If we are born again, the Bible says we are New Creations in Christ. This is our true identity! We cannot change our behaviour by trying harder. The only way we can improve our behaviour is through believing the right thing about our true identity. We need to see ourselves the way that God sees us. This, in turn, will cause us to live right. Our focus needs to be not on who we were, but on who we are. Putting on the New Man, and our new identity, is about focusing on who God says we are. God sees us as righteous, even when we mess up and get it wrong. God sees us as His children, as new creations in Him.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV).

Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him (Colossians 3:9-10 NKJV).

The Bible also speaks of our Old Man and our New Man. The Old Man is our old nature, the part of you that used to like sinning. When we are born again, we have a ‘New Man’ or our ‘New Identity’. This new identity wants to obey God and do what pleases Him. The challenge for a new believer is that over the years the old nature has formed bad habits that we will need to put off.

Therefore, even though you were saved, you might still find yourself wanting to do wrong things. We need to realize what is going on in our lives when this happens, otherwise we will begin to doubt our salvation.