2Co 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.
A very simple yet so profound truth that we must not forget: we are new creations in Christ. We are not the person that we were before we came to know Christ. We are a new person, a new creature in Christ. This is very foundational and very, very important.
Many Christians tend to dwell on the Cross. They stay there and never want to be removed from there because the Cross meant the forgiveness of sins. And that is true. But the very purpose of the Cross was not the forgiveness of sins, but rather, to condemn sin.
A Christian is not a sinner saved by grace as some denominations teach. And that phrase, sinner saved by grace, is never really found in the Bible. A Christian is not a sinner. We were sinners before we became Christians, but when we became Christians, we put on the new man.
Religion would tell you that you are not worthy, how that you are a filthy, sinful creature. That’s not what Christianity is. And that is not the Gospel. That's not good news.
God does not lift up sinners by His grace, but rather God will not let sin go unpunished. What happened on the Cross is this. The forgiveness and remission of sins was the necessary effect of the Cross, and the Bible says that He washed us clean by His own blood. But that is just the result and not really the purpose of the Cross. The purpose of the Cross was to punish sin, to execute the death sentence upon all sinners. God will not let sin go unpunished. God gathered all the sins of man throughout all generations, collected them all into just one body which is Christ, and punished it. The Bible says that God has laid on Him the iniquities of us all. That was the purpose of the Cross, to condemn and to punish sin, and rather amazingly in His own body.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
And so by His death on the Cross, all sinners died, because Jesus died for the sins of the world.
2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
And so as far as God is concerned all men are dead! That is why for anyone to enter the Kingdom of God, he must be born again.
Christianity does not begin at the Cross. The Cross was the end of an era. It was the end of the Law. The Law was blotted out when Christ died on that Cross. And our Christianity begins from the resurrection.
Get this straight. You are a new creature. As if you have not existed before. Because how can you be new if you have already existed before? Your old self died on that cross. God has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
When you got born again, that is where your Christianity begins. And now that you are a Christian, you are JUSTIFIED.
Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Act 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
But what does it mean by justification? Does it mean we are forgiven of our sins that is why we are justified? No. In Rom 4:25, the greek word for justification is [dik-ah'-yo-sis] which means, acquittal. And acquittal does not mean that you are forgiven that is why you are being let go. Acquittal is a judgment that a person is not guilty.
In Act 13:39, the Greek word for justified is [dik-ah-yo'-o] which means to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: - free, justify (-ier), be righteous. God regards you as innocent, you haven't done anything wrong. You are righteous.
In Rom 5:1 itis the same thing: [dik-ah-yo'-o] which means to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: - free, justify (-ier), be righteous.
Being justified means we are made correct, we are made right from all things. Our walk as Christians is justified.
1Jn 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
Now you may not catch this easily when you read through that chapter where this passage was taken because John here is preaching and giving instructions, but this is a statement of fact here, that whosoever is born of God does not commit sin.
This may be hard to chew because you could be thinking of that nasty thing that you or some other Christian did just awhile ago. But we must understand that we must grow from one level of truth to another, we must go from faith to faith:
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
From faith to faith, the same are faith but not the same level; from glory to glory, the same are glory but not the same level.
Turn now to:
1Jn 2:12-14 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. (13) I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. (14) I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
Notice how he writes to little children, and to young men, and to the fathers. To the little children he says, your since are forgiven and you have known the Father. To young men he says, you have overcome the wicked one and the word of God abides in you. And to the fathers he says, you know Him who is from the beginning. He is not talking here to the church according to demographics, but he is talking to them according to spiritual maturity.
As a little child you learn that your sins are forgiven and you come to know God as a Father, a good provider like the good father of the family. But as you increase in your knowledge of the word you become a young man and the word of God abides in you and you overcome the wicked one; you become rooted in the word and no longer swayed by the devices of the enemy. But he calls them fathers who know Him who is from the beginning. Your knowledge of God now crosses to eternity. You come to know the Ancient of days. Remember what the Lord said in:
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
And so maybe right now you know that your sins are forgiven you and that’s good. And maybe you are still there right now, doing some things from time to time. But that’s ok because of:
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But you can’t continue in there. You can’t go in that direction again. Because:
Heb 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, (5) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, (6) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Remember, everyone is dead because of sin. But here now is the resurrected Jesus, he was raised up for our justification. But not all are justified.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
That is why we have been preaching all day long, “RECEIVE CHRIST!” If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
What does the Apostle Paul says?
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
We are dead and Christ is alive in us. To summarize:
Eph 2:4-10 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
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