You Are a New Creation (Forgive Yourself)

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

 Props: 2 identical T-shirts, one stained and the other clean, laundry detergent and bucket of water.  Before you begin, place the clean t-shirt into the bucket of water. 

             The Bible says that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation—the old is gone and the new has come.  When you come to God for forgiveness, He washes you and makes you clean and new.  Before you come to God, you look like this T-shirt.  (Display stained shirt).  Your heart is stained and full of sin.  There is no way you could ever get your own heart clean.  (Immerse stained t-shirt into water and “wash” it, then pull out clean t-shirt and wring it out while you are speaking).  But a miracle happens when you come to God: He completely washes away all of your sin.  There is not even a little bit left.  He forgives you and in His eyes you are completely clean, just as if you’d never done anything wrong.  (Hold up clean shirt).      

            Can you see any stains left on this shirt?  (Allow for response).  If you wore this shirt around would you worry about all the stains that used to be on it?  Of course not!  You can’t see the stains anymore; the shirt is clean.  In the same way, God sees your heart as clean.  He doesn’t look at you and see all the sin that used to be there.  So if God doesn’t think about it, neither should you.  Don’t worry about the bad things that you did before if God has already forgiven you.  See yourself like God does.  He sees you as a brand new person