2 Corinthians 5:17, 21
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
• It is a new year, and we love to see this as a time to start fresh
• Start over, do better, be stronger
• And what that does is makes us look at and focus on what we have been doing wrong
• New Year’s resolutions are about what we have messed up
• I think this mindset leads us to forget what we already have
• We forget how awesome God is
• We forget all that He has done for us
• We get too focused on the world around us
• The everyday things that take up our time
• We get caught up in all of our shortcomings and failures
• Yes, we should feel guilty when we sin, when we fall short
• But that guilt needs to drive us to Him, asking for forgiveness
• Not wallowing in our sorrows
• But we also get caught up in our flaws
• I’m not good enough, I’m not strong enough
• I have this disability, I have this “insert problem” slowing me down
• I am a failure
• The fact is, we have put on the righteousness of God
• As it says in verse 21
• We become the righteousness of God in Him
• God no longer sees us as we were
• We are a new creature
• God sees us through the blood of Jesus Christ
• He doesn’t see our sin
• He sees the Christ’s righteousness
• He sees us through the filter of the cross
• We are flawless in His eyes, because He looks at us through the blood of Christ
• Thank goodness God uses flawed people to do His will
• Just think of the apostles
• Smelly fishermen
• Hated tax collector
• And then there was Paul, occupation, Christian killer
• It’s the grace, His amazing grace that makes us flawless
• Makes us flawless in His eyes
• Not perfect
• When the Bible uses the word perfect it means complete
• We won’t be complete until we are with Him
• But flawless
• He doesn’t see our sins
• He doesn’t see our disabilities
• He doesn’t see our weaknesses
• He doesn’t see us as others see us either
• He made you flawless
• This song by Mercy Me, Flawless starts out covered in filth and muck
• Starts out with how we see ourselves and how we see others
• But finishes with how God sees us
