The SIGNIFICANCE Of A NEW CREATION-III—2Corinthians 5:9--6:10
Attention:
Yvonne & Patch’s doggie Nicotine Addiction:
A changed life(no smoking/chewing) would give everyone in the house, including the dog, the opportunity to avoid disaster!
A true Christian receives a new nature.
Will you avoid disaster with your new life?
Need:
My life seems hollow...I’m missing something. It seems I just can’t stop what it is I know I should not do!
I can’t seems to rise above the sinful desires of my heart.
The key to our verses is 2Cor. 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Paul clarified the significance of being a new creation in Christ to the Corinthian church.
There is significance to being a new creation in Christ.
But what is significant about being a new creation in Christ?
10+ significations/signifiers of being a new creation in Christ.
Last Sunday we found that A new creation is significant in its New...
1. PLEASUREs(5:9)
2. RECEPTION(5:10)
3—A new creation is significant in its New...
PERSUASION(5:11)
Explanation:(5:11)Convince with facts
5:11—“Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, & I also trust are well known in your consciences.”
“The terror of the Lord” awaits those who refuse His mercies, compassions, & grace.
Ex. 19:11-12, 16; 20:18-21—“And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.”.....“Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings & lightnings, & a thick cloud on the mountain; & the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.”.....“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, & the mountain smoking; & when the people saw it, they trembled & stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, & we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, & that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.”
Heb. 10:26-31—“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, & fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, & insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
The Lord is the ultimate destroyer & rewarder regarding His creation.
Mat. 10:28—“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul & body in hell.”
Lk. 12:4-5—“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, & after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”
“The terror of the Lord,” the wrath of God, was levied upon His only-begotten Son on the Cross, where the eternal price of our sin was eternally paid for in full, by the fully divine & fully human blood of our Lord Jesus. The rationale behind the rescue as well as the rescue itself was conceived in the heart & mind of God.
All those of mankind who are living have ‘potential’ to be delivered/rescued/saved from “the terror of the Lord.”
Only in Christ Jesus can we be saved from the terror of the Lord!
Acts 4:12—“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
1Tim. 2:5—“For there is one God & one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus,”
Jn. 3:36—“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; & he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Paul knew that his heart of hearts was “well known” to God. God misses nothing. However no one aside from God(Father, Son, Holy Spirit) can truly know another’s heart.
Therefore people must be "persuaded"(thru reason, by word & other living witness) because unlike God they cannot know the heart of the sharer. The “conscience”—the ‘red flag’ area of our rationality(including body, soul & spirit)— is the private location of one's trust or lack thereof. It is where reality is weighed. It is that part which is absolutely convinced that words either convey truth or are a sham. It is there that a person's belief, that is shared with others, is either discounted or accepted. One’s conscience can be seared, cut short or damaged to such a degree that it does not function as it should. Therefore God’s intention is that your conscience be ‘properly’ trained thru relationship with Him & His church. Your “conscience” is individual & personal but results in a collective relationship with those of like-“conscience.”
1Tim. 4:2—“speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”
Paul’s desire was to trust that his heart’s cry was also “well known” in the “consciences” of the Corinthian Christians. That they would absolutely “know” Paul’s trustworthiness. That his persuasion” would be exactly that...Persuasive!
Some of you here remain/are unpersuaded about “the terror of the Lord” & the freestanding offer of His forgiveness & rescue from His terror in Jesus...
Instead you unflinchingly bide your time ‘waiting for your miracle’ as some charlatans proclaim. You do not heed Jesus the Son of God. You have discounted His reality, His truth, His life.
But...Jn. 14:6—Jesus said to him[His disciple Thomas], “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Thus it is not about your way at all...Nor your ‘version’ of the truth...Nor about what you might call ‘life.’ Its about Jesus’ way, truth & life!
This aspect of “persuasion” is so important in the lives of believers in Christ Jesus that the believers here at First Baptist & elsewhere actually commit to pool their money together in order to place, in their midst, a man who will tirelessly be about the business of “persuasion” from their pulpit! That’s what a true pastor does every week of his life!
“Knowing”—eidw/oida—Perfect Active Participle—1) To see—1a) To perceive with the eyes, 1b) To perceive by any of the senses, 1c) To perceive, notice, discern, discover, 1d) To see—1d1) i.e. To turn the eyes, the mind, the attention to anything, 1d2) To pay attention, observe, 1d3) To see about something 1d31) i.e. to ascertain what must be done about it, 1d4) To inspect, examine, 1d5) To look at, behold, 1e) To experience any state or condition, 1f) To see i.e. have an interview with, to visit; 2) To know—2a) To know of anything, 2b) To know, i.e. get knowledge of, understand, perceive—2b1) of any fact, 2b2) the force & meaning of something which has definite meaning, 2b3) To know how, to be skilled in, 2c) To have regard for one, cherish, pay attention to(1Th 5:12). Eidw/oida denotes to see with the mind's eye, signifies a clear & purely mental perception. Strong—a primary verb; used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent optanomai & oraw; properly--To see(literally or figuratively); by implication (in the perf. only)--To know.
“Terror”—fobov—Noun Masc.—1) Fear, dread, terror—1a) That which strikes terror; 2) Reverence for one's husband. Strong—from a primary febomai(to be put in fear); Alarm or fright.
“Lord”—kuriov—
“Persuade”—peiyw—Present Active Indicative—1) Persuade—1a) To persuade, i.e. to induce one by words to believe, 1b) To make friends of, to win one's favour, gain one's good will, or to seek to win one, strive to please one, 1c) To tranquilize, 1d) To persuade unto i.e. move or induce one to persuasion to do something; 2) Be persuaded—2a) To be persuaded, to suffer one's self to be persuaded; to be induced to believe: to have faith: in a thing—2a1) To believe, 2a2) To be persuaded of a thing concerning a person, 2b) To listen to, obey, yield to, comply with; 3) To trust, have confidence, be confident. Strong—a primary verb; To convince(by argument, true or false); by analogy--To pacify or conciliate(by other fair means); reflexively or passively--To assent(to evidence or authority), to rely(by inward certainty).
