Classic Christianity
2 Corinthians 5:17
By Alan Walker

As long as I had that old ’55 I carried a case of 30 weight Pennzoil in my truck. One quart every 200 miles. She was a smoker...  If I drove that car today in California I would do life without parole in San Quentin. But she had a nice grille.

There she was, and boy was she a beaut! The grille was magnificent! The hood ornament – oh, my, I could almost imagine the plane flying right off the hood.

As I walked closer I could almost see the three on the tree, a V-8 and a 2 door. What a beautiful grille.

With a spring in my step I hurried closer. I noticed the paint was original, because it was fading, no prob, as long as she has a V-8, a 2 door, and a 3 Speed Transmission, I’m okay.

A quick peak at the side revealed absolutely no dents, but there were four door handles rather than two. But hey, as long as she had a V-8 and a 3 on the tree…

I opened up the driver’s door and sat down, allowing myself the luxury of sitting in a car that was as old as I was….The good news was there on the steering column was a shifter – the bad news was it had those stupid letters: P R N D L – an automatic. But the grille was beautiful, and I hadn’t looked under the hood to see the well cared for, polished, shiny, V-8.

I stepped out with a sense of triumph and popped the hood and there she was…. A dirty, grease encased, nasty looking 6 cylinder engine. But the grille was stunning.

I bought her on the spot. A 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air. A 4 door, automatic, with a dirty 6 cylinder motor and faded paint – but the grille was groovin’!

I guess you get what you pay for. What do expect for $150.00 in Boise Idaho? To put it bluntly a full tank of gas would go further than the oil.

As long as I had that old ’55 I carried a case of 30 weight Pennzoil in my truck. One quart every 200 miles. She was a smoker. I could have named her "the haze." When I left campus we needed a lighthouse to shine a light to penetrate the blue smoke. If I drove that car today in California I would do life without parole in San Quentin. But she had a nice grille.

When people saw me coming, they were be in awe – a 1955 Chevy – they could tell she was a ‘55 because of the grille – but then as they passed they noticed it had 4 doors and smoked like a chimney. They would just politely look away.

Looks can be so – well – deceiving.

Did you know the bible said this about us as Christians….

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (NIV)

I drove that crazy old ’55 Chevy for a couple of years smoking up Boise. I sold it to my older sister who ran it a couple more years and she sold it to a younger person who thankfully put it out of its misery, loosing a battle with a very large tree. After that, even the grille didn’t look so good.

I have to ask you, why would anyone in Detroit consider making a 4 door – 6 cylinder – automatic ’55 Chevy?

When people see us as Born-Again Christians; classics for Christ, what do they think after they pass by us?

You see, we can wear the name Christian and profess the Christ, but sometimes –well – how can we say it? Looks can be deceiving! We can have the grille – but everything else is wrong.

Look with me again at this great scripture – and let’s break it up a bit…

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Let me share a couple of thoughts from this classic passage about classic Christianity.

Paul gets beyond mere theology and takes Christianity to its basic root. We might say Paul takes our life in Jesus to the lowest common denominator. Christians are known for a great deal more than this passage shares, but here are two important things to think though as we look at our Christian life.

The first thing we want to consider is:

1. If Anyone Is In Christ – There’s An Indisputable Newness.

In my ministry I have had many people sit across the desk from me in tears. Tears of regret! Tears of wrong decisions.

I’ve had bi-polar usually on the down side, schizophrenics, the clinically depressed, drug addicts, alcoholics, child abusers, wife abusers - folks at the end of their rope come to my office. Some have been so distraught I have driven them to a medical facility.

They’ve come with wasted years – lost years – with life-shattering regrets about their children, their spouses, or their illnesses.

Most of these people wanted one thing. They wanted to know if they could start over. If there was a way to begin again. If there was a way to get the years back. To just once more feel the freshness of newness!

I’m fond of this passage of scripture because it boils the answer down to a simple yes.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

We can be new again! The years the locusts have eaten, can be redeemed! We can start again!

1 Peter 1:3 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (NIV)

The great news about Jesus is He is a Savior! He can save us from the past. He has the ability to take a life broken by our own sin, or the sin of others and put it together and make it a new and a good life.

"If anyone is in Christ…."

I like the word "anyone." You see it doesn’t matter who you are, or what baggage you carry, or what events and situations of life you have faced.

Anyone can come to Christ. Anyone can be in Christ.

Occasionally I’m asked what age group we are focusing on for the church.  Are we focusing on the:

We are focusing on any person who has an eternal soul that is not in a saved relationship with Jesus Christ. To borrow Paul’s words – we’re after "anyone."

Another worthwhile word is "if" - as in "if anyone."

I don’t wish to make too much of a simple word but it is worth noting that the newness promised by Paul is only for those who are in Christ.

