New Beginnings: Lesson 4

Overview

Three New Beginnings That Point to Christ

Scripture is full of fresh starts, and three in particular show how God deals with sinful humanity—not by abandoning us, but by giving us new beginnings that ultimately lead to Christ.

Noah: A New Beginning for Creation

In Genesis 6:1-8, the wickedness of humankind grieves God's heart. He declares, "My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh." What does it mean to be "flesh"? Paul spells it out in Galatians 5:19-21—a sobering catalog of fornication, idolatry, strife, jealousy, anger, and more. Where the flesh rules, the Spirit does not abide. The image of God, already marred when Seth was born in Adam's likeness rather than God's, has been all but lost.

Yet Noah found favor. After the flood, God promises in Genesis 8:21-22 never again to curse the ground or destroy every living creature, sealing the covenant with the rainbow. He repeats to Noah and his sons the directive first given to Adam and Eve: be fruitful and multiply. This is a new beginning not just for one family but for all creation. Floods and disasters still come, but never again will they unmake the world.

Peter: A New Beginning for the Sinner

Peter's call in Matthew 4:18-20 was already a new beginning—nets left behind to follow Jesus. But Peter's deeper new beginning came through failure. In Luke 22:54-62, having sworn loyalty, he denies Christ three times. The cock crows, the Lord turns and looks at him, and Peter weeps bitterly. To deny Christ is to deny God, and Jesus had warned in Luke 12:10 that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—the sin of walking away, of refusing God—is unforgivable precisely because it leaves us separated from the only One who forgives.

But notice what Jesus says before the denial in Luke 22:31-32: "Simon, Simon, listen, Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail." Jesus calls him "Simon"—the man of flesh—and prays for the turning back that is to come. After the resurrection, in John 21:15-19, Jesus restores Peter with three questions matching three denials: "Do you love me?" The conversation ends as it began on the seashore years earlier: Follow me. Peter became a champion for Christ, eventually giving his life in martyrdom. Confessing sin is hard; looking the One we have offended in the eye is harder still. But Christ's prayer for Peter is the same word He speaks over every penitent sinner.

The Church: A New Beginning for Us

The final new beginning is ours. Ephesians 2:1-3 describes our condition with brutal honesty: dead in trespasses, following the passions of the flesh, "by nature children of wrath like everyone else." If Scripture stopped there, we would have only the law—and no hope.

But then comes the greatest but in all of Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-5—"But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ." Law and gospel must be heard together; both are absolutely true. And according to Ephesians 1:4-8, God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, destined us for adoption, and lavished the riches of His grace on us. Just as an adopted child receives a new name and a new family, so we, called through the waters of baptism, are given a new identity in Christ.

Living in Your New Beginning

Every new beginning in Scripture leads to Christ, and every new beginning in Christ is given for us. A new career requires schooling and striving; this new beginning requires nothing of us—it is grace, freely bestowed. Whether the calendar turns to a new year, a new week, or simply a new day, remember: your beginning, your continuing, and your ending are always and only in Christ.

Transcript

Okay, so let's just dive right in. 3s

Let's open up to Genesis chapter 6. 6s

I'm hoping that we can get through three. 11s

I'm hoping we can get through three. 15s

We'll see. 16s

Actually, we're going to. 18s

So that's it. 20s

Okay, so Genesis chapter 6, just beginning in the first verse, this is after creation, 23s

this is after sin has entered into creation. 29s

And we go to chapter 6, verse 1, when people began to multiply on the face of the ground 35s

and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair. 42s

And they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. 46s

Then the Lord said, my spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh. 49s

Their days shall be 120 years. 55s

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God 58s

went into the daughters of humans who bore children to them. 63s

These were the heroes that were of old warriors of renown. 66s

The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination 71s

of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 77s

And the Lord was very sorry that he had made man humankind on the earth. 82s

And it grieved him to his heart. 86s

So the Lord said, I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created, 89s

people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, 94s

for I am sorry that I have made them. 98s

But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. 100s

Can anyone guess who our first person with a new beginning is? 104s

It's Noah! Yes! Yes! 109s

Okay, so a couple of things that we need to see here. 111s

First of all, the evil of man, that there is nothing, nothing good about humankind. 115s

