I'd like for you to open your
Bibles to the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 5. What I am doing this morning
is continuing a series of messages entitled, What's Really New? You know, people believe and
think that if a person becomes saved, whatever they think that
word means or that That experience means that, as the Bible says,
they've become new. There's a newness now. And there
is. But a lot of people, what they
think of as being really new isn't new at all. Turning over
a new leaf, all things like that. I'll mention some of these in
a moment. But verse 17 is where I got the title of the message
and where this series is continuing. where he says in 2 Corinthians
5.17, he says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature or a new creation. And he says, behold, all things
are, old things have passed away, are passed away. Behold, all
things are become new. And that presents to us three
vital issues concerning salvation. Now, ask yourself this question,
do you claim to be saved? And if you do, are you willing
to test that by the word of God? That's the issue, isn't it? You
should not avoid putting your claim of salvation or being a
Christian to the test. Somebody says, well, you know,
I'm not perfect, but I'm a pretty good person. Well, that's not
what a Christian is in the Bible. I hope you're not as bad as you
could be, or I hope I'm not as bad as I could be. I hope we're
all pretty good people in the eyes of man. But that's not what
a Christian is. That's not what salvation is.
Here's the first thing. I'll give you these. This is
what I mainly preached on last time, but just let me use that
as an introduction today and give you some brief things about
it. Here's what the Bible teaches in verse 17, if any man be in
Christ, salvation is to be in Christ. That's the first thing. Am I in Christ? Somebody says,
well, you know, throughout the Bible, the people of God, you
know, they're identified as the elect of God. Now, people today
don't like that term. And I'll tell you why they don't
like it, because it's God doing the electing. They're perfectly
fine with it if they're doing the electing. Problem is, the
Bible teaches, if left to ourselves, we won't elect God, we won't
choose Him. That's what sin's all about.
That's what unbelief is all about. That's what being ruined by the
fall's all about. But God chose the people, they're
the elect of God. Well, that's what it means to
be in Christ. It means to be chosen of God
before the foundation of the world. The Bible teaches that.
Paul spoke of it in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 8, 9, and 10. He says that we are made partakers
of a great salvation which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. Ephesians chapter 1 talks about
how God chose us before the foundation of the world. So a person may
ask, well, am I chosen? Am I one of God's elect? Well,
if any man be in Christ, What does that mean? That means Christ
is my representative. Turn over to Hebrews chapter
2. Let me show you this. Hebrews chapter 2. And look at
verse 14. Now this is a passage that deals
with the high priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's
a great subject. You know back in the Old Covenant,
in the Jewish religion, the Old Covenant, They had a high priest,
a descendant of Aaron, Moses' brother. He was the high priest
of Israel. And he was the head priest in the temple or the tabernacle. And you remember it was only
the high priest who could go into the Holy of Holies. Remember
that tabernacle and that temple had an inner chamber. And in
that inner chamber, there was the outer court, then there was
the holy place where they had pieces of furniture, and then
they had a veil, and inside that veil was the inner chamber, the
Holy of Holies, they called it. And only the high priest could
go into that place, and he could only go one time a year on the
Day of Atonement, and you remember the Bible always says he could
go in there, but not without what? Not without blood. Because that's what it was all
about. It was the blood of a lamb slain on the altar in the outer
court. And inside that holy place, there was the Ark of the Covenant,
which contained the law, and over that was a mercy seat, a
lid. It was chetum wood coated with
gold, overlaid with gold. Remember, they had the cherubims
on. And the high priest was to sprinkle that blood on the mercy
seat. Now, all of that was a symbolic
picture. of something far greater than
what you can depict in Indiana Jones. Something far more impressive
than you can put on a movie screen. You know, today they say they're
trying to rebuild the temple, and they're trying, and somebody
asked me the other day, said, well, you think they're gonna
redo the Ark of the Covenant? And I said, no, they don't really
have to do that. All they gotta do is call Steven Spielberg and
get the one he did. That's not going, listen, that
is not in God's purpose and plan for the salvation of his people.
Not even close, you're right. You see, we have something far
greater. We have someone far greater than
all that. We have Jesus Christ, who is
our high priest, who is our mercy seat, who is our lamb. Behold
the lamb of God. They're not going to reinstitute.
God has never commanded them to reinstitute those sacrifices.