“Well known/Manifested”2X(See 5:10—“Appear”; 6:9—epiginwskw)—fanerow—Perfect Passive Indicative—Aorist Passive Infinitive—1) To make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way—1a) Make actual & visible, realized, 1b) To make known by teaching, 1c) To become manifest, be made known, 1d) of a person—1d1) Expose to view, make manifest, to show one's self, appear, 1e) To become known, to be plainly recognized, thoroughly understood—1e1) who & what one is. Strong—To render apparent(literally or figuratively).
“Also”—kai—Conjunction—1) And, also, even, indeed, but. Strong—apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative & sometimes also a cumulative force; And, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection(or composition) with other particles or small words.
“Trust”—elpizw—Present Active Indicative—1) To hope—1a) in a religious sense--To wait for salvation with joy & full confidence; 2) Hopefully to trust in. Strong—To expect or confide.
“Consciences”—suneidhsiv—Noun Fem.—1) The consciousness of anything; 2) The soul as distinguishing between what is morally good & bad, prompting to do the former & shun the latter, commending one, condemning the other—2a) The conscience. Strong—from a prolonged form of suneidw[To see completely]; Co-perception, i.e. Moral consciousness.
Argumentation:
1Cor. 15:55-58—“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, & the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Col. 1:24-29—“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, & fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages & from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man & teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.”
Revelation 2-3—The seven ‘representative’ churches are commended &/or reprimanded. Why are the warned?...Their ability to “persuade” people to turn to God thru Christ was lost or hindered in some way, due to a lack of full surrender to God. Promises regarding heaven are only secured for those churches who ‘overcome’ their particular weaknesses. The point...the Church’s ability to persuade truthfully is paramount/primary!
Acts 26:28-29—[Paul’s testimony(:1-29) before King Agrippa]—Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost & altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”
Your testimony is a vital part of your witness. It grants the power of believability or persuasiveness to your words.
I implore/beg you to look intently at your pitiful, minute, sad, disgusting, whoring, substance abusing, food abusing, sickeningly perverse relationship addicted life! How many men spend the night in your house ladies? How many women have you ‘had’ fellas?!
Those things(& vastly more) openly scream out the REAL status of Jesus in your life!
Illustration:
Positive:
*In the early 1960s, the publishers of Time Magazine were concerned about their declining circulation, so they designed a campaign to send out thousands of letters making an emotional appeal to potential subscribers. In the past, such mailings had been done manually, at a great cost in human resources. IBM was developing something called a computer, so they made a proposal to install a fully automated system that would write the letters, seal the envelopes, address them according to a selected database, stamp them & send them into the postal system without the letters ever being touched by a human hand. The huge computer was installed with much fanfare & anticipation.
However there was a glitch, & as a result a poor rancher in Wyoming received 12,634 letters appealing to him to subscribe to Time Magazine. The surprised rancher, who didn't ordinarily get much mail, opened the mail-bags & started reading the letters. After reading a few dozen, he sent in a $6 check for a subscription with a note that said, "I give up!"
A rock hits your windshield leaving a quarter-sized crack with little radiating cracks/If you do not repair it immediately, it will very probably get bigger & bigger until the entire windshield must get replaced/PERSUASION
National & local weather stations have standard measurements regarding the condition of the seas measured in a range of feet—seas 2-4 ft. usually in 2ft. increments, etc./The purpose of those designations is to convince you to choose the path of safety by avoiding what you know is a dangerous situation, particularly if your livelihood is not dependent upon your fishing trip!/PERSUASION
In Crescent, NC on Lyerly Drive there is a house which has a huge pecan tree in the back yard/It must be at least five+ feet in diameter/But its base is no farther than a foot & a half from the foundation of the house/Now there are foundation problems & plumbing problems/The original owner planted the pecan tree way too close to the house!/Proper PERSUASION would have convinced the owner that they should have planted it farther away/PERSUASION
Negative:
*Camouflage/There is an insect called a praying mantis which you may be familiar with/They are carnivorous/Many of its species mimic either the living, torn, dead or dying leaves of the plants among which they hunt for prey/One in particular, Deroplatys desiccata, is an asian species that looks exactly like the dead leaves & sticks lying on the ground under a tree/It eats insects that live among the leaves/Hiding the truth/PERSUASION
Satan himself camouflages his intentions tempting you to believe the lie & stray from God.
Diets/Doctors/They spend their lives persuading others(rightly or wrongly) of the ‘health benefits’ of their ‘new way’/PERSUASION
Society’s tendencies & leanings—Gambling, Homosexuality, Greed, Racism, ‘Hate speech’/Bring those persuasions into the general populace & they are self-perpetuating & are called ‘freedom’ by many/PERSUASION
Satan, ‘the prince of the power of the air,’ uses a strategy of making ‘the lie‘ believable & of making God’s truth un-believable/PERSUASION
Application:
?Are New PERSUASIONs apparent in your New Creation?
?Your New Creation Significant?
?Is yours a truly New Creation or a Creation by your own hand?
CONCLUSION:.>.>.>.>.>.>.> CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Doggie Nicotine Addict
Action:
A new creation is significant in its New...
3. PERSUASION(5:11)
1. PLEASURE(5:9)
2. RECEPTION(5:10)
Pt. 3-only! presented 01/24/2016am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
