1.     My text this morning is here in II Corinthians, but I would like for us to pay particular attention to verse 17.

2.     What does it mean to be a “new creature”?

3.     The margin in my Scofield Study Bible says “creation” and that is helpful since the word signifies the product of the creative act of God.

4.     We see a similar idea in Galatians 6:15.  Note the phrase “in Christ” is in both of these Scriptures.

5.     In Galatians 6:15, the apostle Paul is stressing that a man is a new creature in Christ on the basis of what Christ did for him on the cross (cf. Gal. 6:14).

6.     Salvation is a work of God.  Men can submit to circumcision or baptism or church membership but that cannot save them (Gal. 6:15).  

7.     So what does it mean to be a “new creature”?

I.     HE MUST BE “IN CHRIST.”

1.     I am afraid that many people are “in the church” but they are not “in Christ” (cf. II Cor. 5:17).

2.     This term “in Christ” is used very often by the apostle Paul.  It occurs about 130 times in the New Testament.

3.     Here is how one expositor describes this term “in Christ” – “The _expression ‘in Christ’ sums up as briefly and as profoundly as possible the inexhaustible significance of man’s redemption” (Philip E. Hughes, Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians).

4.     The term “in Christ” speaks of our security in Christ.  Some people object to the term “eternal security” because the _expression is not found in the Bible.  But the term “in Christ” is found well over 100 times in the NT.

5.     Beloved, if you are “in Christ” you are safe and secure from all alarms.   Remember, we are not only leaning on the everlasting arms – we are in His everlasting arms (cf. John 10:27-30).

6.     The _expression “eternal security” is not found in the Bible, but the term “eternal life” certainly is (John 10:28; 3:15-18, 36; 5:24; 6:47, etc.).

7.     Let me emphasize that I believe in the eternal security of the believer, but I do not believe in the eternal security of the make-believer.

8.     In my opinion we have too many make-believers running around saying that they are saved but they act like devils.

9.     I do not want any true born again believer to doubt his salvation, but on the other hand I do not want any deluded and deceived unbeliever to continue in his false hope.

10.Make sure you are really in Christ.  Our Lord warned that there are many tares mixed in among the wheat (Matthew 13). The tares look so much like wheat that it is very difficult to tell them apart.

11.Some one once asked me why I was so concerned about tares being mixed in with the wheat.  I told him because oftentimes the tares tear up the church.

12.When our Lord announced that one of His disciples was a traitor, they were all surprised.  The Bible says they “looked one on another, doubting of whom He spake” (John 13:22).  Judas had them all fooled.  And it is the same way today.

13.But those that truly are in Christ are safe and secure.  They are like Noah and his family – safe in the ark.  In the ark, Noah and his family were separated from all of the wicked worldly people outside the ark.

14.The storms of God’s judgment poured down upon the world of the ungodly, but Noah and his family were safe and secure in the ark.  This is what it means to be in Christ.

II.     THERE MUST BE A COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION

1.     Regeneration is not merely moral reformation.  The doctrine of regeneration means that a believer who formerly was spiritually dead has now received eternal life.

2.     Regeneration is essential, not optional. Our Lord said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).    

3.     First Peter 1:23 says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”  That is why we must proclaim the Gospel.

4.     When a penitent sinner believes the Gospel and turns from his sin he is born again by the Spirit of God – “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).  It is the work of God. 

5.     Regeneration is instantaneous.  It is not a gradual process (though sanctification is gradual).  Often when I ask people if they’re saved, they reply, “I’m getting there!” (No, they’re not.)

6.     One cannot understand the importance of the new birth until he first understands that all lost sinners are spiritually dead (cf. Eph. 2:1-10).

7.     To pass from spiritual death to spiritual life is a supernatural act of God.  The world cannot understand it.  Most religious people cannot understand it. Only those that have experienced this spiritual transformation can truly understand it.

8.     The other day I received a letter from a fellow who wants to run for some political office.  I read this letter to Bro. Hobbs and then I threw it in the trash can. 

9.     This man wants the government to provide more jobs for our young people.   He wants the government to provide affordable housing, etc.  I do not care for any of that.  I want to see dead sinners born again and transformed into godly Christians.

10.I heard a true story about a communist rabble-rouser who was giving a speech in a city park.  There was a large crowd gathered around to hear what he had to say.  A beggar stumbled by dressed in filthy, raggedly old clothes, and the communist shouted out, “Communism will put a new suit on that man!”

11.There was a Christian in that crowd and he shouted back, “Yes, but Christ can put a new man in that suit!”

