What happens when someone becomes a Christian?

One of the ways that the Bible answers that question is to say that a Christian is a New Creation (2 Cor. 5:17). To be a Christian means that a person has undergone a powerful and supernatural transformation whereby God has made them into a new person. Ephesians 4:22-24 builds on this reality, as the Apostle Paul calls Christians to "put off the old self" and "put on the new self."

In other words, when someone becomes a Christian they are so powerfully transformed by God that they now have both the duty and the ability, by God's grace, to put to death their life of sin, and to grow in genuine righteousness and holiness. A Christian is someone with a "new self" which is "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24)." In Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul calls upon his readers to simply live out this reality.

In this sermon Jackson Hankey draws out 4 points from the text:

#1 - Salvation is a Supernatural and Life-Changing Work of God

#2 - True Transformation Works Inside-Out

#3 - True Transformation Requires Both Putting On and Putting Off

#4 - True Transformation Comes Through New Creation

There are many opinions in the world today about what it means to follow Jesus., and ironically, the one opinion that is often most neglected is the opinion of Jesus himself. In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus tells us exactly what it means to follow him. Even further, after Jesus tells us what it means, he then goes on to give us 4 astounding reasons why we ought to follow him, no matter what it may cost.

This sermon was originally preached by Jackson Hankey at a weekend retreat for College Athletes.

Leon Morris once said that Romans 3:21-27 is the most important paragraph ever written.

The reason that he said this is captured well by what Charles Spurgeon said of this passage. He said "I do not know any passage in Scripture in which the way of salvation is more clearly and fully set forth than this one." John Piper said about this passage that, "if you understand this passage, you understand Christianity." Martin Luther said that this passage is "the central place of the book of Romans, and of the entire Bible."

Nowhere is the gospel so clear. Nowhere is the logic of salvation so powerfully set forth as it is in this passage.

In this passage we see that salvation is by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone.

This episode is a sermon that was originally preached by Jackson Hankey at a Christian Retreat for College Athletes.

In Ephesians 4:7-10, we see that the risen and victorious king Jesus is now blessing his church with an abundance of spiritual gifts, and in verse 8 Paul even quotes Psalm 68 as something that pointed to this very reality.

Now despite all the controversy about spiritual gifts, as well as the many ways they are misunderstood today, one thing we do see here is that spiritual gifts are essential for the life and ministry of the church.

Tune into this episode to hear more!

This episode is a sermon that was preached by Jackson Hankey at River City Church on Thursday, 1/22/2026.

In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus addresses the dangers of false Christianity. He confronts the people who say to him "Lord, Lord" but do not live in obedience to the Father. He makes clear that not everyone who says (and even sincerely believes) that they are a Christian will go to heaven. Rather, Jesus says that there will be "many" who thought themselves to be saved, who thought themselves to be right with God, but on the final day he will say to them, "Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness, I never knew you."

For this reason, this passage is extremely important to help us understand what it really does and does not mean to be a Christian. It is crucial to help us understand if our profession of Jesus as Lord is a genuine profession.

In Acts 13:13-52, we get a glimpse at the first recorded sermon of the Apostle Paul. After sitting down in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, Paul is asked to speak and he takes the opportunity to preach to them about Jesus the Messiah. And here in this passage Luke gives us a record of what Paul had to say, and he also records the remarkable response to Paul's preaching that took place in the city. In this passage we find many rich applications for preaching, church life, and evangelism today. Tune in to hear more!

This episode is a sermon that was preached by Jackson Hankey at River City Church in Fargo, ND, on 1/25/2026.

In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul is discussing the unity of the church. He gives 7 reasons for unity, using the word "one" 7 times. The final and climactic use is in v. 6 when Paul says that the church has, "One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

In this verse, as elsewhere in Scripture, we see that the church is the family of God. The greatest cause for Christian unity is that all Christians share one Father, and the implications of this truth for us are many. Tune in to this episode to hear more!

This sermon was originally preached by Jackson Hankey at River City Church on Thursday, 1/15/2026.

J.I. Packer once said that, "Adoption is the highest privilege of the gospel. The traitor is forgiven, brought in for supper, and given the family name. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater."

One of the most beautiful truths of Scripture is that Christians are those who have been adopted by God. They have been "born of God" (John 1:13, 1 John 3:9), given the "Spirit of Adoption" (Romans 8:15), they are called "sons of God" (Matt. 5:9). Indeed, even from eternity past, God, "predestined (them) for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:5).

This means that Christians no longer relate to God merely as their Creator, or Judge, or Lord, but as their heavenly Father. To learn more about this beautiful doctrine, please tune into this short episode.

This episode was originally given as a lecture by Joshua Molden at a River City Men's Discipleship Event.

If someone asked you the question, "what is a Christian?" What would you say? For many people the answer to that question is simply someone who has been baptized... or perhaps someone who goes to church... or who reads the Bible... or someone who says they are a Christian.

But the truth is that none of those things actually make anyone a Christian. The truth is that a Christian is someone who has been born, "not of blood (not by birth into a Christian family) nor of the will of the flesh (not by a person's own decisions, desires, or religious strivings) nor by the will of man (not by any other human persons efforts or declarations on our behalf) but born of God (John 1:13)" In short a Christian is not made by any natural means, but rather by supernatural means. That's why Jesus says that unless one is born again by the Spirit he cannot even see the kingdom of God.

This means that salvation is a supernatural act of God. In 2 Cor. 4:6, Paul likens it to God's supernatural and powerful act of creation, and in 2 Cor. 5:17, he says that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation.

The theological term for this idea is the word Regeneration. To learn more about what this term means, and how it relates to our salvation, tune into this episode.

This episode is a lecture originally given by James Kaczor at a Men's Discipleship event at River City Church in Fargo, ND.

Charles Spurgeon once said, "I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite sure that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen him; and I am sure he chose me before I was born, or else he never would have chosen me afterwards; and he must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why he should have looked upon me with special love."

The Doctrine of Election has no doubt been controversial throughout history. In fact, it was controversial even in the days of Jesus and the Apostles. And yet, it is a doctrine that (1) is constantly spoken of in Scripture and (2) has a tremendous effect on how we view the most core doctrines of the Christian faith, such the doctrine of God, and man, and sin, and salvation.

As such, it is certainly a doctrine that is worth our diligent study and serious investigation. In this short episode, I give a short lecture on this doctrine, where we see it in the Bible, and how it should affect our Christian lives.

This episode was originally recorded as part of a Men's Discipleship Event at River City Church in Fargo, ND.