New Better Life in Christ!

Is there anybody in the world who does not want a better life? All the struggles of humans from the very beginning of civilization are in pursuit of the better life.

Millions have perished in their fight for the better life for themselves or for entire nations. It is the relentless cry of humanity. It is the motivating principle in every war. It is the driving force behind every revolution. It is also the primary reason that millions leave one country to find the better life in another country. But the real problems are defining and attaining the better life.

Often, what constitutes the better life for one group is the oppressive life for another group. Then the oppressed group rises up and fights for the better life to the despair of yet another group. So what is the Christian to do? What truly is the better life? Are there any definable standards? Does the Creator of humanity have anything to say?

Big problem? Not if we have a totally trustworthy source of information and an absolute standard as our guide. And indeed, we do, if we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ! The apostle Paul had to deal with some very serious issues in the Corinthian church. So he wrote a letter to this church to help them find the better life ‘the real thing that would matter for all believers’ Whatever we do, it is because Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead they will live to please Christ who died and was raised for them .What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! (2 Cor. 5:14-17 NLT). The NKJV puts verse 17 this way, Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.

What a powerful word from God Almighty! There is no guesswork here. This is not mere human opinion. This is not the rambling of an old, self-appointed philosopher. It is not the baffling talk of unprincipled politicians who play games for reelection. Nor is it the expedient theology of money grabbing television evangelists who pander to the carnal weaknesses of the naive flock. This is the clear, unambiguous, unequivocal revelation of the mind of God on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. The choice is simple: we believe and conform to Christ or we reject and reform according to our own sophisticated wisdom.

The better life can only be found in the new life in Christ. The life we now live as believers is really the life of Christ in us. Upon our confessing and receiving Christ we (the old sinful nature) essentially died. The old heart which is the product of sin and hostility against God was replaced with a new heart in Jesus. This is not a matter of a renewed heart. NO! It is a replacement not a renewal! To have Christ live in us is to have the righteousness of Christ as our normal lifestyle in thought, word, attitude, values and actions. Therefore, whatever Christ stands for we stand for. Whatever Christ is against we are against.

With such a mindset, or heart set, righteousness is no longer a political or cultural debate. It cannot be a judgment based on democratic principle, popular opinion or ecclesiastical proclamation. It is simply the mind of Christ. Our newness is in Christ. Our better life is in Christ even if our physical circumstances are no better than before. The revolution is within our inner being. The real battle is to destroy the old heart completely until the new heart is fully in place. In other words we possess the mind and heart of Christ. And since Christ will never contest or oppose His Father’s will we too shall be submissive to all that God has revealed. Just as Christ lived to please the Father we too will live to please the Father because Christ is living in us!

My dear friends in Christ I am very aware of the difficulty of such a position in a world that seeks human praise, societal recognition and personal glory. It is not cool to stand up for moral absolutes in a culture that equates pluralistic tolerance with spiritual enlightenment. Yet the truth is that Christians are called to follow Jesus not the culture. To adopt any position that opposes Jesus is to be an enemy of Jesus. And perhaps, even worse, to reinterpret Jesus for the sake of political correctness is to diminish the efficacy of the redemptive work of Jesus and deny Him His place as God the Son!

Perhaps, some of my readers are saying, This is an extremely radical approach to life. You are absolutely right! Jesus did not come to make people feel good about themselves. He came to challenge the status quo and initiate a new Kingdom with Him as King. This is rather radical, of course! Jesus never compromised anything that The Father had given to him. With unwavering authority and love, he preached and modeled exactly what God the Father had commanded. And just before he departed to return to the Father he commanded His disciples to go and do the same.

If this theology is too hard for some to accept it is not God’s fault. The problem is never God! The problem is humans! Under the Old Covenant God wrote the agreement on tablets of stone. In the New Covenant He has written His laws in the hearts of His people. You will note from the book of Hebrews that Jesus did not come to reform the Old Covenant and make it more attractive to people. He made it obsolete and established a New Covenant which offers to believers a far better deal. The problem with the Old Covenant was not God or the actual covenant but the people. Law cannot change people. Law does not make anyone righteous. So God took care of this problem by having Jesus fulfill all the perfect requirements of the law so that we now live not under the condemnation of law but by His grace unto life.

All believers now have the law written in their hearts. This means that Christ is alive in our hearts through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are able to live the new life in Christ not because of our human effort but because of the presence of Christ. In the former case the agreement failed because of the faithlessness of the people. In this present case the agreement succeeds because of the faithfulness of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ was conclusive, never to be repeated as it was in the Old. Now, Christ reigns in the hearts of His people so that He lives His life wherever His followers live.

Dear believers, what is the point of all this? The struggle for the better life is over when we let Christ fully live within us. The only real better life is the new life in Christ. And that is something that Jesus has already secured for us who believe. As we increasingly surrender to Him we will find an amazing thing happen within our innermost being. We will be able to successfully wage any war, climb any mountain, leap over any bridge, conquer any sinful habit and live the victorious life. Why? Because He has conquered for us and all we have to do is to give Him full permission to live in us. This is the new life in Christ that will please the Father, glorify the Son and impact others to walk in the culture of light and life.

May God grant us the faith and power to live the new life in Christ! Amen!