RESIDUE

Residue

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creature.  The old way of living has disappeared.  A new way of living has begun.”

The moment that we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior we are made new.  The old man, the one who served sin is now dead.  Our old self, with the sin nature, has literally been crucified with Christ. 

You may have asked God this question like I have, “If the old me is dead, why do I still often act like my old self?”  The Lord answered by giving me the word residue. So I looked up the meaning of this word and it made perfect sense. 

The first definition I found said this, “something that remains after a process involving the removal of the original has been completed.”  Think about this.  The bible say’s that because of Adam, all of us are born with the sin nature, and this separates us from God.  We are a slave to sin.  That is our original state.  But when we realize our need for forgiveness, and call out to Jesus to save us, that is the moment we are made a new creation.  Jesus removes our original state.  We are changed instantly on the inside by way of the Holy Spirit coming and living inside of us.  The residue is this flesh that we still live in and the patterns that have become habits through that old, dead, sin nature.  Although it is just residue, it can seem that our original self is still very much alive. 

Another definition is described as, “the remainder of a deceased person’s estate after debts has been paid and bequests distributed.”  You see, we owed a debt that we could not possibly pay.  The bible states in Colossians 2:13, “you were dead because of your sins and because you’re sinful nature was not yet cut away.  Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins.”  Praise Jesus that He has paid the debt.  Our old, sinful self is now deceased.  When we are made new He distributes to us our rightful inheritance.  All that Jesus is and has is ours now, but we still have to live in the residue of our old estate which is our flesh.  We must remember that is all it is, residue.  It does not have to control us any longer. We now are free to make a choice.  It’s a choice of whether we will live in our new identity or whether we will let the residue of the old estate control us. 

When we pass from this world into heaven, which is our permanent place of residence, there will be no more residue of that old way of thinking and living.  It will be gone and we will be fully and completely transformed.  What a wonderful day that will be.