It is really sad to hear that humankind grieved God to his heart. 123s

That's rough. 129s

And I really, really want to draw attention to verse 3, where it says, 131s

the Lord said, my spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh. 137s

Now, keep your hand here in Genesis. 145s

And let's go over to Galatians. 148s

That's in the New Testament. Galatians chapter 5. 151s

It's after the Gospels, after Acts, Romans, first and second Corinthians, 155s

then we're going to get to Galatians. 161s

And we're going to go to Galatians chapter 5 beginning at verse 19. 163s

So remember, God had just said in verse 3 of chapter 6 Genesis, 168s

he said, his spirit will not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh. 176s

So what is the work or what are the works of the flesh? 182s

We have this in Galatians 5 beginning in 19. 187s

Now, the works of flesh are obvious. 191s

Fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, 194s

emnities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, 199s

drunkenness, corousing, and things like these. 207s

Okay, let's go back to Genesis. 211s

So that is the work of the flesh. 213s

And within the works of the flesh, the spirit is not. 216s

The spirit is not. 221s

And so God is saying, these humankind is flesh. 223s

My spirit will not abide in him. 229s

Previously in chapter 5, we read where Adam and Eve had a son named Seth, 231s

and Seth was created in Adam's image. 236s

So that image of God is lost. 240s

And here God is saying, I am not going to... 243s

Okay, my microphone is driving me nuts. 246s

We're going to try that. 249s

Okay. 250s

I do too many out loud thinkings, and I'm sorry. 252s

So... 255s

Anyway. 258s

So this is that continuation that he's saying, my spirit won't abide in them. 261s

They are a flesh. 268s

And then we see in Galatians, what are the works of flesh? 269s

And there's a long list of just awfulness. 271s

And that's not even a comprehensive list. 276s

So now, or not now, then the flood comes upon the earth. 278s

The flood happens. 284s

Everything is wiped out. 285s

Let's go to Genesis 8. 286s

Genesis 8 starting in 21, verse 21b, 289s

where the Lord says, I will never again curse the ground because of humankind. 296s

For the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth. 301s

Nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. 306s

As long as the earth and doors seed time and harvest cold and heat, 310s

summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. 315s

So the Lord is not saying that he is once again going to recreate creation. 321s

But he is giving creation a new beginning. 330s

And he makes a covenant with Noah. 333s

And he makes a covenant with creation. 335s

That's where we get the rainbow. 338s

That's the sign of the covenant that God made with creation. 340s

That he will never again completely wipe out all creatures with a flood. 344s

So then he gives Noah and his sons a command or a directive 352s

to be fruitful and multiply. 359s

It is the same directive, the same command that he had given Adam and Eve. 361s

Be fruitful and multiply. 367s

So now he has given that to Noah and his sons. 368s

And he's not only giving Noah and his sons this opportunity of a new beginning, 373s

but really it's an opportunity of a new beginning for all creation. 380s

And he promises that seed time and harvest cold and heat, summer, winter, day and night, 385s

none of this will cease. 391s

So we do see floods taking place, but never again will a flood take over. 393s

We see natural disasters happen, but it's not worldwide. 399s

It does not break us all. 405s

Okay, so that's Noah. 409s

We're doing really good on time. 411s

That's Noah. 413s

So now we're going to go to another one. 414s

And this one, I was debating on whether or not we would talk about him, 417s

but we're going to. 420s

So let's go to Matthew. 422s

That is the first gospel, the first book in the New Testament. 424s

Matthew chapter 4, verse 18. 429s

So the next new beginning that we're going to talk about is Peter. 433s

We're going to, we talked about him last year in the class that we did on the apostles. 438s

We're going to talk about him again, but it's going to be another layer to Peter. 444s

And I know I have talked with more than one of you. 449s

There are several of us that are in the Peter Club that talk without thinking. 452s

