We’re asking the question “what does it mean to be a Christian?” Man in sin is guilty and corrupt and in no fit condition to enter heaven (Ephesians 5:5). And while we may not like to categorize ourselves along with those whom Paul mentions here, at least one of those phrases applies to all of us by nature – “unclean” (Isaiah 64:6). But God can change all that, just as He changed the apostle and how does that change come about? By God’s grace (1 Corinthians 15:10). That’s what makes someone a Christian. All Christians can say “by the grace of God I am what I am”.

This immediately rules out many definitions of what it means to be a Christian, because if the grace of God has not been active in someone’s life then he or she is not a Christian, regardless of what they call themselves. For example, many folk define being a Christian in terms of being born in a certain country. Sometimes the media use the term in that sense. If you’re born in England you’re a Christian because England is supposedly a “Christian country”, just as those born in Saudi Arabia are Muslim because Saudi Arabia is an “Islamic country”. Obviously enjoying God’s grace means more than being born in a certain place. Others think that being a Christian means going to church, getting baptized, confirmed and passing through the system. Those who attend school may well hear classmates describe Christianity along these lines. But that view is mistaken because such folk are often no different from those who don’t go to church at all, and they certainly don’t conform to the pattern laid down here – “old things have passed away”. There are also others who think that becoming a Christian means turning over a new leaf. So if you give up alcohol, smoking or drugs and start going to church then you’re a Christian. The problem with that viewpoint is that atheists can undergo the same change, apart from the church going, so turning over a new leaf does not necessarily have anything at all to do with the grace of God. Yet again others say that you’re a Christian if you simply describe yourself as a Christian. Apparently we must never doubt the sincerity of anyone. The Word of God teaches something very different because Christ warns us that there can be a chasm between saying and doing (Matthew 7:22, 23).

So exactly what does it mean to be a Christian? I can think of no better definition than the words of our text “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”. Note 3 things:

1. A Christian is Someone who is in Union with Christ – if anyone is “in Christ”⤒🔗

Perhaps some of you read “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift when you were a child. It enters the world of “giants” and “little people” who lived in the land of Lilliput and another neighbouring city called Blefuscue. The imagery found there illustrates the profound spiritual truth mentioned here. Imagine two great giants engaged in a tug of war. One represents the inhabitants of Lilliput, the other the inhabitants of Blefuscue. This is a very serious tug of war match because the winner takes all. Whoever wins subjugates the other city, so everything is at stake here. In fact such is the seriousness of this match that the inhabitants of both cities all take part and the way they participate is this. They attach themselves to the belt of the giant who represents them – the inhabitants of Lilliput attach themselves to their giant, the inhabitants of Blefuscus to their giant. Then the pulling starts, each giant representing their inhabitants. The contest lasts for hours with each giant going backwards and forwards, first one way, then the other. Eventually some of the inhabitants of Blefuscue see that they are staring defeat in the face and swap sides. They leave their giant and come over to the side of the Lilliput giant who eventually wins the contest. However, those who stubbornly remain on the side of the Blefuscue giant lose out and become subject to the inhabitants of Lilliput.

In some ways that is a picture of the history of the world. We could say that there are two giants active within the human race Adam and Christ. The first giant, Adam, represented all humanity in the garden of Eden. All of us were attached to his belt, but he failed. When he partook of the forbidden fruit he condemned all of us in the process (1 Corinthians 15:22). In other words by virtue of our union with him we share in his downfall. But we not only inherit his guilt, we also inherit his depravity (Genesis 5:3). However, there is also another giant at work in the human race – Jesus Christ. He represents all of God’s people in His various activities and that union goes back to eternity past (Ephesians 1:3, 4). Thankfully He succeeded where Adam failed. He won this spiritual “tug of war”, by keeping the law perfectly and taking upon the punishment of the broken law in His own Person. As a result, all who are “in Him” are safe (Romans 8:1-4). As the hymn writer put it:

O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame.
A second Adam to the fight
And to the rescue came.

