How to Be Transformed

Be transformed in Christ. God transforms our mind, will and emotions. He transforms us from within. Before we were transformed in Christ, we were conformed to this present evil world. Transformation is a change in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).

Be transformed through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The word of the gospel is the instrument for this transformation. The Holy Spirit is the agent who transforms us (1 Thessalonians 1:5). Knowing Jesus as our Lord is the result (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3).

Be transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8). The Holy Spirit works through the gospel of Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:5). No one could ever be transformed without the Spirit of God working in us. This transformation is by the Spirit of God changing our hearts.

Be transformed in Christ to understand the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). We are enabled to see and believe the truth of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit transforms us in mind, will and emotions. New birth transforms us in Christ, by the grace of God to the glory of God.

Is Jesus Your Surety?

"Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant" (Hebrews 7:22). A surety is a guarantee. In Bible days, the word surety was used to describe someone who guaranteed another person's debt would be paid. All of us have a sin debt to God. The good news is Jesus paid it all. Your surety of salvation is Jesus Christ alone.

We all have a sin debt to God. We have broken God's law. Our conscience testifies as much. As your surety, because Jesus paid it all. You look to the cross of Jesus, where He died in your place. Your sin debt to God's justice was paid, not in part but the whole. You are free from a debt that you could never repay. 

Jesus is your surety to the promises of God. In the new covenant, God makes four promises to every believer, guaranteed through Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13). These promises are: (1) God will put His laws in your mind; (2) God will be your God and we are His people; (3) We will all know the Lord; (4) God will forgive your sins and remember them no more.

Jesus is your surety in the gospel. He died for your sins. He is risen from the dead for your justification. We are children of God by faith in the Lord Jesus (Galatians 3:26). Jesus intercedes for believers, that the Father will "keep them from the evil one" (John 17:15). This is the present day ministry of Jesus, as every believer's High Priest (Hebrews 7:20-25). Jesus shall return to glorify all who believe in Him (1 John 3:2). Your surety must be in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Good News In Christ

The word Gospel means good news. The good news is about our Lord Jesus Christ offered to all people everywhere (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-47). God sent his Son to die for our sins, and Christ was raised from the dead according to the Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus Christ is the good news.

The good news is about the forgiveness of all our sins and life everlasting, through Jesus Christ our Lord. This good news is offered freely to all. It comes as the gift of God. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).

The good news is about eternal life for all who believe through the resurrection of Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23; 10:9). Only the death of Jesus Christ at the cross can save us from the condemnation of our sins. The resurrection of Christ proves that Jesus is the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 1:1-4). 

The good news of Jesus Christ is all spiritual blessings for us. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Every blessing God has for us comes through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

How to Know God

Knowing about God is not knowing God. Most people know about God from things they have observed or heard. Our parents may have talked to us about God. We may attend church where a minister teaches about God. However, knowing about God is not knowing God.

Know God by a faith relationship. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"(Hebrews 11:1). You cannot come to God any other way. Because God is Spirit, you cannot see Him (John 4:24). Only faith can bring you into a relationship with God. Faith in God is trusting God (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Know God by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me"(John 14:6). We know God by "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith"(Hebrews 12:2).

Know God as you walk by faith. God becomes your daily companion. You can only walk with God by faith. "For we walk by faith, not by sight"(2 Corinthians 5:7). Faith assures you that God is with you, all the time and everywhere. Faith is the assurance that God hears your prayers. Faith is the evidence of knowing God.

Believers Are Righteous

Believers are righteous through faith in Christ (Romans 3:21-22). Believers are justified and accounted righteous before God. It is never self-righteousness, but the righteousness of God in Christ. Righteousness is God's gift to believers in Christ.

Believers are righteous in Christ alone. The apostle Paul speaks of the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers in 2 Corinthians 5:21. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Martin Luther called it the great exchange. Christ takes away our sins and gives us His righteousness.

Believers are righteous by faith alone in Christ. The Christian life can never be based upon our self-righteousness, which is as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). We give up all hope in self-righteousness and become righteous before God in Christ alone. Only faith in our Lord Jesus Christ can impute perfect righteousness to us before God. Simply stated, we are accounted righteous by faith in Christ.

Believers are accounted righteous by God's grace alone in Christ. Our sins were imputed or accounted to Christ at the cross. His righteousness was imputed or accounted to us by grace alone through faith alone. There is only one way we can receive the righteousness of God. That's by grace through faith in Christ.

The Everlasting Covenant

The Everlasting Covenant is God's word of promise in an oath that cannot be broken. In ancient times, covenant vows were sealed in the death of a sacrificial animal. God's everlasting covenant is sealed in the blood of His Son (Hebrews 13:20-21). God's covenant word in the Bible is for every believer in Christ.

