Change is a
fundamental concept of the gospel of Christ.
**********************************************
The gospel
repeatedly emphasizes that those who are in Christ must be new and different.
2 Corinthians
5:17 - If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed
away; behold, all things have become new.
Romans 6:4 - We
were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life.
The purpose of
this lesson is to consider the gospel teaching that requires us to be new and
different people.
*****************************************************
Many people tend to resist change. Even people who know that the Bible teaches the importance of a new life as Christians, may resist specific changes in our lives. And when we try to make changes, we find change difficult.
Consider the
following aspects of the Bible teaching about the need for change:
The Importance of
Change
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Consider some of
the gospel concepts that emphasize the need for change.
A new man and a
new birth
***********************
2 Corinthians
5:17 - When one comes into Christ, he becomes a new creature. Old things are
passed away and all things become new. We must not continue in the old ways.
Those have passed away. We must look at everything about our lives in a new way
so we change as needed.
John 3:3,5 - This
change is the result of a new birth. Becoming a follower of Christ is like
being born again. It is like starting life all over again. Jesus intends for
each of us to become an entirely new and different person.
Romans 6:4 - When
we are buried with Christ in baptism, we walk in newness of life.
Baptism is not
just about being forgiven of sins. It is the final step of a process in which
we commit ourselves to change, and it is the beginning of a whole new life
which must lead us to be different from what we were and different from the
people of the world.
Transformation
*************
Romans 12:2 - Do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Transformation involves a complete change of nature, like a caterpillar
being changed into a butterfly. That is how you and I must change to please
God.
2 Corinthians
3:18 - Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed
into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. As
we observe our Master, our goal is to become like Him. That requires major
change.
People in society
often talk about the need for change: change in healthcare, change in the
economy, change in politics, etc. But not all change is good. The goal is not
change for the sake of change. Nevertheless, change is absolutely essential to
the gospel.
Becoming a
Christian is not just about changing from guilty to innocent. It is about being
transformed into different people, so that we become like our Master. And
baptism is not the conclusion of this change. Baptism is the beginning of a
lifetime of change.
Repentance and
works of repentance
*******************************
Repentance is a
fundamental step in changing, because repentance is a change of mind.
Repentance is when we determine to become different. To change, we must be
transformed by renewing our mind. We determine in our hearts that we will
change.
Acts 2:38 -
Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
2 Corinthians
7:10 - Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation.
Acts 8:22 -
Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought
of your heart may be forgiven you.
Acts 26:20 - Men
must then do works worthy of repentance. [Luke 3:8-14; Matthew 3:8]
Repentance is not
just a requirement before baptism. Most of these passages are addressed to
followers of Christ. Repentance is needed repeatedly in our lives whenever we
sin. It is a fundamental part of the ongoing process of change in the
Christian's life.
Conversion
*********
We often refer to
the process of becoming a follower of Christ as "conversion." But the
basic meaning of the term refers to a fundamental change.
Psalms 19:7 - The
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.
Matthew 18:3 -
Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven.
Acts 3:19 -
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.
The reason we
needed to be converted is that each of us was guilty of sin, which alienated us
from God. So we must change our relationship with God, but to do so we must
change our course.
The life of a
Christian begins with a change from sin to righteousness, from guilt to
innocence, from separation from God to reconciliation to God, from being lost
to being saved. But this is just the beginning of a lifetime of change. To
resist or neglect to change where we need to change is to reject the
fundamental concept which made us Christians to begin with.
Growth
******
After becoming a
child of God, we must grow as Christians. But growth is change.
John 15:2 - Every
branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Ephesians 4:15 -
Speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head,
Christ.
2 Peter 3:18 -
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
After conversion,
a Christian must live a life of growth. We must totally re-examine every aspect
of our lives: moral conduct, church membership, Bible study, prayer and all
aspects of worship, conduct toward our spouse and children, employer and other
employees, neighbors and civil rulers. We must change our action, speech,
dress, and especially attitude. Anything that does not harmonize with the word
of God must change.
One who is
unwilling to change or who neglects to change, can never become what God wants
him to be. Change is absolute fundamental to the gospel of Christ and to the
life of a Christian.
I want to
emphasize two fundamental principles we need to make the necessary changes.
Putting Off the
Old and Putting on the New
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Ephesians 4:22-24
- Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and put on the new man which was created according to God, in true
righteousness and holiness. [Colossians 3:9,10]
The change that
the gospel requires involves both putting off and putting on. Some passages
tell us things we must cease or eliminate from our lives. Other passages tell
us things we must add and improve in our lives. And some passages tell us to
both put off and put on.
Note examples:
Passage - Put Off
/ Put On
================
Ephesians 4:25 -
Putting away lying / speak truth with his neighbor
Ephesians 4:28 -
Let him who stole, Steal no longer / but labor, to give him who has need
Ephesians 4:29 -
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth / but what is good for
edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Ephesians 4:31,32
- Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away, with
all malice. /And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
just as God in Christ forgave you
Psalm 1:1,2 -
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, / but his
delight is in the law of the LORD, AND IN HIS LAW HE MEDITATES
Proverbs 15:28-
But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil / The heart of the righteous
studies how to answer
James 1:21 - Lay
aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness / receive with meekness the
implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
James 5:12 -Do
not swear / but let your "Yes," be "Yes," and your
"No," "No."
Hebrews 10:25 -
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together / but exhorting one another
1 Peter 2:1,2 -
Laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking /
desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby
1 Peter 3:9 - Not
returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling / but on the contrary blessing
Romans 6:12,13 -
do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin / but
present yourselves to God, and your members as instruments of righteousness to
God
Galatians 5:19-24
- Those who do the works of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom / But the
fruit of the Spirit is…
Lessons to be
learned
******************
Gospel change
requires both eliminating evil and adding positive good works.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many people seem
to think that doing some good will compensate for their sins.
