Many people have asked me this question with a quiet longing in their hearts. We believe in Christ, we pray, we try to live well—yet we still feel our old fears, sins, and habits clinging to us. So we ask, How does faith actually make me new? It’s a deeply human question, because we all desire not just forgiveness, but real transformation.
Scripture speaks with beautiful clarity here. In Second Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul tells us, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” This does not mean that faith magically erases our past or our personality. Rather, it means that when we place our trust in Jesus, our very center begins to change. We no longer live only from our wounds or failures, but from His life within us.
The Church helps us understand that this newness begins in baptism and continues through faith each day. Faith unites us to Christ’s death and resurrection. Our old self—shaped by sin, fear, and self-reliance—is slowly loosened, and a new self is born, shaped by grace. God does not discard who we are; He heals and elevates us. Like a branch grafted onto a living vine, we begin to draw life from Christ Himself.
In daily life, this new creation often appears quietly. We notice a growing patience where anger once ruled, a desire to forgive where bitterness lived, a hope that endures even in suffering. We may still struggle—and that’s normal—but faith gives us a new direction and a new source of strength. Each time we choose trust over despair, love over resentment, we allow this new life in Christ to grow a little more within us.
Reflection
To be a new creation does not mean becoming perfect overnight, but becoming loved beyond measure. May we trust that Christ is gently reshaping us, even when we cannot yet see the full beauty of His work. Let us walk in faith, confident that the One who began this new creation will faithfully bring it to completion.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way.
