How to Change

Can you change?

Your marriage has become a boxing ring--how can you change? Your fleshly desires are spiraling out of control, and you hate it and it scares you--how can you change? You've wrapped yourself up in a web of lies--how can you change? You have a crippling fear of man--how can you grow into bold, fearlessness? You don’t let anyone into your life; not even your church family. How can you get past that? You succumb again and again to fear and anxiety, you long to feel the freedom and peace that comes from trusting the Lord. How can we change?

The last few Sundays we’ve spoken pretty specifically about change, particularly, of God’s call for us to change into Christlikeness. Holiness; sanctification. Along the way I’ve used some people as illustrations: the man who lived in rebellion against God, but thought he’d get to heaven because he prayed a prayer. Last week, the young believer who, struggling to grow in Christ, was told to “Let go and let God.” This week, I want to introduce you to an imaginary church member (I’m not going to try to give him a name). He’s thrilled about being at the church, and feels like he’s growing in his understanding of the gospel. And he says:

I am a spiritual failure, but, praise God, Jesus came to save spiritual failures like me! I cannot obey God’s commands for one nanosecond. I never truly love God with all my heart or my neighbor as myself. Even my righteous deeds are like filthy rags. If you could see my heart, you’d see that my sins are as bad as anyone else’s or worse! I am a spiritual screw-up through and through, unfaithful to my faithful God. But the good news is, God has saved me because of Christ’s death and resurrection. I am his adopted child, forgiven and clean. Nothing I ever do can make God love me any more—or any less—than he already loves me in Christ. Even though I continue to sin, I can never disappoint my heavenly Father, for he looks at me and sees the righteousness of his beloved Son. What unspeakable good news!

This statement is a common way people who are “gospel-centered” speak. And from a pastoral standpoint, if I were listening to this statement, I would share his excitement; I would commend his love for Jesus and his increasing understanding of the gospel.

But I would also take note of some red flags there. “I cannot obey God’s commands for one nanosecond.” Hm. That sounds humble, but it’s actually not true. One of my concerns with people who prize and preach the gospel, who rightly teach the doctrine of total depravity, is that they come to believe that obedience is impossible, holiness is out of reach, and the only righteousness that matters is the imputed righteousness of Christ.

So the gentle correction that this young man needs is this: “No, you can be holy.” And this morning I want to start by declaring to every Christian here: “You can be holy.”

First of all, holiness is the point of our redemption. “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” God chose us so that we might be set apart and holy.

Secondly, holiness is required. Hebrews 12:14 “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” He’s not speaking about the imputed righteousness of Christ which is given freely, but the holy lifestyle that the redeemed strive for.

Third, holiness is possible. Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law, but under grace.”

Holiness is the point of our redemption, it’s required by God, and it’s made possible by the finished work of Christ. It is not humble to say, “I can’t obey God even for one second.” It’s unbiblical, and it diminishes the power of the gospel, which states we can and we will.

Listen: there is hope! But too many Christians are trying to grow by methods God has not given. There is a surefire way of growth and change given in the Scriptures. It's not hidden, it's not a secret, and it's not new. But it works. Why? Because it's God's Way. It’s all through the New Testament, but the passage we’re going to look at this morning is Ephesians 4:17-24. In this passage I want to provide four ingredients for biblical change.

Verses 17-19 describe those who are not saved by Jesus. Futile thoughts. Darkened understanding. Distant from the life of God. Ignorant of spiritual reality, hard-hearted. Calloused.

But then he says, “But that is not the way you learned Christ.” In other words, those who learn Christ no longer live that way.

# First Ingredient for Biblical Change: Learn Jesus Christ. True change, real change, is centered not on a system, not on a process, not on a checklist, not on 3, 7, or 12 steps, not on anything except a person. Hope is a person, and his name is Jesus.

Look again at how Paul phrases this: "But that is not the way you learned Christ." This is actually a grammatical anomaly. Usually, this construction demands the word "about" -- but that is not the way you learned about Christ. Whenever you're speaking of a person, you use the word about. But Paul intentionally leaves that out here. Why? Because Christianity, and all true growth and change, is not simply learning about something, even if that something is Jesus himself. Christianity is more than that. Christian growth is learning Christ himself.

