by David J. Stewart
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." —2nd Corinthians 5:17
The Christian life is all about changing. We
should always be willing to move to the right, but never to the left. In
other words, we should be willing to make improvements, but never compromise
our convictions and character.
King David asked God to reveal areas in his life that needed to change...
"Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults." —Psalm 19:12
David's prayer was for the Lord to help him realize his unrealized faults. I tell people that I don't have a single fault. That's right, I have MANY faults!
A believer who loves the Lord more than anything else desires to please the Lord (John 14:15). Many believers love sin more than the Lord, which is why they continue in sin. The Bible teaches that a Christian who refuses to confess and forsake sin in their life cannot prosper...
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." —Proverb 28:13
Every believer needs to develop a habit of asking the Holy Spirit if there's anything that needs to change. What changes need to be made in my life? Is God pleased with me? A believer who walks with God will care, because God cares (1st Peter 5:7).
It is the Holy Spirit of God that changes us through the Scriptures (John 17:17). As we see Jesus more and more in the Scriptures, we become like Him. One day at the Rapture, when we see our great King, we will be changed completely and given a new body (1st Corinthians 15:52). God wants to change us through His Spirit which lives in us as believers...
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." —2nd Corinthians 3:18
We will one day be adults in the Lord in Heaven, but for now we are called the "children of God." Thankfully, by the precious blood of Jesus, we have been justified and declared faultless before God...
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" —Jude 1:24
God's method for changing the believer is by being nourished daily on the milk of the Word of God...
"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" —1st Peter 2:1-2
The Scriptures we just read are precious, they tell us how to "grow." Most people quote verse two without ever looking at verse one. We are to "lay aside" all of the immature criticizing, jealousy and hypocritical slandering that hinders our growth. Do you want to grow? Then your first step is to learn to "shut-up." James tells us that a man's religion is in vain if he bridles not his tongue.
Pastor Jack Hyles (one of my heroes of the Christian faith) has a chapter in his great book "Justice" called, "God's "Get Character Quick" Plan." How do you get quick character? By keeping your mouth shut when your tempted to gossip, slander or tear-down another person. More churches have been destroyed by gossip than Communism. Most people never learn to control their tongue.
It is significant that God's command to desire the milk of the Word is preceded by a command to lay aside all malice, guile, hypocrisies, envies and evil speakings. No amount of Bible reading nor Scriptural knowledge is going to benefit a believer who has no desire to live for God.
If we want to grow in the Lord, then we must search the Scriptures (John 5:39). How many believers do you know who "desire" the Word of God? I don't know too many. Most professed believers withdraw from a conversation about the Bible. The Word of God is incredible! I love talking about the Bible and teaching God's Word to others. The truth of God's Word will change us if we want to be changed. If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).
Every Christian should have a burning desire to become more like Jesus, our God and Savior—to love our neighbor as our self, to reach more souls with the gospel, to help more poor people, to care, to contend for the Christian faith, to stand up for God against evildoers, to do more for God, to obey the Scriptures, et cetera.
If we care, then we will search the Scriptures and pray for God's Holy Spirit to change us more into the image of Jesus Christ. We cannot do anything by ourselves (John 15:5). We need the Spirit of Christ to live the Christian life through us...
Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
