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Is a clean slate possible? What's that phrase mean… clean
slate? What causes each of us to have a dirty slate? Has your dirty
slate been cleaned?
I'm reading from the Somebody Cares 4u website: I became hopelessly
addicted to drugs and lost everything. I went from being a popular
comedian living in a big ranch house with a beautiful wife and three
kids, to living in a tent on the banks of the C-24 canal in Pt. St.
Lucie, Florida… That's the testimony of Vern Bourne, sitting back
there… brought lower than he ever thought possible by an addiction to
cocaine. Yet here he sits in this room today… not a cocaine addict… not
a filthy mouthed night club comedian… but a man who gives himself daily
to running an evangelistic website that reaches across the world.
What cleaned his slate? Is that same "slate cleaner"
available to everybody?
The first step for any of us who are carrying around a lifestyle of
sin is to come to God in repentance. We ask God to forgive our sins…
and God promises to 1) cleanse our past record of sin, 2) offer us a
relationship with him… our Creator 3) extend to us the unearned
privilege of living with him eternally….eternal life!
I have been trying, throughout this month, to lead us, all, to the
conclusion that what each of us, in this room, is being offered by God
(forgiveness/relationship/eternal life) is still not the
complete picture…
If Vern Bourne is addicted to cocaine and he receives forgiveness
for his past sins… is that a good thing? Yes… but what hasn't yet been
provided for? Release from his bondage to continued sinning!
If Vern Bourne gets forgiveness for past sins and the promise
of eternal life… is that even better? Yes… but what still hasn't been
provided for? Release from the bondage of continued sinning!
Let's just say that Vern gets forgiveness, the offer of eternal
life, and he prays every night and every morning… he tells us that God
is in his life and he has a relationship with his Savior Jesus Christ…
but Vern is still a filthy mouthed nightclub entertainer with a severe
cocaine addiction.
Is there anything about such a testimony that would make you pause
and say… there must be more to this thing called salvation that just
what Pastor Sam has promised so far. If one is to be "saved"…doesn't it
make sense that they would be "saved' through and through…. every
aspect of their life.
I've told you before about a woman named Janice Sparrow. Janice
organized a Bible study, in Tropical Farms that I faithfully taught
each week… and I taught principles much like I am trying to get across
in this series of sermons. Janice
loudly professed her support for those truths of Scripture.. I can
remember her patiently explaining them to her mother… also in the group
. Janice was arrested in a sting operation, in Jensen Beach, and is
probably still be in prison today. It seems that while she was
organizing Bible studies…she was also organizing a child prostitution
ring.
Q: Isn't God's salvation supposed to bring new life?
Q: Does the new life we receive from Jesus Christ mimic our old
life?
Q: Is salvation supposed to clean our slate from past? Is
salvation supposed assure our future eternal life. That takes
care of the past and future…Is salvation supposed to do anything for
us… in the present?
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I don't want this month to go by without this point ringing deep
inside your soul. The new life you have been promised by God is
supposed to be …new life! New life..by it's very definition is supposed
to be (very) different from our old life…
2 Corinthians 5:15 He died for everyone so that
those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves.
Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
Romans 6:13 Do not let any part of your body become
an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely
to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole
body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
Under the Old Covenant/Testament… God's people tried to clean their
slate by obeying a long list of commandments and when they failed…
sacrificing truckloads of animals…. But no matter how hard they tried
not to repeat past sins… they would eventually fall off the wagon. God
promises through Jeremiah that he would give them/us a New Covenant.
The New Testament book of Hebrews describes the difference…
Hebrews 9:12 (Jesus) did not enter by means of the blood of goats
and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own
blood… 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Jesus Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse
our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the
living God!
When you embrace Jesus death and resurrection as payment for your
sins…the blood Jesus spilled for you cleanses a path behind you,
cleanses a path out ahead of you and then starts to cleanse you right
down in to the core of your being.
Hebrews 10:19-23 19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly
enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his
death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the
curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High
Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence
of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty
consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean,
and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly
without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep
his promise.
There is what Vern Bourne found that Janice Sparrow did not.
A new life giving way
This may be helpful… the New Testament uses two Greek words for
"new":
1) Neos - new in time… but same in substance
2) Kainos - uniquely new…completely different in substance
Which of those would you guess God probably uses when referring to
the "new life" he is offering to each of us?
