Video Message • 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
God does not offer a fresh start on the old life. He gives a new one.
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 (KJV)
Primary Text
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV), read in the context of 2 Corinthians 5:14–21.
Scriptures Covered
John 15:5; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:1–6; Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:1–2, 10; Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5; Romans 5:1; Matthew 28:19–20; Philippians 3:9; Romans 3:22; Romans 12:1–2; Ephesians 5:8; John 3:16; John 5:24; Acts 16:31
Central Truth
A new location, a new job, a new appearance, or a new set of resolutions changes the setting of a life. Only God changes the life itself. In Christ a person is not repaired. That person is made a new creature, and the change is inward, spiritual, and eternal.
About This Message
Many of us have wished for a do-over in life. We change jobs, homes, hairstyles, even our bodies, and the wish is still there. In this full-length teaching I open 2 Corinthians 5:14–21 and show that the only real second chance is not an external change but an internal one, and that internal change is an eternal change.
Two small words in verse 17 carry the whole message. The first is if: not everyone is in Christ, and no one becomes a child of God by birth or by being religious. The second is in: to be in Christ is to be united with Him by trusting Him, relying on Him, and giving Him your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. When that happens, the old self has passed away. It is dead, and it no longer rules you. All things are become new, and God Himself is the one who does it, by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The message closes with a simple invitation. There is no scripted prayer to recite. There is only a heart that comes to God the Father in faith through His Son, asking for the new life that He alone can give.
Also on videoThis study is taught on video as well. Watch it on YouTube, and subscribe there for the next study.