A New Creation in Christ
A New Creation in Christ
A New Creation in Christ
In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus gave a parable of two men who went up to pray that reads as follows:
"Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'"
One could probably get up several lessons from this one parable but today I want to concentrate on one specific aspect of the story the need man has, all men, to become a new creation in God's sight.
In two places in the New Testament we read of man's need to become a new creation, a new spiritual being.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Cor. 5:17 NKJV)
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation." (Gal. 6:15 NKJV)
The phrase "new creation" in the NKJV is in other versions "a new creature" (ASV, KJ, NAS, YLT), "a new person" (CEV, NLT), and "a new being (GNB). You get the idea. In Christ a new man is created. The old man of sin is done away with and a new creature comes into being, a spiritual being whose desire is to live a life of faith and dedication, of commitment and obedience to Christ.
This new creation has a specific time and place of creation or birth, of coming into being, of coming into existence. Paul said, "This is a faithful saying: For if we died with him, we shall also live with him." (2 Tim. 2:11 NKJV see very similar wording in Rom. 6:8 as well.) The old man of sin must first die and be buried before a new creation can come into existence. When and where does this occur? Paul answers.
"How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." (Rom. 6:2-8 NKJV)
Where and when does a man die with Jesus (2 Tim. 2:11)? Paul said in the Roman passage just quoted that when we were baptized we were baptized into Jesus' death thus that is the location and time of our death with Jesus. "We were buried with him through baptism into death." (Rom. 6:4 NKJV) When then do we become a new creation? Read the Roman passage again. The answer is when we arise from baptism.
"For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him." (Rom. 6:5-6 NKJV)
These things are so simple to understand that all could see them if not blinded by prejudice. Men say baptism has nothing to do with salvation, is not needed, man is saved without it. Not a chance. Look at the word "if" in this Roman passage from chapter 6 (verses 2 through 8) and in the 2 Tim. 2:11 passage. President Clinton use to say it depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is. Are we in the Christian religious world now at the point where we must argue that it depends on what the word "if" means? Are we all so ignorant we do not know what words like "is" and "if" mean? May God have mercy upon us.
Now please note what I have not said in this article. I did not say we are saved or that we become a new creation without faith, without repentance, without confession of Christ, and I have not said we are saved by baptism alone.
Faith is the energizing agent that leads to all further obedience to Christ. Without faith absolutely nothing else follows. In the sense that "faith" is the source of all allegiance and obedience it can be said that such faith saves but we have to remember that the reason faith saves is that it does lead to an acceptance of a king (King Jesus) and of a Lord (Lord Jesus) to whom we must give our lives in total acceptance and obedience. It leads to "obedience to righteousness" (Rom. 6:16 NKJV) thus leads to repentance, confession of Christ, and to the baptism that results in a new creation in Christ Jesus. The NAS reads "obedience resulting in righteousness." Only when one comes to understand that the faith that saves is the faith that acts in obedience will he understand the subject of salvation by faith as taught in the New Testament.
Do you remember the account of the nobleman in Luke 19:11-27 who left his citizens to go to a far country and receive a kingdom? The Bible says "his citizens hated him" and said, "'We will not have this man to reign over us.'" (Luke 19:14 NKJV) When he returned what happened? He said, "'Bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'" Jesus told this parable. Read it closely and make the application. Jesus is the nobleman and the enemies are all who refuse to accept him as King and Lord.
Do we accept Jesus as King and Lord and accept his rule over us? The faith that saves says yes we do and we will die with Jesus in baptism and arise a new creation. The faith that says "no we will make our own decisions about baptism quite apart from your commands Lord" is the faith that dooms and is the faith held by way too many people today.
If it be said I can be a new creation without baptism then you will have to invent the way for you can search until you die and never find a passage in the Bible that tells you how to get into Jesus that does not have baptism in it. "Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" (Rom. 6:3 NKJV) What about those not baptized into Christ Jesus? What about them?
"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Gal. 3:27 NKJV) How about those who were not "baptized into Christ"? Did they put on Christ? If you say they did then you have added to the word of God to do it and invented your own doctrine thus your doctrine is of man not of God. "'In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" (Mark 7:7 NKJV)
But how about the two men who went up to pray? How about them? The first thing that needs to be said is neither of these men had the opportunity to become a new creation. That was not possible until after Christ's death and resurrection, until the gospel began to be preached in its fulfillment so I am not using the parable for that purpose. What then is the purpose?
The purpose is to show that there are two classes of men in the world (among those who believe in God) and the one class of men, in their present state of mind, can never become a new creation. One sees himself as self sufficient. You cannot teach him about spiritual matters for he is set in his ways and fully satisfied and is convinced he is a godly and righteous man. Sin does not bother him for he is convinced he has no sin. He has put the spin his heart has desired on the scriptures and likewise has interpreted his life to get the result he desired personal self righteousness. He is a satisfied man and being satisfied cannot be brought to repentance.
This is where most of the world is at today satisfied. There are people still worshipping idols today, others teaching violence is God's will, others praising a man they call God on earth to the point that what he says becomes law to them and yet they have to vote him into office. But whatever the religion and even when there is no religion the majority of mankind are satisfied. That includes many who believe they are Christians but have never become new creations in Christ.
The Bible teaches that the man who is satisfied is the man who is in trouble as per the parable from Luke 18. Every man who reaches an age of accountability sins, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23 NKJV) and thus needs forgiveness. "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Rom. 3:10 NKJV) Every man, woman, and boy or girl who is old enough to know right from wrong, sin from righteousness, needs to have those sins forgiven and become a new creation.
Only those whose hearts are good and honest will be convicted of sin and thus willing to repent. "Godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation." (2 Cor. 7:10 NKJV) It is godly sorrow thus it is preceded by faith in God and in Christ. Faith leads to believing the word which leads to repentance, confession with the mouth of Christ, and the baptism from whence one arises a new creation in Christ. Salvation is in Christ (2 Tim. 2:10 NKJV) and not outside him.
Are you a satisfied individual? If so there will be no godly sorrow in your heart. You will never beat your breast over sin either figuratively or literally until sin breaks you and that may well not happen in this life. One needs to shed no tears over the individual going forward at services for the purpose of obeying the gospel while weeping over sins but rather over the individual that through pride, arrogance, and/or indifference stands aloof patting himself/herself on the back for the self righteousness they think they have acquired.
"A broken and a contrite heart these, O God, you will not despise." (Psalms 51:17 NKJV)
"The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." (Psalms 10:4 NKJV) Why not? Because he is satisfied.
Yes, two men went up to pray but only one came back forgiven. A broken heart was healed while a hard heart became harder.
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