Are You New or Refurbished?

Introduction

Blessing to be here. Thanks to your pastors for this privilege. Jason best friend, came to church here, in the fellowship hall, heard Richard Zehr most of the time.

Turn in your Bibles this morning to 2 Corinthians 5

At Naumburg Mennonite, where I am serving as a Pastor, I have been working through the book of Ephesians verse by verse for the last 23 sermons, so it feels different to people to turn to a book other than Ephesians.

But I am super excited to preach this message this morning because if you are a follower of Jesus in here today, the true beauty of the gospel and what it has done in your life should echo strong in your heart.

And If you are here this morning and you aren’t a follower of Jesus, or you aren’t sure if you are or not, please pay attention to this message

because there is joy and hope in the Word of the Living God today

I have entitled my message this morning Are You New or Refurbished?

Now when you think of the word new, you probably think a little like me, where you think of something that hasn’t been used yet or something you have never owned

A new car, a new house (build new or move into a new home), a new book, coming up on a new year!

The concept of something new is very relative to the individual that is possessing the certain item.

What is new for one may not be for another

One mans trash is another mans trash is another mans treasure. Garage sales! clothes and housewares for women, golf clubs and tools for guys!

When we think of this word ”new” we get a certain preconceived idea of what new is.

Now what about the word refurbished? What does it mean to refurbish something?

Refurbish means to renovate or redecorate something used.

People buy refurbished things all the time.

Phones, computers, electronics are much cheaper, homes (Chip and Joanna Gaines), furniture (Coffee table and end table)

As nice as it is to save some money, when you buy something refurbished, you are not getting that object brand new

It may look brand new, it may work like something new, it may last as long as something new, it may even have some new parts or pieces to it!

But it is never going to be completely new. It’s a always going to be an object that was fixed or dressed up to look like its new.

The question that I have for us this morning is, are YOU new? Or refurbished?

So with all that said, Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 and lets stand as a congregation at the reading of the Word of God

I want to look at a few ways you can know if your new or refurbished

1. New Creature vs.17

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Paul begins this verse with a common phrase that he used in a lot of his writings.

“IN CHRIST”

In fact this term “in Christ” is used 180 times in the New Testament. The apostle Paul uses it 143 of those times!

This phrase literally means covered by Christ, and not just like putting a coat on to cover up when its cold out

It’s To the point where God doesn’t see our unrighteousness, but sees the perfection of Jesus covering us.

Why is this important?

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 (ESV)

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

If we are not found in Christ, there is NO possible way that we can enter into Gods presence when we die

The only way that we can ever have the hope of entering heaven is if we can claim vs 11.

I am so glad this morning that I don’t have to rest on my own good works to somehow earn enough merit with God so that he will accept me.

It’s only because of the fact that I am IN CHRIST that I can someday stand before the the Holy Creator of the universe and hear the words “well done“

Now back in 2 Corinthians 5 the phrase in Christ is an operative phrase to the next part of the sentence

Because we are in Christ, we are a new creation.

This verse in the Greek is literally translated says this. “So that, if anyone in Christ, a new creation.“

Notice there is no second option! If you are in Christ this morning you are a new creation.

What does it mean to be a new creation? He says

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

What is it that passed away? I believe we see very clearly what Paul is talking about here in Romans 6

Romans 6:1–14 (ESV)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

A new creature is just that. Its someone who has had the old self pass away or die and the new person has been created.

Does this mean that you will never struggle with sin and always make the right choices? NO! We are still in the flesh. That part is very much alive.

What it does mean is that our desire is NOT to gratify our sinful desires and flesh, but to please Jesus.

Paul says in vs 6 and 7 that our sin and old self no longer have a hold on us and we are free

That means that when temptation comes our way we have the ability and freedom to make the choice to either walk away from sin or dive head first into it.

That is what the New Creature looks Like.

A refurbished person may have the appearance of a New creature, but lacks the crucial element of being in Christ!

The refurbished person Will have some new parts, they will come to church or other christian functions, they will even teach Sunday school or be in a position of influence in the church.

But they consistently fall into sin because they haven’t died to their sinful self and dont have the freedom given by Christ to defeat temptation.

Again I ask you, are you New or Refurbished? Are you a New Creature?

