ALL THINGS NEW

At the risk of adding to all of the usual hoopla surrounding the New Year, new beginnings, and New Year's Resolutions, the Bible has a lot to tell about God and the newness of things. The newness that comes from God is unlike anything else when it comes to a fresh start. So, I thought,

“What better time to take a dig into God

and newness than the turning of the year?”

🪏SHOVEL TIME!

I encourage you - as you have time - to actually open each of these scriptures in your Bible (or use the links below for convenience), and use a journal/notebook to take any pertinent notes as you read. (The links are NASB 1995 translation.)

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God Initiates Newness (Not Self-Improvement)

Before newness is ever experienced by humanity, it is first declared by God.

• Isaiah 43:18–19 — God tells His people not to dwell on former things because He Himself is bringing forth something new.

• Isaiah 42:9 — God announces new things before they occur, revealing that newness originates in Him.

• Lamentations 3:22–23 — God’s mercies are continually renewed; His faithfulness does not run out.

• Psalm 33:3 — God’s people are called to respond to His ongoing works with a new song.

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This establishes a crucial foundation: biblical newness does not begin with human resolve or effort. It begins with God acting. He is the only one who can make anything truly new. When it comes to all of creation, including us, we are under the "two laws of thermodynamics" — basically, the scienctifically recognized (think Newton) laws describing the ultimate inevitability of the death of all matter.

LAW #1

Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transferred or transformed from one form to another.

In practical terms: the total amount of energy in a closed system remains constant. Energy may change form (chemical → thermal → mechanical, etc.), but it never comes from nothing and never disappears.

☝️My comment: note that all matter that has been created is finished being created. God is the only one who can create out of nothing. Our "creations" take matter He has created and change it in some way, but that is not true creation. God created all matter in six days, the Bible tells us plainly, and after that He rested. Neither He nor anyone else has "created" anything since.

LAW #2

In any closed system, entropy (disorder or unusable energy) tends to increase over time.

In practical terms: energy naturally spreads out, systems move toward disorder, and processes are irreversible without the input of additional energy. Heat flows from hot to cold, not the other way around, unless work is applied.

👉My comment - and do you see how this makes the theory of evolution scientifically impossible? These two laws - which are not in scientific dispute - tell us we are in a state of "devolution" - Just sayin'!😉

In plain language

• First Law: No new energy can be created.

• Second Law:  Things naturally run down, not up.

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New Life Through Salvation & Regeneration

Once God declares His intention to make things new, Scripture moves to how that newness enters human life — through spiritual rebirth.

• John 3:3–8 — Jesus teaches that a person must be born from above, by the Spirit, to see the kingdom of God.

• Titus 3:5 — Salvation comes through washing, regeneration, and renewal by the Holy Spirit, not by works.

• 1 Peter 1:3 — Believers are born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

• James 1:18 — God brings believers forth by His word as the first-fruits of His creation.

We experience newness of life when we accept the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our own sins. At this very moment, eternal life begins in our spirits and extends now to the eventual immortality of our bodies. Before we do this we are certainly spiritual beings, but we do not have eternal life.

Jesus said:

"I am come that they might have life

and that they might have it abundantly." - John 10:10

Obviously, the people He gives abundant life to already were born and living; the "abundant life" He spoke of starts with our understanding that I am a sinner and will pay for my own sins eternally unless I accept the payment Jesus Christ already paid.

"The soul who sins will die."

—Ezekiel 18:4

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A New Creation Identity

Spiritual birth necessarily produces a brand new identity.

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 — In Christ, the old passes away and something truly new comes into being.

• Galatians 6:15 — What ultimately matters is not external distinctions, but becoming a new creation.

• Ephesians 2:4–6 — God makes the spiritually dead alive together with Christ and raises them with Him.

“But God, being rich in mercy,

because of His great love with which He loved us, 

even when we were dead in our wrongdoings,

made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 

and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”

Newness is not an add-on to the old self; it is the arrival of something altogether different.

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No Record of Sin / A Clean Slate 🎉🥳🎊🎁

This new identity is inseparable from complete forgiveness. Believers often get hung up on this point. Although forgiveness is not a carte blanche for sinning, believers living according to their faith are not looking for that. Instead, they can become victims of the "accuser of the brethren," Satan, who wants us to constantly feel that God is unhappy with us and is keeping a record of our wrongs. (Rev 12:10)

• Psalm 103:12 — God removes transgressions to immeasurable distance - as "far as the east is from the west."

• Isaiah 1:18 — Sin is transformed from deep stain (red as scarlet) to complete purity (white as snow).

• Micah 7:18–19 — God delights in mercy and casts sins beyond retrieval.

• Hebrews 8:12 — God chooses not to remember sin.

• Hebrews 10:17 — Forgiveness includes the absence of any remaining record.

Biblical newness is not probationary. It is complete erasure of our sin; past, present, and future.

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New Hearts, New Spirits, New Desires

With sin removed, God does not leave the inner life untouched. Again, when we become children of God through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins, God places in us a new heart, and although we will continue to sin throughout our lives, we will not be happy with sinning, and we will not be slaves to sin.

"For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in relation to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

• Ezekiel 36:26–27 — God replaces the heart of stone with a living heart and places His Spirit within. See in this passage - how exciting! - God, Himself, replaces our dead hearts with living hearts enlivened by His Spirit to make us WANT to please Him!

"Moreover, I will give you a new heart

and put a new spirit within you;

and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh

and give you a heart of flesh. 

And I will put My Spirit within you

and bring it about that you walk in My statutes,

and are careful and follow My ordinances."

The scriptures confirm this elsewhere, such as here when Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians (2:13) that:

"It is God who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

• Ezekiel 11:19 — God brings inner unity and alignment through this transformation.

• Psalm 51:10 — Renewal is a work God performs at the heart level.