Yeah, I see nods. 458s

Yep, I know that speak. 459s

But it's just out of fervent love for the Lord. 462s

So Matthew 4, let's go to verse 18. 464s

And this is where the Lord first calls Peter. 471s

As he walked by the sea of Galilee, that's Jesus. 475s

He saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter and Andrew, his brother, 478s

casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. 482s

And he said to them, follow me and I will make you fish for people. 486s

Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 490s

So Peter is responding to this call. 493s

It's kind of a new beginning because all of a sudden, you know, he's leaving his fishermen full time life 497s

and he's going to follow this great teacher. 503s

So that's a little bit of a new beginning. 505s

So Peter was called by the Lord. 508s

We know through Peter's story, he has ups and downs. 510s

He has moments of greatness and he has moments of, you know, Jesus saying, get behind me Satan. 514s

So Peter is this disciple that follows the Lord but messes up. 519s

He's the one to proclaim the Lord as Messiah to confess that. 529s

So then we go to Luke. 535s

So we're going to just go to, we're going to go past Mark. 538s

We're going to go into Luke chapter 22. 541s

We're going to go to a real down point for Peter. 545s

Very down point. 550s

Luke 22 verse 54 or starting in verse 54. 552s

So Jesus is betrayed. 563s

Judas comes, kisses him. 566s

And the group, this is the day they're talking about, or that Luke is writing about. 570s

Then they seized him, that's Jesus and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house. 575s

But Peter was following at a distance. 581s

So Peter was still following. 584s

He was still following. 587s

When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 589s

Then a servant girl seeing him in the fire light stared at him and said, 594s

this man also was with him. 599s

But he denied it. 601s

Saying, woman, I do not know him. 603s

A little later, someone else on seeing him said, you also are one of them. 607s

But Peter said, man, I am not. 613s

Then about an hour later, still another kept insisting, surely this man was also with him. 617s

For he is a Galilean. 623s

But Peter said, man, I do not know what you are talking about. 625s

At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. 630s

The Lord turned and looked at Peter. 635s

Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, 639s

before the cock crowed today, you will deny me three times. 644s

And he went out and wept bitterly. 650s

This is my favorite passage of the denial. 655s

It paints the scene and the sombreness and the very stark difference. 661s

And you can feel that sorrow, that stare of Christ. 671s

So Peter denied Jesus. 682s

And we know when we deny Christ, we deny God. 688s

And when we deny God, we are blaspheming the Holy Spirit. 694s

Let's go back in Luke. 701s

Go back to Luke 12. 704s

Luke 12. 710s

Verse 10. 714s

Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven. 718s

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 722s

It is the one unforgivable sin. 730s

The one unforgivable sin because it is the sin of walking away, of denying God. 734s

Whether it is I don't care, I don't want it, or I just don't believe it. 746s

That is the one sin that is unforgivable because that is the one sin that keeps us broken and separated from God. 756s

So Peter went from claiming Christ as the Messiah to now in the presence of Christ where Christ can hear Him, can see Him. 769s

And He has now denied Christ three times. 789s

Let's go back to Luke 22. 799s

Luke 22. 802s

And we're going to go at verse 31. 806s

This is when there's still at the dinner. 812s

This is when Christ says, one of you is going to betray me. 815s

And Peter says, I'm not. 819s

I will never betray you. 822s

I will never leave you, Lord. 824s

And Jesus says, Simon, Simon, notice, he is not using the name Peter. 827s

He's not using the name that he gave to Peter. 832s

This is Simon, Man of flesh. 836s

Simon, Simon, listen, Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat. 840s

But I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail. 848s

And you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. 854s

Jesus knew that Peter would commit the one unforgivable sin. 864s

And he knew that Satan would be bearing down on Peter. 872s

That Peter would be under complete attack from the devil. 876s

And it happened. 883s

But Jesus said, I have prayed, I have prayed so that your strength will be with you, 886s

that you will be strengthened when you turn back. 893s

So there's this glimmer of light in this. 897s

So now, let's go over to John, the 21st chapter. 906s

So before Peter had even committed the unforgivable sin, Jesus had said, 914s

this will happen, but I'm praying for you and I am praying for this new beginning for your life. 923s

