Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4
The idea of acquiring something new is a part of life we are very familiar with. It could be as simple as a pair of shoes or as important as purchasing a new house, but the main reason is the same, what we have currently is no longer suitable to meet our needs and goals. The same is true in the newness of life mentioned in Romans 6. Upon hearing the Gospel (Rom 10:17), we realize we need to be made new by the cleansing blood of Jesus (Rom.6:3), thereby ridding ourselves of the old man of sin (Col 3:9).
In the context of Romans 6, we must commit to being a new creature and not go back to those things that we deemed to be no longer satisfactory. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. It is understood we take care of anything new and the soul requires we must always be vigilant to maintain a proper standing before God (2 Pet 5:8). Also, we must understand that just because one has obeyed the gospel, it doesn’t give us the right to conduct ourselves as we want (Rom 6:1), but rather be diligent about holding to and living our lives as set forth by the scriptures (John 12:48, 1 John 2:6).
We can commit to this new life by determining we simply will not take in anything that might bring harm. I must daily make the decision that I will not allow myself to be worldly but rather Godly (Rom 12:1-2). In the physical sense, sadly, we’ve all dealt with someone who has made the choice to take in something that harms them such as drugs or alcohol. These things distort the mind and cause the body to act accordingly. The same thing happens to the mind of a Christian who pollutes their thoughts with worldly cares. We wouldn’t cast shiny new pearls before swine (Matt 7:6). Why then would we tarnish our souls with vain things of this world?
Embracing the idea of being made new in Christ will allow me to embrace the new man of Godliness (Eph 4:22-32). We will find ourselves filled with compassion and forgiveness. The Bible is plain, when we are raised to walk in newness of life we are different in the eyes of God (1 Pet. 2:9), but it needs to be understood that we must see ourselves as different, desiring to always be a devoted follower of God (Rev 2:10).
By Jason Barger