2 Corinthians 5:17 – New – Bible study

2 Corinthians 5:17 New I first started serving the Lord not long after I was saved and selected Zech 4:6 as my lifes verse, mainly because I wanted to see the power of God in my life. Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. However, it wasnt not too many years (probably five or six, before I came to realize that our testimony should reflect what Christ has done in our life more than our desire for what He would do, so I changed my verse to 2Cor 5:17. 2Cor 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. I believed then as I believe now, that this verse best describes what God has done in my life. Would you consider some thoughts with me this morning. I. "IF" A. The "if" in the verse means that not everyone is in Christ or saved. B. There are several mindsets that the unsaved person can have even inside of a church. Here are a few. 1. A person may know of Jesus but not know enough to be saved. a. Some religions don’t teach enough for the people to be saved. b. But even if they do, the unsaved must hear it, understand it, and be drawn to it. 2. A person can know enough to be saved but not have trusted the Lord. a. He may know what that means or he may not, but he knows that he is not surrendered to Jesus. b. He may agree with what the Bible says or he may dismiss it totally, but he knows that he is not obeying it. 3. A person know enough to be saved, think that he is somehow qualified for heaven but still be lost. Mt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. C. Of those three, I deem the last to be the most pathetic. 1. Here is a person who perhaps goes to church, reads a Bible, and gives some moneyall in the name of religion, all the time thinking they belong to Christbut they will still die and go to hell. 2. It will be difficult to witness much to this type of person without insulting them and calling them a liar. 3. Perhaps I feel for this type of a lost person because I was one. a. I was not reared in a Christian home. My parents were both lost. b. I guess I was about 13 when a friend took a Chick track, Holy Joe, and let me read it. When I finished, he asked if I wanted to go to hell. c. I walked down the aisle twice after that (1) First at Rosedale Baptist Church. I am sure I was counseled about salvation before I was baptized. (2) Then again at a James Robison Crusade. The invitation was if you want to live for Jesus, come down to the front so I did. (I thought they might have something more that I needed.) d. Sadly, after I read the tract and prayed, was baptized, and left the coliseum, I was still lost. (1) I could not stop doing the bad or start doing the good. (2) I did not know why I could not stop the bad and start the good, but I couldnt. (3) So I eventually quit trying. (4) In time, I quit going to church too. D. As one who made a false profession of faith and one who has tried to help some whose salvation seems sketchy at best, I have noticed how so many follow a similar path. 1. False professors get "religion" but they never change. a. They go to church some, get a Bible, listen to some preaching, make some new friends. b. But by-in-large, they have the same language, the same short tempers, the same lustful hearts, and the same ambitions as before. 2. But they never develop a love or understanding of spiritual things. a. They go to church, but they do not love church. b. They have the Bible, but they do not read the Bible. c. They know about prayer, but they do not talk to God in any meaningful way. (1) But how can they? (2) It is the Holy Spirit within the believer who makes these things possible. Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 3. By the way, these are those who give Christianity a black eye. They are the hypocrites who confuse the lost and lead the saved back into the world. II. "in Christ" A. The Bible is clear that there is a salvation. 1. The phrase "in Christ" is a symbolic term to describe the person who is truly saved. 2. In the days of Noah, God determined to judge the whole human race, but in mercy, He provided a salvation. 3. He gave Noah instructions on how to build a gigantic ark, a floating boat; and then for 120 years, He told Noah to invite the people to enter it and be saved from the coming judgment. 4. \#1Peter 3:20\ says that of the entire world population, only eight people entered the ark; but those that were "in the ark" were saved. 5. Jesus is mankinds Ark. a. As in the days of Noah, God is inviting the human race to go inside of the Ark, Jesus Christ. b. Those who are "in Christ" are saved from all of the judgments that will fall upon mankind and this world. c. This outside of Jesus Christ will experience the full wrath of the Almighty God. B. The Bible is clear on what it takes to be saved. 