✨ Start Here: What It Means to Be a Christian

By Pastor Gary Boyd | Collinsville Baptist Tabernacle

📖 Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17 —

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 💭

Have You Ever Wanted to Start Over?

Have you ever wished you could just hit reset, not just clean the slate, but throw the slate out completely? 🧽

Maybe it was a decision you regret, a version of yourself you try to hide, or a season you wish you could erase. We’ve all felt the weight of the past and wondered if real, lasting change is even possible.

The world gives us all kinds of “fresh start” ideas: new goals, new habits, new relationships. But somehow, the old usalways tags along into the next chapter. 😩

That’s why the message of the Bible is so powerful. God doesn’t just offer a do-over. He offers a total renewal. 💥 A complete and permanent transformation that only He can give. And the best part? It’s available to anyone who is in Christ. 🙌

🏙️

A Letter to a Messy Church

When Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, they were surrounded by an immoral, chaotic culture. Sound familiar? 😅 Many of them were still learning what it really meant to follow Jesus.

In chapter 5, Paul explains why he lives with eternal purpose even when life gets hard:

“The love of Christ constrains us…” ❤️

Jesus’ death and resurrection changed everything, including us. And that’s where Paul makes this incredible statement:

“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.”

So what does that mean? 🤔

What does it look like to experience total renewal in Christ? 🌿

1. Total Renewal Begins with a New Position in Christ

Becoming a Christian isn’t about trying harder or doing better. Paul didn’t say, “If anyone improves themselves.” He said, “If anyone is in Christ.”

That’s the difference between performance and position. 🗝️

Renewal doesn’t start with religious effort. It starts with a relationship. 💗

When you put your faith in Jesus, you are instantly placed in Him. You’re forgiven, accepted, and given a brand-new identity. 🕊️

To be “in Christ” means:

✝️ You’ve realized you’re a sinner who needs forgiveness.

💖 You believe Jesus died and rose again for you.

🙏 You’ve received His free gift of salvation.

Salvation isn’t a prize you earn. It’s a gift you receive. 🎁

When you take it, you’re not just fixed up, you’re made new.

You’re no longer defined by your past, your failures, or your shame. God sees you through His Son, and He’s committed to shaping you into who He made you to be.

💡 Being in Christ isn’t about tweaking the old you. It’s about starting over with a whole new life that’s rooted in grace.

‍

2. Total Renewal Breaks the Power of the Old Life

When God saves you, He doesn’t patch up the old you. He replaces it. 🚫🔧

Paul says, “Old things are passed away.” That’s final language, like a funeral for your old life. 🪦

The power of sin, guilt, and spiritual death is broken. You don’t have to live chained to your past anymore! 🔓

You may still feel the pull of temptation, but you now fight from freedom, not for it.

Imagine a slave who’s bought and then told, “You’re free now, go live.” That’s what Jesus has done. He didn’t just purchase you. He set you free. 🙌

So what “old thing” are you still holding onto that Jesus already buried?

📝 Name it.

🚫 Reject it.

📖 Replace it with truth: “This is not who I am anymore. I am a new creation in Christ.”

🌅 3. Total Renewal Brings a Brand-New Way of Life

Paul continues, “Behold, all things are become new.”

That little word behold means “Don’t miss this!” 👀

When you’re in Christ, everything changes: your thoughts, priorities, relationships, and desires. Christ doesn’t renovate. He re-creates.

This change is both instant and ongoing.

You’re already new in God’s eyes, and you’re becoming new in how you live. 💫

It’s like being born again, a whole new life with a clean start and a God-given purpose. 👶✨

New birth naturally leads to new behavior.

If you’ve been made new, your life will show it. 🌱

So ask yourself:

What new thing is God inviting you to walk in this week?

💬 Speak encouragement where you’d normally criticize.

💞 Offer forgiveness where you’d hold a grudge.

🙏 Pray where you’d usually stay silent.

Every small step you take in your new identity reminds the world that Jesus still makes things new. 🌍💖

🌈 A New Life Worth Living

When you are in Christ, you’ve been given:

🆕 A new identity — you belong to Him.

🔓 A new freedom — sin no longer defines you.

🚶 A new direction — a purpose worth living for.

The only question left is: Will you live like it? 🤔

🌤️ Imagine This…

👨‍💼 A man wakes up tomorrow without carrying yesterday’s shame.

📖 A woman opens her Bible not as a checklist, but as a love letter from God.

🎒 A teenager walks into school confident in who they are in Christ.

💬 A husband responds with grace instead of anger.

❤️ A wife forgives because Jesus forgave her first.

This is what it looks like when someone embraces total renewal — not trying harder to be better, but resting in the truth that they already are new in Christ. 🙌

💬 A Final Word

If you’re in Christ, you are not who you were.

You don’t have to live like the old you anymore.

Take hold of who you are, leave behind what Christ has already removed, and step into the life He’s given you. 🚪✨

And if you’re not yet in Christ, the door is open to you right now. 🕊️

You can’t earn this. You can’t achieve it. You can only receive it.

Jesus died to take away your old life,

and He rose again to give you a new one. 🌅

If you’re ready to be made new, come to Him today.

Come by faith. Come right now. 💒

📜 Key Verse

“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

‍