New In Christ

New In Christ (TLC 11/16/02)

If you have your bibles, turn to 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Let me start off by saying that there are a lot of people that are trying to be new creatures or trying to be new people. I’ve often heard the saying that, “I’m going to turn over a new leaf this year.” Maybe they want to be a better husband or better wife. A better father or better mother. But I want to emphasize today that we can not be new unless we’re in Christ according to what the word of God says.

We used to sang the song, “In the sweet Forever.” I want you to realize that as Christians that one day there is going to come a change one day after a while. Thank God the Bible says that the incorruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. But today we want to talk about what we are able to obtain right now.

When I was growing up, I couldn’t wait until my birthday and Christmas rolled around. The closer the dates were the more excited I would become. The reason why I would get so excited was because I knew that on both days I was going to get something new. I didn’t know what it was, I didn’t know who it was coming from, all I knew was that I was going to get something new.

The very thought of getting something new brought about an overwhelming bout of excitement. Even as an adult we get excited about getting new things. We get excited about getting a new dress, a new suit, a new pair of shoes, a new place to live, a new car to drive, a new job, a new position, a new relationship. Most of us in here are excited because we are in a new church.

A high level of excitement sets in when you anticipate and then finally get something new. As I thought about getting something new, I wondered to myself how many of us get equally excited about obtaining a new life in Christ. Oh yeah, many of us get excited about getting new stuff but how many of us can say that we really get excited about the new life in Christ.

The reason we can get excited about obtaining new stuff is because the only thing we have to give up is a little money. Some of us don’t mind giving up money to get what we want. But when it comes to giving up our lives, we find it hard to do. In order to obtain a new life in Christ, we have to give up some of those things, we like but God doesn’t like.

If we are going to obtain a new life in Christ, if we’re going to be made new, we can’t stop at just being saved. It’s all right to be saved and satisfied, but God wants us to be saved and sanctified. Too many Christian folk think that being saved is enough. God is not just looking for saved folk, but he is looking for somebody who is willing to give him a sanctified life. Being saved and being sanctified are two different things.

Being saved means that you have been freed from the power of sin and sin no longer has dominion over you. IN other words sin no longer controls you because you have a life under a new master. Where sin was once your master now Jesus Christ is your master.

Being sanctified means that you have been set apart from the worldly and fleshly pleasures to be used for the purpose of God. Just for the record: being sanctified doesn’t have anything to do with how much you speak in unknown tongues, how cute your dance is, what the name of your church is, it doesn’t have anything to do with how high you jump when you shout, but it has to do with how straight you walk once you hit the ground.

Being sanctified is not a religion but a lifestyle. God is looking for a Christian whose sanctification is not based upon how they work but it is based on how they live. It doesn’t matter how much work you do in the church, what matters what you do outside of the church. Anybody can act saved from 10:30 to 12:30, but God is looking for 24/7 Christians. 99 ½ just won’t do. You got to make 100.

If you are going to experience a new life in Christ, if you’re going to be made new, you have to change your lifestyle.