10 Scriptural Reasons You Can Change - 8

Reason why God says we can CHANGE #8:

"God has given us a CHANGE PROCESS for TRANSFORMATION."

" You were taught in (Christ), as the truth is in Jesus, to PUT OFF your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life, and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to PUT ON the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:21-24

Even with all the glorious helps God has given us for CHANGE we STILL need to understand His basic PROCESS for change. We do not change by CHANCE, nor do we change without real INTENTION to change. What is this process for change?

• The attitudes, actions, and speech of our FORMER LIFE are to be PUT OFF. In other places Scripture calls this "putting to death the deeds of our flesh" (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5). We HAVE DIED with Christ (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6) in that the PENALTY of sin has been paid and the POWER of sin to rule us has been broken. But there remains sin at work as a force in our lives and HABITS remaining from our life before Christ. We are told that these must be PUT OFF, put out of our lives, and amputated from our lifestyle. And so, as vv.25-32 of Ephesians 4 illustrates, we are to stop lying, to be angry without sinning, to steal no more, and not to let any rotten words come out of our mouths. However, PUTTING OFF alone is NOT enough. If you put something sinful out of your life without REPLACING IT, it won't stay away long!
• And so, between PUTTING OFF and PUTTING ON there needs to be a RENEWING OF OUR MINDS that takes place (v.23). We must be learning of God's new and holy ways. We must be learning what our Father and His Son are like and therefore what being like Him requires in daily living. By meditation in the Word of God and by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit our minds are RENEWED by God's truth (John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 3:17,18) so that we think more and more naturally God's thoughts after Him. We begin to know His will in more and more areas and situations of life. What a glorious day it is when instead of responding to an insult in anger and insult we immediately turn in trust to God to be our Shield and we let HIM take revenge. What a day it is when instead of wishing harm on our enemy we have compassionate thoughts and pray for his salvation. How do these days come? NOT by trying to live by some external list but by INTERNALIZING the Word of God, allowing it to RICHLY DWELL within us, and therefore allowing the Spirit of God to transform our very souls, the core of our being, our MINDS!
• This renewing of the mind, then, makes possible not only the PUTTING OFF of the habits and sin of our former life, but the PUTTING ON of new, godly habits of life. And so, as Paul again illustrates in vv.25-32, we don't lie but we tell the truth, we don't sin in our anger but take our anger to God and respond in self control, compassion, and kindness, we don't steal but instead give generously, and we don't speak garbage but instead speak gracious truth in love! And these kinds of godly habits more and more flow out of an increasingly godly heart and mind.

This PROCESS of CHANGE is God's good gift to us. It is for the beginner and for the mature saint equally. The old must be PUT OFF before we can PUT ON the new. And our very soul and mind must be transformed as well as our speech and actions.

Let us be clear on this PROCESS and daily PUT OFF, BE RENEWED, and PUT ON the new life that is ours in Christ.