“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT)
One very easy way to answer the question asked above is this: “Are you learning to know God’s will?” But equally important is: “Are you learning to consistently DO God’s will?” I may know the mechanics of playing the piano, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to be any good at it. Knowing how to do something and actually doing it are two separate things.
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, salvation isn’t a one and done experience, any more than sanctification. Both have definitive starting points, but they build from there. Dr. David Jeremiah speaks to this when he wrote: “Consider both dimensions of the Gospel in your life: saved and being saved. Is there evidence of the power of the Gospel in your life?”
When I had shoulder surgery, had I not done my assigned exercises at home and followed through with my physical therapy appointments, the surgery would have been pointless. It’s like that when it comes to a relationship with Jesus. As with every other relationship we enjoy, our relationship with Jesus has a beginning point. My walk with Jesus began in April of 1963, but it continues because each day of my life we spend intentional time together.
But it doesn’t end there. Jesus is Lord; therefore, He gives direction to my life. Without His guidance and instruction, largely through His Word, I wouldn’t know how to grow in my walk with Him. Perhaps that’s what Melissa Kruger had in mind when she wrote: “Faith in Jesus leads to a life transformed by Jesus.”
The word in the verse above translated “transform” is the Greek word “metamorphoo” (met-am-or-fo-o). It’s the word from which comes our English word “metamorphosis.” It literally means “to change into another form.” On the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus’ appearance was transformed, it became resplendent with divine brightness. On some levels He became unrecognizable.
In a similar way we, as a new creation in Christ Jesus, become “transfigured” into the likeness of our Savior. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” That’s a miraculous transformation in terms of how the Father now views us. How is that possible? It’s not. That’s the point. It’s a miraculous transformation in the way God the Father sees us through the lens of His sinless Son.
We’ll not be perfect until we get to heaven, but the longer we walk with the Lord, the more we should resemble Him in our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. That’s what Dr. Jeremiah was addressing when he said we are “being saved” and that there should be “evidence of the power of the Gospel in our lives.”
There’s a sense in which God the Father immediately sees us completely transformed into the likeness of His Son, but from a practical standpoint that is a lifelong process that should reveal itself in our lives by the power of the Spirit working in and through us.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 