The Everlasting Covenant is God's word of promise forever. Our faith in God, the forgiveness of our sins, our eternal destiny, and God's work in our lives are all forever. Forever O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89). God's covenant word is based upon an oath forever.

The Everlasting Covenant is God's word guaranteed. His oath of covenant promises are for every believer in Christ. Jesus is our surety or guarantee to the covenant promises that cannot be broken (Hebrews 7:22). The Bible declares God's word is forever settled in heaven. That's God's covenant word to every believer. 

The Everlasting Covenant is God's word to every believer in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). We read the covenant promises in the Bible, which are forever the same. God has sworn with a covenant oath, and will not repent. He will not change His mind. God, who cannot lie, promised before time began (Titus 1:2). That's God's covenant promises for every believer in Christ.

Justification by Faith

Justification means we are not condemned for our sins. Based upon faith alone in Christ, sinners are justified before God. His sinless life and substitutionary death on the cross for sinners is the basis for our justification. We are justified by faith, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24).

Justification by faith alone is in Christ. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Faith is trust and confidence, relying upon Christ alone. By faith in Christ, sinners are justified with God.

Justification by faith alone is grace in Christ. Faith receives the grace of God in Christ. Faith is the evidence that the believer is justified before God. It is the assurance of faith. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed (Romans 4:16).

Justification by faith alone in Christ is unto righteousness. The only way a sinner can become righteous before God is by faith alone in Christ. Righteousness is the gift of God to us. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness (Romans 4:5).

Beware of Dead Faith

Dead faith will not obey the word and will of God. Living faith does God's will. Living faith works through us. God can do anything that He chooses to do without us. However, God has chosen to work through us. Living faith does the the will of God. Beware of dead faith that does nothing."As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also"(James 2:26).

The Bible teaches that we are laborers together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). It is God's will for faith to work through us. You may put a glove on your hand to do the work before you. The glove does not do the work alone, neither can it. The hand works through the glove. So,"it is God who works in you both to will and do of his good pleasure"(Philippians 2:13).

Dead faith says,"There is nothing that we can do. What will be, will be. Nothing we can do will make any difference." To the contrary, living faith says,"I will do the word of God. He has put it in my heart. He is working through me to the praise of his glory. I am a doer of the word." The Bible says,"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves"(James 1:22).

Maybe you are in a situation where you are asking God to do something about it. Living faith prays like this,"God what would you have me to do?" Faith acts on the word of God. Living faith rises up to do something about it. Dead faith that does nothing.

When You Are Saved

You are saved when you believe the gospel of Christ. The gospel teaches that Christ died for our sins. He is risen from the dead as our living Savior and Lord (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believers confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 10:9). 

When you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are saved. God works in us through Christ to save us (Hebrews 13:20-21). God will "make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen" (vs. 21). Therefore, to be saved is to please God through Christ. Our relationship with God in Christ is forever.

You are saved when you receive God's grace through faith in Christ. Jesus is the fulness of God's grace (John 1:16). The grace of Christ saves us through faith in Christ. Grace in Christ is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace is God's unmerited favor for sinners. You are saved by God's grace alone in Christ.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). The Bible is clear about when you are saved. Base your salvation on the written word of God in your Bible. Trust the promise of God to save you, when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

God Gives You Grace

God gives you grace in salvation. It is not your works, but the work of God in Christ. Grace is not something that you deserve, but God freely gives you (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace takes away all your sins at the cross of Jesus (1 John 1:7). Grace gives you the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Grace gives us faith to trust in Christ (Philippians 1:29).

God gives you grace in Christ. He is the fullness of grace (John 1:16). Believing on the Lord Jesus is receiving the grace of God. Preceding grace awakens you to believe in Christ (John 16:7-11). Grace enables you to believe on Christ (Acts 15:9-11). Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

God gives you grace as unmerited favor in Christ. Grace is the gift of salvation that you receive through the gospel of Christ. Grace can never be bought, earned, nor achieved through personal effort. Grace is always bestowed by the God of all grace. Grace gives you eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23).

God gives you grace through the Holy Spirit changing your heart. The Spirit of grace operates directly on your heart, to change you from the inside out. God's grace changes your mind to understand the things of God (Romans 12:2). Grace changes your will to desire God's good will (Philippians 2:13). Grace changes your emotions to have a tender heart for God (Ezekiel 36:26).

Your Anointing Abides

"But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you" (1 John 2:27). The anointing of the Holy Spirit is received to abide in you as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word Christ means "anointed one." Christ abides in you as a believer, through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones taught,"We have been anointed and been set apart; we have received this unction, and it has given us this understanding of truth which enables us to say that 'we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16).

