2 Corinthians 5:16-21 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 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. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Pastor Kyle continues: In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul instructs us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The Greek word for “transformed” in this verse is “metamorphoō” where we get the English word metamorphosis, meaning to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure; if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. That complete transformation of our soul (mind, will and emotion) is the salvation process of the born-again Believer in acknowledgement of God as their sovereign, just and holy Creator, recognition of their sin against God as rebellious and wicked of which they are guilty, repentance of their sins which deserve God’s wrath against sin, deserve eternal death in Hell and deserve separation from God for sin. But also believing that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for their sins in their place, receiving their penalty as an atoning sacrifice by His blood while they receive Christ’s pure righteous in this divine exchange, and receive God’s grace and this free gift of salvation by saving faith alone in Christ alone as their Savior and Lord, redeemed, forgiven and transformed from the inside out; a new creation. God asks in Ezekiel 18:23-24, “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? There is a choice to make.
John 3:36 confirms, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, creating the one and only way to pay for sin, receive forgiveness, be reconciled to God the Father and get to Heaven, but every sinner must accept and receive this gift of God by faith for this salvation and transformation. Not everyone will accept Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 declares, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus himself proclaimed in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. This means that the moment, at the second, a person becomes a Christian, they are going to Heaven. It does not matter if the person sins later; salvation is not lost but if they leave the faith it proves they were not true Christians in the beginning; true Christians will never leave Christ. Born-again Believers hate sin, but remain in their fallen flesh on this side of eternity and the natural urges and desires of the sinful flesh are against the indwelling Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other. Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the sinful desires of the flesh.
Distractions of the God-rejecting world system and the temptations of the devil seduce, allure, entice and arouse the human flesh to stumble and fall back into a sin, and realizing that they have to get back right with God This is called backsliding. Go back and be re-reconciled with God. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God hates sin. Sin is never acceptable. Sin is never taken lightly. Sin offends God. Sin is always wicked and evil. Sin separates us from God and sin is always punished. Exodus 34:6-7 says, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” Either Christ pays for your sins, or you do.
The Prodigal Son in Luke 15 found himself in the pig pen, but he did not stay in the pig pen. He got up, got out and returned to the father. Give yourself to Jesus, drop your sins at the foot of the Cross, embrace the new that comes from the Lord by repenting. In sin, it is our child of God intimate family relationship to our heavenly Father that suffers and the Holy Spirit grieves within us. The new ways of God in our new creation with spiritual discernment are becoming the new norms in our lives.
Let's conclude Pastor Kyle message on being Ambassadors for Christ on our next post.
Live for Christ. In God we trust. Brian
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