Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. If you would like to read along
with me in your Bible this morning, the message is going to come
from 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, and
we're going to read one verse of scripture. It's 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. Now the title of this message
is a question. What is a new creature? What is a new creature? He begins by saying, therefore,
if any man be in Christ, if any man be in Christ. Now, before
we get into this, I want us to acknowledge. that if any man
be out of Christ, out of Christ, what a horrible
thing to be, what a horrible place to be. But if any man be
out of Christ, there's great danger there. He said back in chapter 10, if
you're reading along, you can look back at chapter 10. He said,
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. We must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ. If any man be out of Christ, he's going to be judged by Christ. judged by Christ, judged, covered
in His own sin. He will stand before the judgment
throne of Christ, covered in His own sin. Back in Romans chapter
2, Romans 2 verse 16 says, In the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men Everything, every secret thing
that we believe we have hidden from the rest of the world, the
secret things in our minds, the secret things in our hearts,
the things we don't want anybody to know. Every secret thing will
be brought up in the day when God shall judge the secret things
of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ. They're going to be judged by
Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 17 verse 31 says,
because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men in that he raised him
from the dead. The very one that God raised
from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died for
the sin of every soul that was found in him. This is the need
and the difference of being found in him and out of him. Christ
is this. Dividing factor. Christ is the
issue over eternal life or eternal death, either being in him or
being out of him. He died for every soul that God
put in him. And the very one that God raised
from the dead, dying for those who were in him. He is the very
one who will judge every soul that is found out of him, not
in him. Every soul will be judged by
Jesus Christ, by him. Now, the greatest and clearest
warning that we have of the horror of being judged outside of Christ
is Noah's Ark. That's one of the clearest pictures
we have. Everybody knows the story of
Noah's Ark. Everybody loves Noah's ark. They love that boat. And they
want to decorate their homes with it and decorate their baby
nurseries with it. And everybody loves that story.
But here's the reality of that story. God rained down his wrath. on this entire world. And the reason he did that was
because of its sin. God looked down and man's heart
was only evil continually. It repented the Lord that he
made man. And he said, I'm going to destroy the earth. I'm going
to destroy man from the face of the earth. And God rained
down his wrath and every soul that was outside of that arc suffered the judgment of God. Every soul was judged and damned. Every one of them. Every one
of them. Now, Noah and his family. Eight souls. They also had the
judgment of God rained down upon them. Nobody was exempt. Noah
and his family were not exempt. were under the judgment of God,
just like every other soul on earth was, but they were in the
ark. They were in the ark, they bore
the judgment of God and were saved. They made it through the
judgment of God because they were inside the ark, hidden in
the ark. The Ark took all of that judgment
for them. They sat in that Ark in the roof.
They could hear that rain coming down and just the judgment of
God beaten down upon them. But they were safe inside that
Ark. And that Ark is Jesus Christ. The whole reason Noah's Ark was
put into Scripture is to point us to Christ. That Ark is the
Lord Jesus Christ. Well, back in our text in 2 Corinthians
5, verse 17 says, If any man be in Christ, not
only is he saved, but it says he's a new creature. He is a
new creature and there's no salvation outside of Christ. None. We must be in Christ or we're
going to be judged and we're going to be damned by Christ.
Our Lord said. Seek while he may be found. That's what our Lord said. Seek
while he may be found. He said, ask, you'll receive. Isn't that a precious promise?
He said, knock, it will be opened unto you. That's what he said. And back in verse 11 of our text,
Paul said, we persuade men of these things. That's what I have
been called to do right now. Seek the Lord while he may be
found. Call on him while he's near,
ask, beg, plead for his mercy. And we persuade men of these
things, but here's the thing we know. This is what I know.
I believe, you know, sinful flesh. cannot persuade
anybody to be saved. The scripture says this sinful
flesh is dead. By nature, I'm dead in trespasses
and sins. By nature, you are dead in trespasses
and sins. And one dead man can't persuade
another dead man to do anything. Sinful flesh can't persuade itself
to do anything. A dead man cannot persuade himself
to do anything, but if God's spirit persuades through the
message of the gospel, this is what he said, you go preach the
gospel and through the declaration of the word of God, the truth
of God, I will send my spirit. And if God's spirit comes and
persuades men and women of the word of God, the declaration
of God, if God persuades then we will be persuaded. If he says,
seek ye my face, our hearts will cry, thy face, Lord, will I seek. If he doesn't, we will be persuaded. So here's the truth of the matter.
