Dear Friend,

God likes to make things new! When sin has ruined something that God created, God makes something entirely new. That is what God did with me when He saved me. He made me a new person in Christ!

When God looked at me in my unsaved condition, what did He see? He saw three things:

• God saw my many sins.

• God saw me as a sinner.

• God saw me in Adam’s sinful family.

These things are true of every unsaved person. But God loved us so much that He wanted to deliver us from these things that were against us. That is why God sent His beloved Son into the world. Let us see how God delivered us from these things.

God delivered me from my sins by laying all my sins on His Son on the cross. The Bible says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him [Jesus] the sin of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).

Because I have trusted the Lord Jesus as my Savior, God has forgiven me of all my sins forever. The Bible says, "…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

As an unsaved person, I had two big problems: 1) My sins—the bad things I had done, and 2) Myself—I am the sinner who did those bad things. Even though God forgives me of all my sins, I still have the problem of my sinful self. When my sinful self is in control, I commit many sins.

Where do my sins come from? They come from my sinful nature. They come from my heart. Jesus said that all kinds of sins come "from within, out of the heart." I don’t want to keep sinning, but I cannot change myself. God is the only One who can solve the problem of my old sinful self.

How did God deliver me from my old sinful self? God delivered me from my old sinful self by putting me in Christ on the cross. The Bible says, "But of Him [God] you are in Christ Jesus…" (1 Corinthians 1:30).

God put me in Christ on the cross. When Christ was crucified, my sinful self, which the Bible calls "the old self," was crucified with Him. The Bible says, "Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him [Christ]…" (Romans 6:6).

How do I know that I was “crucified” with Christ? I know because God says so! The Bible says that our old self was crucified with Christ. You may be thinking, "Christ was crucified 2,000 years ago. How could I be crucified with Christ?"

To help us understand this, let us take a piece of paper and cut out a little man. Now take the little man and place him in a book.

Where is the little man now? He is in the book, and he will stay in the book. Suppose we place the book on the table. Where is the little man now? He is in the book on the table. Suppose we wrap the book with the little man in it and send it to another city. Where is the little man now? He is still in the book, now in the other city.

In this illustration, the book represents Christ and the little man represents me. Just as we put the little man in the book, so God put me in Christ when I first believed on Him. Once the little man was put in the book, whatever happened to the book also happened to the little man because he was in the book. The same is true of me. Once God put me in Christ on the cross, whatever happened to Him also happened to me because I was in Christ.

There are two great facts which are true of every child of God: Christ died for me, and I died with Christ. How do I know that Christ died for Me? I know because God says so in His Word. The Bible says, "…while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

How do I know that I died with Christ? I know because God says so in His Word. The Bible says, "Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him." God put me in Christ on the cross. I was "crucified" with Him. God wants me to know this.

When Christ was crucified, I was "crucified" with Him. When Christ died on the cross, I "died" with Him. That was the end of my old life. When Christ was buried, I was "buried" with Him. In God’s sight, my old life is gone forever.

In myself, I have not died, but these things are true of me in Christ. Remember the little man in the book. Once the little man was put in the book, whatever happened to the book also happened to the little man because he was in the book.

When Christ rose from the grave, I "rose" with Him as a new person in Christ. I have a new life! God created me as a new person in Christ. I still have the same body, but I am a new person inside. The Bible says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new person; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When God looks down, He sees all people as being in one of two families: in Adam’s sinful family, or in Christ’s family. By natural birth we are all in Adam’s sinful family.

That is why the Lord Jesus said, "You must be born again." We must be born again spiritually to get in Christ’s family. Those in Christ’s family are called "the children of God."

Here is some wonderful news! The moment I took Christ as my Savior, God took me out of Adam’s sinful family and put me in Christ’s family. I am now in Christ. The Bible says, "But of Him [God] you are in Christ Jesus…" (1 Corinthians 1:30). I have a new family!

How did I get in Christ? God put me there! I could never do this myself, but God did it for me. By His mighty power, God took me out of Adam’s sinful family and put me in Christ. The Bible says, "Now He who establishes…you in Christ…is God" (2 Corinthians 1:21).

What does it mean to be in Christ? It means that you share in all that Christ did and all that He is today. Where is Christ today? He is in Heaven, seated at the right hand of God. He has all power in Heaven and in the earth.

Because I am in Christ, God has forgiven me of every sin. The Bible says, "…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses me from all sin" (1 John 1:7). God says, "You are my forever–forgiven child!"

God loves me with all His heart. He will always love me with all His heart. What does God want me to do? He wants me to love Him with all my heart. The Lord Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…" (Matthew 22:37).

Because I am in Christ, I am accepted by God. We all like to be accepted by others, but being accepted by God is the most important acceptance of all. The Bible says, "…He has made us accepted in the Beloved [in Christ]" (Ephesians 1:6). God always loves me and accepts me in Christ. He delights in me now.

I am the person God says I am. I am a new person in Christ! Regardless of what I was before God saved me, regardless of what I think about myself, regardless of what others think about me, I am now the person God says I am.

I am God’s forever–forgiven child. God has forgiven me of all my sins forever.

I am a new person in Christ. My old life ended with my “death” with Christ. When Christ rose from the dead, I rose with Him as a new person in Christ. God loves me and delights in me the same way He loves and delights in His own Son.

I am a person in whom Christ lives. The apostle Paul said, "Christ lives in me." This is true of every believer.

My enemy, Satan, is a liar and he likes to put lies in my mind—thoughts like these:

God is not pleased when I believe Satan’s lies. He is pleased when I believe His truth.

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