What is the true source of your identity as a Christian? Improperly taught, this has been one of the most damaging areas in Christianity.

In the Bible, Paul calls Jesus “the last Adam.” In short, it means that just as how Adam was a representative of mankind from the time of creation, Jesus becomes the new representative of mankind from the time of his arrival.

^“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” – Romans 5:18-19

Despite the separation between these 2 Adams, Christians are still taught to relate to the first Adam, still laying claim to a sinful nature and a fallen fleshly body.

The good news (pun very much intended), is that you are not related to the first Adam anymore (John 1:12-13).

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” – John 1:12-13

You are no longer born of natural descent, but spiritual descent. The same way Jesus wasn’t a product of Mary and Joseph lovey dubby times, but was a life directly conceived by the Holy Spirit, you also, in your new life, have been directly born of God.

What It Means to Be Reborn

That’s what it means to be reborn: your first birth and the sin nature that you inherited from it, doesn’t count. You are now related to the second Adam, Jesus, and you have inherited the divine nature.

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” – Romans 8:29

Jesus on earth, sinless and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, was a preview of the new creature God was going to unleash on the world. Children of God filled to fullness with the Spirit of God, not only able to walk in the power of God over sickness, disease, death, and even nature itself, but also in the power of God over sin.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Cor. 5:17

The old is gone, the new is here. It is not something off in the future, only attainable through the physical death of your body, but it is something now here, attained through recieving Jesus and his death and resurrection, both of which you have participated in.

Reborn is a Redo On Life

To be re-born means that you got a redo on life. Why? Because you screwed it up the first time. We all did. Do you remember being kids playing a game with other kids (let’s take basketball for example)? We would shoot a basket and miss and we would yell out “redo!” Why? Because we want another chance to get it right. What does calling a redo mean? It means that shot we took doesn’t count, and it can’t be held against us. The first shot we took and missed never happened.

What’s the better news? When we called a “redo” on life by receiving Jesus and becoming “born again,” our second chance is based on what He got right, not on what we got wrong, or might even continue to get wrong. More than that, it isn’t even based on any future effort of ours to “get it right.” You heard correctly! Your efforts do not matter.

He won the entire game for us and handed us the trophy. It’s why many call it “scandalous grace.”

This new identity in Christ is why “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.”

Whenever the devil comes against you and says, “Aha! I caught you missing the shot! I’m going to tell God about this!”

You immeditely point to the trophy won by Jesus and say, “See this? The game is already over, and I’ve won! No missed shots are held against me because the buzzer has already sounded on this whole situation!”

Can We Sin All We Want?

Does it mean you should purposefully shoot air balls? Of course not. What it does mean is grace has provided us an endless amount of stress-free breathing room to practice our new righteousness. If I miss a shot there is no condemnation because the game is over, so I am relieved of the pressure of “trying to win the game,” and I get to spend my life just learning how to shoot better than I did the day before.

In other words, while we should obviously not run around and sin all we want. What grace provides me is the room to learn. If I miss the mark I don’t have to fear condemnation from my coach (Holy Spirit), but I look forward to encouragement. I can approach him with confidence and say, “I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong or why I keep missing this shot, will you teach me to up my game?” And I can trust him to walk me through it with joy, not anger. Patience, not frustration.

Forget Your Sins

My new life in Christ is how God can say, “I will remember your sins no more,” because those sins technically never happened. You have the right to say that, and you wouldn’t be arrogant or lying. When the accuser comes and says, “Oh yeah! Remember that time you did this!” You can say, “I remember when somebody did that, but it wasn’t me! That person died! I’m a new creation, I’m born again. You might remember it, but God certainly doesn’t, so I’ll forget it, too!”

What does all of this mean? You can stop looking back at who you were, or letting the devil bring up past sins that lead you into condemnation. Even Paul (everybody’s favorite mascot for the “I’m just a sinner” sentiments) said that he forgets what is behind him and continuously moves forward toward the goal. So I say the same to you, forget what is behind, set your mind on things above, because those things are the only things that matter now.