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2 Corinthians 5:17-21

New in Christ

  • Rich Jones
  • Weekend Messages
  • October 31, 2015

Now, we come to 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17, where Paul tells us the results of walking by faith. These truths are very personal and when we take hold of them we understand the power of true spiritual transformation.

  • Sermon Notes
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  • Scripture

New in Christ

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

In Chapter 4, Paul wrote, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels; that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.”

In other words, we’re just clay pots; we’re just earthen vessels. That puts it all in perspective. What’s more important, the clay pot, the earthen vessel, or the great treasure of glory it contains?

This is a great encouragement, though our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Life here on this earth is just temporary; there is a greater glory waiting for us. We walk through this life in these broken down tents, longing for that greater glory. But we don’t just long for that greater glory, God is preparing us for it. In fact, the troubles and difficulties of this life are producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, Paul said. Our inner man is being renewed day by day.

While we are here, living in this broken down world, how shall we live? “Walk by faith and not by sight,” Paul said. In other words, live by faith, knowing that we are leaving behind these old broken down earthen vessels and look forward to being in the presence of the Lord.

Walk by faith knowing that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. In other words, how we live in this life matters and has a bearing on our future glory.

When you walk by faith, you’re walking in a relationship to God Himself. He gave us the Holy Spirit as a deposit, as a pledge, as a guarantee of the overflowing life God has in store for us in the future. In other words, we are experiencing the love of God right now. So much so that Paul said in verse 14,“The love of Christ controls us, having concluded this… That they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”

Now, when we come to these verses, beginning in verse 17, Paul tells us the results of walking by faith. These truths are very personal and when we take hold of them we understand the power of true spiritual transformation.

I.       Be Made New – in Christ

  • These verses are famous and often quoted but are often misunderstood. Many Christians read verse 17 and become discouraged, saying to themselves, “There are still old things in my life that haven’t passed away, am I actually and truly saved?”
  • But the key to understanding verse 17 is actually in verse 18, “Now all these things are from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ.”
  • This is what God does in us – in Christ. If any man is -in Christ- he is a new creature because God has made him new and is making him new.

Illus – There are many so-called self-help books available “at a bookstore near you.” The problem with self-help books, however, is that they are self-help books.

John 15:5, I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

A.      Every man in Christ is made new

  • Notice that this applies to every single person that is in Christ. If you are in Christ, then you are made new. It’s finished. It’s completed.
  • You might say, “What part of me is new? This is the same old body I had before. In fact, it’s still in the process of falling apart. How am I made new?”
  • Yes, it’s true that you still have the same old body as before, but that body is just an old clay pot, an earthen vessel. It’s made from dust and to dust it will return.
  • But here’s what’s new for every person who is in Christ… God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. This treasure we have in earthen vessels; that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:6.
  • Notice that he’s using a phrase out of Genesis when God created the heavens and the earth. In our case he’s making life where there once was death…

Ephesians 2:4-7 God made us alive with Christ…

John 3:5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

B.      Every man in Christ is being made new

  • Not only are you made new in Christ, you are being made new in Christ. They are distinctly separate things.
  • God has made you a new creation. He has given you eternal life where there once was death, he has adopted you as a son or daughter. He has placed the treasure of His glory in your soul.
  • But God is also in the process of making you new. This is critical because, while it’s absolutely amazing to have the gift of eternal life, to be born again in Christ, we’re still living in this earthen vessel, our flesh, and it still gives us fits.

Illus – You could wake up in the morning with worship music playing on your alarm, have a beautiful time in prayer just saying good morning to the Lord, get in your car and turn up the worship, but then as soon as you turn onto the freeway and someone cuts you off, it’s over.

  • We know there’s still a lot of work of transformation that needs to be done in all of us.

Ephesians 4:23-24, Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”

Illus – When we adopted our boys, they were made new in the sense that they had new names, they had a new family, a new future and a new hope, and a new father that love them, but there was still a lot of baggage they brought with them to be transformed.

