written by Daniel Piper
The great lie from the enemy is that men can have the power of salvation without transformation.
I’ve come to learn one of the greatest deceptions in Christian circles is the deceit that you can experience the saving power of Christ without the transformation of becoming like Christ.
Anyone who draws near to Jesus Christ and experiences His divine grace will not be the same person. The old seed of Adam will pass away and the new seed of Christ will take root and grow inside. Yes it takes time and it’s a lifelong process but you can guarantee that the Holy Spirit’s radical transformation of the human mind and soul will progressively take place.
If it were not so than the Words of God are fraudulent and Christianity is a hoax.
The Word of God says “he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him… for we have the mind of Christ… therefore, anyone who is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away and behold the new has come.” (1 Cor 6:17, 2:16, 2 Cor 5:17 ESV)
The great lie from the enemy is that men can have the power of salvation without transformation.
The two go hand in hand. Any man who leaps into the arms of Christ for salvation will be transformed by the Master – the master potter, the master builder, the master gardener. The Lord Jesus Christ will make sure His new family member becomes fully adopted and bears the likeness of the new family name. For the Word says “the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives… that we may share His holiness”. (Hebrews 12)
If the Son of God obeyed the Father unto death. A gruesome death on a cross. How much more are we to obey the Son for life?
Anyone who genuinely loves Christ, will obey His commandments. Jesus says “if you love me, you will keep my commandments… if you do not keep my commandments, you are a liar, and the truth is not in you.” (John 14, 1 John 2:3-4)
The agape love and immeasurable grace of Christ will completely transform the human soul to becoming fully submissive in obedience to Christ. It’s not the law that compels us to obey. It’s the cross that demands obedience. If the Son of God obeyed the Father unto death. A gruesome death on a cross. How much more are we to obey the Son for life?
The Word says “everyone who has this hope in Christ purifies himself, just as He is pure… whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which He walked… it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me… those He foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son… because as He is, so are we in this world… He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written: ‘you shall be holy, for I am holy’.” (1 John 3:3, 2:6, Gala 2:20, Rom 8:29, 1 John 4:17, 1 Peter 1:15-16)
That’s the power of the gospel. The practicality of the gospel is that God became man so that man can become one with God, in order to live in God’s presence both now and forever.
The great lie from Satan is that you have to wait until Heaven to be like Christ – walk like Christ, talk like Christ, think like Christ, become pure like Christ. Become One with Christ.
What greater transformation is there than being born again? Christ says “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
The belief in waiting until Heaven to be rescued and cleansed from all sin is a deception of the enemy. It’s a lie to think the power of the gospel is in the future and not in the present. Jesus Christ came to sever all bondages and chains to sin. All sin. Pride, selfishness, greed, materialism, envy, jealousy, lust, pornography, fornication, homosexuality and drunkenness have no place in the seeds of Christ. (1 Cor 6: 9-11)
So one of the greatest lies from the enemy, in Christian culture, is that the power of the gospel is just for salvation from hell and not for Christ-like transformation here on Earth. What greater transformation is there than being born again? Christ says “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
When people look at you and see your life – Do those closest around you feel and see a seed of Adam? Or do they feel and see a seed of Christ? Is it clearly visible that the seed of Christ is growing inside you? Or are you on a pathway of continuing to project a seed of Adam?
Here’s the truth: It’s progress, not perfection. If the seed of Christ is planted there will be growth.
Scripture is copied from the English Standard Version (ESV)