“What a Wonderful Change!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
Introduction: One of my favorite hymns was written by an Ohio minister Rufus Henry McDaniel; who penned the words to this hymn after the death of his year old son Herschel. He wrote this song to remind himself and others of the importance of faith, hope, and joy even in times of trial. Its message is clear. Jesus makes a difference in one’s life. Billy Sunday, the great evangelist used this song with its message in his crusades to bring others to a saving knowledge of Christ. The first verse of the song states, “What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought Since Jesus came into my heart!” These words echo the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:17.
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.”
When Jesus Christ comes into a life the Bible declares he is a new creature – literally he is a new unprecedented creation of God. The old, those things that characterized his pre-Christ life, have been shed for a new life in Christ. A new fresh beginning has begun. Let us consider that change.
I. A New Possessor - Change of Ownership
A. Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
B. Prior to coming to Jesus Christ man is under the ownership and control of Satan and sin.
C. Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
D. “Under New Ownership.” Have you ever seen that sign on a storefront? It means that the business has been bought out by a new owner, that the old owner is no longer in charge. And the new owner may have a different way that he wants to run the business.
E. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
F. God has bought me, therefore God owns me. I am no longer owned, or bound by sin and the Devil. I have been set free from sin and Satan. But I have a new owner, God.
G. Romans 14:8 “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
II. A New Possession - Change of Relationship
A. Ephesians 2:12-13 “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
B. Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
C. We are all accustomed to contracts. We are often required to sign them, whether with a builder to construct our house or with the department store when we purchase an appliance. Contracts, formal or informal, specify what happens if one of the parties fails to live up to an agreement. When we put our trust in Christ for salvation, however, we do more than sign a contract. We enter info a binding relationship with God whereby He makes us His children by the new birth and by adoption (1Peter 1:23; Ephesians 1:5). Because of this close family relationship, we are permanent heirs of an eternal inheritance reserved in heaven for us (1Peter 1:4). Contracts can be broken if one of the parties fails to keep his part of the promise. Fortunately for us, out eternal destiny is based on more than some legal agreement we make with God. Rather, we are secure because of our family relationship with Him. If a youngster fails to show up for dinner, the parent's obligation isn't canceled. The parent starts a search for the child. One member's failure doesn't cancel the relationship. How thankful we can be that eternal life is based on our relationship with God through Christ. -H W Robinson
D. Romans 8:15b-17a (LEB) “...you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself confirms to our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ...”
E. We are heirs of God not merely by contract, but by birthright.
III. A New Path – Change of Direction
A. This is the greatest and most important change. The eternal destiny of the reconciled soul is heaven.
B. Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.”
C. Everyone in the world is traveling one of two roads. The majority of people cruise down the highway of life headed in the wrong direction: headed for Hell. But when you repent of your sin and give your life to Jesus Christ you change directions and destinations. You transfer from the broadway that leads to destruction to the highway to heaven.
D. John 3:2-5 “Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said unto him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God’.”
E. John 10:28 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.”
IV. A New Passion – Change of Desire
A. Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. Among these also we all had our manner of living in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
B. One's interests will greatly change. A saved person will have interests in spiritual things which an unsaved person will not.
C. A saved person will have devotion for Christ which an unsaved person will not.
D. Bell writes...The best story I’ve heard of being a “New Creation” is of St. Augustine. - In his younger years he had indulged in great sins. After his conversion he met a woman who had been the sharer of his wicked follies. She had approached him winningly and said, to him “Augustine,” but he ran away from her with all speed. She called after him, “Augustine it is I”. He turned around and said “But it is not I. The old Augustine is dead, and I am a new creature in Christ Jesus!” – copied
E. Galatians 5:24 “And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
F. Arthur Pink (In the "The Sovereignty of God") discusses what the new creation in Christ entails when he wrote,”In the new birth, God exerts a quickening influence or power upon His own elect. Regeneration is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears because of some temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and practicing of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a pledge-card, or "joining the church." The new birth is no mere turning over a new leaf--but is the inception and reception of a new life! It is no mere reformation, but a radical transformation. In short, the new birth is a miracle--the result of the supernatural operation of God. It is radical, revolutionary, lasting!” – copied
G. John Wesley said, “When a person comes to Christ for salvation there ought to be a very present, visible, undeniable change!”
V. A New Performance – Change of Behavior
A. 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
B. True conversion is a thing that can always be seen. When a person is genuinely saved, there will be a change in that person's behavior. He or she will not be perfect but there will be a difference in their lives.
C. When the truth of grace is in the heart—the beauty of grace is seen in the walk! – Thomas Watson
D. Ephesians 5:8 “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.”
E. Ephesians 4:17 “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind”
F. Two university students in Moorhead, Minnesota, painted a mural on the wall outside their dormitory room. According to USA Today, it showed a school of fish all swimming in the same direction except for a single fish heading the opposite way. The one fish was intended to be the age-old symbol for Christ. Printed on the picture were the words, "Go against the flow." University officials, arguing that the mural might offend non-Christians, ordered the students to paint over it… In obedience to our Master, we must be willing to go against the flow of society. As we follow Jesus, our motives, values, and habits are bound to be different from those who are not Christians.” - Vernon C. Grounds (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
G. Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