C.      Old things pass away

  • The process of being made new means that old things must pass away. The problem with the flesh, however, is that it doesn’t want to die.
  • What does it take for the flesh to die? Your soul needs to be satisfied with something far greater. In other words, it takes life to defeat death.

App – Have you ever felt that you would always be a victim of your circumstances? That your course is fixed? That there is no way to break out of the cycle of failure? That the flesh would always have the last word? And that word would always be defeat?

  • You can be transformed, you can be made new, you can be victorious, but this is what God does when the glory of His presence ignites your soul.

Illus – My father was an alcoholic and it would have been easy to fall in his footsteps. I was thankful I was one of the youngest kids because it gave me a good view; I could see destruction all around me. At the same time my mom made sure we went to church. My soul cried out for something better. God had to bring revival.

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?”

  • We have this treasure in earthen vessels. God makes new by placing His fire within.

II.      Be Reconciled to God

  • Verse 18 – Now all these things are from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ…
  • This is the key to unlocking these truths. These things are from God… who reconciled us.
  • We were estranged from God. There was great distance between us because we had walked away. And our sin caused a great chasm between us and God.

Isaiah 59:1-2, The Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God…

A.     Our sins are not counted against us

  • If He doesn’t count our sins against us, where do they go? The justice of God must be satisfied.

Psalm 103:12, As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

  • God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself… He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. That is one of the most powerful truths known to man.
  • If a person is estranged from God there’s a deep emptiness in the soul.

Ephesians 2:12-13, Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were formally far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

B.      God is pursuing you

  • These verses give us a wonderful understanding of God’s heart after us. Think about what God has done for us. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
  • It’s one thing to be reconciled to God positionally, but it’s another thing to be reconciled to God relationally. God is pursuing a love relationship.

Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.”

  • This is the key to transformation. When you open the door of your heart, you’re asking Him to come in to transform your heart and your life.

Illus – Some people want to invite Jesus to come only onto that little square of linoleum next to the door. Maybe they’ll let Him stay in the guest room. But He wants to come in and transform every room – even the smelly places.

  • What does it take to open your heart like that? It takes trust. You must trust God’s heart for you; that when He comes in and sees all the things that are ugly or smelly or shameful that He’s going to take hold of those things and transform them. That’s the loving nature of who He is.
  • We need to trust God’s love that when He sees all that’s ugly or smelly or shameful that He’s going to transform it. He doesn’t say, “Now that I see what’s really going on in your life I’m out of here.”
  • No, He comes in and says with the most loving, gracious, forgiving heart, “I see what’s ugly, I see what stinks, I see that you’ve been carrying all that shame. Let me touch that; I make all things new.”
  • Verse 20 reveals something that’s actually very shocking when you stop to consider it.
  • We are ambassadors for Christ. God has asked us to carry the message of reconciliation to those around us. But what is the nature of the message we’re supposed to carry? What is God wanting to say?

Illus – Some years ago one of the guys was witnessing to a friend and asked me to help. His friend was convinced that God had put his name on the wrong list and it was impossible for him to be saved. These verses in this chapter opened his understanding.

  • God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. We are entrusted with the message of grace, with the good news of the gospel. He sends us as His ambassadors.
  • Therefore, we must also carry His heart for the world. God is not asking us to tell the world that He is angry. God is entreating through us. Therefore, we beg them on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God.

