Happy 2024 my friends. Enjoying the year we’ve had so far? January is like a new beginning. A chance to start over. Ever wish you could start things again; like wipe out the past & start over? Something like cleaning off the chalkboard in the classroom so the teacher could write something new on it. We’ve all made mistakes & done or said things we wish we hadn’t. I know I have. Sometimes we don’t think about it until after it’s been done. We just want a Take 2 for that scene.
God does make it possible to restart things & get them right. When we accept salvation through Christ we become entirely new creations! The old has passed away & all is new. Only He can make this possible.
In the book of 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”
Did you hear that? If we are “in Christ” we are a new creation. The old is gone & we are new beings. New beings with the leadership of the Spirit to help us in life. This change doesn’t have to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. When we sin & stray off of the path of God, we need to be made new again. And we can! We just have to go to the Lord to confess what we’ve done, repent, & ask the Spirit to guide us. We are made a new creation all over again! And there is no age limit to when you can do this. Anyone here can start over anytime we need to.
Now let's take a closer look into this verse that Paul wrote:
Highlight - Highlight the verse that speaks to you
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (CSB)
Explain - Explain what this passage means
This verse says “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” Until we come to Jesus, we are walking the sinful path of the world & not the path of God.
To be the new creation God desires us to be we must be “in Christ”. The phrase “in Christ” or “in Christ Jesus” refers to the state of believers. Are you a believer? Then you are in Christ! If you have asked God to forgive your sins & have professed your faith & decision to follow Jesus with your life; you are saved. Paul uses this phrase frequently to speak of the believer's spiritual relationship with Jesus. Believing in Jesus is the reason we stand before God justified despite our sins. To help understand justified it’s like when we say “Just If I’d”. Just if I’d done what I was supposed to do. When we profess faith in Christ, we can say that.
As Christians, we have neither earned nor deserve eternal life with God and the forgiveness of our sins, though we have both. That's the grace of God. They were given to us because of Christ and what He did for us.
One place we can look to see what it means to be in Christ is Galatians 3:26-28. That scripture says, “26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. 27 For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. 28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Paul is teaching that when we are in Christ we are united with other brothers & sisters who are saved. Paul’s reminding the Galatians, who were Gentiles, of the new identity they got after they put their faith in Jesus. They'd left their old sinful lives to fully embrace new life in Christ. In Christ there is divine unity. Galatians 3:28 says “you are all one in Christ Jesus” When we answer the calling of God, He adopts us into His family. In Christ, our life is hidden in His. Our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus!
When we are “in Christ” we become the righteousness of God. To be "in Christ" means we have accepted His sacrifice as payment for our sins. When God looks at us, He sees that we are draped in the righteousness of His Son instead of the wickedness of the flesh. When we accept His sacrifice on our behalf, He switches accounts with us. He exchanges our list of sins with Jesus' perfect account that is pleasing to God.
The next part of this verse says when we are “in Christ” we are an entirely new creation. Only God can make something out of nothing. He spoke the words & the universe was made. If you & I go home & try to speak a juicy T-bone steak into existence we might starve to death. Only God can speak things into existence. When we go to Christ we are made into a new creation. When we are in Christ, we desire to do what is pleasing in the eyes of God.
The next thing we read in this verse is that “the old has passed away.”
In the original language the word for the phrase “passed away” means to perish or neglect. This same word is used in Rev. 21:1 & 21:4.
Those verses say “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (Rev. 21:1) & “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more because the previous things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4) One day there will be no grief, sadness, or death! What a great day that will be.
What do we see in those verses? They both say they “will be no more”. The previous things are gone; they have passed away. When we become a true believer in Christ the old version of ourselves has passed away; it no longer exists. The blood of Christ covers us & God sees Jesus' righteousness instead of our sin. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25) The sins have passed away and are no more! God doesn’t even remember the sins!
We are truly new creations in the eyes of God. Romans 8:1 says, “there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,” Here again we see the phrase “in Christ Jesus”. When we believe in the saving grace of God we are in Christ Jesus.
