What Difference Does it Make?

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

This verse has really grasped my attention, and for a very good reason. Its words are quick to remind me not only of what God in His grace and mercy delivered me from, but more importantly, what He delivered me to. It also serves to remind me of a life of service He delivered me for. Since my life has been changed by the power of God's Holy Spirit, my behavior and attitude should be a reflection of that change. This means that what I once loved and God hates, I should now hate it. And what I once hated that God loves, I should now love. This means that if I truly experienced that miracle of the new birth in Christ, my entire life ought to show evidence that this miracle really took place.

Of course, I know that as long as I remain down here in this corrupt body, that old man called the flesh will remain with me. For this reason, it is necessary for me, as well as for other Christians, to go through a daily process of growth known as sanctification. This word in the Greek means to make clean, to purify. It also indicates a process of growth or maturity. This is what Brother Peter meant in the last verse of his second epistle:

"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18)

It is very difficult for me to accept this current teaching going around telling us that mean, bitter spirited people, if they are Christians, will go to heaven. I overheard a message on the radio sometime ago in which the speaker said with a chuckle, "Listen beloved: You might have some mean, hateful Christians in your church, but if they are Christians, one day all that meanness will go away once they enter the pearly gates." I thought, "What utter nonsense!" Being a mean, hateful Christian is a contradiction in terms.

This is the bottom and top line: If I was mean and hateful before Christ saved me, that meanness and hatefulness ought to be gone or at least on its way out of me, as a result of that miracle transformation. As for any traces of it still hanging around, the Holy Spirit dwelling in my heart will give me the desire and power to get rid of that nasty, hateful spirit. I will not want it in my life, and I will work toward getting rid of it as I rely on God's power to help me get ride of it. To think that anyone who is continually hateful and mean-spirited and never changes while he is down here, will suddenly be transformed into a wonderful, loving, joy-filled member of heaven's glories once he gets there, is foreign to the teachings of Holy Scripture. The changes get underway here through daily sanctification and spiritual renewal. And this can happen only through a daily discipline of prayer and study of the Word of God.

Self examination is a good thing. It keeps us constantly aware of our accountability to a Holy, righteous God who loves us perfectly.