Luke 14:23, And that master said to the servant, “Go out into the highways and along the hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 – 21

New in Christ

November 1, 2015


I want to begin by looking at a verse out of chapter 4 that really sets the stage for these verses because in chapter 4 he said, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing greatness of the power might be of God and not of ourselves.” So he’s helping us with this perspective. We’re just clay pots, we’re just earthen vessels. But he puts his Holy Spirit there, he puts the glory of his presence inside of those earthen vessels and so now we have this perspective.
What is more important, the clay pot, the earthen vessel, or the presence of glory that he places within it? See he gives us this perspective. Our outer man, this earthen vessel is disintegrating, it’s decaying, it’s going to pot, you might say. But the inner man is being renewed day by day. You could be in your 90s and frail and weak but your soul is ignited and full of life because you’re being renewed by the presence of the glory of God every day. He gives us this perspective. Life here is just temporary. Life on earth is just temporary. But there’s a greater glory awaiting us. We’re walking through life in these broken down earthen vessels and then later in chapter 5 he changes the metaphor and says were living in these old tents, but we’re longing for a greater glory. We are anticipating and groaning for and looking forward to a greater glory of being in the presence of the living God. But not only are we longing for it and waiting for it, he’s preparing us for it.
As we’re walking through this earth, he’s preparing us. In fact he says, the difficulties and trials of this life are producing in us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, he says. Because the inner man is being renewed even through all the trials and troubles, the inner man is being renewed by the Spirit. Then he gives us this perspective in the earlier verses of chapter 5. All right, if we’re living in this world, it’s just temporary, but how are we going to live in it?
He says, walk by faith and not by sight, that’s how are going to live it. We’re going to walk this life out by faith, knowing that we’re going to leave these old broken down earthen vessels behind and we’re looking forward to being in the presence of the living God.
Walk by faith, he also says in earlier verses here, knowing that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Many Christians are not aware of the fact that we do give an account of how we live. It matters. It has an eternal bearing and so therefore we’re going to walk by faith in the understanding that we’re going to give an account of our lives. But also he says, walk by faith knowing that we are walking in a relationship to God himself. In other words, he gives us the Holy Spirit that we might walk in the presence of God. He gives the Holy Spirit as a deposit, as a guarantee, as a pledge of that which is greater.
Can you imagine, if we have the Holy Spirit now as a deposit, can you imagine the presence of the living God so that we’re absolutely filled to overflowing by the presence of the Holy Spirit? What glory. What grandeur, what wonder will that be? God is telling us that we are walking through this life and experiencing the love of God. We are experiencing God now because he gives us the Holy Spirit and were experiencing the love of God so much so, that he said earlier in verse 14 that the love of Christ is so compelling that the love of Christ controls me, constraints me, compels me.
Then that leads us to verse 17 where he shows us then the result of walking by that faith. That result of walking by faith in our lives. And this is a key for us. These are very famous verses. In verse 17, “Therefore, if any man is in Christ he is a new creature, he is a new creation.” That’s a powerful word. We have to understand that. “Old things passed away, behold new things have come. Now, all of these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” God gave us a ministry. All of us. “Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. How? Not counting their trespasses against them and he has committed to us this word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, all of us. We are ambassadors, we carry his message and therefore, he says, it is as though God were entreating through us. Therefore, we beg you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. Then verse 21 is famous, one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible. He made him who knew no sin, that’s Christ, to be sin, to become sin, on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. You should underline that verse, you should dog ear that page. You should memorize its location because it’s so key to our understanding of the gospel.
Now let’s go back over these verses. They’re powerful. They’re famous. But they’re often misunderstood. It tells us in verse 17 be made new in Christ.


I. Be Made New – in Christ

It’s often quoted, yet misunderstood. I think that many Christians read verse 17 they get discouraged because they say to themselves, “be made new… He’s a new creation, and all things passed away… Wait a minute, there are plenty of all things in my life that haven’t passed away. Am I actually saved? Am I truly and actually saved question Mark there are still things in my life.”
But the key to understanding verse 17 is verse 18 where he tells us, now all of these things are from God. These things are from God. God is the one who is made is new. God is the one who causes all things to pass away. God himself has reconciled us to himself.
See this is what God does, if any man is in Christ he is a new creature because God has made him new and God is making him new. These are distinctly different things. This is God’s work. God makes us new. You know there’s anything today, of course, many people want to improve their lives, they say in this many books available – they’re self-help books. You can go on to Amazon and there are hundreds of books. You can go to the bookstore and there are I’ll upon aisle, row upon row of self-help books. You know what the problem of self-help books is? The problem of self-help books… Is that they are self… Help… Books. It’s about helping oneself. Wait a minute, he says, this is a work that God does. He is a great verse…
John 15:5, I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
This is what he tells us. Look at December 17. It’s a key insight. If any man is in Christ he is a new creation. In other words, every man in Christ is made new.


