A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   Most individuals get tired of old things and desire something new (Ex., furniture, car, clothes, even preachers).

 

B.   However, this is not always the case when it comes to life itself. 

1.    Some seem to love their old lives that are lived with little purpose.

2.    Some seem to love their old lives that are lived practicing sin.

3.    Some seem to love their old lives that are lived to satisfy self.

 

C.   There is a new life that can replace the old life if individuals desire it.

1.    Paul refers to it in 2 Corinthians 5:17

 

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

2.    This new life begins after a person has buried the old man of sin in the waters of baptism (Rom. 6:3-4).

 

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:  that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

 

D.   In this lesson, we want to discuss “A New Life in Christ.”  We hope it will entice those living an old life of sin to long for the life Christ died to give them.

 

I.             A NEW HOPE

 

A.   Hope is defined as a deep desire coupled with an earnest expectation.

 

B.   Question:  What is the hope of a non-Christian?

1.    He hopes to live as long as possible.

2.    He hopes to accomplish as much as he can physically.

3.    He hopes to get as rich as possible.

4.    He hopes to have as much fun as possible.

5.    He hopes that what he has heard about the afterlife is not true.

a.    If it is, he will miss the reward.

b.    If it is, he will reap the punishment.

6.    NOTE:  The only hope for the non-Christian exists in this life alone.

 

C.   The Christian has a bright hope that awaits on the other side of death (1 Pet. 1:3-4)

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.

 

II.           A NEW STANDARD

 

A.   Those who are in the world live by unreliable “standards.”

1.    Their opinions

2.    Their feelings

3.    The beliefs of the majority

4.    The wisdom of the intellectuals

5.    The signs of the cosmos

6.    The readings of cards

 

B.   Those who obtain a new life find a new standard that is divine and absolutely reliable.

 

C.   The Scriptures refer to this standard as Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:21).

The Scriptures refer to this standard as truth (John 14:6)

The Scriptures refer to this standard as the Word of God (John 1:1).

 

D.   The standard Jesus, the truth, the Word, revealed His truth in the pages of the New Testament of Jesus Christ.  As we take this book and live by its precepts, we “walk in truth” (3 John 3-4), and we mold ourselves into the very image of Jesus Christ (Col. 3:10).

 

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.

 

III.         A NEW PURPOSE

 

A.   What is the purpose of those who live without Christ?

1.    Satisfy the demands of the flesh?

2.    Get rich?

3.    Make a name for oneself?

4.    Live a comfortable life?

 

B.   The purpose of the Christian is to please his Lord Jesus Christ.

1.    2 Corinthians 5:15

 

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

 

2.    2 Timothy 2:4

 

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

 

C.   Children often try to please their parents.

A ball player tries to please his coach.

An employee tries to please his employer.

A spouse tries to please his partner.

A politician tries to please his constituents.

A waiter tries to please his customers.

 

D.   It with a similar mindset, intensity, and joy that we seek to please our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

IV.         A NEW OUTLOOK

 

A.   The non-Christian can only live for this world and the things it offers.

 

B.   The Christians lives for the next world, the world to come, the unseen world, the world above, the spiritual world, the eternal world.

1.    This world is crucified unto us (Gal. 6:14).

 

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

 

2.    Our affections are set on things above (Col. 3:1-2).

 

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.

 

3.    A contrast:

 

The World                                          The World to Come

 

                   Satan                                                 God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

                   Fleshly body                                        Spiritual body

                   Pain, sickness, suffering                      Strength and vitality

                   Work and toil                                      Rest and comfort

                   Sin                                                     Garments of white

                   Death                                                 Life

                   Crying                                                Joy

                   Strife and conflict                                Peace

                   Darkness                                           Light

                   Separation                                          Reunion

                   Hatred                                               Love

                   Corruption and decay                          Incorruption

                   A fading world                                     An enduring paradise

 

V.           A NEW HOME

 

A.   During my years of preaching, Kathleen and I have lived in mobile homes, old homes, and even hotels until the preacher’s homes were ready for us to live in.  When the day came to move into a new home or a newly renovated home, it was indeed a pleasure to do so.

 

B.   As Christians, our new life involves a new home. This world, regardless of how nice it appears to us does not hold a candle to our home in the hereafter.  In the KJV, Jesus describes the place as a mansion (John 14:2).

 

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.

 

1.    The presence of deity (Rev. 21:22-23; 22:3-4)

2.    Precious materials: gold, gem stones, pearls (Rev. 21:18-21)

3.    Expansive (Rev. 21:15-17)

4.    No upkeep (1 Pet. 1:4)

5.    Eternal safety (Rev. 21:12)

6.    Eternal provisions (Rev. 22:1-2)

7.    Holy and lasting relationships (Rev. 21:24)

8.    Nothing that defiles (Rev. 21:27)

9.    Constant joy and celebration (Matt. 25:21; Rev. 7:9-12)

10. Nothing that can remove that joy (Rev. 21:4)

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   What is it about the new life that would cause a person to reject it?

1.    There is a new hope.

2.    There is a new standard.

3.    There is a new purpose.

4.    There is a new outlook.

5.    There is a new home.

 

B.   The main cause:  “I have to live a certain way in order to obtain it.” 

1.    This is true.

2.    Question:  Have people ever regretted when they failed to live a certain way that brought reward? (Ex., retirement).

3.    If you don’t live the new life in Christ, you will be one of those who lived to regret it.