Immoral people
may feel justified because they donate to charitable works, help their
neighbors, or work hard on their jobs. For example, some people tell how kind
and generous their homosexual friends are, as though somehow good works
compensate for homosexuality.
When you point
out the errors of a religious group, members may tell about the good works the
group is doing, as though that means their sins should not be criticized.
On the other
hand, people in faithful congregations may neglect positive works of service,
but they think they should be accepted because they are not involved in moral
or religious error.
As we have seen,
the gospel requires a complete new man. This requires both eliminating evil and
diligently practicing good works. Both are necessary, and neglecting either one
is a failure to change as God's word teaches.
Adding good supports
and encourages removing evil, and vice-versa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matthew 12:43-45
- A demon left a man but later found the man's life still empty. He moved back
in bringing seven other demons with him! Jesus applied this to Israel, but it
is a general principle. Replace bad habits with good and the bad is less likely
to return.
Removing evil and
adding good tend to encourage and strengthen one another. A person who attempts
to do good will find that any evil that remains in his life will hinder his
good works.
On the other
hand, as with the man with the demons, our attempts to remove evil will be more
successful if we replace the sin with good works. For every bad habit you
"put off," find some useful activity to "put on" in its
place, and keeping out the evil will be much easier.
Proper change
involves both removing evil and adding good. Put off and put on.
Practice Makes
Perfect
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Success in
changing ourselves to please God requires just plain hard work and diligent
practice. This is especially so if sin has become habitual in our lives or if
we need some good work to become a habit. God does not promise change will be
easy, but He promises it is possible if we work diligently according to His
word.
So in order to
change to serve God, we must compel ourselves to do what we know is right and
repeat it until it becomes "second nature."
Consider some
Scriptures.
*********************
Diligence and
hard work
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 Corinthians
15:58 - Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.
James 1:22-25 -
Be doers of the word, not just hearers.
Luke 9:23 - If
anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow Me.
Exercise and
training
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The changes we
need to make are often described like the training programs and practice that
athletes must use to develop their skill.
Hebrews 5:14 -
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Luke 6:40 - A
disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will
be like his teacher.
1 Timothy 4:7,8 -
Exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but
godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is
and of that which is to come. (NASB: "discipline yourself")
1 Corinthians
9:27 - But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have
preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Most of us have
some understanding of the exercise and practice that athletes undergo in order
to be winners. In comparison to a sport, becoming a godly person is far more
important. But in a similar way it requires persistent hard work.
[2 Timothy
3:16,17[
Lessons to be
learned
******************
Habits are formed
by repeated action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Changing to
become a righteous person will require repeated, diligent practice and training
in doing right instead of wrong. This is true in the formation of any habit.
Our bad habits developed by repetition of bad practices. In the same way, in
order to break our bad habits and establish good habits, we must diligently
practice good instead of bad.
At first this
requires conscious, deliberate effort and may not feel comfortable or natural.
We may need to force ourselves to do right instead of wrong until it becomes
second nature.
Consider how you
learned to ride a bicycle or drive a car. At first you had to consciously
control each action, even when it felt unnatural and uncomfortable. You had to
think about each step, and make yourself do what needed to be done. But repetition
produces habits that soon feel natural.
The same is true
in spiritual matters. When we first cease our sinful practices and begin doing
good works, we may feel strange. Our old ways may seem comfortable because we
are used to them. New ways may seem uncomfortable and unnatural. This may be
true of attending church meetings, studying the Bible, prayer, teaching others,
and leading in the worship assemblies of the church. Each new step may seem
strange.
But as we learn
them by continual use and practice, we find that it soon becomes a part of our
lives. Then we would not feel right if we went back to our old way of life.
Success in change
requires persistence and patience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The kind of
serious and significant change that the gospel requires often takes time. That
is why the Scriptures describe it as a growth process.
Growth does not
happen overnight. It often involves mistakes, stumbling, and even falling.
Consider how our children learn to walk and run and eventually become useful
workers. So, we must not let our problems and failures keep us from getting up
and going on.
Likewise, the
athlete does not learn his skill in just a few attempts. His training requires
discipline and diligence. He must practice his skills day in and day out to
achieve his goals.
The Christian has
far greater goals to accomplish. His change requires becoming a fundamentally
new person in his conduct, his speech, his dress, and his whole outlook on
life.
And every change
requires action: we must act to eliminate sinful practices, act to develop good
habits, act to improve our attitudes, act to improve our speech, act to learn
to help those around us. Christ requires change, and change requires action.
And we must persist in the action till we succeed.
Conclusion
=======
Acts 17:30 says
God commands all men everywhere to repent. But repentance is a decision to
change. So God requires all people everywhere to make up their mind to change
and turn from sin. This is not just a surface change or tweaking a few habits
here and there. It is a fundamental change of one's entire character and
outlook on life from the inside out.
People who have
never become Christians must repent of their past sins and make up their minds
to receive forgiveness by the blood of Jesus Christ. This requires them to
confess Christ and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Then they must
bring forth the fruits of repentance by diligently changing their lives to
become faithful followers of Christ.
But those who are
already Christians must continue this lifetime of change and growth. And they
also must repent when they find that they have failed to change as they ought
to. Then they must pray for forgiveness and make correction with those against
whom they have sinned.
Please consider
your own life and determine to make the changes that God requires.
(C) Copyright
2018, David E. Pratte
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