A. Every man in Christ is made new
Every single man or woman in Christ is made new. Every person who is in Christ is made new. If you are in Christ then you are made new. Finished. Completed. You might say, “What part of me is new? I still have this same old body that I did before. And I have the same old body that’s decaying. And in fact, pastor, the older that I get it seems to pick up speed. What part of me is new exactly here.”
While it’s true that you have the same old body, but that body is just a clay pot, is just an earthen vessel. From Dusty came into dust will return. That’s not what were speaking of here. Let’s made new for every person is that we are in Christ. In Chapter 4, Paul wrote a phrase that comes right out of the Genesis creation account, and he said, “God, who is the one who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ… This treasure we have an earthen vessels that the surpassing power may be of God and not ourselves.” This is God’s creation, this is God’s work. In other words, he makes life whether once when staff. He makes new.
Notice the phrase out of Genesis that God is the one who creates life whether once was death. Let’s look at a verse in Ephesians 2… Listen to these words, they are so powerful.
Ephesians 2:4-7, But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and he has raised us up with him… That the past tense word. And he has seated us with him in the heavenly places… That’s also a past tense word. This is all in Christ Jesus. This he has done in order that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. These are powerful words.
Let me give you some words from Jesus himself and John chapter 3… This is the same chapter were because that famous verse John 3:16, but these are words that lead up to it… Listen to this insight.
John 3:5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
That which is born of flesh is flesh means that that which is born of the earth is earthen. In other words, these bodies of ours were born of the earth and so our bodies are earthen vessels he is saying. That which is born of flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is.. That which is born of the Spirit is life. He has made life whether once was death. He has made us new. Past tense. Completed. It is finished. In that sense, but this is also what is telling us immediately grasp this.
Not only are we made new, but every man in Christ is being made new…