12.That is what we need.  Unsaved friend, that is what you need. The government or some charitable organization can give a man nice clothes, and food, and a car, and a free education, and free housing, and a nice job – but is that what life is all about?

13.Even if the man stays out of trouble (away from drugs or alcohol or crime, etc.), if he does not accept Christ he will die and go straight to hell.

14.And oftentimes that same man will revert back to his bad habits – dope, alcohol, immorality, stealing, etc.  Only Christ can break the bondage of sin.  Only Christ can completely transform a dirty sinner into a godly saint.

15.“Old things are passed away” (II Cor. 5:17) – bad habits and besetting sins, prejudices, misconceptions, and doctrinal errors.

16.Behold, all things are become new” (5:17).

III.     THERE MUST BE A COMPLETE BREAK WITH THE OLD LIFE

1.     The key word in II Corinthians 5:17 is “new” (found twice).  When a believer receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, he receives a new nature.  The Bible refers to this as “the new man” (cf. Eph. 4:24).

2.     There is a sharp contrast between the “old man” and the “new man” (Eph. 4:17-25).

3.     There must be a complete break with the old life.

·  “that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk…” (4:17).

·  “that ye put off concerning the former conversation (behaviour) the old man, which is corrupt” (4:22).

·  “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (4:23).

·  “And that ye put on the new man…” (4:24).

·  “Wherefore putting away lying…” (4:25).

4.     There must be a complete break with the old, worldly life.  It may mean severing friendships.  When I was a young man I thought I had many dear friends.  After I got saved I realized how shallow and vain they really were.

5.     There must be a complete break with the old, unregenerate life. It may mean moving to a different location.  I recall a young lady who started coming to our services.  She got saved and had to move to a different state.  She was living with a man and they had children together.  She knew that unless she moved to a different state he would not leave her alone.

6.     There must be a complete break with the old life. It may mean changing jobs.  I remember a friend who got saved and was convicted by the Holy Spirit about his job.  He worked in a movie theatre.

7.     Being a new creature in Christ means there are going to be some major changes.  Take your stand for God – you will not regret it. 

8.     But if you compromise you will certainly regret it later on with bitter tears.

9.     Some Christians fail to comprehend these basic Biblical principles.  It breaks my heart to see so many professed Christians living just like pagans.

10.Let me make this clear – the new nature is patterned after the nature of God Himself (cf. II Peter 1:3, 4).

11.This new nature has divine qualities and longs after the things of God.  This means a new direction, a new attitude, a new philosophy of life, and new aspirations to attain the will of God.

CONCLUSION:

1.     When I was a student in Bible college I remembered one of my professors talking about a gangster in Chicago named George Mensik who was gloriously saved and became a useful servant of Christ.

2.     George Mensik grew up in a rough neighborhood in Chicago.  He was one of twelve children. He began his life of crime at the age of nine.

3.     He was in and out of reform schools and jail. During Prohibition he became a bootlegger as well as a burglar, stick-up man, and gambler.

4.     One night he and a friend thought they killed a fellow gangster.  They dropped his body off in front of a hospital and took off, but the man wasn’t dead.  He survived the attempted bump-off, and six months later he walked into a saloon where George Mensik and his friend were drinking. Mensik’s companion and the other gangster both drew their guns at the same time and a few minutes later both men lay dead on the barroom floor.  George Mensik hid the bodies and got away.

5.     One day Mrs. Mensik became very sick and had to be admitted to a hospital for an operation. While in the hospital she heard a Gospel broadcast and was gloriously saved.  After getting out of the hospital she witnessed to her five-year-old daughter and she too was saved.

6.     Now both his wife and daughter were praying for George Mensik – a violent, alcohol-drinking, marijuana-smoking, gangster.

7.     One day George Mensik walked into the room and saw his little daughter praying.  When she told him that she was praying for him he was convicted by the Holy Spirit. He told her to keep praying for him.

8.     George Mensik saw the change in his family (II Cor. 5:17).  Soon he agreed to go to church.  His first Sunday at Marquette Manor Baptist Church a visiting evangelist preached the Gospel.  During lunch, George asked his wife, “Did you tell that preacher anything about me?”  Mrs. Mensik said she had never seen the man before.

9.     George Mensik went back that night and was gloriously saved. Soon he quit his job dealing cards in a gambling joint.  No more crime, no more drinking, no more marijuana, no more tobacco (5:17).

10. Soon he was invited to preach in different churches and that is how my Bible college professor got to know him.