Each time (except one) the NT talks about your "new life" it uses
the second word. Your new life is not supposed to be anything like the
old life. In fact…I tried to bring out last week that the same word
that God uses to describe him re-creating a new heaven and
new earth, and New Jerusalem, in Revelation 21 is the same word he
uses to describe what he wants to do inside each of us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs
to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone;
a new life has begun!
Alright Chess we get it, salvation brings new life… thanks for the
nice Bible lesson… let's go get some pot luck up at the new church…
Wouldn't you like to know what a "new life" looks like... as opposed
to the old life?
Pastor, we're all different people with different dispositions and
personalities. We're all at different stages of spiritual growth…You
can't possible till us what all of us are supposed to be like when the
new nature grows in us….well, actually, yes I can…
I told you that there are more than 120 passages that make direct
promises to you about this new life God is promising.. and it just so
happens that several of the "new" passages come with accompanying
lists.
I kid you not… the passage will start out by telling you that as
"new life liver" you can put the old life into permanent moth balls and
start daily living the new life. And then it will systematically tell
you which things are to stay.. and which things are to go.
Are you up to exploring one of these lists? Alright…
Ephesians 4: 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned
the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and
your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on
your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
So how do we know what's old and what's new??
25 So stop telling lies. …Let us tell our neighbors the truth,
26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”… 27 for anger gives
a foothold to the devil.
Let take us all out of the equation… let's just say that "Fred"
comes to you and you are the Pastor. Fred says… I have two real sin
problems. I lie all the time and I fly into rages and say some pretty
awful things… Now remember… you are the Pastor… what are you going to
tell Fred?...
Fred, that's just part of what it means to be human, we all have
weaknesses and those just happen to be yours
Or… Will you say, Fred, God has promised you a new nature… and the
new nature will be a non-lying, non-raging nature. Is that the truth?
Would it be honest to tell Fred that this was an honest, achievable,
spiritual goal?
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for
good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
See it?... old life vs.. new life
29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be
good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those
who hear them.
What are you gonna' tell Fred? Fred, the new nature God promises you
will not really make much of a difference in how you live… but you will
be encouraged to know that God is reserving you a room in heaven.
All true, of course but don't miss the cautioning words of
Scripture…
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you
live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you
will be saved on the day of redemption. (but… do not bring sorrow to
God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live)
Verses 30, 31 open up the list floodgates:
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and
slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. (old life)
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (new life)
It's a lot easier to think of giving Fred this advice than it is
applying it directly to our own lives…isn't it?
Here's the thing, Pastor, You spent one Sunday and two Wednesday
evenings telling us that the Old Covenant was a list of rules and the
Israelites didn't manage to keep them no matter how hard they tried.
You said the New Covenant was supposed to get away from simply living
by a set of rules…and yet here we have, clearly, another list of rules
for living.
I did not say, and God did not say, that the list of right behavior
vs wrong behavior was going to go away. God did not say that the New
Covenant was going to release people from needing to live righteously.
What did he say: What would you advise Fred?
Fred; God told the Israelites that he wasn't going to hold us to a
list of rules written on tablets of stone…but…
Jeremiah 31:31,33 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I
will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on
that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within
them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their
God, and they will be my people.
If you see this as another list of things you must do to be
acceptable to God you are missing the whole point of the New Covenant.
The Old Covenant was a list of things you must do to be acceptable to
God.
The New Covenant involves God putting his Spirit within you rebuild
your nature from within. …
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It's so much "fun" to look at these lists…let's look at one more…
Remember, these are the passages that promise "new life" and then
define the difference between old life and new life…
Colossians 3: 1 Since you have been raised to new life with
Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits
in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of
heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your
real life is hidden with Christ in God…
5… Have nothing to do with: 1) sexual immorality 2) impurity 3) lust
4) evil desires 5) don’t be greedy 6) don't worshiping the things of
this world. 7) get rid of anger, rage 8) get rid of malicious behavior
9) get rid of slander, and dirty language 10) Don’t lie to each other
9 you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked
deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know
your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t
matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised,
barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and
he lives in all of us. 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he
loves, you must clothe yourselves with:
1) tenderhearted mercy 2) kindness 3) humility 4) gentleness 5)
patience. 6) make allowance for each other’s faults 7) forgive anyone
who offends you
8) clothe yourselves with love 9) let the peace that comes from
Christ rule in your hearts 10) always be thankful
It is a process…
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