Prayer:
Lord, please renew your church. Let her beauty be seen as she reflects your radiance. Empower her to serve the purposes for which you made her.
Lord, please renew each of us that our lives will reflect your image, glory and beauty. Renew us to accomplish the work for which you designed us.
Intro:
We love to get new things, whether we buy them for ourselves or receive them as gifts. Some of these things we get to replace possessions that have grown old and don’t serve our needs anymore or we’re simply tired of them. That lumpy old mattress needs to be replaced or the kids have grown and it’s time for a smaller house.
We buy or receive other new things to enjoy what we haven’t before. I recall the day my dad came home with our first television. The kids can’t believe it didn’t have color pictures or a remote control.
But new things don’t stay new. What happens to a new car? Eventually imperfections show up in its appearance, in the comfort and safety features, or mechanically. We owned our mini-van for six days before someone opened a car door into the side of it and left quite a dent. Sooner or later you notice chips in the paint, a stain in the carpet or a tear in a seat.
One day you open the door and the interior light doesn’t come on, or someone says, “Hey, did you know your headlight is out?” You turn on the A/C or heat and the fan starts to rattle. You take it in for service and they tell you the brake pads need to be replaced and the rotors turned, or your tires only have 1/32” tread over the legal minimum.
You start down the road and it’s a rough ride. But the problem isn’t the road surface, it’s your shocks or alignment. Your fuel pump goes out, or your water pump, or alternator, or transmission. In my 35 years of car ownership I’ve experienced all of those.
On the bright side, cars can be repaired and those in real bad condition can be renovated. In fact, some people make a business or a hobby of it, like my in-law’s pastor. For many years he enjoyed finding old Ford Mustangs and putting them back into like new condition.
We don’t usually think of the word “renovate” in a theological or biblical sense. We use other words like “renewal” and “regeneration.” But renovation presents a useful image. The word comes from the Latin. The root is novare which means “to make new”, with the prefix re which means “again.”
Many people enjoy renovating things that no longer look like new or work like they did when they were new - cars, trucks, tractors, houses. We fix broken parts or replace them. We clean it up, refinish or repaint.
The Bible says you and I we need renovating. We need to be made new. And it’s Jesus who does that. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17, NIV)
I like the way that reads in the New Living Translation; “…those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!”
The NT has a lot to say about becoming new: we need to – and can – gain a new life, a new nature, a new heart and a new spirit.
It may help to think of yourself this morning as a car in need of renovation. Perhaps your features don’t look like the Designer intended. I’m not talking about your physical features here but rather about your spirit, character, attitudes. Perhaps you don’t function like your Maker designed. These are the effects of sin.
Unlike a car, tractor or house we didn’t start out new. Yes, we do physically. But not spiritually. You and I started with what the Bible calls an old sinful nature. It’s old because it was introduced to all when Adam & Eve first rebelled against God.
But we don’t have to live with that. We can experience spiritual renovation when we receive…
1. A New Life.
Remember, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…the old life is gone. A new life has begun!”
There are two dimensions to this new life. In simple terms you might think of them as the eternal and the earthly. Eternal life is assured when you trust Christ and receive him as your Savior. At that moment you are born again – of the Spirit – to live forever.
But the Bible also says, “Work out your salvation…” Until we enter heaven for eternity we are expected to live this earthly life in a way consistent with the eternal life. And that takes an ongoing renovation by God’s Spirit. It requires active cooperation.
Paul wrote about new life in Christ. "Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin"(Rom 6:6, NLT).
Realize the apostles often thought and wrote of salvation in terms of identifying with Christ in his death. They taught that what has become the spiritual reality in our salvation must also become the practical reality in our daily living. The biblical word for it (and one we should not discard) is “sanctification.”
Paul went on to say in Romans 6…
"7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share his new life. 9 We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 He died once to defeat sin, and now he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus."
You see, he’s challenging us to cooperate with God’s Spirit to make our spiritual reality into the practical reality. That means we have to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God.
Something that’s dead is unresponsive. I’ve brought one of my daughter’s stuffed animals today, a large dog. When she was little she called him James T. Bone. It’s not really dead because it was never alive but it helps make a point.
The point is we should be as responsive to temptations to sin – to the voice of the devil – as this dog is to my voice. Watch this.
“James, speak!”
“Roll over!”
“Fetch!”
“Sit!” Good boy. At least he got that one right.
You see what God wants from us. Respond to the devil’s temptations like the stuffed dog responded to my commands.
But we respond just the opposite to God’s voice. We’re alive, that is responsive to Him and obey.