To do that would be a denial of Christ. Those were all pictures
and types. My former pastor, he used to
use this illustration. It's like a husband and a wife
and the husband gets called off to war. And the wife is left
at home and she has pictures of the husband and she looks
at those pictures lovingly every day and has the loving thoughts
of a wife to her husband. But the husband finally comes
back from the war and he shows up at the house. What does the
wife do? She puts down the picture and embraces her husband. And he embraces her. What do
you think she's going to do? Just sit there and look at the
picture and say, you sit over there. That's not the way out. We have
Christ, our high priest. And look here in Hebrews 2.14. Listen to this. Here's Christ
the representative. Am I in Christ? He says, for
as much then as the children, now whose children is he talking
about? He's talking about God's children,
the elect. They're partakers of flesh and blood. That's what
we are. And he says, he also, Christ also, himself likewise,
or in the same way, took part of the same. Christ was flesh
and blood in his humanity. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. Now why did he have to become
a man? He is God in human flesh. That's
who Christ is. Anything less is idolatry. I
told a Jehovah's Witness one time, you know, they come to
your door. And they said, well, we're all Christian. I said,
no, we're not. I said, you're not a Christian. They said, well,
why do you say that? I said, you're an idolater. He
said, an idolater? I said, yes. And I asked him
this. I said, do you worship Jesus Christ? Do you worship
him? And they said, yes. And I said,
but you don't believe he's God? Oh, no. He's the Son of God. And I said, well, to worship
anything less than God is idolatry. Did you know that? Jesus Christ
is Emmanuel. Matthew 1, 23. God with us. That's who He is. Great is the
mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
Now He is God-man. Now I can't explain that to you
and I can't parse it for you. I really can't even theologize.
I just know it's true. That's who He is. He had to be
God Because we need the righteousness
of God to be justified, to be saved. The righteousness of man
will do us no good. Proof. Adam fell. Before Adam
fell, you know what he was? He was a righteous man. But his
righteousness was a human righteousness. It was always subject to change.
What do I need to be saved? I need not the righteousness
of man, not the righteousness of the best man that ever lived.
I need the righteousness of God. which cannot change, which is
perfect, cannot be corrupted. And what did it take for Christ
to establish righteousness? It took his obedience unto death.
Look at verse 14 of Hebrews 2. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil. Talking about the
devil bringing in condemnation. And he says in verse 15, he says,
and deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage. You know what that bondage is
there? Now I want you to listen to this very carefully. That
bondage is man and woman trying to save themselves by their works
or their will. That's bondage. They may not
know it's bondage. You know, when Christ confronted
the Pharisees, they said, we're free. He said, you think you're
free, but you're not. You're in bondage. You're in
bondage to self. You're in bondage to self-righteousness.
Sinners who believe that they can do things, decide things,
to recommend themselves unto God, that's a religious bondage. Exactly what it is. And you know
who inspires that? The devil. He sure does. Somebody asked me one time, said,
well, what do you think the devil's doing? Well, I know what he's
doing. We'll see it in just a moment, 2 Corinthians 4. He's trying
to hide the gospel from lost men and women. And I tell you,
the best place he can do that, false religion, and especially
false Christianity. He's a counterfeit. The best
place the devil wants to have a person is in a false church,
listening to a false gospel, believing in a false refuge.