What does it mean to "have the mind of Christ?" It means the anointing of the Holy Spirit abides in you to teach you (1 John 2:27). He teaches you according to Holy Scripture, inspired of the Holy Spirit. The mind of Christ is always according to Scripture.

According to the New Testament, you are taught of God. Jesus said, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me" (John 6:45). 

Certainly, God uses people to teach us, such as evangelists, pastors, and other teachers. However, we are all dependent upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit to teach us. Both teachers and those who are taught must depend upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit to understand the truth. The anointing of the Spirit abides in you.

Complete Salvation

Charles H. Spurgeon said, "Great care must be taken that this faith is exercised upon Christ for complete salvation, and for not just part of it. Numbers of people think that the Lord Jesus is available for the pardon of past sin, but they cannot trust Him for preservation in the future."

"Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them"(Hebrews 7:25). Jesus Christ completely saves. Spurgeon put it this way, saying, "Genuine faith trusts a whole Christ for the whole of salvation." Our Lord Jesus Christ is complete salvation for every believer.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ"(Philippians 1:6). Therefore, Spurgeon was clear to maintain that believers in the Lord Jesus can "trust Him for preservation in the future." That means Jesus Christ begins and completes our salvation.

Spurgeon warned of Christians who could trust Christ to save them from past sins, but they did not trust Him for the future. Spurgeon said,"They trust Him for years past, but not for years to come." He was sure of complete salvation in Christ. He declared, "Salvation by grace is eternal salvation. Sinners must commit their souls unto the keeping of Christ for all eternity." Jesus Christ is every believer's complete salvation.

Conviction & Conversion

Millard Erickson wrote, "Conversion is the individual turning to God. ... Jesus spoke specifically of conviction of sin, which is the prerequisite of repentance (John 16:8-11). Without the work of the Holy Spirit, there can be no conversion." 

Conviction is the work the Holy Spirit prior to conversion. Left to ourselves, we would never turn to God (Romans 3:10-12). The Holy Spirit convicts us of one particular sin above all others, not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:8-11). Conviction in itself is not conversion, but it is God's preceding grace preparing us for conversion.

Conviction of the Holy spirit may lead us to repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). Repentance and faith go together like the two sides of the same door. Repentance is turning away from your sins, in particular the sin of unbelief. Faith is turning to God in Christ Jesus as our Lord. Repentance and faith are one and the same action in conversion. 

Conviction of the Holy Spirit precedes conversion. We repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the reason Millard Erickson could say, "Without the work of the Holy Spirit, there can be no conversion."

Three Abiding Gifts

Your faith in God for today and your hope in God for the future are gifts of the Spirit. God not only makes sure promises in the Bible, but the Holy Spirit gives you the faith and hope to rest in those promises. Faith and hope are gifts of God's Spirit in your heart. 

Faith and hope always comes with God's greatest gift from the Holy Spirit which is love. God's everlasting love makes the believer's hope sure. God loves His children with an everlasting love that is faithful and true. Our personal relationship with God is based upon these three gifts of the Spirit. Love is the assurance of faith and hope. 

"Now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love"(1 Corinthians 13:13). There are many more gifts of the Spirit, but these three are for everyone who is born of the Spirit. The absolute assurance of your new birth is these three gifts of the Spirit. Now they abide in you. They are not temporary gifts.

The three abiding gifts of the Spirit are focused upon the Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by faith in Christ, based upon the gospel(1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Our blessed hope is in Christ, looking for his appearing and our glorification (Romans 8:30; 1 John 3:2). God's love in Christ fills our hearts (Romans 5:5; 5:8)."We love him because he first loved us"(1 John 4:19).

Your Walk with God

Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can walk with God according to the everlasting covenant. God has made covenant promises to every believer, guaranteed through the blood of Jesus and proven by his glorious resurrection. Believers walk in the light of God's covenant word. Every believer's fellowship with God is based upon the work of the Holy Spirit in his heart. We walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

Your walk with God is through Jesus our great Shepherd. He takes away all our sins. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin"(1 John 1:7). Believers become the righteousness of God by faith and union with Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). We walk with God, because the Shepherd of the everlasting covenant is working in us to please God (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Your walk with God is in the light of his covenant word (1 John 1:6-7). God's word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). Believers are walking by faith upon the promises of God's covenant word (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Your walk with God is fellowship with God,"we have fellowship one with another"(1 John 1:7). Fellowship means communion. God speaks to us through his covenant word known as the Holy Bible. It also means that we talk with God through prayer. Our bond of fellowship with God is his everlasting covenant word. Joy is the fruit of our walk with God (1 John 1:4).

