Turn with me now to 2 Corinthians
chapter 5. 2 Corinthians 5. I would like for us to be here
one more time today. And I want us to end the study
of this chapter with this great word of comfort. That's what
this is. I sincerely hope this is a blessing to you. Verse 17,
2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. It says, therefore, if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. If any man, if any woman be in
Christ, he or she is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. Isn't that good news? He said, therefore, that's how
he started the verse. Therefore, anytime we see a therefore,
we need to look at the words before it and see what it's there
for. So look at verse 14. He said, For the love of Christ constraineth
us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're
all dead. And that he died for all, that
they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
him which died for them and rose again. Verse 16 says, wherefore,
henceforth, know we no man after the flesh. That word know ultimately means
love. When the scripture says that
Adam knew Eve, his wife, it's not just saying that he recognized
her as having met her before. It's saying he loved her. He
loved her. When the scripture says that
our Lord is going to say to some, depart from me, I never knew
you. It's not saying that there's
going to be some that the Lord doesn't know. What he's saying
is depart from me, I never loved you. I never loved you with that
everlasting love that I have for my people. So verse 16 says,
wherefore, henceforth, love we no man after the flesh. Yea, though we have loved Christ
after the flesh, yet now, henceforth, love we man no more. There is nothing to love about
the flesh of man. There's nothing to love. The
only hope For sinful man is that the sin of man died with Christ
on the cross of Calvary. That's the only hope. Our only
hope is that Christ did away with everything concerning the
flesh of man on the cross of Calvary, and that's exactly what
he did. We have that hope. It's a sure hope by the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. It's a sure
hope by the resurrection. of the Lord Jesus Christ from
the dead. So verse 17 says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. That old man is crucified with
Christ. The old man is crucified with
Christ. Now I still have to live out
the fullness of the old man. My old man is not finished yet. I still have to live out the
fullness of the old man, but he's already been crucified
with Christ. That's above my understanding, but it's so. I still have to live out the
fullness of this old man, but he has already been crucified
with Christ. Turn over to Galatians 2 with
me. Galatians 2 verse 20, the Apostle
Paul said, I am crucified with Christ, not was, not will be,
am. 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. I'm crucified. I died when Christ
died. You know, Job said, I hate me. Job said, I loathe myself. That's what he said, I hate me.
David said, I hate me. Paul said, I hate me. Oh, wretched man that I am. Gabe
says, I hate me. All right, well, good news. Very good news. I died when Christ
died. I died when Christ died. Nevertheless, I live, but it's
not me. That's good news because I hate
me. Well, it's not me. It's the new man of Christ living
in me. And I'm not looking to my life
in this flesh any longer. By God's grace, I am not looking
to my life in this flesh any longer. I don't condone my life
in this flesh. I don't excuse my life in this
flesh, but I'm not looking to my life in this flesh any longer
because this life is not my life. Christ put this life away. Christ
put this life away. My true life, I'm living it by
the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for
me. That's good news. Go back to 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 17 says, Therefore, if
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed
away. Behold, all things are become
new. In the flesh, it's nothing but
old things. In the flesh, it's nothing but
sin and death and wickedness and damnation. That's how it
has been since the beginning. You hear of men living another
20, 30, 40 years longer than I live, and they say, I'm still
the same old thing. In the flesh, it's nothing but
old things. But in Christ, if any man or
woman be in Christ, just listen to what the scripture says, our
condition is in Christ, all right? Just listen to this. Romans 3.24
says, we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in Christ. In Christ, we are justified freely. If any man or woman be in Christ,
he or she is justified freely. Romans 8 verse 1, it says, if
we're in Christ, we are without condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ right now. Romans 8 verse 2 says if we're
in Christ, we are in the spirit of life. We are in spiritual
life, eternal, immortal, incorruptible life. We're in it. Romans 8 verse 39 says if we're
in Christ we are in the love of God. Nothing shall be able
to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. I want to be in the love of God.
