John Piper made the statement, “the mark of the new birth is a passion to be changed.” To this I respond, “YES! That is exactly the point.” Many who know about my life before I met Jesus, my Lord and Savior, baulk at my radical transformation. They make comments like, “only one in thousand have been miraculously freed from x, y, z sin.” “Complete deliverance does not happen that often,” they say. Their thoughts are, “whatever your propensity for sin is, you will continue to struggle with that for the rest of your life. Therefore be on guard, for you are one thought away from falling back into the same sin.”
This line of thought is so very frustrating to me. It is sad and defeating. But most of all it is not God glorifying! I abhor this line of thinking. I am moved to anger towards those who would propagate this deceptive and defeating line of thinking to those seeking freedom from the fetters of sin through the power of the cross.
Either the power the of the cross destroys all sin or it destroys no sin. Why? Because ultimately all sin is man not giving God what He is owed; namely, worship and obedience. Murder, adultery, homosexuality, drug and alcohol dependency, gossiping, lying, idolatry, impure thoughts, hating one’s neighbor…these are all manifestations of robbing God of worship and living in disobedience.
Colossians 2:13-15 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the
Will we ever be perfect? Not on this side of eternity. Will we ever not sin? Not on this side of eternity. Can we change? No. But, we can be changed. True change comes not from self, but from the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Can you hinder growth? Yes. Can you foster growth? YES, just get out of the way!
Ephesians 1:17-2:1 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
How do you get out of the way? Die to self daily, crucify your flesh, pray without ceasing, and take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Reflect upon the following passages:
Romans 12:1-2 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Galatians 2:20 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me
Galatians 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world
1 Thessalonian 5:16-23 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil. 23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it
2 Corinthians 10:5 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ
Getting out of the way means you place your faith in the unsearchable riches of Christ and the power of the cross. It means you have the faith of child. This is not blind faith, rather it is unimpeded faith. Have you considered the reason God has given us the Bible? John’s Gospel states this;
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name…Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written,” (John 20:30-31; 21:25).
This kind of faith is pure and not given to doubting the efficacy and sufficiency of the atonement. Consider the truths found in 1 Peter 1:3-9.
3 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, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Christians-that is all who have been forgiven of their sins, whose slates have been wiped clean, those made clean by the shed blood of Christ, those who are counted as righteous because of the mercy and grace poured out for them because of God’s great love for them, should be passionately committed to being changed by God. If you claim to be a follower of Christ and do not see radical transformation in your life, you need to prayerfully and Scripturally investigate why you are not seeing changes. The Bible does not picture God’s children as people as static. No, friend, the Bible talks of transformation!
God’s children are called to be distressed about the sin in their life, they are called to rejoice in the mercies that fall fresh everyday, they are called to seek after God daily, and they are called to willingly step aside so that the Holy Spirit can conform them into the image of Christ…even when they don’t feel like doing the aforementioned.
Obedience is doing the work you are commanded to do even when you don’t feel like doing the work, even when you feel like God has forsaken you, even when you feel like prayer is not working. What you know, because of God’s self-revelation, namely the Bible, always trumps feelings! Our hope, our faith in the promises of God found in Scripture should guide our actions, because they are immutable (unchangeable) and our feelings are subject and vary from moment to moment. Know that God transforms lives! The more obediently you lay prostrate before King Jesus, open and bare, willing to be transformed the more transformation you will experience.
When God called me to become His daughter, I stepped aside. I knew I could do nothing to change own messy life and so I turned my messy life over to Him. I told Him I would follow Him anywhere and I told Him whatever He wanted me to do, I would do. That was four and half years ago. Today my heart’s cry is no different; “Change me, Oh Lord! Do whatever you must. Take away whatever you must. No matter how painful the process, Oh Lord, conform me into your image, that I may give you more honor and glory!”
Dear one, the process of sanctification is painful, but the One who made your sanctification possible knows your suffering by way of His incarnation and by way of the cross. By His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; 2 Peter 2:24). Restoration is found in Him! Remember that on the other side of the pain of conviction is repentance, which is followed by the sweetness of restoration. Oh, how I pray that all who read this are or today will become passionately committed to being changed by God! I can tell you from experience; the more passionate you are about being changed, the more your life will bear the testimony of the life transforming power of the cross!
1 comment:
Watching Him transform a life is also amazing! Thanks for sharing.
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