17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Introduction:
I. For many people the making of something old into someting new is rather fascinating.
A. That is the giving of new life to that which the life has perhaps long been gone.
1. Some months ago, Maryann came home and said, “I found it.
a. We had been looking for a “new” desk to put our computer system on.
b. We had looked at several new desks, but none seemed quite right.
2. Then she found it, so we went and looked together.
a. The paint was faded and chipped.
b. The doors wouldn’t stay shut,
c. The wood was cracked and pitted,
3. But it was the one.
4. We took it home, stripped all the paint, reglued the drawers, repaired the doors, and repainted it.
a. I took it completely apart and rebuilt it.
b. Today, it sits in our living room, not quite perfect, but much better than it was.
5. Almost new life, placed into something that could just as easily have sat on the curb.
6. I won’t say we do it often, but once in a while, “trash pickin’” can be fun, and for some, even profitable.
B. Tell me, have you ever given new life to something old?
II. To give new life to something old and discarded can be extremely exciting; but the ultimate thrill must be to give new life to that which is considered dead.
A. Today is Resurrection Sunday; I prefer Resurrection Sunday to Easter.
B. The very essence of the word “Resurrection” is new life, the giving of life to that which was dead.
III. In going to the cross, Christ became death for us.
A. He took upon himself the punishment for our sin.
B. But had he stayed in the grave, all that would have been proven was that Christ could die.
C. It was in the resurrection that God proved He had the power to give new life to that which was dead.
IV. I want to show you a music video this morning.
A. I warn you; some of the scenes may be a bit disturbing.
B. If you have young children, you may want to leave for about 5 minutes.
C. The song tells the story of a mothers anguish at the death of her son, BUT it also tells the story of God promise that I read a few moments ago, “if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature” in other words, “I make all things new again.”
We Are A New Creation In Christ (vs. 17)
I. New life, for what was once considered dead, but this newness is not automatic, for “All Things to be New” we must first be in Christ.
II. 17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.
III. When I was in the Army, we used to have a drill that we did, in order to be prepared for a nuclear attack.
A. The drill really didn’t make a lot of sense to me, and I can honestly admit that I still do not believe it would work, BUT
B. We were told this is how we could survive a nuclear attack.
IV. Step one, when you see the mushroom cloud of an exploded nuclear bomb.
A. Take your plastic rain poncho out of your pack.
B. But on your protective mask,
C. Drop immediately to the ground
D. Throw your “poncho” over you, and it will act as protection from the nuclear attack.
E. When told to “uncover” you would throw off your poncho, and see all things dead around you, BUT you, because you had been “IN” the protective cover of your poncho would be ALIVE.
V. Like I said, I don’t really believe it to be possible, but that is what I was told, and fortunately, I never had to find out if it would work or not.
VI. Look back at 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5 and verse 17
A. It states, “If any man IS IN Christ, he is a new creature...” or creation.
B. The Army told me, “If any man is in his poncho, he will be survive where other things die.”
1. I suppose that would depend on how close to the cloud you were at the time,
2. Even if I didn’t believe it, the idea gave me a level of comfort.
VII. My Bible says, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature...”
A. That I believe, and one day, I am confident I will discover it to be the truth.
B. But it is important that we pay attention to the qualifier.
1. “If any man is in Christ...”
2. Not just if any man is
a. Good, or nice or better than others, BUT
b. If any man is in Christ.
VIII. That word “in” has a particular meaning that we must be aware of.
A. “In” means “together with.”
B. We must be “together with” Christ in order to acquire the newness that this verse speaks of.
IX. Today is Resurrection Sunday.
A. The day that we celebrate the “rebirth” of Jesus Christ.
B. There would be no celebration had there not been a death.
C. But listen to what Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 - “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.
1. “I have been crucified ‘WITH’ Christ...”