You need to learn Jesus Christ. Load up your mind with big, glorious thoughts of Jesus Christ.

First, learn his provision. He has everything you lack, and everything you need. You cannot change yourself for the better, you cannot conquer your bad temper, you cannot master your lusts, you cannot increase your love or generosity. But Jesus can.

Say to yourself: “I am a weak creature, unstable as water, I cannot grow, my corruption is too deep for me, my problems are too fixed, my sins are too ingrown.” Say, “My soul is like a desert, a habitation of thorns and thistles, I have no water, nothing to cultivate it. I think wrongly about so many things, I see poorly, I am not wise to figure out what I must do.”

And then say, “But even though all this is true: I lift up my head in hope and confidence, I get up off my feeble knees, because the Lord Jesus Christ has fullness of grace to provide for my every need. He can slay all my sins, he can defeat all my enemies, he can turn my desert heart into a flourishing garden. He can make my barren life bear fruit.

Second, expect his power. Expect relief from the burden of sin. If you have been beat down to the point where you feel it highly unlikely that your particular sin be overcome - you must embrace, right now, because of Christ, hope. God can change you. Expectation is a form of faith. Believe he will come and help. Believe he can do it.

Third, Consider his mercy. He is a great high priest who has been tempted in every respect, just as we are, but he never sinned. He knows suffering and pain and weakness. He sympathizes with your weakness, he is tender. He will not break you if you feel close to being broken.

Fourth, consider his faithfulness. Jesus has made promises to you. He promised to provide a way of escape for every temptation. He promises to continue to be at work in you until the day of redemption. He promised to never leave you nor forsake you. He is faithful.

Fifth, remember his death. Remember, that your sins were crucified with Christ on the cross. And remember his resurrection: he is victorious, and he shares that victory with you.

The groundwork for all change begins here. Jesus is a person you need to get familiar with. Sanctification is not a result of mastering the system, it is a result of learning Christ. Studying Christ. Beholding Christ. Staring at Christ.

In 2008 GK Beale published a book titled, We Become What We Worship. The title itself is a profound reality, and in the 341 pages the books unpacks that idea that we gradually but assuredly conform into the things we worship.

It is tragic but true that the things we admire, the things we adore, the things we look to for security, purpose, and meaning, the things we look to satisfy our longings--these are conforming us into their image. We become what we worship.

So what's the point here? We must remember that to grow, we must commit ourselves to beholding Jesus, the personal, living God-man. We must commit ourselves to examining him, like a many-pointed diamond, taking every angle.

2 Corinthians 3:18 "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

We behold his glory. We look at Jesus. We gaze upon the unseen things of faith. The beginning of sanctification is a sustained stare at the Son of God, as a person, not a concept.

Do you know him? Let's be honest: how often, in our desire to grow, we have created a list of things we need to start doing. Bible reading needs to get better. Prayer time needs to be a bit longer, with a little more passion too. I could be more committed at church as well.

And frankly, you may need to do all those things. But listen: when your idea of spiritual growth begins (key word) begins with a check-list of to-dos, you're on your way to a sterile, stifling, boring, bland walk with the Lord.

It all starts with learning Christ, the person. Change starts with a King, sitting on a throne, running the universe, who loved you enough to die for you. He calls you to himself. To change, we must behold him. To behold him is to become like him.

If you want more specifics on how exactly to learn Christ, Paul is right there with you. He doesn't simply say, "Hey, don't act like the Gentiles, that's now how you learned Christ!" And leave it there. He goes on to describe what it looks like to learn Christ.

# Second Ingredient for Biblical Change: You must put off your old self. He uses the metaphor of clothing. It's like when Lazarus was raised from the dead and he's walking around and he's still wearing all these graveclothes. Jesus says, "Unbind him." That's the essence of Paul's idea--you were dead, and in your deadness you thought, felt, and acted in all kinds of sinful ways. That was the "clothing" you walked in. Now, you're alive.  So unbind yourself. Take off those graveclothes. In other words, that's not who you are anymore.

