August 27, 2008
Changes
As
I stood in front of the mirror, shaving and trimming my moustache, I pondered
some of the changes in my appearance over the years.
There
have been lots of other changes in my appearance over the years, but pretty much
all of them have been by their very nature external and temporary. It remained
the same me inside.
The
concept of personal change got me thinking about what happens when we become
Christians. Those changes are very different. Rather than external and
temporary, they are external and eternal. As I wandered down that train of
thought and pondered what it all meant, I realized that many churches have sold
their members an incomplete bill of goods.
They
teach that we're only sinners saved by grace. That's true, our salvation isn't
earned it is only available through faith that accepts what Christ has done for
us. So it is true that we are sinners saved by grace. What's not true is the
"only".
You
see once we're saved, we are made new.
Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come! 2
Corinthians 5:17 NIV
We
have become children of the King with the freedom and responsibilities that
entails.
Yet
to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband's will, but born of God John
1:12-13 NIV
We
have become empowered
For
in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been
given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Colossians
2:9-10 NIV
We
have been gifted.
There
are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of
service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same
God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit
the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same
Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that
one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another
distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of
tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the
work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he
determines.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NIV
I
could go on and on, about the changes we have in Christ.
Being
sinners saved by the grace of God is a wonderful gift, but it's only the
beginning. It's the starting point not the destination.
Church,
it's time to quit dwelling in being merely sinners saved by grace. We must never
forget that is who we are and become arrogant or self-righteous, but it is time
we embraced our new identities in Christ and moved forward to change the lives
of those in our family, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our communities, our
country and the world.
Until
next time, walk in the humility of being a saved sinner, but also in the bold
authority of a new person, born of God, and gifted by God.
Be
blessed
Darrel
Mason