Reference: Romans 8:28-29, and Romans 12:1-2
According to the above scripture all trueborn again children of God will be conformed to the very image of the firstbornSon of God, which is of course referring to Jesus Christ. Please notice thatthe apostle Paul tells us in the second verse of the twelfth chapter of Romansthat we are not to be conformed to this world, but rather we are told to betransformed by the renewing of our minds. To be transformed by the renewing ofour minds is of course the operation spoken of in the verse of scripture foundin our text of Romans 8:29. We are told in this verse of scripture that those whomGod did foreknow he predestinated them to be conformed to the image of his Son.Now this conforming to the image of Christ is of course the work that AlmightyGod will do. Now what I want you to see and understand is that we are told bythe apostle Paul that in order to present ourselves unto God as a livingsacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God, this is our reasonable serviceto do. This presenting ourselves unto God is a work that we can do as we yieldourselves to God by our obedience to the revealed word of God. The revelationof truth that I want you to see is the fact that God conforms us to his Sonthrough and by the process of leading us into the truth of the gospel.
We are conformed to the image of Christ ina daily process as we walk in and obey the revealed truth of the gospel ofJesus Christ. The common belief in the religious world today is that a personbecomes a born again child of God in a moment of time when belief andconfession is made on Christ as Lord and Saviour. God's word as plain as thenose on your face tells us that we become children of God through and by theprocess of walking in the truth and obeying it.
Our walking in the truth will transformour life from a life of sin to a life of righteousness. The world today hasbeen led to think and believe that becoming a transformed child of God is donein an instant of time when Christ is accepted as Saviour. They have been led tobelieve this by their interpretation of what it says in John 1:12 where it saysthat as many as received Christ, to them was given the power to become the sonsof God.
The religious world today has been led tobelieve that this verse of scripture means that a person is instantlytransformed into the image of Christ when they confess belief on him acceptinghim as their personal Lord and Saviour. What they are totally ignorant of isthe fact that to become a born again child of God is done in a progressivemanner as we walk in the truth of God's word. God's word is creative. This weknow as we read the account of the creation as stated in Genesis chapter one.According to this chapter, Almighty God created all things in existence by hisspoken word. When God said something his word automatically brought intoexistence what he had stated. The gospel of Christ is his plan of redeemingsalvation and will transform every believer into the same image of Christ asthey walk in the light of it and obeys what it says.
God's word revealed in the gospel is hispower to create and make sons and daughters of God, but Satan has perverted thegospel giving man a false concept of salvation. The apostle Paul said in Romans 1:16-17 thathe was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because within the gospel is therevealed righteousness of God from faith to faith. This righteousnessthat is revealed in the gospel is the very life of Christ. We receive this lifeas we walk in and obey the revealed truth.
Our receiving and walking in truth willhave a spiritual transforming effect on our whole being, which consists ofbody, soul, and spirit. The soul of man is his heart and this is where theSpirit of God takes up his abode when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.The receiving of the Holy Spirit purifies our heart giving us a differentoutlook on life. The receiving of the Holy Ghost does not renew our minds nordoes it crucify the lusts and desires of our flesh. The Spirit is given to usso that he will lead us into all truth revealed in the gospel. The revealing ofthe truth will renew the mind and it will also crucify our fleshly desires thusmaking us a new creature in Christ.
This whole operation is a process and itrequires our obedience. This operation is called the new birth and we arementally aware of it taking place. We are made aware of it by the things we arefaced with. These things consists of our trials and temptations that we gothrough as we yield ourselves to God and abstain from the pleasures of sin. Theabstaining from sinful living will have a drastic effect on our mind and ourfleshly body. The abstaining from sin will eventually crucify the lusts anddesires of the flesh, but this crucifying of the fleshly desires is a spiritualbattle that very few will go through and come out victorious. To crucify theflesh is done by ceasing to allow the flesh to enjoy its automatic way of life.
When the Holy Spirit takes up his abode inour heart, this enables us to overcome the power of sin in our life. We aretold to mortify our fleshly desires of our body. Romans 8:12-13 says that weare debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For to live after theflesh we will die, but if we through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of thebody, we shall live...
The world today has been led to believethat sin cannot be completely overcome in this life, but this is falseteachings in the light of God's word of truth. Jesus warned of many falseprophets that would rise and deceive many, but very few are concerned enoughabout their spiritual condition as Almighty God sees them. The false prophetsare teaching the easy and broad way that leads to destruction and most todaydon't want to hear and walk in the truth as God's word reveals it.
Sin today has been sugar coated by thereligious leaders causing the people to travel the broad way that leads todestruction. Only the true seed of God will hear and walk in the truth as it isbeing revealed. Jesus said that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached inthe last days for a witness against all nations and then the end would come.People today will not receive the truth and walk in it, because they lovedarkness more than the light. The truth will let them know that their lives donot line up with the way that God's word reveals, but we are living in the lastdays of which are perilous times....