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Colin Smith: You have been set free from sin. Look at these words and try to take them in. Many Christians don't grasp this. They immediately say, "Oh, well, you obviously don't know me. You don't understand. You see, actually, I sin and I fail in many ways, and I've obviously not been set free from sin yet."

Paul says, "Wait a minute. You have been set free from sin." That's what he says.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. Colin, I think there may be a number of people who can identify with what they just heard. They say, "You tell me I'm set free from sin, but why am I still sinning?"

Colin Smith: Well, it's not me that says it. It's the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 6 and verse 22. He says to Christian believers, "You have been set free from sin." Now, he obviously doesn't mean that there's no sin in your life. We're all in that journey.

But what he is saying is that while sin is your enemy, it is no longer your master. There is a big difference between being a prisoner to sin and being set free so you're able to take it on in the fight.

Steve Hiller: So, it sounds like that's exactly what you're saying here. We need to learn how to battle against and fight against that sin.

Colin Smith: Yeah. And if I always tell myself that I'm sin's prisoner, then I'm never going to put up a fight because prisoners can't fight. But when you're set free, then you're in a position to engage in the battle. Understanding that is crucial to making progress in the Christian life.

Steve Hiller: Well, we want to see that today from God's Word. If you can, join us in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 as we begin a message, Knowing Who You Are. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Now, we began last time by framing a question like this: The Bible says that the sinful mind is hostile to God. The Bible says that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil; that by nature we are dead in trespasses and sins.

Since the Bible says these things, how is it that anybody could be here today loving Christ, believing the gospel, and wanting to be more holy than you are? How could that happen when by nature we are hostile to God, we love darkness rather than light, and we are dead in trespasses and sins?

We saw that the Bible's marvelous answer to that question is this wonderful truth of regeneration—that behind all believing, behind all loving the Lord Jesus Christ, behind all desires to be more holy than we are, is a miracle of God's regenerating grace.

We're exploring this miracle, this marvelous work of the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside that the Bible calls regeneration. We saw that it is so great that the only other way in which the Bible uses this particular word in the New Testament is to describe the new heavens and the new earth. That's how great it is, and that is what God has done in you if you are a believer.

So regeneration then, if you're coming new into the series, what we're talking about is the miracle of God's grace in which he gives you new birth, new life, makes you a new creation, and gives you spiritual life from the dead as you become raised with Jesus Christ. It is a change that happens in you by the Holy Spirit. It's not a change in what is happening to you; it is a change in the "you" to whom things are happening.

We gave this simple definition: Regeneration is the work of God by which he changes your soul so that with a new mind and a new heart, you love him and trust him and follow him freely. It's at the very heart, therefore, of what it means to become a Christian.

We took the first step on this journey last time when we saw that regeneration is God's work in us that births our work in him. So that if you love God, if you believe the gospel, if you want to be more holy than you are, the explanation is that you have been born again. You are regenerated by the Spirit of God.

Today, we're going to take a second step and move further into this great subject. We will learn together that regeneration is a complete transformation that begins a continuing process. It is a complete transformation that begins a continuing process.

I love getting feedback from the life groups, and already in some of the life groups, as we're talking about these truths from the Bible, people are wanting to move on to talk about the continuing process. You want to talk about how you are changing in an ongoing way. That is not what we're talking about here.

What we're talking about here is the change that has happened in your becoming a Christian. That's what regeneration is, and I hope that that will become very, very clear for us as we look into the Bible today. Your salvation involves both something that Christ has done and something that Christ is still doing—a completed work and a continuing work.

What he has done is to give you new life and new birth, and we call that regeneration. What he is still doing is making you increasingly like the Lord Jesus Christ, and we usually refer to that as sanctification. It is probably just worth noting for a moment that sanctification is sometimes used in the New Testament as a completed work. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 11, it says, "you were sanctified." But usually, sanctification is used in the Bible to speak of a continuing process in which God is making us more like Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

Steve Hiller: You are listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith in a message from 2 Corinthians 5 called Knowing Who You Are. We have to pause right here, but we will get back to the message in just a moment, so I hope you will stay with us.

If you ever miss a broadcast, you can always come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There, you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. You can also listen on demand through the free Open the Bible app, which you will find at your app store or again at our website, openthebible.org.

If you joined us late, we are in 2 Corinthians 5. Back to the message. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Today, I want to give you seven scriptures that clearly speak of the completed work of Christ in a Christian believer. You may like to note these and to ponder them. What I want you to notice is that in every case, the language is of a completed change—something that has happened.

Number one is 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and 17, the verse that we read earlier: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." Notice the language. He doesn't say if anyone is in Christ, he is becoming a new creation. It is not that the old is going away and the new is gradually forming in me.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. There is no process here. It's a done deal. It is something that has happened in its entirety, and it's true of you if you are in Jesus Christ. This amazing transformation has happened to you. The old has gone in you; the new has come.

Number two is Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20. Again, notice the definitive language: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." This is Paul speaking. He says this is what has happened. It didn't just happen to him; it's what has happened to every Christian believer. If you're in Christ, you have been crucified with Christ and you no longer live, but Christ lives in you.