And that's why we have to search. That's why we have to seek the
Lord. Well, look here. Look at verse 16 of Hebrews 2.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels. He passed
by the fallen angels. You see? He didn't choose the
angels. He didn't take on the nature
of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Now, who's
the seed of Abraham? That's believers. Those who are
brought by the grace of God to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and to rest in him for salvation, for righteousness, for forgiveness. Verse 17, wherefore, or for this
reason and all things, it behooved him that he was indebted, obligated. to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and a faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation, propitiation for the sins of
the people. See, if I'm in Christ, that means he's my representative,
he's my high priest. When he stood before God, presenting
the merits of his own blood for the salvation of the seed of
Abraham, God's chosen people, I can say he stood there for
me. Well, how can I say that? Well, to be in Christ is to have
Christ as my surety. You know what a surety is? You
ever borrowed money? You ever had to get somebody
to co-sign for you? Well, that person who did the
co-signing is a surety. And here's what, in human terms,
in the human level, a co-signer is one who says this, whoever's
borrowing this money, if they can't pay it, I'll pay it. Now, in divine terms, according
to the covenant of grace, that's not exactly the same situation. Christ, before the foundation
of the world, the Bible says God chose a people and gave them
to Christ. Gave them to him. It's like you
have children. They're yours. And you're responsible
for them up until a certain age. And your love for them never
ends. But before the foundation of
the world, God chose the people and gave them to Christ. Remember
he said in John 6, 37, All that the Father giveth me shall come
to me, and this is the will of him that sent me, that of all
which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up
again at the last day. He's talking about God's chosen
people. Now, God chose the people gave
them to Christ, he put all the responsibility of their complete
salvation upon Christ. And what happened? Christ became
responsible. He became their surety. Now,
it was always the case that those people to whom God gave Christ,
or of whom God gave to Christ, that they were sinners, fallen
in Adam, and had a debt to pay but could not pay it. There's
never been a time, let me tell you something, the debt that
God requires to His law and justice, you know something? I have never
been able to pay that debt. You've never been able to pay
that debt. You may think you have, but you haven't. But see,
Christ was always my surety. My debt was always charged, accounted
to him. And in order to pay that debt,
what did he have to do? He had to come, he had to obey
the law, and he had to die because the wages of sin is death. That's
why he died. He didn't die just as a token.
He didn't die just as an example. He died as a propitiation, a
sin-bearing sacrifice that brings satisfaction to a debt. So he's
my surety. Look back at 2 Corinthians 5.
Look at verse 18. Now he said, all things are become
new for one who is in Christ. Now come back to that. But look
at verse 18 of 2 Corinthians 5. He says, and all things are
of God. Now the all things that have become new, they're of God. Salvation's of the Lord. They're
all by God's grace in Christ. They're not of me, they're not
of you. He says of God who hath reconciled us, that reconciliation
has to come on a particular ground that honors God and meets our
need. He's reconciled us unto himself. By what? By Jesus Christ. Reconciliation. Peace between
God and His people. God is holy. God is just. He must punish sin. He must do
right. He cannot pervert justice. He
cannot deny the reality of sin that deserves damnation. And
that's what I am by nature. Fallen in Adam. Born dead in
trespasses and sin. A sinner. We've all sinned and
come short of the glory of God. We've missed the mark. But God
requires justice. So how can God be just and still
forgive, pardon, justify, and save a sinner like me? That's
the question of questions. Did you know that? Somebody said
that's the oldest question in the Bible. It is, really. Adam
and Eve fell. They became ashamed. They tried
to cover up their nakedness. They didn't have righteousness
now. They lost that. Tried to cover it up with fig
leaf aprons. That's what man's been trying to do ever since
in his false religion, in his works religion. And what did
God do? He had an animal. Genesis 3,
21. He slew an animal. He killed
an animal. That's the death. That's the
justice. That's the blood. And he made them coats of skin.
Out of that death comes a covering that God accepts. That's righteousness
charged. to the account of his people.
Look back here. He reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ
and had given us the ministry of reconciliation, that's the
gospel of peace by the blood of Christ. Verse 19, namely,
to wit, that God was in Christ. God engaged himself, his purpose,
his glory, in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Now the
world there is not all without exception in the world. Because,
I'll tell you why, because all without exception in the world
are not reconciled to God. Who is it? All right, he describes
it. Look at it again. To wit, that God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing, not charging, not
reckoning, not accounting their trespasses unto them. God doesn't
charge them with sin. Well, how can he do that? If
a criminal in our city Goes up before a judge and that criminal's
guilty and that judge says, well, I'm not gonna charge you. What
do we say? We say that's an unjust judge,
don't we? Man's guilty. Well, how can God
do that and still be God? He can't be unjust. He has to
charge the penalty to somebody. You see, here's the non-imputation
of sin. God, David said it back in Psalm
32. He said, blessed is the man to
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Well, how can he do that? David,
was David a sinner? Well, sure he was. He said it
himself, Psalm 51. He said, against thee and thee
only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. But David
cried out in the mercy of God, blessed is the man to whom the
Lord imputeth, charges, accounteth, reckoneth, not iniquity. God
doesn't charge me with sin. Well, how can that be? Does God dishonor himself to
save me, to justify? No. God, the non-imputation of
sin, automatically means that God had to impute it somewhere
where he could be honored in his justice, in his mercy, in
his truth, in his love, in his righteousness, and in his grace.
