CHAPTER 4
THE NEW BIRTH IN CHRIST
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 CORINTHIANS 5: 17
Although this verse from 2 Corinthians 5 is about as straightforward as any can get, many people do not yet understand the truth of the new creature completely. At some point in their lives, they heard the gospel and received the gift of salvation that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.
Here’s a typical scenario. Many were told that they were new creatures in Christ, and that their lives would be different from then on, but they did not see or feel any significant change in their behavior. As time goes by, and without a noticeable change, they begin to wonder if they were truly saved. Their fellow church members tell them that as soon as they begin obeying God’s commandments, they will see a noticeable change in their life. Consequently, this person becomes consumed with holiness and obeying the commandments of God, only to discover that the change in his life was not for the better, but for the worse. Not only has he not been able to cease from sin, but the desire for sin has grown.
Then, he goes to his pastor and asks for godly counsel, only to be told that even after being born again, he is still a sinner because he still commits sin. The man is confused because when he received Christ, he had to admit that he was a sinner, and that afterward, he was a new creature. The pastor’s answer was that now he was a “sinner walking daily and continuously in the saving grace of God.” Then perhaps the man is told that each time he commits a sin, he must “come to the throne of grace” and ask for forgiveness of his sins because sin separated him from God, and in order to be “right” with God, one must confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. Otherwise, if he died he would not be saved.
Consequently, the man becomes mired in the bondage of living according to his own obedience to God’s law and will never truly know whether he is in “right standing” with God. Because of this way of thinking, he will live a life at the whim of the devil, who will bring condemnation on him every time he misses the mark. And even worse, the man will think that God is the one condemning him, or as it is commonly said, “The Lord is convicting me of sin.”
The sad part of this picture is that a vast majority of Christians have this very same mindset. They see themselves in the flesh—as nothing but an “old sinner saved by grace”—instead of looking into God’s word to find the truth. God never intended for you to take the burden of sin upon yourself. It is true that sin separates a person from intimate relationship with God, but sin in this case is a noun—not a verb—indicating that the sinful nature is what prevented you from having this intimate relationship with God. This is why Jesus came and died—so that He would restore the relationship that was lost as a result of Adam and Eve’s transgression. Jesus said, For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. [Matthew 18:11]
It just so happened that sin was what stood between God and man. Therefore, Jesus had to take the sins of the world upon Himself while dying on the cross. Isaiah 53:4-5 says, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Jesus said it this way: Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you; for I am meek and lowly in heart. And you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. [Matthew 11:28-30]
For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which has sent him. [John 5:22-23]
Verse 18 from 2 Corinthians 5 confirms the truth of the new creature. Verse 17 says that all things have become new, and verse 18 says that all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
We can make the conclusion that the “all things are of God” refers to the new creature, because we also know that before we received Christ, we were, by nature, children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). In Christ, we have been given a new nature, which is of God. My brothers and sisters, God and the devil cannot occupy the same space. Either you have the nature of God through the regenerating and washing of the Spirit of God, or you still have the nature of the devil. The Bible makes a clear distinction of our nature and position prior to being born again, and the truth of the new creature as it is written, (God) who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. [Colossians 1:13]
This passage is teaching that we have been delivered (past tense) from the power of sin and the law—the sinful nature that compelled us to violate God’s law—and has translated (past tense) or supernaturally transferred us into the kingdom of His Son.
Other Christians have been taught that the Lord gets angry or displeased when we blow it. How many of you, after committing a sin, thinking that God is mad at you, will try to hide or stay away from God until He cools down? Then, after a few hours or days, you come back to Him and your conscience is restored. This attitude is a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Brothers and sisters, this is a vital truth and I pray you have ears to hear. Jesus suffered the pain of separation from God due to sin so you would not have to suffer. By submitting to condemnation and separating yourself from God, you are in essence, claiming that Jesus didn’t suffer enough for you—that you too must also make an atonement for sin. This is why we have God’s grace—not to minimize sin, but to magnify and exalt what Jesus did for us on the cross.
When you commit sin, God wants you to come to Him immediately. Like the prodigal son’s father, God will run to meet you. He’s waiting with open arms, knowing that the longer it takes you to come to Him, the greater opportunity the devil has to keep you away, thinking that you’re unclean.
I want to assure you that God is not angry with you when you sin. Is He pleased when you sin? No, but we must continue to understand that God sees you through what Jesus did on the cross and who you are now in the spirit; and according to the Bible, He sees you as righteous and holy as long as you continue to trust in His righteousness alone as it is written, Yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight, if you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel… [Colossians 1:21-23]
We know that Jesus, who is the exact image of God, never got angry with the tax collectors, prostitutes, adulterers, and other so-called “sinners” of His day. However, the only ones the Lord ever rebuked were those who were either operating in unbelief, or the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees who were counting on their own righteousness to make them right with God.
Furthermore, God does not accept or deal with us based on our performance. If He did, then Jesus would have never come. Romans 5:8 says: But God commended his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Tragically, while many Christians understand the truth of this verse, they fail to understand the great extent of God’s grace—even after we are born again. The mindset is that while we are saved by grace, but once we are saved, we must perform satisfactorily in order for God to continue accepting us. This is not what the Bible teaches. Verses 9-10 of Romans 5 refers to the abundance of grace after being reconciled to God: Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Chapter 4--The New Birth in Christ
