17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Here is a question. If the old has gone and the new has come, why do I still see so much of the old, and so little of the new? That is because the new started coming the moment of salvation, but it is still coming. The old stopped the moment of salvation and is waiting to be replaced by the new. All the old’s power to take control has been broken. It will take our death for the new to complete its job. When we reach heaven, all the old will be gone and all the new will be present. But don’t forget, we are already a new creation. When the Lord looks at us, all He sees is the new. He sees none of the old. That is because, so far as God is concerned, we are already completely new. He sees us as complete in Christ. From His perspective, there is no more old. It is all new. That is a miracle. The moment of salvation all the old is not longer considered. It is as if it never existed. And at that moment the new begins growing. So, how can we help that process of growth? The basic Christian disciplines can help the new grow: Bible study, prayer, fellowship, worship, and accountability. These help us grow because they help us choose the new. They help us because they show us more fully what the new looks like, so that we can choose the new. We can hinder that growth, unfortunately. We can choose to pick up the old, even though it is dead, and it leads us away from a life pleasing to the Lord. We must give place to the new in order for it to grow. When we choose obedience, we give the new space to grow.
The Arnold Journey 