Well, to whom did God charge with the sins of his people?
He charged them to Christ. He imputed them to Christ. Look
at it. He says in verse 20, Now then
we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you
by us. We pray you in Christ's stead be you reconciled to God.
Now verse 21 shows us how God did all this and still honored
his justice as well as his mercy. How he could be both a righteous
judge as well as a saving, as a savior, a merciful father.
Here it is. For he, God, hath made him, that's
Christ, Sin for us. That's His substitution. Christ
is the substitute. If you're in Christ, He's your
representative. If you're in Christ, He's your
surety. If you're in Christ, He's your substitute. He died
for you if you're in Christ. He satisfied justice in your
place. Bruised for our iniquities. Isaiah
53. That's what it means. He didn't
die as a martyr. He didn't die just as an example.
He died as a substitute, a lamb, a sacrifice. He was made sin. How was he made sin for us? God
charged him with the debt of our sins. Christ who knew no
sin. Christ did no sin. Christ was
corrupted with no sin. Christ was the perfect God-man.
He remains so even on the cross, even as he was guilty by imputation. That's what that word means. And He did that that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. The non-imputation
of sins means God imputed them to Christ, and as a result of
that, He charged His people, the seed of Abraham, with righteousness. I stand before God righteous,
not in myself, and not by my works, and not even by my decision. I stand before God by the death
of Christ. The blood of Christ. What can
wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest phrase, but wholly lean on Jesus'
name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
What is your ground of salvation? Upon what ground will God receive
you? Bless you. save you. You say, well, when I was a kid,
I did this and walked this aisle, got baptized. That's not the
ground of salvation. Oh, I rededicated. My old pastor
used to talk about people who got baptized in the creek so
many times, the tadpoles knew them by their first name. But
that won't wash away your sins. You say, well, I feel sorry for
my sins. Now let me tell you something. Salvation is more
than feeling sorry for your sins. And repentance is not just feeling
sorry for your sins. Unbelievers feel sorry for their
sins. Repentance is a change of mind
and heart. I'm going to show you that just
briefly. But look here. Now go back to verse 17. If I'm
in Christ, I'm also in Him by new birth and by faith. Turn
to Galatians chapter three. Look at verse 26. In other words, if God chose
me and Christ redeemed me, and if I stand before God justified
in the righteousness of Christ imputed, at some point in time,
you know what's gonna happen? God the Holy Spirit providentially
is going to bring you under the preaching of the gospel of peace,
the gospel of reconciliation, the truth, not a lie now. He'll
take you out of that lie and bring you into the truth. And
he'll work a work that will turn your world upside down. It's called the new birth. You
must be born again or you can't see. You'll see things that you've
never seen before. That's right. You'll see things
in a different way. Now look at this in Galatians
3, 26. For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. If you're in Christ, the first
evidence that I'm in Christ is I believe in Jesus Christ. I
believe in his name. Now his name is what identifies
him and distinguishes. He says in verse 27, for as many
of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
That baptism there is not water baptism. It's union with Christ.
I'm placed into him and I put him on. That means to believe
on him. In verse 28, there's neither Jew nor Greek, there's
neither bond nor free, there's neither male nor female, you're
all one in Christ Jesus. Verse 29, this is a possessive. It says, and if you belong to
Christ, then are you Abraham's seed, the seed of Abraham, and
heirs according to the promise. Now go back to 2 Corinthians
5, 17. If I'm saved, I'm in Christ.
