The term “dead in your trespasses” shows up twice within the first five verses of Ephesians chapter 2. That is a scary thought, to be dead in your trespasses. Not just the literal death of our bodies, but the spiritual death beyond that, with eternal separation from God hanging in the balance. Then we see those two words — “but God” — the two words that would forever change the position that we have with God.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
— 2 Corinthians 5:17–21
Paul, speaking to the Corinthians here, perfectly outlines what it looks like to be with Christ. God reconciled on our behalf by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Once accepted, the gift of God forever changes our position in this world and allows us to no longer bear the burden of sin.
The day I accepted Jesus into my life, I had a friend tell me, “Congrats, but you won’t notice much of a difference in your life.” That person could not have been more wrong. I saw the difference immediately. I realized that my old self, which I had thought was good, was not near good enough for God. As stated in verse 19 above, God no longer counted my sins against me. The new life that comes with Christ is one of no longer being a slave to sin, but knowing who you are and whose you are. Being and ambassador for Christ to others is being able to share the good news, the good news that God has stepped in, on our behalf, and changed the way we live forever.