Just Be Yourself

The Lie: God made you the way you are so just be yourself

So often we hear people say something like this:

“God made me this way so I need to accept that this is who I am and just live my best life. If I have a temper then so be it. If I am racist, then that’s just the way I was raised. There are things about myself that are just the way they are and I cannot change.”

So goes this lie.

If you think about it, it makes sense. We’ve heard often in movies or songs that “no one ever really changes.” And in our own personal experience we can all think of people or even remember a time in our own lives where we had a lifechanging event like an experience at camp or revival service only to fall back into our old ways within a few weeks or months.

But this thinking is paralyzing to the soul. This idea that we come out of the womb with intrinsic characteristics that we’re powerless, and more importantly God is powerless to overcome.

So, we just accept who we are and live life basically the same as before we met Christ with only a few modifications to our schedule.

The Truth:

John 3:5–7 ESV

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

The truth is Christ loves us the way we are, but he also wants us to grow up into him.

The Truth is when Christ SAVES us he also CHANGES us.

When you and I were saved, we were born anew. Jesus said it this way: “You must be born again.”

From 2005 A&E began a new tv series called Intervention.

The show follows one or two participants who have either substance dependence or addiction, and occasionally, eating disorders. It is a documentary of their addiction, including graphic substance abuse and its effect upon their lives, until a surprise intervention event is conducted with a professional interventionist, friends and family.

Often the family would sit down their loved one and tell them, “Something’s gotta change.”

Being born again is about God transforming our hearts through the Holy Spirit and then telling us, “some things need to change.”

The lie says, “accept who you are and know you can’t change.” The Gospel says “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.”

So how does God transform us by the Holy Spirit to conform with Christ?

In Colossians, Paul was dealing with a church that was coming out of paganism and into faith in Christ.

FOCUS UP (Colossians 3:1-3)

Colossians 3:1–3 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

The first way that God changes us is by taking our eyes off of this world around us.

This reminds me a funny commercial from several years ago. Let’s watch it.

SHOW VIDEO of GARBAGE MEN

I love that. The thing that made the gag work was the woman was hyperfocused on the garbage men. Now, that was bad for her, and it can be bad for us when we’re hyperfocused on the world and the things of this world.

We can be hyper-focused on:

Our Jobs

Our kid’s futures

Our personal whims

Our sexuality

Our politics

When we become focused on the wrong things it can cause us to falter. But Christ calls us be born again, not of this world, but of the next. To set our minds on what’s above

PUT OFF (Colossians 3:5-9)

Colossians 3:5–9 ESV

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

Mindset is important, but that’s not all we have to do.

The text tells us to “put to death what is earthly in you” and to “put off the old self with its practices.”

The problem is that even though when we become new creatures in Christ we have a new life, we also still have all the trappings of our old life. No matter what work Christ does in us, when we get up we still have the same circumstances and more than that we have our old selves hanging around.

PUT ON (Colossians 3:10-15)

Colossians 3:10–15 (ESV)

and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

DIG IN (Colossians 3:16-17)

Colossians 3:16–17 ESV

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.