Walking In The Newness of Life

2 Corinthians 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.

Introduction

The reason people make New Years resolutions is because they want their lives in the coming year to be reflective of change that did not occur in the previous year.

It is very interesting how deep in our hearts some of us know we need to be better, but we never seem to be able to do what it takes to fully become what God is calling for us to be.

There are times when our lives do reflect glimpses of glory and flashes of faithfulness, and hints of holiness, but on the regular, if we were to be completely honest, our lifestyles fall seriously short of the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus.

We keep doing the same old things, going to the same old places, hanging out with the same old friends, and expressing the same old attitudes, while at the same time looking for something greater, something more profound, something new to take place in our lives.

The fact of the matter is, 2 Peter 1:3–4 “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature…”

This means that by calling us to his saving grace, God has also equipped us with everything we need to be partakers of his own nature and to walk in the newness of life.

Great things happen when our walk is so aligned with the will of God that our lives have no other option but to reflect the wonders of his glory.

Enoch walked with God and was immediately taken up into heaven.

Noah walked with God and was used to build the ark of salvation.

Moses walked with God and led the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage.

Abraham walked with God and became the father of many nations.

Joseph walked with God and went from being in a pit to being a ruler in the palace.

Elijah walked with God and went to heaven in a chariot of fire.

Daniel walked with God and rested all night long in a lion’s den.

The three Hebrew boys walked with God and met Jesus in a fiery furnace.

David walked with God and defeated a giant with a slingshot and a stone.

Hezekiah walked with God and was given 15 more years live after being diagnosed with death.

And some of you in here tonight can testify that when you walk with God he will….(expound!)

There are three problems that may be keeping you from walking in the newness of life that God wants to help you overcome tonight…

A Problem With Your Position - “If any man be in Christ…”

This portion of our text is conditional, and it suggests that some of us are not able to walk in the newness life because we are spiritually out of position.

Physically we are in church every week but spiritually we are no where close to God. We go to Sunday school, morning worship, and Bible study, but spiritually we still hold on to grudges, gossip instead of pray, and hate instead of forgive.

These are clear indications that our lives are out of position and that we need a course correction.

Illustration: GPS - Recalculating!

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”

Ephesians 2:4–6 “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

It’s time to get in position!

A Problem With Your Perspective - “he is a new creature; old things are passed away…”

The key to this portion of the text is found in the rendition of the words, “is” and “are”. These two words in the Greek are verbs in the active, indicative tense, which means they represent and reflect the present and continuous state of the subject.

This means that when a person is positioned in Christ, they are literally not the same anymore. The problem is that we align our lives with the perspective we have of ourselves.

We still consider ourselves sinners, and because we have this perspective of who we are, we are spiritually and physically unable to walk in the newness of life as saints.

Ephesians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:”

Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:”

Colossians 1:2 “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”

Romans 1:7 “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 2:19 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”

I “was” sinner when…

Song Reference: Love Lifted Me!

A Problem With Your Presentation - “behold, all thing are become new.”

When you are not in the right spiritual position, and you have the wrong perspective about who you are as a child of God, you will definitely have a problem with how you present yourself to the world as a Christian.

The question we must all ask ourselves is, what does the world see when they look at your life?

This is a critical question because as saints of God, we are supposed to reflect the image and likeness of the One who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, and the reason many of us cannot walk in the newness of life is because of the kind of light we are reflecting.

Jesus made it clear in Matthew 6:23 “…If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”

Jesus said this because there are people who are shining bright in the blinding light of hatred. There people who have the effervescent glow of a bad attitude, and there people who are illuminated with the sparkling flare of unforgiveness.

The key to this final portion of our text is the word “behold”, which is the Greek word “idou” that means to look and to see something.

This means that as true believers in Jesus Christ, our lives are supposed to be an ongoing demonstration of what God has done for us as we walk in the newness of life.

In other words, if I am really walking in the newness of life, then I should have something to show you!