Or to quote Thomas Goodwin again:

In God’s sight there are only two men, Adam and Christ, and these two men have all other men hanging at their girdle strings.

Biblically this doctrine is described in passages such as Romans 5:18, 19. Sin entered through the one giant, Adam, while salvation comes through the second giant, Christ, and throughout history some are leaving Giant Adam and coming over to the side of Giant Christ. But how do you get from the one side to the other? Scripture answers this question both from a divine perspective and a human perspective, although ultimately both are inseparable.

From the divine side it is the action of God the Father that brings a sinner into the sphere of saving religion (1 Corinthians 1:30). JB Philips helpfully paraphrases this verse as follows: “yet from this same God you have received your standing in Jesus Christ”. Only God can deliver a sinner out of the realm of spiritual darkness (Colossians 1:13). To do this He stoops down, so to speak, to many who are in union with Adam, undoes the clip of their sin, sets them free, and belts them up to His Son. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).

From the human side we embrace this salvation by faith (1 Corinthians 1:21, Galatians 3:26) In other words you are duty bound to believe the gospel. You must “receive and rest upon Christ for salvation as He is offered in the gospel.” The connection between the two is this. As a consequence of God’s activity, whereby He puts forth His power and changes the hearts of those who were formerly in bondage, they begin to understand His word, become convinced of the truthfulness of it and embrace Christ willingly. Are you in union with Christ? If not, from the divine side – ask Him to transform you, from the human side – believe on Him for salvation.

2. A Christian is Someone who has become a New Creation←⤒🔗

As Paul under the influence of the Holy Spirit thought about the best way of explaining what it meant to be in union with Christ he took up his quill or dictated to his amanuensis two words in the original ­“new creation”. That’s the biblical definition of what it means to be a Christian.

There is obviously an allusion here to Genesis 1 and the creation of the world (Genesis 1:1). Becoming a Christian can be defined as God putting forth His creative power in your life so that a whole new sphere of spiritual subjects become meaningful to you (2 Corinthians 4:6). In fact if you think about it, it takes more power to make someone a Christian than it did to create the world. How come? When God created the world nothing opposed him. But when He makes someone a Christian both sin and the devil oppose Him, so the new creation is a greater work than the original creation. Scripture uses equally radical terms elsewhere to describe the nature of this change. It uses the language of spiritual resurrection (Ephesians 2:1, 1 John 3:14) and the mind-boggling language of the new birth (John 3). In the former definition we are reminded that when God saves us He does to our souls what Christ did to Lazarus physically. In the latter case the thought behind our Lord’s language is that becoming a Christian is as great a change as that of returning to our mother’s womb and coming forth afresh. Is it any wonder Nicodemus asked, “how can these things be?”

1. This Creative Activity Impacts our Minds←↰⤒🔗

By nature our minds are so affected by sin that we cannot understand the things of God, nor do we want to understand them. In a nutshell we find the scriptures meaningless. We can’t see the relevance of this book and we marvel at how anyone can get excited about it (1 Corinthians 2:14). However, when God saves someone He enlightens their minds so that those things which were formerly meaningless now become meaningful. It may be helpful to compare the “before” and “after”. Beforehand, we find no delight in God’s Word (Romans 8:7); afterwards, we delight in it (Jeremiah 15:16). The change is particularly noticeable in the way we view Christ. Beforehand, “we see no beauty in Him” (Isaiah 53:2); afterwards, we delight in Him (1 Peter 2:7). The same is true with regard to the cross. Just talking about it is often an offence to unbelievers. They can’t see any link between such a horrible death and the salvation of the soul. Afterwards, however, they glory in it (Galatians 6:14). Scripture actually describes the change in such forceful language as this “to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

2. This Creative Activity Impacts our Desires←↰⤒🔗

By nature we have no desire to serve God. In fact this is our basic problem, is it not? We prefer our own way to God’s way (Isaiah 53:6). So whenever the law of God crosses our desires we prefer to do our own thing. Basically we rebel against God. The manifestation of this rebellion may differ from person to person. Some may rebel against the fourth commandment, others against the seventh, and so on. However, at some point there is “enmity” and our Lord explained the reason why: “men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19). Becoming a Christian changes all that (Psalm 110:3, Philippians 2:13). As a consequence we can now say with David: “I delight to do your will, O my God, your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8).