The final portion of this verse says, “and see, the new has come.” The new has come. We all like getting new things. Why do we like new things so much? One reason is because new things are without blemish & without flaws. New things are more functional & better able to serve the purpose they were created for. When you & I are created new in Christ we are better able to serve God fully. The old version of us has passed away. The new model just rolled off the assembly line & is without flaw or blemish. We can serve God the way He wants us to serve Him.
If a person truly believes, he will repent, and the result is reconciliation with God. Our relationship with Him changes; it is entirely new. When we become a new creation our point of view on life changes. We no longer look at life the same way. Now we view everything from the eternal perspective of God, His Word, and His Kingdom. We no longer look upon other people or our lives as we did before conversion. Our motives change, thoughts change, actions change, & our characters change. We now seek to serve & please God in all we do. Serving God is the highest priority in life. Others will also notice that. We will be stronger witnesses to the Lord. We are new creations in Christ! This version of ourselves is without flaw or blemish. Just like the great Creator desires us to be.
Apply - Apply what God is saying in these verses to your life
The place we have to start is realizing our sin & our need for salvation. We need to be in Christ. The only way to restore our relationship with God is through Jesus Christ. The Bible is very clear about that fact. In John 14:6 Jesus Himself tells us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” No one gets to God except by Jesus! He is the only way to God the Father. Period. We must go to God in prayer, repent of our sins, & ask Him to be the Lord of our life. When we do that we will be in Christ. The Holy Spirit of God will lead us in life & steer us along the path of God. We will feel convictions when we stray from His will. The world is filled with the evil works of the devil. We see it in newspaper headlines, on the internet, on TV, in politics, & countless other places. Sadly, one place we are seeing it now is in our schools. Satan is reaching the young by invading our schools & teaching what he wants them to believe. When we are in Christ we are reconciled with God & seek to do His will & not follow the way of the world. The temptations will still be there but the Lord will help us resist them. The old has passed away & the new has come.
One thing the devil tries to do to keep us from knowing we are saved is he keeps reminding us of the sins we committed & we feel guilt. He could say something like “Remember when you did that thing that the Bible says is evil? Nobody can forgive you for that. It wasn't something Christ would do so God doesn't want you anymore.” When Satan tries this trick what can we tell him? We need to remind him that the old has passed away when we came to God. We have been justified & made righteous through the blood of Jesus by the grace of God.
The Life Application Study Bible tells us “When we pledge our faith to Jesus Christ, we become brand-new people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives us new life & we are not the same people anymore. We are re-created, new creations living in vital union with Christ. At conversion we do not merely turn over a new leaf; we begin a new life under a new master.”
A new life under a new master. And with a new outcome. Our eternal destination of the Kingdom of God has become secure. How great is that? It's something we should be grateful for every single day. What a great blessing that is.
A tradition many people have when the new year rolls around is they make New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t usually make New Year’s Resolutions but I did this year. This year I resolved to read the Bible from beginning to end. I bought a copy of Charles Stanley’s Life Principles Daily Bible. It’s a Bible that’s divided up into daily reading portions that take 20-30 minutes to read & study. The daily readings are labeled with the date so I can keep up with the dates I’m to read them. I’ve been wanting to read the Bible in its entirety for years. 2024 will be the year I do it!
Like we learned today we become new creations when we are a member of the family of God. The mistakes we’ve made are wiped out & all things are new. God also gives us the ability to do this whenever we need to. He loves us so much we can start over every day. We pray that this will be a year of great blessings for all of you.
Respond - Respond to what you've read (PRAYER)
Lord, my God, help me to trust you with my decisions and my future. May your name be glorified in the new creation I’ve become in thy Son Jesus. Let me lean on you with all my heart instead of relying on my own imperfect understanding. Give me clear guidance in my life, Lord. As I submit myself to you, I know that you will direct my paths and I can have confidence that your direction is always the best way to go. Help me resist the temptations of the world to stay true to the path You have set for me. I pledge my total allegiance to You Father God. From this day to the end of time. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