1. There must be faith in what Jesus has done. a. Some Bible knowledge is required to be saved. (This is the reason the Bible asks the question, "How can they hear without a preacher?" \#Romans 10:14\) b. The most basic knowledge is that Jesus died for our sins, thus making payment for us. c. I do not think you can strip the message down any more than that. d. In fact, unless I was talking to a person who was literally breathing his last breathe, I would also tell him: (1) That Jesus is God who came from heaven just to die for us. (2) That we are sinners but Jesus was sinless. (3) And that to prove that Jesus was God, God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. e. But it is not just knowing these facts that save. (1) It is believing them. (2) This is why Christians talk so much about faith and believing. (3) If you do not believe that Jesus literally died for your sins, you cannot be saved. 2. But there is also repentance. Ac 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Ac 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. a. Repentance means, the best you know how, you surrender yourself to Jesus Christ. Not just for the moment, the hour, or the year; but for all eternity. b. It would take some time before I understood why my first encounter with the gospel did not produce salvation; but I came to understand that it was because I did not repent. (1) I could not stop the bad and start the good because I was still the captain of my fate. (2) It was not until I was 16 that I actually came to the place where I surrendered myself to Jesus and was saved. (3) But even that event did not cause all of my bad to go awayindeed, after all of this years, it still has not! (4) But Jesus now being the Captain of my fate gave me the ability to stop the bad and to start the good. III. "new creature" A. Salvation gives us something new, something different and something powerful. B. The new and different go together. 1. Paul spoke of salvation as being recreated into a new being. 2. Jesus spoke of the salvation as a brand new birth. 3. But in both the emphasis is on the new. a. As a Christian, you have never been what you ARE and you will never be what you WERE. b. You are now a new being with new desires, new passions, and new abilities. c. This newness shows in three ways. (1) God sees someone new. Your sins and mistakes are gone. As far as God is concerned, you were just born and you can do nothing wrong. (2) You should see yourself as someone new. Salvation gives you a do-ever. It does not matter how old you are, you get a brand new life to live. Hopefully, every Christian desires to please God with their new life. If they do, they will find themselves to be a much better person. (3) And if you live different, others will see the new in you as well. 4. You become different. a. The contrast in what we WERE and what we ARE is repeatedly noted in the Bible by God calling what we were the OLD us. Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Colossians 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; b. The OLD means that which was, the previous, the done away with. c. There should be as much difference in you from your salvation to now as there is difference between: (1) OLD and NEW, (2) DARK and LIGHT, (3) EVIL and GOOD, (4) HELL and HEAVEN. C. But Christians also become powerful. 1. This is the proof of salvation that the religiously lost are missing. 2. John, the apostle, described salvation as being endued with godly powers. John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: a. This implantation of God within you totally changes you. b. You are now "in Christ," directly connected to God at all times. (1) That gives you spiritual abilities: (a) You can know what God thinks and desires. (b) You can be warned of the devils traps and the fleshs weaknesses. (c) And if you rebel against Gods wishes, He will sting your soul with conviction. (2) That also gives you spiritual rights: (a) You have the right to speak to God and to know that He hears you. (b) The right to enter His presence. (c) The right to be forgiven of any and every sin. (d) The right to be used by God. (3) And best of all, you have spiritual strength. (a) Whatever God can and desires to do, He can do it through you. (b) You can help rescue those who perishing, teach those that are ignorant, and help those who are hurting to such a great extent, that you can literally change the worldor at least the part of the world you live in. IV. "any man" A. These two words may be the best part. B. They mean that this can happen to any and every person on the planet. 1. I realize I am preaching to those sitting in a church, but I could just as well be preaching to those in prison. 2. In fact, I could be preaching to the death row inmates, or the psychotic killers, or the worst of the war criminals. 3. The phrase "any man" means any man, woman, boy, or girl can come to Jesus if he or she desires.