Living as New Creations: Embracing Our Transformation in Christ

Regeneration is the profoundest change in the world and that therefore we must always keep that in the Forefront of our minds but Christians not just a man who's decided to be a little bit more moral than he was or who decided to join a church or who's decided this or that whatever it may be no no what makes a man a Christian is that he has been born again he's being given a new nature he's a new creation he's all together different from what he was before. [00:02:43]

This and I say therefore and testify in the Lord he isn't content with saying this I say therefore that would be strong but he adds to that this I say therefore and testify now what does he mean by this testifying well it really means solemnly to enjoin it is as it were that he's invoking a witness uh when you give a testimony you're bearing witness you're witnessing to something a witness is put into the box and he testifies that's it and that's exactly what the Apostle is saying uh he is anxious that they shouldn't think for a moment that this is just his own personal opinion. [00:04:28]

The negative we are so busy today aren't we that we don't like negatives we we haven't really got time for negative we want the positive truth and we don't like criticisms of that which is wrong we must always be positive my dear friend I do hope you're seeing the utter Folly of such idle vacant talk here is the Divine Authority speaking through the Apostle and the first thing we have is negative not we've got to realize first and foremost what we must not be it is not enough to tell men and women here in this world in a world like this and In the Flesh simply what they are to do. [00:08:55]

A man is as he thinks and a man walks as he thinks and his walk tells you what he is thinking his walk is an expression of his philosophy very well then here is something he tells us about the whole of our life and what he tells us is that henceforth now there's a significant word it means no longer and here you see at once he's introducing us to his Doctrine now he says I'm telling you and testifying in the Lord that you no longer must walk as the Gentiles do. [00:11:19]

The Apostle gives us the kind of theological or doctrinal basis for our conduct he's got a whole series ofm as you remember he divides it up into various sections now the particular matter here is this that we are always to live and to conduct ourselves as remembering that as Christians we are entirely new men and women that regeneration is the profoundest change in the world and that therefore we must always keep that in the Forefront of our minds. [00:02:19]

The Apostle shows us the origin of that evil kind of life that he described before he describes the life in detail he shows us why it ever is that anybody should live such a life or if you like it another language it's this what the Apostle is asserting here is that you cannot have morality without godliness now there in a phrase it seems to me I have indicated the whole trouble in the last 50 years in particular there are good people in the land who are concerned about morality they're very concerned about morality yes but they're not concerned about godliness you simply cannot have godl morality finally without godliness. [00:22:12]

The Apostle is here concerned not simply and not only with the fact that the Gentiles lived in a given way he's much more concerned with the reason why they lived like that and that I say is still the position with us all thinking good decent people must be alarmed at what's happening in this country there's a slow but steady decline in Mar it must be evident to all and I say all decent living people are tremendously concerned about this but here I say is the Great and the big question why is this happening what can be done about it. [00:23:56]

The business of the Gospel is not simply to denounce it isn't simply to restrain the business of the Gospel is to deal with the situation in the only way in which it can be dealt with radically and that is to preach this Gospel of regeneration this power of God un salvation that can deal even with that and something even worse than that that's the whole story of the New Testament very well then there I say is our overriding reason for pausing with this and going into it so carefully this is the only hope for society. [00:25:09]

The Apostle gives us the kind of theological or doctrinal basis for our conduct he's got a whole series ofm as you remember he divides it up into various sections now the particular matter here is this that we are always to live and to conduct ourselves as remembering that as Christians we are entirely new men and women that regeneration is the profoundest change in the world and that therefore we must always keep that in the Forefront of our minds. [00:02:19]

The Apostle shows us the origin of that evil kind of life that he described before he describes the life in detail he shows us why it ever is that anybody should live such a life or if you like it another language it's this what the Apostle is asserting here is that you cannot have morality without godliness now there in a phrase it seems to me I have indicated the whole trouble in the last 50 years in particular there are good people in the land who are concerned about morality they're very concerned about morality yes but they're not concerned about godliness you simply cannot have godl morality finally without godliness. [00:22:12]

The Apostle is here concerned not simply and not only with the fact that the Gentiles lived in a given way he's much more concerned with the reason why they lived like that and that I say is still the position with us all thinking good decent people must be alarmed at what's happening in this country there's a slow but steady decline in Mar it must be evident to all and I say all decent living people are tremendously concerned about this but here I say is the Great and the big question why is this happening what can be done about it. [00:23:56]

The business of the Gospel is not simply to denounce it isn't simply to restrain the business of the Gospel is to deal with the situation in the only way in which it can be dealt with radically and that is to preach this Gospel of regeneration this power of God un salvation that can deal even with that and something even worse than that that's the whole story of the New Testament very well then there I say is our overriding reason for pausing with this and going into it so carefully this is the only hope for society. [00:25:09]