The second way that you can know if your new or refurbished is if you have a

2. New Commission vs. 18-20

2 Corinthians 5:18–20 (ESV)

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

American author Alyn Brodsky wrote in a book about the civil war that Two decades after the Civil War, North and South still had not achieved reconciliation. Such a reconciliation would not succeed unless it was achieved by the generation that fought the war. Should that generation die unreconciled, its hatreds would become the next generation’s legacy, and would be perpetuated. It is a historical truism that inheriting hatreds is a near inevitability, eradicating them a near impossibility.

Reconciliation! Paul uses that word 5 times in these 3 verses alone. You think he wants his readers to grasp this concept?

When we hear that word reconciliation, it begs the question, WHY?

What needs to be reconciled and why?

Ephesians 2:11–16 (ESV)

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Paul tells the Ephesians and us that we were seperated from Christ and he tells us why in Ephesians 2:1 WE WERE DEAD IN OUR SINS

You see what We needed was someone to extend the hand of reconciliation to us because we were spiritually dead!

Our inability to reconcile ourselves to God put ourselves in a dire need of God to make the first move and he did through his son Jesus.

Now there are a 3 aspects to reconciliation that I want to bring out of these verses.

1. From God vs. 18a

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself

We have to recognize the fact that we would never been able to nor would we have the ability to reconcile ourselves to God.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden it created a holy seperation between God and man that resulted in the offended reaching down to the offender for peace.

Because our sin caused the separation it was going to take a complete act of God to bring us back.

The second aspect of reconciliation is that it is

2. His Message vs. 18b-19

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

One of the prime responsibilities of a person who has been reconciled to God is sharing with those around us that they can be reconciled as well!

We carry a message within our hearts of having peace with God! Are we sharing that? Do people know you have that peace or is your life as full of turmoil as the next person?

You see, we have been given a message from God that has the power to change lives. That message is one that says, you can live a life of freedom!

Paul says here that God doesn’t count our trespasses or sins against us! We Have been cleared from being guilty.

Kyle Rittenhouse. Been following the trial closely. Did you see his reaction when the judge declared him not guilty? He fell down and almost passed out, in tears and relief. Do we do the same when God Declares us NOT GUILTY?

The last aspect of reconciliation in these verses is that it is

3. Our Calling vs. 20

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

As an ambassador of Christ we are His representatives here on earth!

That means we are not only to share the message of reconciliation to God but we are also supposed to LIVE in reconciliation with those around us.

In 1845, Elizabeth Barrett Browning married parents disapproved so strongly of her marriage to Robert that they disowned her. Almost weekly, Elizabeth wrote love letters to her mother and father, asking for a reconciliation. They never once replied. After ten years of letter writing, Elizabeth received a huge box in the mail. She opened it. To her dismay and heartbreak, the box contained all of her letters to her parents. Not one of them had ever been opened! Today those love letters are among the most beautiful in classical English literature. Had her parents opened and read only a few of them, a reconciliation might have been effected.

As reconciled and redeemed people, we should be the first to offer reconciliation with those that have hurt us.

Not only is it a good thing to do we are commanded to by Christ!

So again I ask you, Are you New or Refurbished? Have you received a new commission to live in and share the joys of being reconciled to a Holy God? Or have you pushed away God and your Brothers and sisters and not lived a reconciled life?

Now I want to close this message looking at vs 21.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This Verse Church is the crux to the ENTIRE GOSPEL!

For our sake (US), HE (GOD) made him (Jesus) to be sin so that in him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God

Friends if that doesn’t bring your heart an extra beat this morning you better check your pulse!

JESUS DID IT ALL!!! The sinless one became sin for US!!

Can you imagine? The man that knew no sin from eternity past came to this earth lived a perfect life!

THEN, on the cross for a brief period of time became sin for us.

Jesus took upon him the weight of the worlds sin and the wrath of a holy God so that we can become righteous! WOW! What a savior!

My God My God why have you forsaken me?

All for us. You see one major problem I have with some mainstream pastors, modern worship songs and some christian singers is that they taken the gospel out of Gods hands

It has become a gospel that makes it look like God is running after us and begging us to follow him! Church that is not biblical!

WE DID NOTHING TO MERIT GODS FAVOR! Yet he extends it to us because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross

So, I ask you again, Are you a New or Refurbished? Have you become a New Creation with a New Commission? Or are you just fixed up Enough to fool those around you? Because I can guarantee you this morning that the one person you can’t fool is God and as scripture says in

Hebrews 10:31 (ESV)

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

If you are here this morning and you are not sure where you stand with God, please see me or someone in here that you can talk to, and walk out of here a New Creation!

Pray