II Corinthians 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The born again Christian is different than the lost person. That is a fact of salvation. The true Christian does not determine that he or she is going to cut off all contact with the lost. The fact that the person gets saved, changes everything between that person and others.
Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Obviously Jesus knows who these people are. However, they are lost and they are foreign to the family of God. The apostle Paul stated that he has no connection with the lost. He can talk to them and he would witness to them, but there could never be any fellowship with them. They were not part of the family of God.
There are professing Christians who claim they have good fellowship with what they consider to be their lost neighbours. The fact is that it is impossible to have Biblical fellowship between saved and lost people. Lost people cannot relate to saved people. The sad reality is that lost people do not want to relate to true saved people.
There is an attachment to family, but even there, there is a strain in families between saved and unsaved. The lost are not interested in a good Bible Study. They are not interested in any good Bible discussion. You can talk about sports or farming or maybe politics, but not the Bible. If the Bible is brought up the lost will generally, be ready to argue and try to dismiss the truth. Yet, for the saved person, everything revolves around the Word of God. The troubles we face in this country could all be fixed if God was in charge. Since our country has decided to push God out, the problems are multiplying.
Paul admitted there was a time when he knew Christ after the flesh. He was alive when Jesus was on the earth. He heard of Him. He was a Pharisee at that time. He saw Jesus, but rejected Him as God. Now, since he was saved, he no longer saw Jesus just as a man. He now saw Christ as the eternal Son of God. He saw Him as the Messiah. He saw Him as the Saviour.
In verse 17 Paul continued to explain the Christian life. Notice the fact that anyone that is in Christ is a new creature. This is not just for some select few. This is God’s Word. This is not Paul’s opinion. Those who are in Christ; that is the key. We do not see much of this. There are many who claim to have given their heart to the Lord, or they have prayed a prayer, but they have not been made new in Christ. It is not that Christ does not want to make them new, but in order to be made new, you have to let God make you new. You cannot come to God and tell Him what to do. You have to come to Him without anything to offer.
Those who claim to give Him their heart fail to understand, that their heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. The only way God can use a person is if He changes the heart. He has to make the heart new.
The Bible mentions two things that are a must for anyone who desires to be “in Christ.”
Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance is a complete turn to God. It is not bartering with Him. It is not taking a test run. It is coming to Him as a lost sinner, and asking Him to forgive you and save you. We see also that it requires a trust in what the Lord Jesus Christ did for you on the cross. You have nothing to offer God. He is offering you forgiveness of sins and eternal life. You have to be willing to accept His offer. You cannot add anything to it and you cannot suggest you will only take certain aspects of what He is offering.
The Bible declares that God loves man. He loves you. Due to His love for you, He provided the only way for you to become a part of His family. It is not by your works, or your money. It is by trusting in His provision for your salvation. That provision is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have grown so accustomed to the lies of New Evangelicalism that most people have come to accept the fraudulent professions of Christianity that are so common in our world. They are worthless, as we noted from Matthew 7.
As Paul stated in II Corinthians 5:17, there is a profound and undeniable change that takes place when a person is “in Christ.” That person is a new creature. He does not “become” a new creature. He “is” a new creature at the moment of salvation. True salvation is a 100% work of God. Man has nothing to contribute to God’s salvation. Man must surrender to God’s provision of salvation.
As we read in verse 17, old things are passed away. Yes, there needs to be growth in the true child of God. That growth begins with being made a new creature in Christ. When that happens, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When a person gets saved, they begin a completely new life. Some years back there was this imaginary thing called “Christian Rock”. Churches were struggling and people were not coming to them. The ungodly leadership of the churches decided that they needed to change the atmosphere to get people to come. There were people who wanted to come to a more socially awake church. They wanted to keep their rock music. They did not mind adding the name of Jesus to the music, or even singing songs that did not mention His name, but sounded like they might be referring to Him. The lost loved it. Churches began to grow and the choir was replaced with a “rock band” later referred to as a “worship team”. The devil was rejoicing. Jesus was outside of the building knocking to gain entrance, but the door was not opened to Him.
Yes, there was talk about Jesus, but it was a long-haired freak who was not at all holy or righteous. He was whatever the people imagined Him to be. That brand of Christianity has been around for a long time. It is worthless. It does not help anyone. It may bring some excitement for a time, but it is not life-changing nor fulfilling.
When a person truly gets saved, they do not want rock music. They do not want CCM either. They are ashamed of the immodesty they thought was so normal before. They don’t want to hear stories. They want to hear real preaching. That is what happens when a person is “in Christ.”
I know this may sound strange to many. I have come across many who think this kind of talk is heresy. People say they do not want to associate with me nor attend our church because we are false teachers.
The sad fact is that there will be thousands of people who will hear Jesus’ Words as we quoted from Matthew 7. They will be shocked but it will be too late. The day of salvation is today. The way of salvation has never changed. The God of salvation is still all powerful and He still changes the repentant sinner into a saint in a moment of time. That saint will be identifiable by what the Bible says, but he or she will not fit in to what the secular churches say is Christianity.
You do not need to take my word for it. Read the Bible. Don’t just pick a few choice words from the Bible. Read the Bible and you will be amazed at the fact that God is able to change a wicked lost sinner into a saint who loves Him and wants to know Him better all the time.
The true saint will sin, but he or she will not want to remain in that place of sin. They will want to be forgiven and they will want to enjoy the close fellowship that God promises to every born again Christian.
If you have been deceived by some smooth talking salesperson, why not listen to the Holy Spirit as He convinces you of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. If you will listen to Him, He will lead you to genuine salvation. He will lead you to a good church that can help you to know the true God and the true Jesus. If you will follow Him, you will never be sorry and you will not need to be ashamed at His coming.
We are praying for souls to be saved in these last days.
Pastor Bartel