B. Every man in Christ is being made new

These artistically different things. God has major new creation, he is giving you eternal life whether once was death. He’s adopted you, it’s a finished work. He’s adopted you as a son or daughter. Finished. The gavel came down. You have been adopted. He’s placed his treasure in your soul. Done. But God is also in the process of making you knew. Is critical.
While we absolutely love the fact that we have been given the eternal life and were born again in Christ, the truth is, that we are still living in these earthen vessels, the flesh, and frankly, these earthen vessels still gives us fits. We need to understand how to be victorious.
You could set your alarm so that you wake up in the morning with worship. In the old days you just had a buzzer waking you up, but now you have worship. You can wake up with worship, what a glorious way to wake up. You can have a prayer in the morning, “Good morning, Lord.” Get in the shower, get ready for the day, have a nice breakfast and then you get in the car and you turn on the music and its worship and you turn it up, because worship should be loud, and you are worshiping the Lord is your heading for work and driving down the road and your singing, “Shout to the Lord!” And you’re just worshiping and it’s awesome, that is until you turn onto the freeway. And then someone cuts you off and you’re not shouting to the Lord anymore, now you’re shouting at that person who just cut you off, “Listen you so and so…” Oh how quickly we get into the flesh. It still gives us fits. The truth is, we know there’s still a lot of work of transformation that still needs to be done. There’s still a lot of work to be done. Is this true?
But listen to the verses from Ephesians 4… It’s very interesting how he says it here.
Ephesians 4:23-24, Be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
When he says, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, it’s present active. In other words, continue to be renewed in the spirit of your mind. How? By putting on the new self. That’s also present active words. But then he says that the new self -has been - created in the likeness of God. That is past tense. In other words, walk in the life that he has already given you. Walk in that life. Choose this life. He makes all things new. His another verse…
Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
A good illustration of this is when we adopted our boys from Russia. Now they were older when we adopted them, they were 10 and 14. Now that’s a good part of it because they were old enough to decide for themselves. This is key. We offered them the opportunity to have a new family; new sisters; the new mom and dad. We offered them the opportunity and they had to acknowledge before a judge that they accepted that offer. They chose willingly to accept that offer. They were made new in the sense that they were given new names, and in Russia, by the way, it’s a common tradition for all children to take as the middle name, the first name of the father. And so they both have asked her middle name, Richard. As a recognition of the father. Which is interesting because adoption is a picture of our relationship to the Lord and it’s really very interesting. So they had new names, new family, a new future and a new hope that they never had before. A new father a new mother that love them, everything was new. Even a close were new. It was so funny because I remember Misha in particular. First of all, they didn’t even want us to go into the orphanage when we picked them up. Which I thought was interesting. They said, just wait in the car and will bring them out to you. I thought, no way, he’s been living here in this orphanage for many years and I’m going in to see. They said no, just in the car. To which we all said, we need to go the bathroom, so we all went in and were waiting there for them to bring Misha to us. Then we hug him and I said, “Does he have his stuff ready?” That was his stuff. He was wearing it. Does he have anything else? No earthly possessions? No that was it. So we take them back to the hotel. Later, they called us and asked for his clothes back. So we got all new clothes.
There is this glorious aspect. Everything is made new. But wait a minute, they still had a lot of baggage that they brought with them. The youngest one was in an orphanage for emotionally troubled children. They had a new name, new family, new beginning a new hope new future, new mom and a new dad, but a lot of old baggage that had to be transformed. What a picture. How are we going to make him new? We can walk this out together, that’s all. Were going to walk this through and were going to walk it through together. Going to press through this and were going to bring love into this relationship and were gonna walk through this. And it’s been so glorious to see the transformation. Now, in his mid-20s, he calls, “Hi dad, how are you. I love you.” He loves hanging out with all of us, love being a family together, playing games from her together. A glorious transformation.
But then he gives us the key back in 2 Corinthians 5:17, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, but notice that he also says, old things pass away. See, the process of being made new means that the old things pass away.


