Be Reconciled: Living as New Creations in Christ

If you are not yet reconciled to God in Christ, if you're still living in that living room with the plastic on the furniture, If you're still consumed by the way the world does things and haven't experienced the freedom of Christ, the new life in Christ, the new birth in Christ, the gift of the holy spirit, if you have not yet had your life turned upside down by Christ, receive this free gift today, and you will be reconciled to God and receive all that he intends for you today, in your tomorrows, and forever. [01:09:03] (40 seconds)  #ReceiveNewLife

Jesus Christ was perfect. He was the son of God. He never sinned. He never broke Jewish law. He lived a perfect and holy life just as his heavenly father is perfect and holy. People didn't perceive him that way, but he was without sin. And he went to the cross as a criminal So that in him, like that bookmark, like that person moving from the the living room into the the freedom of the backyard, in him, we might become the righteousness of God. [01:09:54] (50 seconds)  #ChristOurRighteousness

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us. He uses us to make his appeal known to many that they would simply trust him, that they would receive his love, that they would receive the gift of Jesus' death on the cross, that they would receive the offer of new and eternal life in him, and that they too would be willing to be transformed by this amazing God and to share his love with all. [01:08:16] (40 seconds)  #GodsAmbassadors

The other week, we looked at how Jesus invited Levi, the tax collector, this Jewish outcast, to come and follow him. And Levi was willing to do that, and he experienced new freedom, a new life, and a new identity in Jesus that he had not known before. He was out of his box, both physically, that tax booth, and socially. He had suddenly a new circle of of friends and disciples of Jesus and followers of Jesus who loved him and accepted him and forgave him and embraced him. [01:00:52] (45 seconds)  #NewIdentityInChrist

Valentine chose not to renounce his faith. He had experienced the transforming love of Jesus Christ. He had seen other people transformed by the amazing love of Jesus Christ. And so they beat him with an inch of his life and beheaded him. Valentine's Day, a time to remember not just who we love, who we're married to, but the amazing love of Jesus Christ and the amazing love that people down through the ages have received and been willing to share even to the point of death. [01:07:30] (43 seconds)  #LoveLikeValentine

We are not righteous. We are sinners, big and little. But by being in Christ, we receive as that gift, the righteousness, the holiness, the purity of God. We may not experience that all at once and in its perfection, but that is what he is growing us into. And therefore, we give him all the praise and glory. And therefore, we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God for salvation. [01:10:44] (40 seconds)  #PowerOfTheGospel

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, taken out of, their old world, their old way, their old self, the new creation has come or they are a new creation is another way to translate that. The old has gone and the new is here. Verse 18, all this is from God. This isn't something that we're doing ourselves. This isn't something that, you know, Jesus' disciples invented. This is from God. [01:01:52] (38 seconds)  #NewCreationInChrist

So from now on from now on, having had Jesus die for us and rise again, giving us new life in him. So from now on, given all those truths, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Just as Jesus said to Nicodemus, you know, what is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. And so we regard one another spiritually, not physically, not in the flesh. [00:55:02] (33 seconds)  #SeeSpiritually