From Grave to Glory: Leaving the Old Man Behind by stella ashworth
I tell you the truth, this is something I wrestle to understand: why would you want to resurrect the old man? Was your old self not crucified with Christ? Was it not buried with Him in death?
The Word declares: “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the Glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Why return to the grave? Why clothe yourself with what Christ already put to death?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The old man was buried. The new man lives.
Why then do so many “born-again” believers cling to the past? Why do they attempt to live with one foot in the grave and one foot in resurrection life?
Scripture gives no room for divided living. “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
The past was nailed to the Cross. It was judged, buried, and put to death in Christ. To keep rehearsing who we were is to deny what He has done.
Yes, there is a time when a testimony points to God’s mercy but the Gospel was never meant to exalt the sinner, it was meant to exalt the Saviour.
Paul did not preach his past, he preached Christ.
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
The Word commands us: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18–19).
My dear friends in Christ, when Christ becomes our identity, the old labels lose their power. We are not defined by who we were in the world, but by who we are in Him.
Preach Christ. Live crucified. Walk forward.
Written by Stella Ashworth - Bay Talk