C. Old things pass away

Now, the problem with the flesh which is where all things come from, is that the flesh doesn’t want to die. Jesus spoke about the necessity of dying. He said, “He who wants to follow me must take up his cross daily.” One of the cross for? It’s an instrument of dying, of death. There’s an art of dying, you might say, that comes in the Christian life. What does it take for the flesh to die? The answer is that life defeats death.
Your soul must be satisfied with something far greater. Love is the controlling passion of life. Love is the greatest and overall passion of life. And what you love has everything to do with who you will become. We need something greater, we need something of greater passion, greater depth. The make it very personal here for a moment. Have you ever thought that you would always be a victim of your circumstances? That your course is fixed? That there is no way to break out of the cycle of failure? That the flesh is always going to have the last word in our last word is defeat? No, when you read chapter 5, verse 17, were given hope, because you can be transformed. You can be made new. You can be victorious. But verse 18 tells us that this is what God does. This is what God does when the glory of his presence ignite your soul and that what you love and who you love is being transformed. There’s a hunger and passion for something deeper. Something greater. Something real and authentic.
Many of you know my story. My father was an alcoholic, abusive and can take risks alcoholic. And it would’ve been easy to fall into his footsteps. Many people do, many people fall into the footsteps of those who gone before them. I was so thankful that out of the six kids in our family, I was number 5. Number five is a great place to be raised in a difficult and dysfunctional family like that. Because your tucked down into the group so you can high down there. And all the older ones, they’re the ones who are experiencing the turbulence, but I get to see it. I can see it all. I can see what’s happening with the older one, yet I’m not the youngest one, who is the cute one, the baby of the family, the one who everyone looks to to be the cute one… my sister; no, number five is great because I could see all the destruction around me, and cry out for something better. I could see the turbulence and the destruction all around me. But my mom, in contrast, faithfully made sure we got to church. And I got to experience the contrast, the joy the peace that I experienced there at church. Man, praise God for my mom. She made sure that we went to church. I remember a particular Sunday morning, we were all ready for church, but dad was in a very bad mood and wasn’t taking does the church. So mom just called the pastor and asked him to come over and get us, so he came over with his station wagon and all six of us and mom piled in and went to church. I praise God for her, because I could experience something better. And I remember when I was young. We lived way out in the country, and I would take these long walks out in the country and literally yell out and call out to God, “Give me something better than this. There has to be something better than this.” Of course the answer the Lord is, “Yes, I make all things new. Look forward, I make all things new.” By the way, the end of the story with my dad, many of you know, he came to faith in Jesus Christ at 75 years old in our church. I got to baptize them with my own hands. It was a glorious end of that story. But he gives us this answer. I was crying out, “God, there has to be something better than this.” And there is something better than this, it’s life. He makes all things new. Here’s a graver set of the book of Isaiah.… This is a great verse.
Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?”
That is a powerful insight. So many people are stuck. The stuck in the past. They’re stuck in a rut. The stock in the disaster. There stuck. The course is fixed. There’s no way to break out of the cycle. Don’t call to mind the former things, God says, don’t ponder the things of the past, behold I will do something new. Now it will spring forth, will you not be where the? We have this treasure he says in earthen vessel. God makes new by placing his fire, within, the treasure, the glory of the presence of the Holy Spirit. He makes a deposit into your soul and he tells us in verse 18 a very important key. He says all of these things are from God who reconciled us to himself. This is the key. Be reconciled to God.


II. Be Reconciled to God

This is the key to understanding these verses. These things are from God who reconciled us to himself. You see, we were estranged from God. There was a great distance between us. We were the ones who walked away. God did not walk away, we did. And our sin caused the great chasm between us and God. It may give you rest that shows it out of the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 59:1-2, The Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God…
So he tells us, back in verse 18 and 19, that he has reconciled us to himself. How? It’s in verse 19, by not counting their trespasses against them. This is the key. Our sins are not counted against us.


A. Our sins are not counted against us
one of the glorious truth of the gospel is that our sins are not counted against us. Someone might say, well if he doesn’t count our sins against us, where do they go? Doesn’t the justice of God need to be satisfied? Yes, you’re right. And God gives us an insight into that in Psalm 103.
Psalm 103:12, As far as the east is from the west, so for has He removed our transgressions from us.
Someone might ask, how many of our transgressions has he removed? What percentage? What portion? He removes our transgressions, but I would really like to know what percentage, what portion exactly has he removed. And the answer to that is – all. He removes all of our transgressions. 100% of them. Where did they go? Verse 21 tells us, He made him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Our sins were placed on the cross of Jesus Christ. One of the most compelling chapters in the Bible is Isaiah 53 where he says that the iniquities of us all fell upon him. What a powerful understanding.
If a person is estranged from God what is the result? If a person is estranged from God the end result is emptiness, a deep emptiness of the soul. God made our souls and God made ourselves to be filled. And the parcels are not filled with that which is life and glory, then people will look to fill with all kinds of things. They’re looking for love in all the wrong places. They’re looking for intimacy in all the wrong ways. And the result, further estrangement. More emptiness. More turbulence. More difficulties.
Ephesians 2:12-13, Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were formally far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
This is the key. You have been brought near by the blood of Christ. In other words, that veil of separation, our sins, that veil has been torn and cast out of the way. The way is not open before us that we might be reconciled to God, but there is a huge difference between being reconciled positionally and being reconciled relationally. The way has been opened that we might have a relationship and intimacy and nearness, being drawn near. But the question is, are we drawing near? The way is open. The way is clear the path has been opened, but are we drawing near?. This is the key to being a new. Being reconciled to God.
Here’s the good news, here’s the glorious thing were understanding from these verses, God clears the path and makes a way and then he goes after you. He pursues you.


