“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
When you make the decision to accept Jesus into your life, everything changes. You are making the biggest and BEST decision you will ever make in your entire life. You trust that Jesus died for your sins, and you want Him to become Lord of your life.
And when you make this decision, God, your Heavenly Father, adopts you as His own. This word “adopt” is the perfect word because, as we mentioned yesterday, according to the Roman legal system in the first century, those who were adopted received the same legal rights, the same privileges, and the same opportunities that a natural-born child received.
There was no difference at all. By becoming a member of the family, an adopted child gained all the rights to his new father’s estate and was seen as an equal heir with the other sons and daughters in the family. They were considered co-heirs, according to the law.
But there is more! What is also interesting about the Roman Law of that day was that when a child was adopted, the old life of that son or daughter was completely wiped away. When you joined your new family, the baggage from your old family and your old life was essentially erased.
When you were adopted, the slate was wiped clean. You had a fresh start and a new beginning. All your previous debts were erased. You were now in a new relationship with a new family. Your past was no longer to be counted against your future.
And you know what? The same is true when God adopts us. When you give your life to Jesus, you are given a fresh start! You are wiped clean. You no longer have to live with the baggage of your past, but you are a new person in Christ! Praise God today that He wipes away the old and allows us to start fresh!