New Life

New Life

Life Changing

2 Corinthians 5:17
¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The term “life-changing” is used to describe just about anything today, from a new restaurant to a new app on your phone. But the Biblical concept of “life-changing” means something much more profound, and no story in the New Testament conveys this life changing transformation more vividly than the story of Saul of Tarsus.

Acts 9:1-16
¹ And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, ² And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. ³ And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: ⁴ And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁵ And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. ⁶ And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. ⁷ And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. ⁸ And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. ¹⁰ And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. ¹¹ And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, ¹² And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. ¹³ Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: ¹⁴ And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. ¹⁵ But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: ¹⁶ For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

Saul was on a mission, marching from town to town, arresting any Christian he could find. All as part of a strategy to block or hinder the spread of this new life-changing message.

Acts 9 tells of one such mission in the city of Damascus. But while Saul was on his way, something happened to him. A bright light shown from Heaven, knocking him to the ground, and then he heard a voice. When Saul questioned what was happening, the voice announced it was Jesus. This encounter left Saul blind, and the men who were traveling with him had to lead him into Damascus. [Theological note: I love how this ties back to John 1:4-5.]

Ananias also had a vision, and the Lord told him to go find Saul and minister to him. However, Ananias knowing of Saul’s reputation, had questions, even reservations of this assignment. But notice verse 15,

Acts 9:15
¹⁵ But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Question:

• What does this say about God’s willingness to forgive?

Ananias obeyed and went to Saul and I want you to take notice of what we read in Acts 9:17-19.

Acts 9:17-19
¹⁷ And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. ¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. ¹⁹ And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

We begin this session studying the life of Saul because it shows us that God loves everyone, no matter our past. In fact, “He is able to also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God” [Hebrews 7:25]. He loves us so much that He wants to make us a “new creature” and give us a fresh start and a new purpose.

Surrendering for Radical Change

Building A Spiritual Life is not about adding a new philosophy to our life. Nor is it simply tweaking our belief system. “New life” is about surrendering our lives to Jesus and embracing a life of faith. It is surrendering self and making Jesus the center of everything in our lives.

Consider the words of Paul (formally Saul from above) when he wrote to the Church in Ephesus.

Ephesians 4:17-24
¹⁷ This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, ¹⁸ Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: ¹⁹ Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. ²⁰ But ye have not so learned Christ; ²¹ If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; ²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; ²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Questions:

• In verse 24 we are called to put on what?
• In verse 17 Paul called the new believers to no longer do what?
• In verse 18 walking in our vanity alienates us from what?

Why do people have such a hard time with putting off the old man? It all comes down to one word, submission. Consider the Disciples. We think of them as some collective force of superheroes. With capes and superhuman powers. But the reality is when you look at it, they were mostly fishermen, one a tax collector, one a political activist, the others just common uneducated people. But what they all had in common was this, they didn’t just add Jesus to their life, they made Jesus their life. They submitted themselves to Jesus. When He said follow me, they “left their nets” [Matthew 4:20], not “kept their nets”.

The New Birth

One of the key components of submission is obedience. When we submit our life to God, completely submit, then we will completely obey. It’s in this obedience that we are given the opportunity to put away our old life and become a new creature in Christ. Let’s consider the story of Nicodemus.

John 3:1-5
¹ There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: ² The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. ³ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. ⁴ Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? ⁵ Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 

Questions:

• In verse 2 what revelation had Nicodemus recognized?
• In verse 3 what did Jesus tell Nicodemus?
• In verse 4 was Nicodemus completely submitted to Jesus?

This “new birth” experience is the way by which we put away our old life and become a “new creature” in Christ. Without exception the believers in the New Testament experienced this new birth by repenting of their sins, being baptized in Jesus’ Name, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost (demonstrated by the sign of speaking in tongues). [Theological Note: This is identified in Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, Acts 19, and Acts 22.]

Our Heritage

Once we receive this same new birth experience, we can embrace the blessings that flow from a Spirit led life. A life lived in submission to the Word, the Church, and each other.

Romans 8:1-2; 14-17
¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

 ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. ¹⁵ For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. ¹⁶ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: ¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

Questions:

• In verse 1, walking in the Spirit removes what from our lives?
• In verse 14, who are the sons of God?
• In verse 17, if we are God’s children, what are we also?

Only those who are being continually led by the Spirit are truly His. Paul used the analogy of adoption to emphasize the privileges we receive as His children. As adopted sons and daughters, we have all the privileges and rights of a natural born child. But not only this, we have been made “joint-heirs”, not with each other, but with Christ. Meaning we should expect to participate, as verse 17 says, in His suffering and in His glory.

Suffering with Jesus will include facing difficult times. Being a child of God does not disqualify us from this, but it does mean that we don’t suffer alone. There will also be times of glory (or good things) in our life, the point here is we should not take credit, because again we are not alone in this. It’s not my righteousness, for it is not better than a filthy rag [Isaiah 64:6]. But it’s His righteousness that was imputed to me at baptism, and it’s His righteousness that is imparted in me through His Spirit.

The Call to Discipleship

Undergoing this new birth and embracing our identity as children of God is not the completion of the process of “becoming a Christian”. Instead, our new life is an ongoing journey of spiritual transformation. He calls us to become disciples who follow Him all our lives.

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus sat with His disciples and shared His final teaching. He said, “Abide in me, and I in you” [John 15:4]. To do this He compared Himself to a vine, and the disciples to the branches. Why? Branches are dependent on the vine (the trunk and roots) of the tree for sustenance. So, it is with our Spiritual life. We must be dependent on the vine so that we maintain spiritual health and produce spiritual fruit. Producing fruit, the characteristics of the Spirit at work in our life, is what will impact others. The fruit isn’t there to benefit the tree, it’s to benefit those who encounter the tree, and it is the mechanism whereby new trees can be produced, for the seed is in the fruit.