B. God is pursuing you
He is pursuing you even now. What a good understanding of God’s heart. Think of what he has done. He has made him who newness sent to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God. The way has been cleared. And now he goes after us.
Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.”
He’s knocking on the door of your heart. His going after you. Notice that is not just knocking, he’s calling. “John, John, open the door. Mary, open the door. I love you, I want to come in, I want to transform your life.” This is the key to transformation. When you open the door of your heart you’re asking him to come into transform your heart and your life. And your life.
You know it’s an interesting picture that he knocks on the door. It’s hard for us to relate to this because in our modern culture we have this understanding of a buffer around us. We have this privacy zone. We have this buffer now around us. In the old days… Whenever I say that it makes you sound old, I read about this in the history books, in the old days churches used to have pastors a visitation. The way it worked is that if someone visited a church number they were fill out a visitors card, or whatever, then that would be given to the pastor of visitation who would then go to your house and knock on your door, saying, “Welcome to the church, glad that you’re here,” and then the bring you some cookies or whatever. Today, we don’t have a pastor of visitation. Would you like to know why? Because people don’t want to be visited in their homes. Does the privacy zone. There’s a wall there. We don’t want to invade the privacy space.
But Jesus, comes right to the door and he knocks on the door and he calls out your name, “Open the door.” Even today, if someone comes to the door and a knock or ring the doorbell. What’s the first thing we do? We look for that little window in the face is right there. Oh, it so-and-so, I should open the door. But you open the door and you make it very clear that you want this conversation be very short. Could you open the door and you keep your hand in the handle. And then you stand right there by the door. You know that little square of linoleum by next to the door, yeah, you stand right there. “Oh, you’re coming in, with uncle passed a square linoleum, okay?” Or maybe, you will look further. Maybe you invited them in. But still we have a zone, we have a buffer. “You have your guestroom and you have the bathroom, there’s a line there.”
But when you and by Jesus and, you don’t invite him as a guest. This is really important, because many people have this thing in their hearts and their thoughts. “Well I’m going to invite him in, but I’m going to control where he goes. “You can stay in the guest room and there is the bathroom and you can come eat dinner with us in the dining room. And that’s it Lord.” When you and by Jesus in, he doesn’t come in as a guest. He’s the master of the house. He’s the master of the house or don’t bother inviting men. “I come in as master. I come in as Lord. I reading you, I’ve called you by name. Child your mind.” It’s a beautiful understanding. When you open the door and he’s the master. You say to him, “Lord, you see this house? It’s your house. You’re the master. You can go anywhere you want. You can open any cupboard, you can looking in the closet. Your house. Anything you see, anything you want to touch, it’s your house Lord.” That’s the right understanding.
But what does it take to open your heart like that? It’s the right understanding, but what is it take? To open your heart like that? I suggest that it takes trust. You have to trust. You have to trust his heart for you that when he comes in and he sees all the things that are ugly or smelly or shameful that is critical of those things and transform those things. Because that’s the nature of love. We need to trust his love that when he sees those things which are ugly or smelly or shameful is not going to say, “Oh, I see, now that I’ve come in here and now that I’ve seen how things really are, I’m out of here.”
You have to trust that when he comes in he will never walk out that door. He will never walk out that door. He will love you, he will be gracious and kind, “I see, I see what you’ve been carrying. I see all that ugly. But I’m going to touch it. I love you. That’s why I’m here. I love you. I see it. That work and oppressed through this and will be victorious because I’ll be with you in it.”
Would you let me be personal here for minute? If God comes into your house and you say, “Lord you can have anything you want, you can touch anything you want.” But if he says, “Thank you. Is that your computer? Let me touch that… I see, I see, I see… Let me say something to you. Listen to me. I’m not walking out that door. I love you. Were going to press through this, were going to press through this and were going to do it together. I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere and regular press through this and it’s going to be life. Listen to me. I make all things new. I make all things new. You have to trust me. Trust me with this even now. I have better things than that for you. I have more glorious things than that for you. This is fake. You’re looking for things in all the wrong places, friend. I have better things than that for you. I have more glorious things than that for you. I have things that are eternal, with purpose and meaning, their real and genuine. Let’s press through this. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving. I’m not going out that door. I’ll never leave you, but I will love you. And really do this together.”
