CHANGING TO PLEASE GOD
Lesson 1
GOD MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS TO CHANGE THEIR CONDUCT
GOD MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS TO CHANGE THEIR CONDUCT
Proverbs 16:7,“When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
Introduction:
Many professing Christians are living worldly sinful lives. Some of these people are lost and on the road to Hell. Others are hiding behind the excuse that they cannot change. That is the devil’s lie, for every born again Christian can change with the help of God. By obeying God’s word, every Christian can modify their conduct and please the God of Heaven.
I. A Man in Christ
John 14:20, “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
A. A man made perfect in the Lord, John 17:23, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
B. A new creature, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
C. A man no longer under condemnation, Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
II. Christ in a Man
John 17:23, “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
A. Perfect in Jesus Christ, Colossians 1:28, “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:”
1. Holy in His sight, Colossians 1:22, “In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:”
2. A chaste virgin, 2 Corinthians 11:2, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
B. Perfect as His workmanship, Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
C. Perfect in the things from above, Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
1. We were raised from the dead to live for Jesus Christ, Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”
2. We should walk in newness of life, Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
3. We should seek the things of God, Matthew 6:20, 33, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
III. The New Man
Ephesians 2:15, “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;”
A. With a New Heart, Ezekiel 36:26-27, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
1. A heart to love God, Deuteronomy 30:6, “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”
2. A clean heart, Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
3. A fearing heart, Jeremiah 32:39, “And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:”
B. With a New Spirit, Ezekiel 36:27, “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
1. It is the Spirit of the Lord, Ezekiel 37:14, “And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.”
2. The Spirit of the Lord will cause you to walk in His ways, Colossians 2:6-7, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7- Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
CONCLUSION:
The new man has been changed as a result of trusting Jesus Christ. He has changed in many ways and there is yet another change that will take place in his future – that of the transformation of his body at the coming of the Lord.