1 Corinthians 5:7 "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

A New Creature in Christ

Last week was my first time of reading 1 Corinthians 5. And when I read it, all I could see was myself reflected in it when I used to live a worldly life. I thought that I should have been expelled a long time ago from Church because of my way of life: in Colombia and here in Chicago, I lived a hypocritical life with myself, my family, friends, the Church, and God. I was always recognized as a good son, a good student, a good person in general; but inwardly I was a very immoral sexual person. Obviously no one, except God, knew this because I kept my heart's motives hidden in darkness the whole time, and no one suspected of me being who I really was. But who was I and how has God changed me since I accepted Him? To make a long story short, as a sinful young man I was a slave of Satan. Since I was a child, I used to have some involuntary attraction for men. I knew this was not right, but I ignored it and continued living, and growing, and learning as any other person. Yet inwardly, I always felt isolated because I knew I was not like the rest. I tried and forced myself to like women, but it never worked. There was nothing I could do about it. Because of this, I gave up during my adolescence: I simply stopped fighting against it. Consequently, I got involved with pornography and other similar degrees of sexual immorality. I fell into a sorrowful cycle of sexual self-corruption from which I felt incapable of escaping. I did not have respect of my body anymore. I began drinking once in a while, and for a short period of time, I consumed drugs and smoked. I felt as the owner of my own life: there was no one who could tell me what to do. I was dead in my sin, and every time I tried to leave my sinful life, I came back to it.

But I excused my way of life thinking that, at least, I was going to Church. I hoped that one day I could truly repent, but all I did was to remorse. This is because repentance comes from the heart, I my heart was hardened. However, I finally took the life changing decision of accepting Jesus Christ in my life the day I felt excluded from Church: this is after I felt unqualified to participate in the Passover ceremony held here at UBF this year. At the moment God's servant mentioned the consequences of participating in the Passover without true repentance (repentance from the heart), I decided not to take the bread or the wine, and I felt as if I was being handed over to Satan; I felt condemned forever. Yet, to be handed over to Satan is only the first part of what Paul mentions. Paul says that this must be done first "so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord" No more than a week had passed since UBF had celebrated the Passover, when I truly repented and accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and redeemer. Amen!

Now I can praise God who has rescued me from the immoral sexual life I lived. God forgave me from all my sin and actually cleansed me with the blood of Jesus Christ. God solved my sin problem, which no one had ever before been able to solve. God changed my whole life solely because of his mercy and love. Jesus said "go and leave your sinful life!", "You are cleaned by my word" Jn 15:3, and "If the son gives you freedom, you will be truly free...."Jn 8:36

Finally, I would like to quote today's key verse "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed." Although God has rid of most of my old yeast, I know there is still some yeast to be cleaned up. Therefore, I ask God to forgive me again. I repent again because I am so weak, but that does not mean I was not forgiven. And to make sure I am a new creature in Christ, I have decided to be baptized and to become a son of God. In this way, all the old yeast will be removed, and I will be new "bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth." I pray God to continue cleansing me, and changing my way of thinking, talking, and acting, so that everyday I may be more like Him. I pray God to provide me wisdom and strength so that I can be a faithful servant of Him. And I pray God so that He may raise me as a disciple who preaches His entrusted secret of Jesus Christ and his death on the Cross to all those who are still slaves of Satan.

In one word: A new creature in Christ