A very good friend, whom I respect and admire, wrote the following in response to last week’s post:
The transformation of our heart that is so desperately needed is also one of the traps of Evangelical Christianity. There are not many Christians who disagree with the fact that the transformation is needed but many have believed the lie that this can be done through prayer, reading and studying on our own. The thought is that if I read my Bible, have a regular prayer life, and attend a regular body of believers then this transformation will take place. We believe the lie that we are the ones that direct and control this transformation. What we have forgotten is that the mystery of spiritual transformation begins with surrender and depends on being in relationship/community with others. Somehow our transformation is found as we are in relationship with others. This ministry we see some evidence of the Trinity. I could go on but I need to work…Daniel
Daniel makes a good point. The possibility that any believer could somehow believe that spiritual transformation is dependent on actions the believer takes is representative of the sometimes paradoxical thinking of the redeemed who also continue to carry the sin nature. It’s obvious that just as we cannot save ourselves, we likewise cannot transform ourselves, and that prayer, and the reading and study of the Bible alone will not bring about transformation. So how does transformation take place? What IS transformation?
In Romans 12:2, we find these words:
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The word translated “transform” is ”metamorphoo” in the Greek and it means to “change into another form, to transform, to transfigure.” The same word is used to describe Christ’s change in appearance on the mount of transfiguration. This word, from which we derive “metamorphosis”, implies gradual, substantial change. Think caterpillar into butterfly. How does this spiritual process take place? Romans 12:2 tells us that it is “by the renewing of your mind.” The word “renewing” could also be translated as “renovation”. Interesting…
Imagine that you own a house that is old, run-down, and decayed. It has been corrupted by the environment. You as the owner, have the power to renovate the house, by removing the old sections that have been corrupted and replacing them with new, according to your vision and design. A house in need of renovation needs a renovator. A house cannot renovate itself.
Unlike an inanimate object such as a house, God has given each of us a will. Unless a person’s will is surrendered to His will, the renovation that leads to transformation will not take place. Perhaps this is the surrender that my friend Daniel speaks of – that prideful belief that “I can do this” and that “If I read my Bible and pray enough, I will be transformed”.
Daniel also emphasized the importance of being in relationship/community with others. God does the transforming, and the people he brings into our lives can be useful “tools” in the renovation process. When we are in relationship with fellow believers, we can sharpen one another (Proverbs 27:17). And since very few of us can hold ourselves accountable, we need others who are willing and able to do so.
So – does this mean that Bible study and prayer are of secondary importance? Absolutely not! We are instructed to “pray continually” (1 Thess 5:17). It is in times of prayer and meditation that we commune with our Heavenly Father and the Spirit leads us to discover those parts of our lives that are in need of renovation. His divinely inspired word tells us what we are to believe about God and what duties He requires of us.1 These are two essentials for the believer. The most important relationship of all is that unique, mysterious relationship the believer has with God – Christ actually dwells within us (Galatians 2:20). This is a most intimate relationship. Does it not make sense that we know as much as possible about the one we are in relationship with, and what pleases Him?
Daniel has reminded us that transformation is not the work of man, the result of the actions we take. Far from it. Transformation is the work of God – and it begins at the point of salvation and continues as we learn to surrender all self-centered efforts and to surrender to Him – conforming to His will as the rule.2
May it be so…
In Christ –
John
Soli Deo Gloria
1Shorter Catechism, Question 3: What do the Scriptures principally teach?A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.
2 It is acceptable, it is pleasing to God; that and that only is so which is prescribed by him. The only way to attain his favour as the end is to conform to his will as the rule. It is perfect, to which nothing can be added. The revealed will of God is a sufficient rule of faith and practice, containing all things which tend to the perfection of the man of God, to furnish us thoroughly to every good work, (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
(From Matthew Henry's Commentary on Romans 12)
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