2. I am IN Christ, my life has been made new again.
D. BUT if I am not in Christ, I am still the same old person, with the same old future.
X. All things can be new again, but ONLY if I am in Christ.
XI. All things can be new again, because God was at work IN Christ.
We Have A New Relationship With God Through Christ (vs. 18)
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
I. Paul writes, “Now all these things” but we must ask “Now all what things” is he talking about?
A. Paul is speaking to an extremely important concept here.
1. Listen to what he has just written - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
a. He states that we must all appear before the judgement seat for payment for what has taken place in this life; both good and bad.
b. The problem is, while we might like to believe our good outweighs our bad, the bible says, it does not.
c. The bible says that our best of good deeds is only as good as dirty rags before God.
2. In other words, our good will not be good enough, BUT,
B. Recall the video,
1. Christ was on the cross; WHY?
2. Verse 18 says, “God reconciles us to Himself through Christ” what does this mean.
C. It means that God decided that He wanted us,
1. God provided a means whereby the penalty for our sins could be paid, without our having to personally make the payment.
2. Jesus was at work on the cross, dying so that you and I might live.
II. The text states that God “reconciled us to Himself.”
A. That word “reconcile” means “to receive back into favor.”
B. Understand,
1. Sin separates us from God.
2. The bible refers to being separated from God as “death”
3. Specifically, the bibles says, “The wages of sin is death.”
a. That does not mean that the wages of sin is physical death, although all of us will one day physically die.
b. But rather, biblical death means that we are separated from God
c. Biblical death is the “old”
III. In his death on the cross, God was at work in Christ making possible a “new thing” for all that believe.
A. Believe what?
1. Believe that Christ is the Son of God.
2. Believe that in dying, Christ paid my penalty for sin,
3. Believe that God brought Christ back to life, thus proving His power to give new life to that which was previously dead.
B. Thus, “all things, that is you and I, are made new.”
1. We have been “reconciled”
2. Not by might, or by our will, or by our ability, but by faith in Christ.
C. We have a new relationship.
IV. In Christ, we, who were previously dead have been made new.
V. Because God worked in and through the death of Christ, what was previously dead is made into Newness of life.
VI. Because, for those who believe, God does not count our sin against us, because it was counted against Christ.
VII. From the cross, Christ cried out, “My God, my God, why hast Thou foresaken me?”
A. In that moment, Christ’s relationship with the Father was broken.
B. Christ entered into death for us, in order that God would not count our sins against us. We Have A New Way of Thinking Because of Christ (vs. 19)
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
I. Isn’t it great to know that we have a new future based on our relationship with the risen Christ.
II. The Bible promises that if we “confess with out mouths and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, you WILL BE SAVED.”
A. That is, we have the rightful expectation of living eternally in the presence of God.
B. Remember, we have this expectation because God reconciled us to himself through Christ.
C. But then check out what the end of verse 19 says.
1. “...He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
2. “Word” the word is “logos” in Greek.
III. Logos speaks of the very wisdom and thoughts of God.
A. All things are made new in that, even in this life, we live with the certain knowledge of eternity with God, BUT
B. We also live in this life with a NEW way of thinking.
1. Those in Christ think with the very mind and knowledge of God.
2. That does not mean that we know everything that there is to know, but rather that as Christians we approach life with a new way of thinkings.
C. God’s will for our lives has now become our new reality.
IV. Because of the Resurrection of Christ, “All things are made new.”
A. Because of the resurrection we are a new creature, because of Christ
B. Because of the resurrection, we have a new relationship with God,
C. Because of the resurrection, we have a new way of thinking, even in this life.
Closing
I. I want to close by reading one more section of scripture which speaks of a Newness that will one day come.
II. That Apostle John writes in the book of Revelation about the day when God will bring forth not only a new life, but a new place in which to live life.
III. John writes in Revelation 21 - 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, 4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirst from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 “He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (Rev. 21:1-7, NASB)
IV. Most of us are going home to be with family today.
A. We are going to have many conversations, about many things,
B. We will answer many questions.
C. This may well be the most important question you hear today.
1. On that day which John writes about, the one where the new haven and new earth arrive, what will you be doing?
2. If you have accepted Christ as your savior, you will be jumping for joy, and looking for your new home.
3. If you have not, Be afraid, be very afraid; for on that day the end of days will come.
V. To be ready to jump for joy, the bible says, “Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord...”
A. I want to invite you to do just that this morning....