With this new life, we also receive…
2. A New Nature
"You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness — righteous, holy, and true" (Eph. 4:24, NLT).
What we learn from Christ is that we must do this…
"Throw off your old evil nature which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. 23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. 24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness — righteous, holy, and true." (Eph 4:22-24, NLT)
When we moved into our house in East Peoria back in 1985 there was an old deck outside the back door. It was really pretty dangerous because the wood was rotten through and through. The deck looked terrible and it was useless. So I tore it all out and started over with new lumber. When I was done, it not only looked like a deck should look, it served the useful purpose for which it was designed and our family enjoyed using it.
That’s a good picture of spiritual renovation. We cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s efforts to strip away the rotten old features that are so out of character with our Maker’s design and install new qualities so we reflect his image and function as intended.
Paul got very specific about this in two long sections (Eph. 4:25-5:12 & Col. 3:1-17). Let’s just summarize some of the changes that are to come with this new nature:
Are you telling lies and falsehoods? Are you exaggerating in ways that make you look good and put someone else in a bad light? Stop it. Start speaking the truth.
Are you hurting people with your anger? Stop it and start responding to them with the same respect you demand.
Are you using obscene or abusive language? Stop it and start speaking words that encourage and build others.
Instead of acting out of bitterness, rage, harsh words and slander, we should be known for our kindness, being tenderhearted, and the way we forgive each other (as God has forgiven us).
Are you stealing what doesn’t belong to you? Stop it. Be productive and generous. Respect what belongs to them. Paul is speaking about stealing money or possessions but there are many other valuables we are capable of stealing: virginity, self-worth, dreams, reputation, opportunities. Our new nature in Christ demands and enables us to stop stealing and to treat with respect what belongs to others.
Are you engaged in sexual immorality, lust and impurity? Stop it and replace that with purity and proper treatment. Enjoy sexuality in the way God designed.
Are you motivated by greed? It’s idolatry; "a greedy person is really an idolater who worships the things of this world." Love God, seek him first
Paul went on instructing believers – those who are called to live according to Christ’s nature - by saying, “Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible anger of God comes upon all those who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it!” (Eph. 5:6-8, NLT)
We have to play an active role in our renovation. I’m talking about our responsibility to cooperate with the Spirit’s sanctifying work to empower us to live the new life and new nature. To demonstrate this, look at the action words and phrases that appear in the following verses. These are actions you and I must take.
Your focal point is crucial. “Set your hearts on the realities of heaven… Do not think only about things down here on earth…” (Col. 3:1-2, NLT). What thoughts and affections occupy your heart and mind?
Also, “Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you...” (Col. 3:5, NLT). Starve the sinful nature. Stop feeding lust, greed, arrogance, anger, etc. Feed your new nature.
“…you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature…” (Col. 3:9-10a, NLT). The Bible often alludes to this important principle of replacement. By that I mean you can’t just remove what’s wrong and leave a void waiting to be filled. You replace the old with the new. How well will your car work if you just remove a bad fuel pump or transmission?
And we must take an active part in getting to know Jesus better and better; “… you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you." (Col. 3:10, NLT). That’s why we often stress the value of the spiritual disciplines; reading and studying the Bible, worship, prayer, etc.
This new life and new nature are possible because God gives…
3. A New Heart & A New Spirit
Look at Ezekiel 36: 25 “…I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone [that’s a heart that’s lifeless, cold, hard, rebellious, resistant to God’s shaping] and give you a heart of flesh [one that’s alive, warm, pliable, loving, obedient]. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do what I command.
In the NT, Paul teaches that the result of surrender and cooperation with the Spirit of Christ is not only salvation but sanctification. “We are no longer captive to [sin’s] power. Now we can really serve God… in the newness of the Spirit.” (Rom 7:6)
I’m talking about two very important aspects of God’s will for you: salvation & sanctification.
The Apostle Peter wrote, “God is not willing that any should perish but wants everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9)
Some of you may think, “I’m saved and that’s enough.” Really, it’s not. Because the Bible also says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified…” (1 Thess. 4:3, NIV).
Think of it this way. When you confessed your sin and invited Christ into your heart, he entered in the person of His Holy Spirit. I say that because the Bible says Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. So the Holy Spirit dwells within you. But have you given yourself to him completely?
Do you really think he wants to drive an old broken-down rust-bucket that doesn’t look or work like God designed? No, he really wants to make you new. He wants you and me to shine and to perform in accordance with the new life, the new nature, the new heart and Spirit.
That means we have to surrender to his work and cooperate.
Prayer.