3. This Creative Activity Impacts our Emotions←↰⤒🔗

By nature we delight in earthly things. Everything that gives us pleasure in life has to do with our five senses – seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. Christians don’t cease to be operative in these areas, however, there is another sense present in their lives which wasn’t there before – a sixth sense, a relish for spiritual things. They “hunger and thirst after righteousness” (Matthew 5:6), love the scriptures (Job 23:12), feel the need to pray (Psalm 27:8) and enjoy the company of other Christians (Malachi 3:16). Ezekiel 36:25-28 is an excellent summary of the dramatic change that takes place.

3. A Christian is Someone who has been Transformed by God’s Grace←⤒🔗

Old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.

1. Old Standards give way to New Standards←↰⤒🔗

What sort of standards are found in the world? Basically, you find standards which people are comfortable with, man-made standards which indulge our native sinfulness, standards which make us feel good about ourselves. That’s why “political correctness” is so popular. It tolerates everything except absolute truth, so sins such as cohabitation, homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia are all regarded as acceptable. If you disagree that’s OK, so long as you keep your opinions to yourself, but if you don’t and dare to describe some things as “right” and other things as “wrong”, then you will be labelled “intolerant”. And since most folk don’t want to be “labelled” they remain quiet and “everything goes”. We have undergone a not so subtle change over the last decade or two, so that the only sin that now exists in some people’s eyes is “intolerance”. And some even are brazen enough to quote our Lord in support of their outlook (Matthew 7:1). The world has subtly moved the goalposts so that God’s law is now counted as a strange thing.

However, when you become a Christian “old things pass away” and you adopt new standards – God’s standards. As a consequence of the law of God written in our hearts through the new birth, we have both the desire and the ability to obey the written law of God’s Word. This is the rule that Christians are to follow (Isaiah 8:20, John 14:15).

2. Old Goals give way to New Goals←↰⤒🔗

By nature we desire many things which are not sinful in themselves, but they are all earthbound. We desire such things as a successful job, lots of money, a nice house and a happy marriage. However, when you become a believer these goals become tempered and conditioned by God’s will, so that we have a whole host of new goals. These include such goals as: the desire to understand God’s Word better, the desire to please the Lord in all things, the desire to meet with God’s people, the salvation of others and the desire to end life well.

3. Old Resources give way to New Resources←↰⤒🔗

What resources do we possess by nature? We possess the resources common to all mankind – medicine, technology, science, all of which we are thankful for, but these resources hardly help us in “the evil day”. Believers enjoy very different resources: the Spirit of God to empower them (1 John 4:4), the Son of God to sympathize with them (Hebrews 4:15), the Word of God to guide them (Psalm 119:105), the presence of God to comfort them (Hebrews 13:5), the servants of God to teach them (Ephesians 4:12), the angels of God to minister to them (Hebrews 1:14) and the children of God to encourage them (2 Corinthians 7:6).

4. Old Friends give way to New Friends←↰⤒🔗

Before someone becomes a Christian they may have a very definite certain circle of friends with whom they enjoy harmony and camaraderie. This is because they all have more or less the same outlook in life. However, Christianity changes all that. Perhaps the things you once laughed at, you can no longer laugh at. The things you were once happy doing, you can no longer do. Sooner or later the impact Christianity makes begins to take effect. As a result your friends are no longer comfortable with you and you are no longer comfortable with them. Sometimes friendships continue, but sometimes they don’t, and the change of direction can cause a lot of pain to the newly converted, as well as considerable relief to your former friends (1 Peter 4:4). These are the remarkable changes that God’s grace can bring about.