Newness reaches inward, altering the source from which life flows.

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Daily Renewal & Ongoing Freshness

Though salvation is decisive, Scripture also emphasizes continuing renewal.

• 2 Corinthians 4:16 — The inner self is being renewed day by day.

• Romans 12:2 — Transformation occurs through the renewal of the mind.

• Colossians 3:9–10 — The old self is put off, and the new self is continually renewed.

"Do not lie to one another,

since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices, 

and have put on the new self,

which is being renewed to a true knowledge 

according to the image of the One who created it—"

Note in the passage above that renewal is both instantaneous at the time of salvation - stripping off the old self and putting on the new self - but that new self is continually being renewed and renewed and renewed! Wow. And... how wonderful. Haven't you had times when you just wished you could get away from yourself? I have! That's where renewal and renewal and renewal comes in. The feeling of wanting to get away from oneself is discomfort with sin, and the way we get away is by confessing our sin to God, seeking forgiveness from anyone else we have sinned against, and walking again in obedience to God.

This is an ongoing process and one that is not meant to discourage us but to encourage us, as we become gradually free of thought patterns and behaviors that do not reflect our new life in Christ.

This might seem like a very long passage, but it really says it all when it comes to this day-by-day, week-by-week, year-by-year, decade-by-decade ongoing process of renewal (progressive sanctification - being made more and more holy in practicality as we mature in our faith and character):

"To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, 

by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 

Grace and peace be multiplied to you

in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 

for His divine power has granted to us everything

pertaining to life and godliness,

through the true knowledge of Him

who called us by His own glory and excellence. 

Through these He has granted to us His

precious and magnificent promises, 🥳

so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped the corruption

that is in the world on account of lust. 

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence,

in your faith supply moral excellence,

and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 

and in your knowledge, self-control,

and in your self-control, perseverance,

and in your perseverance, godliness, 

and in your godliness, brotherly kindness,

and in your brotherly kindness, love. 

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing,

they do not make you useless nor unproductive

in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted,

having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 

Therefore, brothers and sisters,

be all the more diligent to make certain about

His calling and choice of you;

for as long as you practice these things,

you will never stumble; 

for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

will be abundantly supplied to you."

🔎The last section there does not mean if you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation - born again - you have to worry about your behavior casting you out; it's saying if you are not finding yourself wanting to follow Christ in obedience in your heart, make sure you have trusted in Christ for salvation, because wanting to please God is a natural outflow of true salvation.

• Isaiah 40:31 — Those who wait on the Lord receive renewed strength.

God’s newness is not momentary; it is sustained and in there for the long haul all the way into eternity!

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New Covenant, New Relationship

This ongoing renewal rests on the new covenantal foundation.

• Jeremiah 31:31–34 — God promises a covenant written on hearts rather than the stone tablets on which the first covenant (the ten commandments) were delivered to Moses.

“'For this is the covenant which I will make

with the house of Israel after those days,' declares the Lord:

'I will put My law within them and write it on their heart;

and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'” 

• Luke 22:20 — Jesus identifies His blood as establishing this new covenant.

“And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 

‘This cup, which is poured out for you,

is the new covenant in My blood.’”

• Hebrews 9:15 — Christ mediates the covenant that secures eternal inheritance.

“For this reason He [Jesus Christ] is the mediator of a new covenant,

so that, since a death has taken place

for the redemption of the violations

that were committed under the first covenant,

those who have been called

may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Newness is relational as well as personal — a new way of belonging to God.

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New Names, New Identity, New Direction

Transformation also carries new identity and calling.

• Isaiah 62:2 — God gives His people a new name.

• Revelation 2:17 — God promises a new name known intimately between Himself and the believer.

 ^“The one who has an ear,

let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 

‘To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna,

and I will give him a white stone,

and a new name written on the stone 

which no one knows except the one who receives it.’”

(So mysterious, right?? ✨)

God’s newness reaches into how a person is known — by God and by themselves. We have so much to look forward to, don't we?! 🥳

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Ultimate Newness — All Things Restored

Finally, Scripture lifts its gaze beyond individual renewal to cosmic restoration. He is the Creator - the beginning and end of all things.

• Revelation 21:1–5 — God declares the renewal of heaven, earth, and all things.

• Isaiah 65:17 — Former troubles are no longer remembered in the new creation.

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;

And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”

• Romans 8:19–21 — Creation itself waits for liberation and renewal.

God’s story of creation ends where it began — with creation again made whole.

“For the eagerly awaiting creation waits

for the revealing of the sons of God. 

For the creation was subjected to futility,

not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, 

in hope that the creation itself also

will be set free from its slavery to corruption

into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

Because of sin, the entire creation - plant and animal life - is also corrupt; i.e., they get sick, they suffer, and they die. This passage is super interesting to me because it states that at this very moment the creation is (KJV) "groaning" under the weight of corruption, waiting to be transformed into a brand new creation!

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A Unifying Truth and the Very Good News

Across Scripture, one truth becomes clear:

God’s newness is not about turning over a leaf —

it is about being made alive, made clean,

made whole, and made new by Him.

Isn't that wondrously wonderful? It truly is. I love that. Even as another year ends and we believers grow older, as it says in 2 Corinthians 4:16, our "inner man" is "renewed day by day." Just think of it! AND... may that thought carry you and me into and through 2026 and for as long as we continue to live on this earth!

And, if you are not yet one of the "we believers," why not start your new life in Christ today?

“Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness.

I believe You died for me and rose again.

I turn from my sin and receive You

as my Savior and Lord.

Thank You for giving me new life. Amen.”

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If you are not familiar with Michael Card and his music, you must investigate further, but for now, I love his rendition of Cat Stevens famous piece, and I hope you enjoy it as you contemplate all things new!