Our gospel is the gospel of transformation or it’s no gospel at all. We do not deny that forgiveness and the atonement for sin is absolutely essential, because without it man is trapped in his sin and transformation is just a fantasy. The world believes that they can change people through their counseling and psychotropic drugs, but they are simply fooling themselves, which has been proven over and over again. Just recently we have seen once again a patient of psychological counseling and the use of psychotropic drugs do the unthinkable. Until a person is delivered from the power of sin then it is quite impossible for them to really change. It deeply saddens me that the world is trapped in their sin and quite unwilling to do anything about it. I know the world is doing its best to help people change, but tragically they are only making matters worse. Admittedly, some people appear to get better or just get better on their own, but their heart is never really changed. I will never doubt their sincerity, but I am convinced that their way will never work. Only God’s way will ever change man into the kind of person he was created to be.
Let’s take a look at God’s way. It’s not just putting on a new set of traditions or learning how to play church or following the counsel of the so called professionals of psychiatry. On the other hand, it is all about following the Way. In following the Way man learns how to put off the old life and put on the new. He learns how to take all of God’s commandments seriously and put them into his life. These are the two things that will set us apart from the world. As bright shining stars in a dark sky we as Christians will shine brilliantly in the night if we remain faithful to Jesus. Never underestimate the struggle with the old sin nature who simply does not want to die. It will be the most difficult thing you have ever done, but with God all things are possible. As the butterfly struggles to free itself from the cocoon he metamorphoses into a beautiful new creation. Friend, if you don’t’ believe that Jesus Christ can really transform you then you won’t believe it will transform anyone else and then your gospel preaching is only empty rhetoric. Transformation believes that the old life has passed away and behold all things are new. Your past life can no longer hold you in bondage to a static personality, but you have been set free to a new dynamic personality that’s being changed into the likeness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As you grow from one degree of glory to another you learn to become citizens of the Kingdom.
Originally posted by Rev. Daniel W. Blair on Aug 04, 2012 under the title “Transformation”