Have you ever purchased something brand new, but it was still covered in plastic?
The item was new. It belonged to you. It was ready to be used. But because it was still wrapped, you could not fully experience everything it was created to do.
That is how many believers live.
We have been saved, but we are still wrapped.
We have been delivered, but we are still thinking like we are bound.
We have been given a new identity, but we are still responding like the old version of ourselves.
Second Corinthians 5:17 declares:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
When you are in Christ, you do not have to wait until some future moment to become new.
You are already new.
God did not simply repair the old version of you. He did not patch you up, put spiritual duct tape over your broken places, and send you back into the world.
God recreated you.
You have been given a new nature, a new identity, a new purpose, and a new life in Jesus Christ.
The challenge is learning how to live like the person God has already declared you to be.
You Are Already New
The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ.”
That means your past does not disqualify you.
It does not matter where you have been, what you have done, what happened to you, or what other people have said about you.
When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, you qualify for a new beginning.
You do not become new when you finally get everything right. You do not become new after you overcome every weakness. You do not become new once you prove yourself to everyone around you.
You are made new because of what Jesus accomplished for you.
Your identity is not based on your performance. It is based on your position in Christ.
But although you are already new spiritually, there may still be areas of your life that need to be unwrapped.
Old thinking must be removed.
Old habits must be confronted.
Old labels must be rejected.
Old fears must be surrendered.
The new life is already inside of you, but God wants to remove everything that keeps that new life from being fully revealed.
You Can Be New and Still Be Wrapped
In John 11, Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave.
Jesus cried out:
“Lazarus, come forth!”
Lazarus came out alive, but the Bible says he was still bound in grave clothes.
He was no longer dead, but he was still wrapped in what belonged to the grave.
Jesus then told the people around him:
“Loose him, and let him go.”
This shows us that it is possible to come out of a dead situation and still carry evidence of where you have been.
You can come out of the grave and still think like you are dead.
You can come out of bondage and still make decisions based on fear.
You can leave a toxic situation and still carry a toxic mindset.
You can receive a new opportunity and still sabotage it with old thinking.
You can be saved and still struggle with insecurity, shame, rejection, anger, addiction, or condemnation.
That does not mean God has not made you new. It means there are still some grave clothes that need to come off.
You are alive, but it is time to get unwrapped.
Salvation Is a Moment, but Transformation Is a Process
Jesus raised Lazarus instantly, but Lazarus still had to be unwrapped.
In the same way, salvation happens in a moment, but transformation is a continuing process.
Romans 12:2 says:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Transformation begins when your mind starts agreeing with what God has already declared about you.
You cannot live a new life with an unchanged mind.
You may want a new job, a new relationship, a new ministry opportunity, a new financial season, or a new circle of friends.
But what you may need most is a renewed mind.
Without a renewed mind, you will carry old thinking into a new season.
You will question blessings that God gave you.
You will run from healthy relationships because dysfunction feels more familiar.
You will shrink in rooms where God has called you to stand confidently.
You will sabotage opportunities because you still believe the negative things spoken over your past.
God does not only want to change what is happening around you. He wants to change what is happening within you.
Your life begins to change when your mind begins to change.
Stop Rewrapping Yourself
Sometimes God frees us, and then we return to the very things He brought us out of.
Galatians 5:1 says:
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
God brought you out, but you must make the decision not to go back.
Do not return to relationships that destroyed your peace.
Do not continue entertaining thoughts that damage your identity.
Do not keep reopening doors that God helped you close.
Do not allow temporary loneliness to lead you back into permanent bondage.
Do not keep putting the plastic back on.
You cannot move forward while continuing to rehearse the old version of yourself.
You are not who you used to be.
You are not what happened to you.
You are not the mistake you made.
You are not the name they called you.
You are not the season that almost destroyed you.
You are who God says you are.
Remove Everything That Does Not Match
There is a version of you that God already sees.
God sees you walking in freedom.
God sees you healed.
God sees you whole.
God sees you confident in your calling.
God sees you living with purpose.
God sees you no longer controlled by fear, insecurity, addiction, rejection, or an old identity.
The question is whether you will agree with God.
It is time to remove everything that does not match the person God has called you to become.
Rip off the fear.
Rip off the insecurity.
Rip off the shame.
Rip off the addiction.
Rip off the old labels.
Rip off the need for approval.
Rip off the belief that you will always be stuck.
You have spent enough time living beneath who God created you to be.
Stop Acting Like the Old You Still Has Power
The enemy wants you to believe that your past still has authority over your future.
But the old version of you does not have the power to cancel what God has declared.
Your history may explain some of your struggles, but it does not have to control your destiny.
God made you new.
Now it is time to live new.
Think new.
Speak new.
Choose new.
Walk new.
Believe new.
You do not have to keep responding from old wounds. You can respond from your new identity.
You do not have to keep living from rejection. You can live from acceptance in Christ.
You do not have to remain controlled by shame. You can walk in grace.
You do not have to return to bondage. You can stand firmly in freedom.
If God made you new, stop acting like the old you still has power.
Make This Declaration
Declare this over your life:
I am new.
I am free.
I am who God says I am.
I am not going back.
I will not shrink.
I will not settle.
I will not rewrap myself in what God removed.
The old has passed away.
A new life has begun.
It is time to come out of the plastic and become everything God created you to be.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for making me new. Help me release every old mindset, habit, fear, label, and identity that no longer agrees with who You say I am. Renew my mind and transform my life. Give me the strength not to return to the things You delivered me from. Remove everything that keeps me from walking in freedom, purpose, confidence, and wholeness. I declare that I am new, I am free, and I am not going back. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Watch the Full Message
You may already be new in Christ, but are you still wrapped in the thinking, habits, and identity of your past?
Watch Pastor J’s full message, “Rip Me Out the Plastic… ’Cause I’m Acting Brand New,” and discover how to remove the old mindset, embrace your identity in Christ, and walk confidently in the freedom God has given you.