What is it that you put off? “Old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.” Before Christ, you had habits of thinking, habits of feeling, habits of wanting, that are corrupt. These habits need to come to an end. And the reason you need to stop those things is because that’s not who you are anymore.

Christian, have a new identity. You are not your sin, you are not your struggle. Those things do not define you, and you are no longer bound to them.

The objective reality is that sin no longer has authority over you. Imagine you’re the slave of a cruel master, and from childhood your master has whipped you and beat you and commanded you to serve him in fear. And then a new master comes and says, “I have bought you, you are mine, you don’t need to listen to your old master, listen to me.” Now even if the old master returns, he has no authority over you. This is what’s happening with sin: sin used to rule us, we became accustomed to its rule, but now it no longer has any authority over us.

The old self has no more authority over you. It may feel powerful, but it has no authority. I like what GK Chesterton said: “If a rhinoceros were to enter this restaurant now, there is no denying that he would have great power here. But I should be the first to rise and assure him that he had no authority whatever.”

Sin may feel powerful, but it has no authority. When temptation comes, you can resist.

I read an illustration once that was pretty helpful: a pastor was talking to a young man struggling with same-sex attraction. The young man called his pastor and said, “I’m feeling these things again. I’m going to go out tonight. I’m going to go to those places. I’m going to do the things I used to do.” The pastor’s response was extremely wise. “No, you’re not going to do those things,” he told him. “That’s not you. That’s not who you are anymore.” He reminded the young man of his true identity.

Putting off the old self because with understanding you have a new label, a new identity. You must actually believe you are who and what God says you are.

How often do you give into temptation to anger, discouragement, lust, laziness - because you have forgotten who you are?

Objectively: God has said we are set apart as holy, justified, sanctified, and free from sin’s dominion. Now we must act like it.

Let’s now connect this with last week’s message: When sinful anger begins to rise in your heart because of a disrespectful child, do you self-justify or do you go to war? When coldness toward your spouse starts rolling in like fog, do you make war or give in? When secret lusts are luring your thoughts to look at a screen, do you go to war? When a lie seems far more convenient than the truth, do you go to war? When anxiety bursts onto the scene from out of nowhere, do you make war? When loneliness creeps over you like a dark wet blanket, do you make war?

We need to consider sin a defeated foe! You have the right and the power, through Christ, to kick out sin from your life.

# 3rd Ingredient for Biblical Change: You must be renewed in the spirit of your minds. Not all change is good change. There is such a thing as bad change that has good social results.

Imagine a drunk man, lazily stumbling from bar to bar, dressed in rags, stinking of alcohol. Marriage is a wreck, kids don't respect him, and can't hold a job. Now imagine a Pharisee takes him under his wing--teaches him the law, teaches him new habits, teaches him respectability. And let's say, as a result, the man saves his marriages, wins the respect of his kids, and earns himself a high position in the religious world. The world might say, "What a wonderful change!" But what's really going on here?

But what has happened? Has this man been saved? Has he been brought closer to God? No. The pig is wearing lipstick. The tomb has been whitewashed. No righteousness for self-righteousness is not a good trade.

True change is from the inside out. If there is no inner renewal, there is no real, lasting change. This is why after Paul writes about putting off the old self, he addresses the inward change: “be renewed in the spirit of your minds.”

What does it mean to be renewed in the spirit of your mind? The phrase “spirit of your mind” indicates the deepest part of who you are. This is your command center, this is how you think and process and evaluate. These are your longings and affections and desires and beliefs.

This refers to deep, inward transformation regarding the way you think. Notice all the references to your mind: vs. 17 refers to the Gentiles who have futile minds. Verse 18: “darkened in their understanding.” Verse 20: “learned Christ.” Verse 21: “assuming you were taught.” And now he’s saying part of the transformation is renewal in your minds.

