The Old And The New

Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17 RSV

I once heard a carpenter say that it is always better and usually more economical to construct a new house than to patch up an old one. This is even more true in the spiritual realm. There is nothing in our old nature worth salvaging. Our thoughts are full of deceit. Our mouths are filled with cursing and bitterness. The way of peace we have not known. The Bible says, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3; compare Romans 3:12).

The old nature with its deceitfulness, its depravity, and its wickedness must give way to a new nature. And this is exactly what God stands ready to do. God says, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26).

What a challenge! It is much more difficult to change our dispositions than it is our apparel. As a matter of fact, it is utterly impossible for me to change my disposition in my own strength. Thus, the new birth is something that must be done for me by another; and God has promised to do that which I cannot do for myself. And He will do it for you too!

Our Father and our God, please give me a renewed heart and a renewed spirit, as You have promised to do. I repent and turn from my old ways; I adopt Your plans and dreams for my life. Guide me, direct me, teach me. I am Yours to keep forever. In Christ. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).