Digging Deeper – Only Jesus Can Make Me New
“Rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.”
Philippians 3:9 (NLT)
ONLY JESUS CAN MAKE ME NEW
Paul realized that being made right with God couldn’t be earned. It’s a gift received by faith. No amount of religious effort or moral behavior could cleanse his heart. Only Jesus could do that. That truth changes how we live. We don’t perform to earn love; we live from a place of being deeply loved already.
Max Lucado writes about the story of an old, broken violin left in the attic. It sat silent, its strings rusted and body cracked. One day, a skilled violin maker found it, took it down, replaced the wood, tuned the strings, and polished the finish until it produced music again. The violin could not restore itself; it needed an artisan’s care. Likewise, we cannot repair our souls by effort alone. Jesus is the artisan who restores, renews, and gives us new life by grace.
There was once a man who spent most of his life trapped in guilt over choices he had made decades earlier. He tried self-help programs, philosophy books, and motivational seminars, but nothing worked. One night, someone invited him to a Bible study, where he heard the gospel clearly for the first time. That night, he surrendered his life to Christ and later said, “I thought I had to clean up to come to God. I didn’t realize He was ready to meet me in the middle of my mess.”
This is the gospel: we don’t achieve righteousness; we receive it. Christ did what we couldn’t do. Our job is to trust Him. When we do, our shame is replaced with peace, and our past no longer defines us. Our role is not to rework ourselves by force, but to surrender ourselves and trust Him. He does the transformation.
Are you trying to fix yourself before you fully surrender to Jesus? Come as you are. His grace is the starting point.
Steve Roach serves as the Pastor of Spiritual Growth at NorthStar Church. He and his wife, Amy, live in Acworth and have three girls, Olivia, Sydney, and Hayley and one son, Colton. He enjoys watching sports and spending time with his family.