So we're going to go to John chapter 21 and we're going to go to verse 15. 930s

So this is where Peter had denied Christ. 936s

He wept bitterly. 941s

Jesus was resurrected. 943s

This is wonderful. Jesus comes to the apostles. 945s

This is one of his appearances with the apostles. 948s

And they're on the beach. 952s

They had just been fishing. 954s

He directed them to cast their nets to the right. 955s

They got a lot of fish. 958s

They come to come ashore and they're going to have some fish. 959s

Or they do have some fish. 964s

So we're picking up after they've eaten with verse 15. 967s

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, 970s

do you love me more than these? 976s

He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. 979s

Jesus said to him, feed my lambs. 983s

A second time, he said to him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? 986s

He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. 993s

Jesus said to him, tend my sheep. 997s

He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? 1001s

Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, do you love me? 1008s

And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. 1013s

You know that I love you. 1016s

Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. 1018s

Very truly, I tell you when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt 1022s

and to go wherever you wished. 1026s

But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will fasten a belt around you 1028s

and take you where you do not wish to go. 1033s

He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God. 1036s

After this, he said to him, follow me. 1042s

Did anyone just get goosebumps? 1046s

Me too. 1049s

Me too. 1051s

Peter denied Christ three times. 1054s

Christ asked him, post-resurrection, do you love me three times? 1057s

I think about that moment when Jesus, or when Peter denies Jesus in Luke, 1065s

and it says that Jesus looked at Peter. 1072s

At this breakfast or after this breakfast when Jesus, I imagine, takes him aside, 1076s

do you think Peter looked him in the eye the first go round? 1085s

Even maybe not the second go round? 1090s

Again, this picture is painted for us of this conversation. 1094s

And I think about when we sin and when we confess our sins, 1103s

it's really hard to look the one that we have offended in the eye. 1111s

And how much greater the difficulty is to think that really we need to look Christ in the eye 1121s

and confess our sins. 1133s

So Peter was asked three times, do you love me? 1137s

And I love how this ends. 1142s

It ends this conversation, how it began in their first conversation. 1146s

Follow me. 1153s

Jesus says, follow me. 1156s

And Peter ended up in that new beginning. 1159s

He ended up being the champion of all champions for Christ. 1163s

He was beaten, he was crucified upside down. 1169s

He gave his life for Christ. 1173s

That was his new beginning. 1178s

Because of Peter and the other apostles, we are all here today. 1181s

So Peter's new beginning, like so many of the others or all of the others, 1189s

leads to our new beginning. 1195s

Jesus said, follow me. 1200s

Peter followed. 1203s

And he was strengthened as Jesus had prayed before the denial. 1205s

He was strengthened and he went forth and he led the people. 1212s

He tended Jesus sheep. 1218s

He fed the flock. 1221s

So that's Peter. 1224s

Okay. 1227s

Now we're going to get to our final new beginning. 1227s

Let's go to Ephesians. 1234s

Throughout this entire series, we have studied different people in Scripture. 1241s

And it's not coincidental. 1249s

Every single new beginning leads us to who, Christ. 1253s

And every single new beginning leading us to Christ then also leads us to know that every new beginning in Christ is for us. 1259s

It's for us. 1272s

So our final person or people of new beginning that we're going to study in Scripture really is the church. 1274s

Is the Christian people. 1283s

It's you. 1284s

It's me. 1285s

It's our brothers and sisters around the world who are worshiping today with us. 1286s

Okay. 1293s

And you know, of all time. 1294s

Okay. 1295s

So we're going to go to Ephesians chapter two. 1296s

And of course we're going to start with that fun law. 1300s

Okay. 1305s

So Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 1306s

you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived. 1309s

Following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, 1317s

the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient, all of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh. 1323s

Remember what the works of the flesh are. 1333s

It's that laundry list of jealousy, anger, malice, strife, licentiousness, debauchery. 1336s

Right? 1345s

It's that it's that long list that we find in Galatians five. 1345s

So all of us, you know, good church goers now, all of us once lived, we were born into the spirit of the flesh. 1349s

We once lived among the flesh of them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses. 1361s

And we were by nature children of wrath like everyone else. 1369s

I know I come to this verse all the time, but this is my absolute favorite descriptor in two words of the state of humankind that we are born into. 1375s

