A new life, His life.

‘Why did we have to die with Christ? Isn’t that a bit dramatic’ you might think. ‘Couldn’t God have done it another way?’ The New Testament tells us that we died with Christ for good reasons. First we died to the law so we could live in a new way (Gal. 2:19; Col. 2:20). Second, we died to the power of sin so we would have a free choice (Rom. 6:2, 7, 12). Third, we died to receive a new heart, a new mind, and a new spirit—to become a new creation (Ezek. 36:26; 1 Cor. 2:16; 2 Cor. 5:17). Some of us talk about how we ‘gave our life to Christ.’ In actuality, we had no life to give. God could not use our life. Instead, he crucified our old self and gave us a new life, his life.

(from “God Without Religion”)