A Chance to Start Fresh

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:1‭-‬11‬‬)

As Paul states in this passage, when we are baptized our old self is put to death. We die to our old way of life. When we rise from that grave however, we walk in “newness of life.” God gives us a fresh start.
This second chance is different, though. The definition of this second chance is “second chances.” What I mean by that is that our second chance through baptism is not our last chance. John says this:

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:7‭-‬9)

The blood of Christ continues to cleanse us from sin as we continue to confess our sins and seek God. We often hear the phrase “Christ’s blood flows forward and backward,” to demonstrate that when Christ bore our sins on the cross, he made it so that those faithful to God in the past, present, and future would be able to attain salvation. Because of this, God is able to continually cleanse us in Christ’s blood as long as we confess our faults and strive to serve Him.
So you have the chance to start fresh this new year. Try to make this year better than the last. Be a better person this year. But also do better this month, this week, and start over tomorrow trying to serve God better. The important thing to remember is that even though we all “sin and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23),” God will always give us another chance as long as we seek Him. Don’t let your sin get you down. Confess, ask forgiveness, forgive yourself, and move on to serve God better. Continue being a “new creation” every day.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17)

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Leave a comment and share a way that you can be a better servant of God 1) this year, 2) this month, and 3) today. Thanks for reading, commenting, and sharing!