Love Reigns Over My Past (2 Corinthians 5:15-21) Series

[adapted from Sermon Central’s “Love Reigns” sermon kit]

Good morning! Please open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5.

We begin a new series this morning called “Love Reigns.” Between now and Easter, we are going to talk about how love reigns over our past, our present, and our future. This is going to bring us up to Easter Sunday, where we will celebrate together the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ victory over death is proof that he is the truly reigns over every circumstance. Every situation. And when we live our lives under His reign, and submit ourselves to his authority, then we will never face any hardship or difficulty that He doesn’t have an answer for.

Today we want to talk about the ways that the love of God reigns over our past.

In 1945, the Chicago Cubs were up two games to one against the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. William Sianis, the owner of the Billy Goat Tavern, decided he would promote his bar by bringing his pet Billy Goat to Game 4 at Wrigley Field. He bought a ticket for him and everything, and even dressed the goat in a little cape that had the name of the bar on it.

But the ticket taker refused to let the goat come through. And as Sianis turned to leave, he proclaimed, “You are going to lose this World Series, and the Cubs will never win another one.”

Well, the Cubs lost Game 4. Then they lost the series. And they didn’t win another one for 71 years. The Curse of the Goat was born.

The past doesn’t just weigh down Chicago Cubs fans. Many of us can probably point to one or two decisions which we have made that we have trouble living down. Some decisions are just honest mistakes that do not have many consequences, while others can have devastating effects that last for years. Sometimes we suffer the consequences of mistakes made by our parents or grandparents.

And if you came here this morning or if you are watching online, wondering if there is a way you can change the past, then you’re going to be disappointed. We can’t change the past. But hear this: we can ensure that our past does not control our present nor our future.

When you read the Bible, you read story after story of men and women who were not defined by their past mistakes. When we think about Moses, we don’t think about the guy that murdered an Egyptian and tried to hide his body in the sand, do we? No, we think about the great leader of God’s people. We don’t think about Rahab the prostitute. We think about Rahab who hid the spies in Jericho, and who’s name is recorded in the genealogy of Jesus.

And I could go on and on. The New Testament often speaks about the transforming power of Jesus’ selfless sacrifice on the cross and His triumphant resurrection from the grave. When people placed their trust in Jesus, they were different, they were forgiven, and they were made new. The gospel is called Good News, and It is the greatest news of all that all of our decisions, even those that have caused guilt and shame, can be nullified by Jesus’ love.

Paul speaks to this truth in 2 Corinthians. Let’s look at theses verses together. This is 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. If you are physically able, please stand to honor the reading of God’s Word:

15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[b] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling[c] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray…

The first four words of verse 16 are important: “From now on, therefore.” You know the rule of Bible interpretation: When you come to a “therefore,” you have to back up to see what its… [therefore]