If any man be in Christ, if any man be in Christ, God put him
there. If any man be in Christ, God
put him there. First Corinthians chapter 1 verse
30 says, but of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that according as it is written, he that gloryeth, let him glory
in the Lord. Only in the Lord, let him glory.
Now, how does a sinner get in Christ? We must be in Christ.
How does a sinner get in Christ? Here's the answer. Of God are
we in Christ. God puts us there. All right,
now, with all that being said, back in our text in 2 Corinthians
5, verse 17 says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. What is a new creature? What
is, what does he mean by that? What is a new creature? If you have a center reference
in your Bible, mine does, you may see Romans chapter six, verse
four. That verse tells us that we are
buried by immersion into his death. God's spirit buries us
into Christ, immerses us into Christ, and we're buried with
him into his death. And just like he was raised from
the dead to eternal life. So we also should walk in newness
of life in him through that immersion, newness of life, a new creature
died and risen again, made alive again, newness of life. Our Lord
told a man named Nicodemus. You must be born again. That's what he said. You must
be born again, a new creation, a brand new creation. He said
that which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit. And he said, marvel not that
I say unto you, you must be born again, a brand new creature. Ephesians chapter 2 says, For
by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
grace is a gift from God, faith is a gift from God, that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any
man should boast, for we are his workmanship created in Christ
Jesus. unto good works which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them, created unto that,
created unto a newness of life. David said, create in me a clean
heart. Lord, if there's going to be
one, you're going to have to create it. Create in me a clean
heart. But there's another reference
right here in my Bible to this verse for a new creature, and
it's Galatians chapter 6. And if you want to turn with
me over there, Galatians chapter 6 verse 15 says, For in Christ
Jesus, in Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature. A new creature. Now God commanded
circumcision in his law and everybody in the days of the Old Testament
was circumcised because that's what they thought they had to
do to be saved. They thought that was a sign of being one
of God's people. We have things just like that
today. Every religion has something that people believe they need
to do to show a sign of being saved. Well, I got to be baptized
or I got to this or I got to that. You have to do it, you
just have to do it if you're going to be saved. Well, this
verse right here is in perfect agreement with all the other
verses we just read. The scripture is in perfect agreement
with itself. But this says that in Christ
Jesus, if a sinner is in Christ Jesus, if a man is circumcised, it doesn't
mean anything. That's what it just said. It
doesn't mean anything. And if a man is not circumcised, it
doesn't mean anything. Because there is a new creature
there. That's all that matters is there's a new creature there.
Man wants to do this or man wants to do that. He said that doesn't
matter. You can go, you can be baptized a hundred times if you
want to. There's one true baptism. That's the immersion. of the
Spirit taking a sinner and putting that sinner in Christ, immersing
that sinner into His blood, into His righteousness, into His death,
into His resurrection. Water baptism is a precious confession
of that. But if any man be in Christ,
there's a new creature. And it's not about what we do
or what we don't do. God has created a new creature. Now, what does that mean? What
does it mean? We're almost there. We're getting
there. In order to explain it. In order to truly explain what
a new creature is, I want to give five things that a new creature
is not. Five things that people commonly
believe a new creature is. But in reality, it's not what
a new creature is. All right, what is a new creature?
Well, I start here. Five things that a new creature
is not. And these things are important.
These are important. Number one, a new creature is
not a good outward show. There was a man in the Old Testament
or in the New Testament rather named Judas. Judas. The man who betrayed the Lord,
Judas had a good outward show. All that time he walked with
all the other disciples, they trusted him. He was the only
man who had a, had a title. He was the treasurer. He held
the money. They trusted him enough to hold the money. He had that,
but Judas was not a new creature. So a good outward show is not
necessarily an evidence of being a new creature. Number two, a
new creature is not. The old man reformed, an old
man who used to just do horrible things, but he's now turned over
a new leaf and he goes around telling everybody, I don't do
the things I used to do and I'm changed. That is not necessarily
the sign of being a new creature. An old man being restrained from
former things. That's a good thing, but that's
not necessarily a sign of being a new creature. A Pharisee in
the temple, you can read about him in Luke chapter 18. He had
that. He said, Lord, I don't do this.
I don't do that. I'm not like other men are. But God said he was not justified.
God said that man was not justified. So that's not what a new creature
is. Turning over that new leaf. And again, I say that's a wonderful
thing to do. That's not where we put our hope. Number three,
a new creature is not a good nature, a good character, a good
demeanor. Some people have that. Kind, mild, respectful, humble,
devout. A man named Cornelius in Acts
chapter 10, he had that. The scripture just praises him
for his demeanor, his character, but God sent Peter to him because
that man was lost, kind, kind, humble, lost, very lost. God sent his message to him because
he was not a new creature. So that's not what it is. Number
four, a new creature is not a person who outwardly keeps God's law. More than other people. Saul
of Tarsus did that. Saul of Tarsus, he said concerning
the law, I was blameless. The rich young ruler did that.
