Sermon Central
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Biblical Change PRO
Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008 (message contributor)
Biblical Change
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1, 2)
The true worshiper of Christ determines God's good, pleasing and perfect will for his life, not through the latest religious fad, but through sacrificial living for the Lord. Obedient Christians are sacrificing self and sin, and have chosen to enter the narrow gate and walk the narrow path which leads to that abundant and eternal life promised by Jesus Christ. (Matthew 7: 13)
One must be careful not to run with men who are lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, unholy and without self-control. The Bible says have nothing to do with them. For you will stay uncontrolled, conceited, and a lover of pleasure rather than a lover of God. You would end up with a form of godliness yet denying God's power. (2 Timothy 3:2-5) You will find yourself committing sins which are obviously acts of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5: 19 - 21) You will join those who will not put up with sound doctrine and gather around yourself teachers who will tell you what your itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4: 3)
However, you could choose to accept Jesus Christ to be both Savior and Lord, thus discovering His forgiveness, love, and empowering through the Holy Spirit to overcome self-centeredness and sin-centeredness. Those who do have seen marriages reconciled, been delivered from chemical dependencies (alcohol and drugs) and are known to be over-comers. Their testimonies reflect a relationship with Jesus Christ, a changed life.
The first step in understanding Biblical change is to agree with what Jesus said causes mankind to sin. "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and makes a man unclean." (Mark 7: 21 - 23) The circumstances around man do not cause him to sin, it is what is in the heart of man that...
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