Stay on Track! Paul's Letter to the GalatiansSample

A new life

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20)

Becoming a Christian is not ‘changing some details in your life.' It is a radical transformation. Paul calls it a death. He says he has been crucified with Christ.

Initially, this seems to be an exaggeration. After all, Paul is very much alive and has a strong personality. He means that his faith in Jesus has made an end to his old self, his sinful desires, his pride, and his self-righteousness. Instead, his life is now devoted to Christ. That is a huge transformation - a new birth.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul addresses the same topic: “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin . . . Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Romans 6:6,13). How is such a transformation possible? “By faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Are you born again? Has your life been transformed?