This is referring to a deep down in your bones transformation. New ways of thinking about God, about sin, about obedience.

How do you change the inner mind? Here it is: hear and believe God’s Word. No secret. It’s not mystical. It’s not magical. It’s not practice silence or hear from Jesus. It’s know what the Bible says and respond with faith. Know it, believe it.

If you are going to transform deeply, you need to plant yourself like a tree by the streams of living water. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster destroyed the forest around it because all the trees began absorbing toxic, polluted water. Unless you have planted your life in God’s Word, you too are absorbing all the toxic ideas of the world. You cannot be renewed that way.

Are you reading your Bible? Are you hearing with faith? Are you believing it?

Jesus prayed: “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.” The biblical way to renew the spirit of your mind is to set your mind on the things of the Spirit. According to the Bible, the mind is like your hand, you can set it on a thing, you can hold a thing. The way you renew your mind is by setting your mind, taking your mind, and consciously setting it upon the truths of Scripture. The same way a blind person feels brail with his fingertips, moving his fingers up and down the dotted page, so we set out minds upon the truth of God’s Word, going through the revealed truth. As we do this, our minds behold the truth of God, and the Holy Spirit renews our minds.

# 4 You must put on the new self. Paul goes back to his clothing analogy here. Just as you put off the old self, you need to put on the new self. There’s a crucial lesson here: sin is not defeated until it’s replaced with righteousness. Change is not toward godliness until there are new behaviors that replace the wrong behaviors.

A removal of sin without a replacement for sin will be a repeat of sin. Listen to me: biblically speaking, you cannot break a habit. That is impossible. The Bible never tells you to break a habit. You must replace the habit.

What’s the best way to get air out of an empty water bottle? I supposed we could build an elaborate pump, and vacuum it out. But there’s a simple way: fill it up. And the best way to get sin out of your life is to fill your life up with truth and obedience.

Watch this: this is exactly what Paul goes on to illustrate in verses 25-32.

If your marriage is a war of words, start replacing each insult with a praise. Start replacing each harsh word with a gentle one. If you’re tempted to throw a pity party, start today to serve others. Make lunch, do the dishes, mow the lawn, take the kids out. Invest in people.

Idleness is the mother of a million sins. Get busy with ministry, service, love, action. Replace old sinful habits with new obedient habits. Get going.

One of the best illustrations of what it means to put off sin is found in the OT. As Joshua was about to cross into the Promised Land, God reminded him of the promises he had made. He had said, “This is your land! I have promised it to you! I will fight for you. I will guarantee your victory. Your enemies are as good as dead! Here’s all you need to do—trust me, and go fight!” Sometimes the Israelites cowered and thought they couldn’t defeat their enemies! How insane!

But here’s the parallel. God has said this: “Holiness is your new nature! I have promised it to you! God will fight your sin! God will guarantee your victory! Your sin is as good as dead! Here’s all you need to do—trust me, and go fight it!”

Church, you are redeemed for holiness. Your Lord calls you to holiness. By his Spirit, you can be holy. How?

In my time doing ministry, from time to time I get to see God change people up close. Often, it starts with desperation. I’m stuck, I can’t break these habits, I keep failing again and again and again. I’m concerned that this is just what it’s going to be for me.

My first response is: listen, there is hope and his name is Jesus. There is no hope if you look within. There is all the hope you could ever need if you look at him.

But we don’t stop there. We get to work. Because it takes work, remember? It’s not “Let go and let God.” We begin talking about their new identity, the sins they need to put off, the thinking that needs to change, and the new habits they need , by grace, to adopt. And guess what: change happens. Why? Because holiness is the birthright of every Christian.

It is my passion that we have a growing church, and I don’t mean growing in number. If the Lord gives us that, I just pray he’ll provide shepherds to care for them. And space. I mean growing in holiness. My prayer is that if you’re here at Grace Rancho and you’re not pursuing holiness, it will get awkward fast.

So how will you learn Christ?

What needs to be put off?

How does your thinking need to change?

What needs to be put on?