He said, all these things have I kept from my youth up. What
that means is they obeyed the Bible. They obeyed the Bible. Saul of Tarsus obeyed the law
written. That rich young ruler, honestly,
I believe he did probably more than anyone. He kept those things
from his youth up. But Saul of Tarsus was not a
new creature until God came to him. And that rich young ruler
was not a new creature. He went away sorrowful. So that's
not it. All right. Number five, a new
creature is not someone who has gone through a great trial and come out of the other end
changed. changed because of it, changed
from what that person experienced through the trial. The scripture
is full of people that the Lord healed and changed and brought
out of great trials. But we can read about them. They
were not made to be new creatures. They just went on their way.
So none of these things tell us what a new creature is. None of those things confirm
what a new creature is. All right, what is a new creature?
What is a new creature? Well, 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. Being a new creature, has something
to do with old things and all things. Old things are passed
away. Behold, all things are become
new. Now, old things, when you look
that up, when you look up the definition of that, it translates
The original rule. That's what it means. Old things,
the original rule. It means the original chief. It means the original leader. That's what it means. All things
translates, all rule, all leadership. All authority. All right. Now
let's read verse 17 again. It says, therefore, if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things, meaning the old rule. The old chief, the old leader
is passed away. Perished. Verse 17 says, behold,
that means see, perceive with the eyes, discern, turn the eyes
to, pay attention to, know, have an understanding of. It means
cherish this. That's what it means. Behold,
all rule, all authority, all authority. is become new. It's of a new kind. A soul that
has been made to be a new creature. A center that has been made to
be a new creature is a center who is under new rule. It's a
soul that is under new rule. It is a habitation. That's what
creature means. Building habitation. A new creature
is a habitation with a new chief, a new ruler. That's what it is. One that has been caused to behold,
caused to see, caused to discern, caused to know. Eyes that have
been caused to turn. Eyes that originally completely
looked in here. When it came to salvation, the
eyes went right here. What do I see in this flesh?
And then one day God came, God's Spirit came and slayed the old
man and took up rule in this habitation and turned the eyes
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. What is salvation? Not here anymore. What must I do to be saved? Believe
on a person. Believe on a person. The eyes
turn. The heart has now been caused
to cherish this new ruler. Cherish this new authority. A new creature is 100% focused
on the new ruler. 100%. A new creature will show
an evidence of having a new ruler. He will. But that new creature
will not take his eyes off of the new ruler. He will not turn
his eyes back to the flesh. He will not do it. That would
be a sign of not evidencing being a new creature, turning back
to the flesh. He will not do it. Every false religion looks
to this flesh. Every false religion on earth
looks to this flesh to find assurance. They say it's what you see in
the flesh. It's what you do in the flesh. You got to see it
in the flesh. Should we straighten up and fly
right? Absolutely. Absolutely. And God's people will because
they have a new ruler. But God's new creations are the
only ones who put no stock, no confidence, in the flesh at all. I mean at all. They keep their
eyes totally focused on Christ. And it's because the new ruler
is causing them to do that. I want to give you one verse
of scripture here that describes a new creature. This is Philippians
3, verse 3. It says, For we are the circumcision
which worship God in the Spirit. It's God alone, Christ alone.
We worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus,
who He is and what He's done for us. And it ends by saying
we have no confidence in the flesh. None. None. Will our Lord do a work
of grace in His people? Absolutely He will. He'll do
a work of grace. Do we believe on Him? Absolutely
we do. We believe on him. Are we going
to put our hope and our trust and our confidence in what we
see in ourselves and in the fact that we believe on him? Absolutely
not. We're going to put all of our hope in the precious blood
that he shed. We're going to put all of our
hope in the work that he did. We're going to put all our hope
in the fact that he will keep us because he is our ruler. He
is faithful unto the end. And if we'll do that, completely
keep our eyes on Christ, completely hope in Him. That's an evidence
we are in Him. That's the evidence that we are
one of His brand new creatures. May God cause us to do that,
cause us to look to Christ. Till next week, may the Lord
bless His word to our hearts. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message, or to hear other messages of sovereign grace, log on to
our website at ksgctn.org. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 1045 a.m., and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 730 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.