Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

I’m not a painter by trade, but I’ve done my share of repainting of walls as we’ve moved from one house to another.  I love seeing the change a fresh coat of paint can make on dingy faded walls or walls marked up by the kids. An exterior coat of paint will help protect the siding (unless it’s vinyl) from the outside elements of constantly changing temperatures, weather and the sun beating down.  However, if the walls have already started to rot, even the best paint on the market can’t reverse the effect of deterioration.  The decayed wood has got to be removed and replaced with new material.

            In the same way, it’s possible to put on a nice coat of religious piety, while underneath that cloak of pretense, we may have a sinful heart of pride, rebellion and evil motives.  The heart is naturally evil and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9).  Jesus described the outwardly religious people of His day as whitewashed tombs, because He saw that their hearts were evil. He says, very strongly, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness (Matthew 23:27-8). Another verse talks about having a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5).  Just whitewashing (or putting a fresh coat of white paint) on our lives by making external improvements and doing good works is not enough.  The Bible describes our own righteousness as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

            What, then, is the fix?  It’s an inward transformation of the heart through the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As a new creation in Christ, we will not just look good on the outside, but by His divine power we will be genuinely changed from the inside out and be empowered to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).  Our whole way of life is then governed and directed by our new Master through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.