Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Jesus died once and He isn’t shedding any more blood. This shows the finality of his work at the cross. He was the perfect lamb of God that would bring an end to the previous covenant of law and repeated sacrifices that provided only a temporary forgiveness and could not remove sin. There is no longer the need to seek God’s forgiveness because He gave His all through Christ. Believe it! It was more than enough.
New life in Christ. We've become a brand new creation. What exactly does this mean for us? It's the reality in which we now live. Jesus actually became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. You weren't just changed but rather you were recreated from nothing. The old life has passed away (died). Having passed from death to life, we can now experience freedom the way God meant for it to be.
The great exchange. It may be a phrase you've heard in Christian circles. But it's astonishing to find out how little is known about the exchanged life even by believers in Christ. Religion will gradually attempt to get the focus of the Christian life on you and your efforts for God. But we are reminded throughout scripture that your old life and sinful nature was replaced (exchanged) with His life and a nature of divine righteousness. Often change can be good, but the focus of the gospel for us should not be about our changed behavior, but the reconciliation that came as a gift.
For years people thought the question to ask is "What Would Jesus Do?" Sometimes in order to get the right answers we need to be asking the right questions. Rather than taking a wild guess at what Jesus would do in a given situation, we think it would be more beneficial to focus on what Jesus did through His completed work at the cross. The new life that came to us did not come through the scriptures found in the Bible but came through The Word who was manifested and became flesh... The living Word, the person of Jesus Christ Himself.
God has provided us with eternal life in Christ. This is not simply life that lasts forever without end. Eternal life is HIS life in us and it also had no BEGINNING. Your life was replaced with His life and in Him we are brand new creations. This (eternal) life in you provides the power to bear the fruit of the Spirit as He produces it through you.
Performance-based religion will emphasize behavior. It will attempt to put you in a position where the responsibility is on you to live up to a certain moral standard. When compared to the gospel, this is backwards thinking. Relying on your efforts is guaranteed to fall short. Stop trying! Begin to rest in Him and trust His life that is in you.