Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within. Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:6-7 CSB
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 CSB
Conversion + Transformation = Sanctification
In the Bible, transformation means to change from a life that conforms to the world to one that pleases God instead. This happens after we become a Christian and begin the renewing of our minds to be focused on God and His words and His will for our lives. We begin a spiritual transformation into becoming the new person we are in Him. Conversion happens instantly when we become a Christian, but transformation is a part of sanctification which is the state we will be in until we reach heaven. Sanctification is the process of becoming set apart for special use. Through sanctification we become holy or like Christ. We cannot begin transformation or sanctification without confessing our sin, accepting forgiveness, and repenting of our sin. We cannot be transformed or sanctified if we continue to allow sin in our lives.
Transformation and sanctification are something God does in us. We cannot do it for ourselves but there are some things required of us for transformation and sanctification to happen.
Release and Surrender required for transformation
The things we have to release to be transformed are the shackles that held us in that prison for so long. What handful of things we may have to release is little compared to all we will gain by being transformed.
- Release of flesh - God does not want only your soul and your spirit. God does not want only your prayer and thoughts. God affects whatever we present to Him. He wants all of us. Our “flesh” and the desires of the flesh must go away and they go away by releasing them for the things of the Spirit.
- Release of time- After you become a Christian and God begins to transform your life, you will have to be intentional with how you spend your time. If transformation is the renewing of our minds, then our time belongs to whatever glorifies Him and brings the focus of our whole being to Him. You cannot give your life to Christ without giving Him your time.
- Release of worship - "service" - Worship is the highest place of sacrifice to God. Real worship is the offering of our whole lives and all that we do every day with it, to God. Real worship is not the offering of elaborate prayers to God. Real worship is the offering of everyday life to god, seeking his changing and transforming power of every area of our lives and thus our nature. Real worship is a way of living, not a once a week event.
Surrender – release and give it to God.
Paul warns against conforming to the world - Do not be conformed to this age… Conformity invites compromise of all our lives. Don't let the world decide what you are going to be like, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Surrender which is ongoing = growth
While conversion is instantaneous we find that transformation is life involving. Someone said it this way, "It took God just one day to get the children of Israel out of Egypt, but it took God forty years to get Egypt out of the children of Israel." God can change a man's heart in a moment, but it takes a lifetime to be transformed and sanctified.
Transformation results in obedience.
So that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
- Only a renewed mind can accept Gods will. Conversion and transformation will cause us to want to seek and accept God’s will for our lives. The more we walk with Him and know Him, the more we will want nothing but His will for our lives.
- Only a renewed mind can discipline to Gods will. Not only will we seek and desire God’s will, but we will be disciplined to God’s will.
