Are You A New Creature

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.

Matthew 7:15: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep*s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Obviously, if you are not a new creature, you are not in Christ. There is something that we should beware of more than false prophets. We should beware of what we are. We should be sure that we are not false Christians. When we become new creatures in Christ we bear different fruits. When I received Jesus the first thing that was different about me was that I was now interested in the Bible. It became understandable. It was now something that I wanted to read. I knew that God was speaking to me through His Word. The next thing I noticed was that my taste in friends changed. I wanted to fellowship with Christians. I knew I had become one of them. Birds of a feather flock together. And then I noticed that some of my old friends weren*t my friends anymore. Then I noticed that the things I wanted to do were different. I could write more than you want to read about the changes the Lord made in me and my life. I began walking in the truth. If you are to have assurance that you are a new creature in Christ, it will be very helpful for you to note and remember the things He has changed about you and your life. If there are none you are in dire straits.

This devotional was written by Charles Haddon Spurgeon on 3 John 3: For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius walked in the truth. If the first had not been the case, the second could never have occurred; and if the second could not be said of him the first would have been a mere pretence. Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no nourishment to the frame; but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body. In us truth must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the woof and warp of our being. If it be in us, we cannot henceforth part with it. A man may lose his garments or his limbs, but his inward parts are vital, and cannot be torn away without absolute loss of life. A Christian can die, but he cannot deny the truth. Now it is a rule of nature that the inward affects the outward, as light shines from the centre of the lantern through the glass: when, therefore, the truth is kindled within, its brightness soon beams forth in the outward life and conversation. It is said that the food of certain worms colours the cocoons of silk which they spin: and just so the nutriment upon which a man*s inward nature lives gives a tinge to every word and deed proceeding from him. To walk in the truth, imports a life of integrity, holiness, faithfulness, and simplicity-the natural product of those principles of truth which the gospel teaches, and which the Spirit of God enables us to receive. We may judge of the secrets of the soul by their manifestation in the man*s conversation. Be it ours to-day, O gracious Spirit, to be ruled and governed by Thy divine authority, so that nothing false or sinful may reign in our hearts, lest it extend its malignant influence to our daily walk among men.

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