As a new believer, you have the exciting reality of being a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). As the Holy Spirit now dwells in you (Romans 8:9), your old way of living and behaving before being a Christian is transformed into a new person with new thoughts and new behaviors.

As a new believer, you are yet to know all the ways in which you will change, but the Holy Spirit will guide you to the truth of God’s Word, in John 17:17 we learn that you will be sanctified (purified) with the Word of God (truth). As you read Scripture, the Spirit will lead you to conviction over sins you are committing (John 16:8) and bring you to an understanding of God and His ways (1 Corinthians 2:12). I would encourage you to daily read from Scripture, for reading Scripture is the primary way that the Holy Spirit will help you understand the life of a faithful believer.

Romans 12:2 declares that new believers will have their minds transformed, and in Titus 3:5 we learn that the Holy Spirit will bring whole life renewal to each believer. You are going to think more like Christ and His Word, which will lead to changed behaviors. The Holy Spirit will guide you to see that there is an old sinful way of living, but you are to reject that way and live in a new way. As you live this new way, the Spirit will grow in you behaviors and characteristics that reflect Christ, these characteristics are called the Fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:16-26, we learn that the Spirit will guide you to the truth and reveal to you how you are being washed clean of the old sinful ways. The Holy Spirit will then aid you in seeking the ways of God - a renewed mind will lead to a renewed heart, which will in turn bring a renewed way of behaving. You will no longer walk the way of the world but will walk in the way of the Spirit.

Although you are a new creation, transformation takes time. Don’t expect to immediately think and behave differently. Instead, we are to seek a daily growth in the ways of God. 2 Peter 1:3-15 reminds us that each day we can grow by adding the ways of God to our lives. The person you were before Christ is gone, the Holy Spirit now daily changes you to look, sound, and behave more like Jesus. Even when it doesn’t seem like you are changing, keep pressing on toward the prize of knowing Jesus and being like Him (Philippians 3:12). As a Christian changed by the Holy Spirit, seek through the Spirit’s power not to sin, instead, lean into the Holy Spirit working in your life and seek to live per the example of Jesus.