If I'm in Christ, I'm a new creature. a new creation. Sometimes in
the Bible the Lord refers to the whole church collectively
as a new creation. I believe that's the import of
Ephesians 2, 8, 9, and 10. For by grace are you safe through
faith that not of yourselves 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. But sometimes it refers to an
individual believer. A new creation. Am I a new creation? A new creature? Well, it says
here, if I am, old things are passed away. Behold, all things
are become new. Well, what's new? You ever have
anybody greet you that way? Hey, what's new? What's new with you? What's new
with me? What's really new? To be a new creature means to
be made alive by the Spirit in new birth, been born again. Scripture says in 1 Corinthians
15, 22, in Adam all die, in Christ shall all be what? Made alive. Now the import of this whole
passage is reconciliation to God. Is there peace between you
and God? Some say, well it doesn't speak
about regeneration, that is being made alive, the new birth, but
it includes that as the fruit of reconciliation. A new creature
is one who's been reconciled to God on the same ground, the
same basis by which God was reconciled to him. What is that? Verse 21. God made him sin, Christ
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. The ground upon which God is reconciled to his people
and the ground upon which his people are reconciled to him
is one and the same. It's the righteousness of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The merits of his obedience unto
death is my substitute, my surety, my representative. You know what's sad? is that
so many people who claim to be Christian have never even heard
of what I'm talking about. And yet, it's the heart of the
gospel. Did you know that? Paul said
this in Romans 10. Look over there, just a few pages
back. He said to be ignorant of it
is to be lost. That's what he said. Verse one
of Romans 10. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. I bear them
record. Verse two, they have a zeal of
God, they're religious, but not according to knowledge. For they
being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish
their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. What is that? Verse four, for
Christ, is the end, the finishing, fulfillment, perfection of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. When a sinner by the power of
the Holy Spirit is born again, do you know what that sinner
is given? The resurrection life of Jesus
Christ. That's what that quickening is.
That's what the new birth is. It's the resurrection life, spiritual
life, that was earned and given by Jesus Christ because he arose
from the dead. And do you know why he arose
from the dead? Because he finished the work. And what work did he
finish? Righteousness. That's what God
requires. What does God require of me?
Righteousness. What's the problem? I don't have
any. And I can't work any. But I have one who did. I have
one who is my right, that's Christ. You see that? And when God the
Holy Spirit brings a sinner in the new birth to faith in Christ,
let me tell you what it does. Old things are passed away. Now
that literally means here in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, that means
old things are gone. It doesn't mean they're passing
away or in some kind of a process of dying gradually. It means
they're gone, that's the tense of the verb. And all things are
become new. It doesn't mean they're gradually
becoming new. Oh, we grow in grace and in knowledge,
yes. But whatever he's talking about,
it's a done deal. What's he talking about? Well,
he's talking about your world, my world. Your worldview, my
worldview. Let me tell you something. And
I'm gonna give you details on this as we go through some more
of these. But basically, our whole world
view, our way of looking at things changes. You think about that. Our old way of viewing God passes
away. The way I used to see God in
my former religion, claiming to be a Christian, but I wasn't,
that's gone. Now I see God in a whole new
light. He's given me eyes to see. I see Him not just as some
old grandfather just trying to save me if I just let Him. That's
a false God. I see Him as both a just God
and a Savior. I see Him as the sovereign of
the universe who does as He pleases as He will, who works all things
after the counsel of His own will. Do I understand everything
about God's providential dealings? Lord, no, I don't understand
it all. You don't either. Nobody does. But I know He's
in control. I know He saves sinners by His
grace. My old way of viewing myself
is gone. I used to think I could do something
to recommend myself to God. Look at Philippians 3, the passage
that Brother Mark read, and I'm going to go over this in detail
later on. But just to give you an idea, my old way of viewing
God, what does God require? Righteousness, holiness. Here's what Paul said, he said
in verse 7, listen to how Paul's words, old things passed away,
all things become new. He says, verse 7, but what things
were gained. What were those things? Well,
I was circumcised the eighth day, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews
as touching the law of Pharisee. All those things he thought recommended
him unto God, he says, those I counted lost for Christ. They used to be in the gain column,
now they're in the lost column. That old's passed away, all things
become new. Look at what's new now. Verse
8, Yea, doubtless I count all things but lost for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I've suffered
the loss of all things, all things that I thought were good and
evidenced my salvation and recommended me unto God, I do count them
but dung, he said. That's a difference, isn't it? That which I used to brag about
and boast in and highly esteem, now I count it but done. And
let me tell you something, that means exactly what you think
it means. Some translations say rubbish.
It means what you think it means. He's being graphic, isn't he?
To make a point. That I may win Christ, look at
verse 9, and be found in Him, if any man be in Christ. Not
having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, his faithfulness to finish
the work, to bring forth righteousness, the righteousness which is of
God by faith. You see, our old way of viewing
Christ has changed. Our old way of viewing reconciliation
with God, what does it take to reconcile a sinner to God? It's
nothing I do. It's all what Christ did.