See there’s a trust. That comes with opening your heart. And then he tells us something amazingly powerful in verse 20. In fact, I would suggest to you that it’s even shocking. Verse 20 is perhaps one the most shocking verses in the Bible and his white. He tells us that we have a ministry of reconciliation. He’s interesting to us this word of reconciliation. And he says that we are ambassadors, were carrying the message. What is that message? Notice for 20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors. Were carrying the message of reconciliation. And therefore, it is as though God were entreating through us.
“Whoa, whoa, wait. God is entreating?” Do not the word entreating means? It means asking, but not just asking in the sense of, “can have a cup of coffee,” no, it’s asking with a passion. “I’m asking you, I’m asking I’m entreating you.” He says, therefore, we beg you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. This is shocking. “Are you telling me that the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords is entreating? That is asking us? Why? Why we ask? Why doesn’t he just bust the door down?”
I’m convinced that the reason he asks and entreats us is because he was say this, “I respect the fact that you have a heart. I respect the fact the other choice. I respect the fact that you get to choose love and I’m asking you. I’m asking you. Do you know the price he paid, and you know what I’ve done, so I’m asking you, be reconciled to God. Walking distance of life.”
In a number of years ago one of the guys in the church call me at home and said can you come to my house and help me I have this friend and I’m trying to share Christ with him, but he’s convinced in his mind that it’s impossible for him to be saved. I said, “Really? Why does he come to this?” My friend said, “He’s convinced that God has placed his name on the list of those who cannot and will not be saved. That God has a list of those who are saved and a list of those who are not saved and he puts some names on one list and other names on the other list. And my friend is convinced that God has put his name on the list of those who cannot be saved.” I said, “I’ll be right there.”
I came over and said to the man, “Where did you get this understanding?” He said, “I got that from Christians, I think, I heard that from Christian people I talked to.” So I said, “You are convinced in your mind that God has these two lists and he has deliberately place your name on the list of those who cannot be saved?” He said, “That’s right.” I said, “I know for a fact that that is not so. I know for fact that is not so.” He said, “Really? How do you know this?”
I said, “I know this is true because God has sent me here with a message just for you.” Now, whenever you say that, be careful because you look at you as though you’re weird. He looked at me with this look like, you know this conversation was going pretty normal until you said that. He said, “really? What is it?” I said, “No, I mean it. God has given me a message just for you.” And he said, “What is that message?” I paused… “I’m begging you in the name of Jesus Christ to be reconciled to God. That is the message that God has for you.”
There was a look of shock on his face. I said, “Perhaps you would like to read it for yourself. These are the words that God gave me and he wrote them down. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:20, here, my friend.” And he read that verse over and over. Here’s the glorious and, after he got over his shock. He received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
This is important. We are ambassadors for Christ. God has asked us to carry the message of reconciliation. What is the nature that message? What is the nature of that message. What is God wanting to say? God is not asking us to go out there and tell people, “Do you know how angry God is?” And then bring a hellfire and brimstone message, saying, “Do you know how angry God is?” Is not what I’m reading. In verse 20 what I’m reading is that we are ambassadors and that we have a message that we carry and that we would even say to people listen, God is entreating, God is asking you, we beg you in the name of Jesus Christ to be reconciled to God. Do you not much he loves you and? What he has done for you?
Luke 14:23, And that master said to the servant, “Go out into the highways and along the hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
Let’s pray…

2 Corinthians 5:17-21      NASB

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

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