Number three is Colossians chapter 3 and verses 1 to 3: "Since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Notice, he doesn't say "since you hope to be one day raised with Christ." If you're a believer, you have been raised with Christ.

That is why you love Christ. That is why you believe the gospel. You were dead in your trespasses and sins, but you are not now. Something's changed—new life from the dead. This is what the Holy Spirit has done for you. Later he says, "You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

Number four is 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19. "Do you not know," Paul says. There were some Corinthians who also struggled to understand regeneration and needed to be taught this doctrine. He says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?"

Many Christians talk about wanting to receive the Holy Spirit. Paul is saying, "Don't you understand that if you're in Christ, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?" He lives within you, and you have received him from God. His presence is what gives power that makes the Christian life possible. That is why it is so important to know this.

Number five is Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 8. Again, we are noticing the definitive language each time. No process. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord." It's a wonderful statement. He doesn't say you have light; he says you are light. Your very nature was dark, but your very nature has changed. You are light because Christ now lives within you.

Number six is Romans chapter 6, verse 22: "You have been set free from sin and you have become slaves to God. The benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." For many of us, this is a great text to underline. "You have been set free from sin." That is what Paul says about you as a Christian believer.

Look at these words and try to take them in. Many Christians don't grasp this. Paul is writing to ordinary Christians like us. Sin is still your enemy, and sure, you fail in many ways as I do. But what he is saying is that sin is no longer your master. You are no longer sin's prisoner. You are no longer chained. You are no longer under the authority of this old slave master. Because you are set free by Christ, you can put up a fight against temptation.

Number seven is 1 Peter 1, verse 23: "You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God." Here's what's happened: You have been born again. You can't be a little born. You're either born or you're not born. The language is of a completed transaction.

Regeneration is Christ's completed work in you. It is not a process. It does not happen in stages. That is what makes it different from sanctification, which is a process and does happen in stages. Think of it this way: You can be a little in love, but you cannot be a little married. You're either married or you're not.

Sanctification is like being a little in love; it grows and progresses. Regeneration is like being married; you either are or you're not. It is a completed transaction that gives rise to a continuing process. This is critical to our understanding of the Christian life. The great truth of sanctification is that God is changing me. The great truth of regeneration is that Christ has changed me. We need both these truths. If you grasp the one and not the other, you become spiritually exhausted.

Now, that's the learning bit. Now we've got to get down to some practice. I want you to see how the wonderful truth of regeneration functions in the life of a Christian believer. What's the use or the value of me knowing this? How does this truth work in the life of an ordinary Christian person like me?

Regeneration is the root of all growth in your Christian life. Very simply, if you want to grow, you have to start with life. Dead things don't grow. Put a stone in the ground, it's a stone in the ground. Put a seed in the ground, and it's a different thing. Regeneration is the life that grows in sanctification. It is the engine that drives all progress in the Christian life.

Steve Hiller: You are listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a really great look today at some of the scripture passages that talk clearly about Christ's completed work in us. If you have come to know Jesus as your personal Savior, these things that Pastor Colin has been preaching about are true of you.

If you have not come to know Jesus as your Savior but you would like to talk with someone about that, I hope you will contact us here at Open the Bible. Our number is 1-877-OPEN-365. We have staff members who would love to talk to you about this. Again, our number is 1-877-673-6365.

As you give a gift of any amount this month, you are going to receive a copy of Pastor Brad Wetherell's book called Saved to Sin No More. Colin, who is this book for?

Colin Smith: Well, it's really for every Christian who wants to make progress in his or her battle against sin, and that's surely got to be everyone who knows and loves the Lord Jesus Christ. I think one of the greatest struggles that we have is just discouragement.

The doctrine of union with Christ is the most encouraging truth that I know in all of the Bible. Faith unites us to the Lord Jesus Christ so that his presence is in us through the Holy Spirit. When Christ is in us, there is something of the power and the peace and the joy of the Lord Jesus that's actually in us too.

When that's the case, it makes what would have been impossible for us on our own possible because his power and his presence is with us. So, getting hold of what it means to actually have Christ in us and for us to be in him—that's union with Christ—is going to be the most encouraging thing for moving forward in the battle against stubborn sins that often defeat us.

Steve Hiller: Well, we would love to send you a copy of this book. Again, it is called Saved to Sin No More, and it is our thank you for your financial support this month. You can give a gift online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-673-6365. It might be easier to remember as 1-877-OPEN-365.

For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported program of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: At Open the Bible, we're grateful for like-minded organizations committed to sharing the gospel around the world. To that end, I'd like to commend the work of Global Fingerprints. In the book of James, God calls us to help orphans in their distress. That's a clear command, but it's not always clear how we should obey it.

This is where Global Fingerprints comes in. Through Global Fingerprints, you can sponsor a vulnerable child to help meet their physical needs and ensure they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to commend Global Fingerprints to you. They are focused on equipping the local church to care for children, and where there is no church, they help to plant one. If you'd like to help a vulnerable child, you can find more information on Global Fingerprints at our website, openthebible.org/gf. That's openthebible.org/gf.