Do People Change? People Do!
Posted by: ba <ba@...>
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Straight to the Cross
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COLUMN: Hands-on Faith
Do People Change? People Do!
by Barry Newton
Confident? Reality? Fatalistic? Lazy? An excuse?
How would you describe the claims: "They will
never change" or "I can not change"?
Whether the words trickle forth as a seemingly
despairing self-confession or a mumbled
pessimistic comment labeling others, some people
appear to be determined to believe that what is
will always be. To be sure, transformation can be
daunting./1 Admittedly, some people may never grow
into all that the Lord wants them to be. But there
is really good news ... no, it is not good news,
it is great news.
People are not forced to remain imprisoned forever
in destructive, foolish, immature or ungodly
behavior patterns. God has made it possible for
people to be transformed from the inside out.
Changed Status (Guilty to Innocent)
The story of God working through Christ is the
story of God's efforts to radically alter people.
Offered as an undeserved gift, God has created a
way for the guilty to legitimately be declared
righteous, holy and blameless!/2 No longer should
dark memories of their previous deeds haunt their
lives and drag their sense of self-worth through
the mud. The person in the mirror can not only be
respectable and honorable, but also free from any
accusation! This is great news.
How has God made this possible? With Jesus' death
on the cross, Christ took upon himself our
sinfulness in order that we might receive his
righteousness./3 Those who rely upon Jesus and his
blood are set free from their guilt./4 The gospel
calls people to rely upon Jesus by being buried in
water that the old self might die with Christ.
Then a new man is raised up with Christ to the new
life made possible by God through Christ./5
Changed Behavior, Values & Beliefs (Darkness to
Light)
God does not want human transformation to stop
with a changed status. God expects the whole
person of those whom He has redeemed to likewise
be changed./6 How can this happen? If we listen to
Scripture and were to organize some general steps,
they would be:
1) Change from darkness to light in what you
think, value, pursue and do
Disciples of Jesus are expected to learn from
Christ the values and behaviors which characterize
a spiritually healthy life./7 As those who have
died in baptism to their former lifestyle, they
are to seek to please the Lord who now reigns over
their life./8 Disciples are expected to adopt the
new beliefs and values associated with Christ.
These will create new agendas, new dreams, and a
new standard of behavior.
2) Deliberately strive to grow into putting the
new mindset into action
God's people are expected to put the new lifestyle
into practice; it is not an optional extra./9
While forgiveness is available for sin, this can
never become an excuse to hamstring a genuine
effort to grow.
Do People Change? People Do!
The status and behavior of self-centered greedy
individuals, swindling business dealers, those
imprisoned in various kinds of sexual immorality
and perversions, gossipers, thieves as well as
those condemned by every other form of ungodliness
have been transformed in the name of the Lord
Jesus./10 People can change. This truth brings a
revitalizing freshness filled with hope for a
stagnant world mired in harmful routines.
God has made real transformation possible. God can
change our status. The question is whether we are
willing to put forth the effort to learn of Christ
to start the lifestyle change from the inside out.
Each of us needs to ask the question, "how is my
way of living life different from the image of
Christ?" Having created a specific list of new
thoughts, motivations and behaviors which need to
be adopted, God calls us to act. The Christian
life is about continued growth and
transformation./11
1/ Jeremiah 5:3; Proverbs 27:22
2/ Colossians 1:21-22
3/ 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18
4/ Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 1:7-8
5/ Romans 6:1-23; Colossians 2:11-13
6/ 1 Thessalonians 4:7; Ephesians 5:8-11
7 Ephesians 4:21-24; Romans 12:1-2; Colossians
3:9-10
8/ Ephesians 5:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-12
9/ Ephesians 4:1; 5:1; Philippians 1:27; 3:16
10/ 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
11/ 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Peter 1:5-7; Romans 8:29
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