the foundation.

And when I understand that, obedience changes.

I am no longer desperately trying to earn God's love.

I obey because I have been loved.

I am no longer working to purchase grace.

I obey because grace has already been given.

I am not fighting sin hoping that someday God will accept me.

I fight sin because in Christ I have already been accepted, forgiven, reconciled, and called to walk in newness of life.

Grace does not give us permission to remain where we were.

Grace gives us the power to leave it behind.

Maybe somebody reading this today keeps returning to an old grave.

You keep digging up the person you used to be.

You keep rehearsing sins God has forgiven.

You keep allowing yesterday to tell you who you are today.

Stop listening to the tombstone.

The old man died.

Jesus Christ has given you life.

You are not simply a repaired version of your old self.

You are not Christianity's version of a remodeling project.

You are a new creation.

So today, don't spend your time trying to manufacture a better you.

Surrender yourself to Christ.

Renew your mind with His Word.

Walk in obedience.

Listen to the Holy Spirit.

When temptation comes, remember who you belong to.

When your past calls your name, remember that Jesus has called you by another name:

Redeemed.

Forgiven.

Reconciled.

His.

The Bible isn't a self-help book.

And thank God it isn't.

Because I didn't need a few helpful suggestions.

I needed a Savior.

And when Jesus saved me, He didn't make me a new and improved Ray Mileur.

He made me new.

Let us Pray

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that salvation is more than forgiveness written on a page. Thank You that through Jesus Christ You have given us new life.

Help me stop defining myself by who I once was, what I once did, or even by the struggles I still face today. Teach me to believe what Your Word says about me.

When the enemy reminds me of my past, remind me of the cross.

When I stumble, lead me quickly to repentance and back into fellowship with You.

Renew my mind through Your Word. Help me walk according to the Spirit rather than returning to the ways of the flesh.

I cannot transform myself, Lord. I never could.

So once again today, I surrender myself to You.

I pray, believe, and release my life into Your hands, trusting the work You began in me and the grace that sustains me.

Thank You that in Christ the old has passed away and the new has come.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Today’s Quote

"Jesus did not come to make the old me better. He came to make me new". — ray mileur