God changes life

There are things about myself that I seem unable to change. God promises to work real change in us.

What does the Bible say about God changing people? -

1. Changed Person - Luke 19v1-10
2. Battle Within - Romans 7v21-25
3. Set for Victory - Romans 8v1-5
4. Power for change - 2 Peter 1v3-4

Changed Person

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.
When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Questions for reflection or discussion

1. What did God have to do in Zacchaeus to change him from someone who had chosen wealth and ostracization, hardening himself to people's opinions to someone who would be willing to give away over half his wealth?
2. How did Jesus respond to the change?

Thoughts to consider

Many people try to change but fail. A change of this magnitude from someone who has grown so hardened in his soul that he could impoverish others for his own gratification is remarkable. This is the kind of change that Jesus works in people.

Battle within

Romans 7:21-25

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Questions for reflection or discussion

3. What is in us that makes doing the right thing such a challenge?
4. What hope is suggested in this passage?

Thoughts to consider

We all have a sinful nature, a nature that looks after ourselves and seeks our pleasure over everything else. However determined we are to do what we believe to be right, when we are feeling low, these inner drives easily take over. Yet, there is another way.

Set for Victory

Romans 8:1-5

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

Questions for reflection or discussion

5. What are the things God has done to free us from being dominated by our sinful nature?
6. What do you think it might mean to follow the Spirit?

Thoughts to consider

Receiving Jesus’ death as a sacrifice ends the control of the sinful nature. In that way we move from being under control to having a choice. All this comes about because of what God has done through Jesus.

Power for change

2 Peter 1:3-4

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

Questions for reflection or discussion

7. What is said in this passage linking God’s power with a relationship with him?
8. Why would believing God's promise enable us to participate in the divine nature?

Thoughts to consider

God is not a power machine. He is a person who draws us into relationship with himself. He gives us hope by promising good things. Meanwhile he uses the ensuing challenges for our development as people.

Overview questions for reflection or discussion

9. Have you seen people whose lives have been changed like this?
10. What choices could you make that would help you live dominated by the divine nature?

Photo Credit

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