Therefore I want to be in Christ. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 2 says if
we're in Christ, we are in God's holiness. We're in God's sanctification. Sanctified in Christ. Right here in 2 Corinthians 5
verse 19 says if we're in Christ, we're with God. Look at verse
19, it says to know that God was in Christ, reconciling the
world to himself. If we're in Christ, God is in
Christ, and we're with God in Christ. Ephesians 1 verse 3 says, if
we're in Christ, we are in all spiritual blessings, all heavenly,
every blessing heaven has to offer, everything heaven has
to give. Ephesians 2 verse 6 says, if
we're in Christ, we are seated in heavenly places. You ever
been to an event, some big situation, and you just are thinking, I
just hope I get a seat. If we're in Christ, you have
a seat. You're seated with him, seated in him. Ephesians 2 verse 13 says, if
we're in Christ, we are made nigh by his blood. Ephesians 3 verse 6 says, if
we're in Christ, we are partakers of the promise. Colossians 1
28 says, if we're in Christ, we're perfect. If we're in Christ,
we're perfect as he is. So are we. I want to be in Christ. Verse 17 right here says, Therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. He's not a reformed creature. He's not a better version of
the old creature. He's a brand new creature. She is a brand new creation,
a brand new creation. Verse 17 says, old things are
passed away. Behold, see this, take notice
of this. All things are becoming new. This is a happy message to me. Verse 18, it says, And all things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to know that
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them. Verse 21 says, He hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Now, if any man or woman is in
Christ, this is the glorious reality of that man or woman. There is not one sin that has
ever been committed on this earth that is reckoned or charged or
imputed or acknowledged or accounted to him or her. He has not imputed the trespasses
of his people to them. The word impute is an accounting
term for any accountants in the room. And it is a term of reality. It's after you have balanced
it. Whatever the total sum reality
is, that's what you impute. You balance your checkbook. However
much money you have after you balance it, you impute. That's what it is. That's what's
in my account. So when God imputed the sin of
His people to Jesus Christ, what that means is He looked at Jesus
Christ and deducted, balanced, totaled the sum. Here's the reality. Sin. He was made to be sin. And because of that, There is
not one sin that has ever been committed on this earth that
is going to be imputed, reckoned, acknowledged, summed, totaled to any of his people on this
earth. Turn over to Romans chapter 8. Romans 8 verse 1 says, there
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Why? It's because there is not
one sin credited to their account. That's the reason why. Look at
verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. God's people cannot be condemned
for anything. God's people cannot be charged
with anything, nothing. Now let me illustrate this. We know that in our flesh, we
are nothing but sin. We know that we're nothing but
sin. All that we do in this flesh is sin. In this flesh, we're
capable of anything. We're capable of anything. We
feel guilty for everything. We excuse ourself from nothing. But there are some individual
open acts of sin that we can honestly say we did not commit
that. All right. There are some open
outward acts of sin where we can honestly say, I didn't do
that. I didn't commit that. Like I would imagine. I can only
imagine that no one in this room had any connection with what
happened on 9 11. Okay. I don't believe anyone here was
involved in the planning or the carrying out of those planes,
striking the twin towers and killing all those people. I believe we can all understand
what it feels like to know that not only are we not going to
be condemned for that crime, we're never going to be charged
with that crime. I don't believe anyone in here
is going to be charged with that crime. No one is going to come
looking for us to satisfy the justice and condemnation and
punishment of that crime. I personally feel peace and rest
and safety in the fact that I am completely removed from the sin
of that crime as far as the East is from the West. I have no connection to that
whatsoever. Well, that's how it's gonna be
with every sin that has ever been committed on this earth.
Every single sin. Not just every sin that's ever
been committed in me or every sin that's ever been committed
by me, but every sin that has ever been committed near me or
as a result of me or by someone who knows me, connected or not
connected in Christ, I am a brand new creature. Slate wiped clean. There is absolutely
no connection with sin whatsoever. And that's not just how it's
going to be. That's how it is. That's how it is. If any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature. If any woman be in Christ, she
is right now a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become. They've already become new in
Christ. Turn over to 1 John chapter 3. Verse 2, 1 John 3, verse 2, it
says, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not
yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself,
even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. And
you know that he was manifested to take
away our sin. And in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen
him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive
you. He that doeth righteousness is
righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of
the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this
purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works
of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him,
and he cannot sin because he's born of God. You say, I just
don't understand that. Well, we never truly will in
the flesh. The only way we can understand
that and believe that is in Christ, in the Lord Jesus Christ. If
God leaves us alone, There is no hope for us. Outside of Christ,
this old sinful flesh is destined for hell and destruction. But if any man be in Christ,
he's brand new, not old and ruined and wasted, brand new, perfect,
complete, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin, bearing the
very image of Christ himself. Right now, we have this new standing
in Christ. Right now we have it, but I cannot
wait to know the feeling of the experience of it. I can't wait. I can't wait to know what it
feels like to be completely, totally separated from all connection
with sin. All connection. Turn over to
Revelation 21. We'll close with this, Revelation
21. Verse one. And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them and be their God, and God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, Neither shall there
be any more pain, for the former things are past. Away, everything
that could bring that death, sorrow, crying, pain, that's
all passed away. Verse five, and he that sat upon
the throne said, behold, I make all things new. Everything brand
new. And he said unto me, write, for
these words are true and faithful. You ever hear some of these things
and wonder, is that really true? He said, write it down, because
these words right here are true and faithful. If any man or woman
be in Christ, he or she is a new creature. Old things are passed
away. Behold, all things are become
new. Thank God.