What A Man Says
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Posted: January 7, 2023
Author: Christopher Brock James 1:22-25 New International Version “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” |
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It is not meant to be something we read for pleasure or entertainment. It is not a self-help book that we can read in order to get solutions to life’s problems. It is not a book of rules that if followed guarantee that you will get into heaven. The purpose of the Bible is transformation through revelation. When you read the Bible, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, it will begin to transform your life. This transformation is not just a change in behavior or a change in mindset, but something much deeper.
God’s desire for us is to be transformed taking on the very likeness of Christ. This means that we do not think like the world thinks, we do not care about the things that the world cares about and we do not live our lives in the way that the world says is right. This transformation occurs when we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of God’s Word to us. When we come face to face with the truth of God our lives will be changed and they will never be the same.
Actually, the word transformed goes beyond just being changed, it actually means that we are reborn and made new, we are made into something else. We may retain the memories of the past, but we actually become something different. This is a similar process that we see take place in a caterpillar when it turns into a butterfly. At the right time, the caterpillar undergoes a metamorphosis. The definition of metamorphosis is “a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.” The caterpillar undergoes a complete transformation in structure, appearance and purpose. This same process occurs when we invite Jesus into our hearts and we accept the Word into our lives. It should also be noted that this process continues over the course of our lives. It prepares us for our eternal lives with our Savior and Lord, Jesus.
We must remember that the application of the Word is what God seeks. So many argue about which translations and which versions of the Bible should be used and the differences between them while all the time their lives remain full of sin. We must use what God has spoken to use through His Word and examine our lives to see if we are actually doing the things that He has taught us to do.
