Life Ministries

A Look at Change
1^st. Peter 1:13 – 2:3

    When it comes to the Christians life and lifestyle, there is a good admonishment in 2 Corinthians 13:5 that we should look at often which says, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is IN you…unless of course, you fail the test?” Now, what is the “test”? I believe the test involves two things; change and fruit. Scripture itself testifies to the fact that if there is no change, there is no Christ – if there is no fruit, no Spirit!

    I have been looking at various scriptures, all of which talk about “change or fruit” in the life of a Christian. I have learned that these are things that #1 God demands or commands; #2 These are things that God desires and will do if we allow Him; #3 Some of these changes happen because we are born again; #4 Some of these things only happen because of our will ( we must make the effort and be consistent.)
    Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” There are three reasons it begins in the mind; #1 So we will be able to “test and approve what God’s will is”… #2 Because you can’t put new wine into old wineskins…it will “blow their minds”… And, #3 Because when we change our thinking, it changes the way we feel, (affects our emotions) which in turn affects our will or our actions.  The only way of real change is God’s way – from the inside out!
    God is in the business of “Extreme makeovers”…”Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things become new!”  If there ever was a scripture that speaks of change that is it.
You can also read – Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 13:23-30; John 13:34-35; John 14:23-24 and finally, John 15:5-8
    “Love” is the result of “change” in all three areas of our inner being; the mind, the heart, which in turn change our actions… and it is the first “fruit” of the Spirit. It is the fruit of the Spirit that will manifest itself when Christ is IN us…No change? No Christ…No fruit? No Spirit.
    There are those who think if they BELIEVE the right thing, that makes them okay with God. However, if what we believe (which is what we think or what is in our heads) never reaches our hearts, it is useless. The Pharisees believed a lot of right things, but Jesus had a problem with them!
    There are also some who think that if they DO the right things, they are o.k. with God. “I attend church; give tithes and offerings; read my Bible now and then” but, just doing right things won’t do it either…“any who say to me Lord, Lord”, didn’t we do this or didn’t we do that…and Jesus said to them “Depart from me, I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23)
    There are also those who think because they DON’T do certain things, they are right with God. “Well, I don’t cuss, drink, smoke, or chew…and I don’t go with girls that do!” There were a lot of things the Pharisees didn’t do…they were very righteous… But, Jesus called them “white washed tombs.” What God says in His Word is “They honor me with their lips, but their HEARTS are far from me.”  
    Does God care about what we believe? ( Yes)  Does he care about the things we DO? ( Yes )  Does he care about the things we DON”T do?  Of course!   But, all of those things must stem from a heart that loves God because it’s that love that will influence every aspect of our lives. “Man sees the outside, but God sees the heart!” (see Mathew 23:28)
    Finally, I learned that all of this “change” that either comes because God does it automatically, or because of the Holy Spirit convicting us and enabling us to change and produce fruit, is all part of the process we call “sanctification”.  “It is God who works IN you to WILL and to ACT according to His good purpose”. ( Philippians 2:13 )
    We must hunger and long for the Word of God that will teach us the difference between truth and error, which will teach us the very mind and heart of God. As we walk by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we make the choice to put off the old and put on the new, we will become spiritually mature, sound, wholesome and healthy. We must long for the Word of God. And he will put that longing in our hearts. Don't try to do it mechanically because it will taste sour if you do. We must long for it!
    Peter's desire for his spiritual children is that they may grow in respect to their salvation if they have tasted of the kindness of the Lord. That's the process of sanctification. There is a difference between “change” and “growth”…They are not the same. Growth is like a ship on a voyage; slow, steady progress toward the destination of maturity; change is more radical and critical. It’s like the captain of the ship shouting; “Quick, start bailing, we’re taking on water, and if we don’t do something we’re gonna go down!”
    Growth is about improving who we already are; change is about becoming someone different. Growth usually concerns addition – “Make every effort to add to your faith…goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love”. ( 2 Peter 1:5 ) Change is more about elimination of things that are damaging; “put off” - “put to death” – “crucify” – “rid yourselves of” – such things as; and then the list goes on…most of which are an act of our will.
    Yes, God will help us to change, but He never forces himself upon us…He will only do what we allow and ask Him to do. He does it by the power within us, but we must work “with” Him. “With God nothing is impossible!”