Out with OLD and in with the NEW! — By PC

ESV 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

New is nice! And when “new” comes, the “old” is gone!

That’s why I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t love to become a Christian…God makes us into something new!

The Holy Scriptures teach us that the way one becomes new in Christ Jesus is by faith…by faith in Him to save.  By faith in Jesus to reconcile, to redeem, to restore…to make new. So, let’s take a closer look at faith today.

Faith is different than hope…it is more than hope.  It’s not just hoping for something—like in a chancy kind of way—but, it’s more like looking forward to something with a great deal of confidence. Faith is having a confidence in what we hope for…that it will actually become a reality.  It believes that the “not yet” is actually real.  It is having an assurance about things we cannot see…things that are out of our control…about things that are only in the hands of God. Faith consists of believing God exists, that He loves us, and that He will save us, sanctify us, and glorify us in Himself, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Faith:

  1. Is stronger than, and independent of, Mother Nature. That’s right…the kind of faith Jesus talks about provides you with an ability to work outside the natural law of the world, as long as you are in Him.
  • NAS Matthew 17:20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
  1. Faith in Christ removes us from being under the power and control of the law of sin.
  •  ESV Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
  1. By faith we are healed: Jesus says to many in the Gospels, “your faith has healed you, or your faith has made you well.” We must be careful at this point in the message and point out that “it is the power of Christ that saves, not the power of faith. Faith is only the instrument, not the power itself. In other words, the value of one’s faith does not come from the one who expresses it but from the object in which it rests (Mark 10:5211:22). Ultimately, healing is not contingent upon the quality of one’s faith, but upon the Healer.” (Gotquestions.org)
  1. By faith we are sanctified:
  • ESV Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
  1. By faith we receive all the promises of God: It has been estimated that there are over 700 promises from God to humankind written in the Bible. In order for us to receive the many promises from God, we need to know what they are and believe that God will make good on His promise(s) with regard to us. In other words, we need to have faith in Jesus in order to be able to receive them.