Be who you are

I am reading "Justification & Regeneration by Charles Leiter" and in chapter six he talks about "The new man". The verses that is used much in this chapter (it is a short chapter) is Ephesians 4:22-24 which says;

"to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Within the chapter he gives this popular illustration

"One popular illustration of Christian experience speaks of the believer as having both a "black dog" and a "white dog" living within. These dogs are continually fighting with each other, and "the one that we feed the most is the one that wins." Such a view may be sincere, but it is based on very defective theology. The Christian does not merely have something new within him that he never had before; he is someone who he never was before. The Christian is a new man."

Think about this for a minute. Do you feel like someone new in Christ? Because Scripture affirms that in Christ we are anew creation. One Scripture that comes to mind is 2 Corinthians 5:17 which tells us that in Christ we are a new creation and that the old things have passed away and behold new things have come! Its no wonder after my conversion my life was never like it was before Christ. I am just blown away when I see the man that God has created me to be....He took me out of darkness and made me into a new creation that was created in righteousness and holiness" Now practically speaking I have a long way to go, but daily I am dying to keep going in the direction that God is taking me. My heart now loves the things that the Lord loves and hates the things that He hates. So my life is being who I am. And that is a new creation in Christ!

Charles Leiter adds more to what this new creation looks like. He says;

"The Christian is a new man. That is his essential identity. And because he is a new man, he is called upon to live like a new man. Since the old man has already been "laid aside" and the new man "put on," he is exhorted to believe this fact (to be "renewed in the spirit of his mind") and to live accordingly by "laying aside the old man" (i.e., his deeds -"your former manner of life") and by putting on (in practice) "the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." This is the New Testament method of teaching growth in grace: "Realize who you really are, and then be who you are." The call to believers in not, "Try to be who you are not," as many Christians suppose, but rather, "Be who you are!".... the essential truth about every Christian is that he is a new man. At the very center of his being he has been "created in righteousness and holiness." When he says "No" to sin, he is saying "Yes" to his true self."

Wow, that really helps me think about my choices in a new light. When I say no to sin, I am really saying yes to my true self! For the Christian that is truly saved, it is only a matter of time before the sins that are attached to our lives will fall away. That won't be until Jesus comes back or takes us home, but you can know that God who started the work of a new creation in your heart will perfect it until the day of Christ!

So until then be who you are in Christ! Excel all the more. If your in Christ you can say no to sin! If you really do desire any sin in your life then confess and repent of it! We must purge all sin out of our life. Seek Jesus. He is our victory....without Him your striving to be something that you are not. Every man was created in the image of God. May we be pressed till Jesus comes out!