Our world offers many alternatives on experiencing newness. From Plastic surgery, to medication, illegal drugs such as ecstasy, coke, and crack, hypnosis, martyrdom…the list is endless.

However the only opportunity that is genuine, lasting, and eternal is the newness we discover in Jesus Christ.

This newness in Christ, this difference, this peculiarity as Peter refers to it is something not only for us to experience but for those around us to witness.

When the demoniac met Jesus and He cast out the legion of demons within the man, sending them into a herd of pigs, the man was free, for the first time in years. He was new again. Notice in Mark 5:18-20 what Jesus told him…

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (NIV)

When we come to Christ – when we surrender our lives to Him, when we say "Yes Lord", an amazing thing happens to us and people should be amazed as they witness the growing difference because Jesus lives in us!

Jesus does amazing things! He changes lives.

Where does the 1955 Chevy Bel-Air fit? When I looked at the Chevy sitting there I knew it was a classic. I knew it was everything I had dreamed about.

But the hard truth is - it wasn’t. It was a faded, old 6 cylinder, 4 door automatic that burned enough oil to keep a Texas Oil well working 24-7.

It wasn’t new. It wasn’t a classic it wasn’t what it professed to be.

As Christians it is as important that our newness is genuine, growing, electrifying and lasting. But not only is this important for us, but also for those who know we are children of God.

When others who have not yet come to know Jesus, see us, they are expecting, they are needing, they are seeking to be amazed. If they only discover an old oil-burning faded Chevrolet, well they may just politely turn away and look somewhere else.

I want my life, and you want your life, to tell the story of the amazing new life Jesus Christ has to offer. This is the witness, this is the testimony that we want to have because of the newness Jesus has brought into our lives.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Secondly, consider with me…

2. If Anyone is in Christ – There is an Unbeatable Trade-in Agreement.

I don’t know if I will ever tell my daughter this or not. Many moons ago while I was asleep she borrowed my pickup and blew a tire on it.

It’s never a good thing to have one of the kids wake you at 1:00 a.m. with the words, "I know you’re going to be mad, but…"

After grounding her for life, we got the truck home, and the next day I went to the tire company and had the tire replaced. The cost of replacement? Nothing! I had road hazard warranty. Did I tell my daughter it was free? Nope. She lost her allowance to the tune of $50.00.

The tire company took off the old tire - blown side-wall, dirty, nasty, and put on a new tire for me. I then had one really nice tire and three older ones…oh well. (I guess I could have let her drive it again)

Jesus Christ has a great deal for anyone who will take him up on it.

Those of us who already have it need to heed the following few thoughts as we continue growing in our Jesus Journey.

When we come to Christ – The Old Is Gone & The New Has Come.

In Jesus – the old attitudes, the old philosophies, the old ways of doing things, the old way of thinking, the old actions, the old – yes – the old sins are potentially gone!

They are replaced with new opportunities! As we grow in Christ we learn new attitudes, Christ-like ways of living, and different ways of thinking, Godly ways to live. It is truly an adventure!

Two things I know: The old ways gotta go and the new, the amazing, the incredible, need to come in and reside!

What are the old ways and what are the news ways?

You have the answers between the covers of the book you brought with you this morning. The Word of God helps us to understand the new so well.

It helps us to realize what God considers to be old news….things that have to go so we can grow.

I’ve tried it; some of you have too, though never successfully. Even though the old and the new don’t mix well, we’ve attempted to mix them. Like new wine in an old wineskin – it just doesn’t work. All you wind up with is an explosion that simply leads to spiritual frustration.

If we are in Christ, we will reach out for the amazing newness we discover in Jesus, taking full advantage of his willingness to remove the old things from us. Soon we will be stunned to discover the truth of this passage: The new has come.

How do we do this?

We’re talking about Classic Christianity!

3. Wrapping It Up.

My wife drives a PT Cruiser and I drive a Saturn ION. They're nice cars. They are 4 door – 4 cylinder cars. They will never be classics. Thirty years from now they will have long been in the junkyard. No one will one day say – "Wow, can you believe it? A 2004 Chrysler, PT Cruiser - Now that’s the car!"

What would be cool in 3 or 30 years would be that because you and I came to know Jesus - as the result of that decision - we became new in Christ, and the old things that were chains around our souls bogging us down were gone – and that others came to know Jesus because of the amazing difference He made in our lives.

Do you have time for one more verse?

Hs this message piqued your curiosity?

Want to know how to start and where to begin?

Roman 6:4 says, " We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (NIV)

Copyright © 2005. Alan Walker is minister of the Arcata Church of Christ in Arcata, California. Used by permission. Permission is granted by the author and by The Preacher's Study to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or any place beyond the local congregation is prohibited.