Knowing God as Father

J.I.Packer wrote,"What is a Christian? The question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father." 

Jesus said,"No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him"(Matthew 11:27). 

Packer taught,"Sonship to God is not, therefore, a universal status into which everyone comes by natural birth, but a supernatural gift which one receives through receiving Jesus."

Dr. Packer was right! Being a Christian is knowing God as Father. God's grace enables us to repent of our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 17:30; 16:31). The Holy Spirit comes into our lives to know God as our Father. 

"You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God"(Romans 8:15-16).

Jesus Christ came into this world that all believers may know God as Father. Trusting Christ gives us a relationship with God as our Father. Believers are children of God the Father through faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 

Confession of Faith

Salvation comes to us through the resurrection of Jesus our Lord. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved"(Romans 10:9). Jesus is proven to be Lord through his resurrection. He becomes your Lord, as you believe and confess him as Lord. Our confession of faith says, "Jesus is Lord."

Jesus risen from the dead is the singular most important doctrine in the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:17). The salvation of every believer rests upon the resurrection of Christ. It's the miracle you must believe to be saved. Confessing Jesus as Lord is the earliest confession of the Christian faith. It focuses upon the resurrection of Jesus as our confession of faith.

If your faith is in Jesus our Lord, then the Holy Spirit convinced you (John 16:7-11). The Holy Spirit illumines your mind and brings you to repentance, a change of mind, concerning the resurrection of Christ. Then and only then, you will truly confess that Jesus is Lord, because you know the truth personally. "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3).

The word saved means to be delivered from the condemnation and judgment of your sins. Also, it means to be delivered from the wages of sin which is death (Romans 6:23). To be saved is to receive eternal life through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. If Jesus is your Lord, your are saved.

Whom God Will Save

God will save sinners."For all have sinned"(Romans 3:23). As we look to God's mercy at the cross of Jesus, we find mercy to take away all our sins."The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin"(1 John 1:7). God's mercy saves every believer in God's Son. Jesus was raised from the dead to prove every believer's justification from all sin. 

God will save sinners at the cross. Jesus suffered and died for sinners like you and me. Justice demands eternal judgment for all who have sinned. Justice was served at the cross, when Jesus paid the full price for our sins. 

God will save sinners who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Justice was served for sinners in Christ crucified,"according to His mercy He saved us"(Titus 3:5). Justice says,"Because you are guilty of breaking God's law, you deserve eternal judgment." Mercy says,"You are guilty, but Jesus took your judgment at the cross." Justice was served on our behalf, that we may receive mercy. 

God will save sinners in Christ alone,"who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised for our justification"(Romans 4:25). Those who reject God's mercy in Christ receive justice, which is just condemnation. However, there is no condemnation for those who receive God's mercy in Christ (John 3:17; Romans 8:1).

God's Will Revealed

Charles Spurgeon said, "When your will is God's will, you will have your will." Spurgeon understood that our will should submit to God's will. Prayer says to God,"Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

God's will is revealed in the Bible. Holy Scripture is God's revealed will."Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him"(1 John 5:14-15).

God's will is revealed as good, acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:2). Trying to manipulate God in prayer to have it our way is a blasphemous thought. Seeking a formula in prayer to always get what we want becomes sin. It misses the mark concerning God's good will. 

Effective prayer is not about our will. It's about God's revealed will. As Spurgeon said,"When your will is God's will, you will have your will."True prayer submits to God's good, acceptable, and perfect will. That's the key to effective prayer.

God's revealed will is God's glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). He does all things to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). When our will becomes God's will, we desire the glory of God above all else (John 11:40). Pray to God's glory in all things. 

What Is Living Faith?

Living faith is active and not passive. Living faith works. It does God's will and obeys God's word in the Bible. Living faith is God working through us. God can do anything that He chooses to do without us. However, God has chosen to work through us. Living by faith does more than talk. "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:26).

Don't think that faith does nothing, and depends upon God to do everything. The Bible teaches that we are laborers together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9). It is God's will for faith to work through us. You may put a glove on your hand to do the work before you. The glove does not do the work alone, neither can it. The hand works through the glove. So, living faith is God working through us.

Dead faith says, "There is nothing that we can do. What will be, will be. Nothing we can do will make any difference." Living faith says otherwise, "I will do the word of God. He has put it in my heart. He is working through me to the praise of his glory. I am a doer of the word." The Bible says, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).

Maybe you are in a place where you are asking God to do something about it. To the contrary, you could pray this way. "God, what would you have me to do?" Faith does the word of God. It rises up to do something about it. Living faith is God working in you to do his will (Philippians 2:12-13).