No Shame for the New Nature

No amount of good works we do can provide us with a new nature.  This was a hard lesson for me.  There was pride involved in doing all the good I could to distract from the sinner Scripture says that I am. 

I didn’t feel like a big sinner. 
I wasn’t an axe murderer, terrorist, con-artist, grifter, thief or anything. 
In fact, I was a “pretty good” person doing “pretty good” things. 

But no amount of good works covers that horrible trifecta:
sin, guilt, and shame. 
It was part of my nature as a member of the human race.

And so, I struggled with shame.  It’s still a weak spot for me because my heart desires perfection but I will not be perfect on this side of eternity. Only in heaven will it be so.

Before Christ and His work on the Cross, we had routine blood sacrifices of animals.  They substituted for us—in flesh—as a placeholder.  But when Jesus came, lived, was Crucified, and rose from the dead, there was a fundamental change of process for us. 

No more goats or sheep.  No!  Now we could be “born again” by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It’s a hard concept to be sure.  But it is essential to understanding the profound consequences of Jesus’ Crucifixion and His Resurrection. 

Think about this high privilege bestowed by our Lord upon a Pharisee when Jesus tried to explain it ahead of time to Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night.  Under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus stated,

“John 3:2 “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. “

4″How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”   (John 3:1-6)

It’s the new birth—through the Holy Spirit—that gives us a whole new nature and the power to live the Christian life.  This isn’t a flesh birth or a flesh death.  Jesus’ body was Crucified, resurrected, and He appeared to His disciples as the Risen Lord. That was His human body, but His spirit was always untouched. Think about it: our bodies still look the same after deciding to follow Christ, but the Christian’s spirit has been born again to a whole new nature.

“Born again” is a phrase that is often derided, but it is truly life-changing in its significance. Spirit gives birth to spirit–and means there is another realm we now experience.  We can live like it–free from sin, guilt, and shame–but will we?