The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Roman church (that he was hoping to one day visit on his way to Spain) about “newness” of life …
“Therefore we have been buried with Him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
- Romans 6:4 (NRSV)
From this we learn two critical things. First, baptism is very important to God and, therefore, it should be very important to us. Baptism is no mere ritual, it is an “enactment” by faith of the believer, of an eternal redemptive truth, in such a way that our former life is gone – God designates it as dead. He sees us differently now. The old me is dead. The new me is the person God speaks to. Second, baptism is an emphatic statement that the believer now walks in “newness of life”, or now lives a new life – an entirely new life.
This is hard to grasp, I know, but this is the truth about the obedient act of baptism by which we identify with Christ and become united with Him. The message of Jesus, Himself, and of the early apostles was not just about forgiveness. Forgiveness is not enough. The Gospel is more than this. There must be a point to forgiveness, an outcome, something new. The message of the apostles was that in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ – to which we are joined in baptism by faith – newness of life followed. This is just logical since in baptism the old me is crucified. Of course, forgiveness and atonement are crucial, but they are a means to one end – newness of life. Now – not just when we die and go to heaven. The work of Jesus on the cross would be incomplete if Jesus had not been raised from the dead. Of course, both elements of Christ’s work (death and resurrection) are illustrated in Lord’s Supper (cup and bread). So, there is much more to newness of life than atonement – remission of sin and forgiveness. Salvation is more than sins dealt with. When we say we are “saved” that is to say we have been delivered from the power of sin and darkness and translated into the Kingdom of God – immediately. From the power of death to the power of life – salvation.
“He [God] has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, …”
- Colossians 1:13 (NRSV)
And that means as soon as we are born again, we start to learn how to live in this newness of life. There is a totally different order of life now, in actual experience, that we did not have before. I have spoken to dozens of new believers over the years and they all say the same thing; “I am different now. I feel it. I know it”, and this is just the beginning!
The word “newness” in Romans 6:4 (above) in the ancient text is “kainotēs” (kahee-not'-ace) (καινότης). It appears just twice in the New Testament, and it means, “newness that is the new state of life in which the Holy Spirit places us so as to produce a new state which is eternal life”. That kind of living could not be accessed before in our spiritually dead state. We now live - in Christ – in a whole new created order, even though we are still in this physical world for a time yet.
Even just a casual read through the pages of the Book of Acts quickly reveals that, for the early church, this newness of life was stunning and exciting – it was cause for great rejoicing because if was so powerfully real. Very real. In fact, the early church quickly understood this reality. The resurrection of Christ in those first years was far more central than His death. This newness of life was just so powerful and overwhelming. The event and the meaning of the resurrection was validated in their day to day experience and, as Richard Foster once wrote, that “validated the reality and the indestructibility of what Jesus had preached and exemplified before His death – and the enduring reality and openness of God’s kingdom.”
And this was the core of the Gospel Jesus preached, wasn’t it?
“Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And He healed every kind of disease and illness.”
- Matthew 4:23 (NLT)
The healings – thousands of them – were tokens, tastes, momentary experiences of the permanent newness of life that awaits those who are translated into the kingdom of God. They are as necessary today, as signs of the kingdom’s reality, as they were back in the day. Which is why Jesus said that signs and wonders will accompany the true preaching of the gospel as we see in the Book of Acts (2:22; 4:30; 5:12).
All this to say that the actual word translated salvation in the New Testament is “life” – not forgiveness. Jesus said to Martha just prior to raising Lazarus from the dead minutes later …
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
- John 11:25-26 (NLT)
Jesus also said,
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
- John 10:10 (NLT)
Make no mistake about what I say here. The death of Jesus is absolutely crucial. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins – and no forgiveness. No forgiveness, and we are still objects of God’s wrath. Without His atoning sacrifice we don’t even get to first base. In baptism we are crucified with Him – once and for all, as far as God is concerned. In baptism we are also raised to newness of life now, and forever more, as far as God is concerned. There can be no resurrection if there is no death. If there is no death there can be no breaking of sin’s power. One leads to the other, as it did with Jesus … and we embody all this in baptism, by faith – just trusting that this is God’s mysterious way for us. And so, here’s the thing for us to consider today: the experience of the early church as they lived in community was this powerful newness of life – and the joy! The sheer joy was irrepressible … and this was the great attraction of the gospel and those coming to new life in Christ. It should be the same for all believers today …
I encourage you to recognise today that the cross of Christ and all it achieves in redeeming us from the kingdom of darkness is so that we may have this newness of life – not just a forgiven life. In eternity forgiveness is not enough. This is crucial in our living witness in the world.
“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSV)
So, newness of life … more, much more, than forgiveness.
Think on these things …
Ps Milton
[Sources: Greek New Testament; Richard Foster, The Spirit of the Disciplines.]