Three words children of wrath children of wrath. 1389s

Oh, that's just gross. 1395s

It's just gross and that is what we are called into or that's not what we're called into. 1399s

That's what we are born into into that nature of being children of wrath. 1404s

We are absolutely dead in our sin. 1409s

And in this, in these verses, if we stay here and only here, there is no hope. 1415s

There is nothing. 1425s

Can you imagine if this were your only piece of scripture? 1426s

You'd have the law down. 1431s

You'd know. 1433s

But God does not give us only these three verses. 1436s

So we get these three verses. 1442s

There is absolutely no hope. 1444s

It reminds me of when Paul writes in the Romans, or to the Romans, you know, who will save this wretched body? 1446s

Who will save me? Who will save any of us? 1452s

So now let's continue. 1456s

So we're children of wrath like everyone else. 1458s

But this is the best biggest but ever. 1462s

But God who is rich in mercy out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace. 1467s

You have been saved. 1485s

Hallelujah and amen. 1491s

We cannot have those two verses without understanding the first three of Ephesians 2. 1494s

But we can't sit in Ephesians 2, 1 through 3 without hearing 4 and 5. 1506s

They go together, law and gospel. 1516s

Both are absolutely necessary because both are absolutely true. 1521s

Let's go back to Ephesians 1 because we're going to hear about this new beginning. 1531s

We're going to go to verse 4 and we're going to read through 8A. 1542s

Just as he chose us in Christ, that's God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 1550s

He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ. 1562s

Okay, we're going to stop there for just a second. 1568s

When a baby is born or when a child is born and they are given a name, when they are adopted, they are given a new name. 1571s

They have a new beginning. 1584s

They have a new family. 1587s

As we are called into faith, whether it is as an infant through the waters of baptism or as a 99 year old through the waters of baptism, through the calling of the Holy Spirit, we are adopted. 1590s

We are given that new image, that new beginning in Christ. 1609s

So we are adopted as his children through Jesus Christ continuing in verse 5. 1615s

According to the good pleasure of his will, it's his will for us to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the beloved. 1621s

In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. 1634s

Our new beginning, our very life that we lead as the church is through his grace, through his blood, through his redemption alone, and it's lavished on us. 1650s

Not according to what we desire, but according to his good pleasure. 1668s

Before the foundation of the world, you were marked for a new beginning in Christ. 1677s

Just incredible. Just incredible. 1690s

And it's amazing, you know, if I wanted to start a new career, which I don't, I don't. 1694s

But if I wanted to start a new career, then I would have to possibly go back to school or I'd have to do job searches. 1701s

You know, I would have to do a lot of work to make that happen. 1710s

My new beginning, as a child of God, is nothing that I have to strive for. 1717s

It's just incredible. When you really, really just put it down, point blank. 1727s

It's not about us. It's about Christ. 1737s

Every new beginning that we have studied leads us directly to Christ. 1744s

And every new beginning with an in Christ is just a refresher, a refresher that our new beginning begins in Christ and is sustained in Christ. 1753s

We're rounding out January. We were doing new beginnings for a very specific purpose because, you know, January, New Beginning, New Year. 1774s

So, of course, we're going to do that. 1782s

But remember that. Remember that. That every day, every year, every week, every month, every new beginning, first and foremost begins in Christ, who is the new beginning for each year. 1786s

All right. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much. We thank you for claiming us as your own. We thank you for giving us a new beginning by your grace in your blood and through your love. 1803s

Lord, we ask that you would continue to wash over us, that we would know that you are present with us, that you are always guiding us, that you are always loving us. 1818s

Lord, we ask that your word would be upon our lips, that we can share that passage in Ephesians, verses one through three indeed, and then bringing us right into four and five. 1830s

Lord, we thank you so much for your word of both law and gospel, for they are truth. And we ask that we would live in through and by your truth today and always. 1842s

Lord, we thank you for the new beginning. We thank you for every beginning because our very existence, our very beginning is always and only in Christ and Christ alone. 1855s

Lord, we lift this praising you and glorifying you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 1868s