The Evidence Of A Transformed Life

God’s desire is for us to be changed into the image and likeness of His Son Jesus. For many of us this is a long and sometimes painful process. However, along the way there will be evidence of true internal change. Some will be noticed by others based on our lifestyle change or how we respond to situations. Many of them will be noticed by us because we know we are not in bondage to those things that used to control or define us anymore!

There are many evidences that can point to the fact that we are changed people. For example, we have a hunger to know the Word of God, we have a desire to put God first in all our affairs,or we want to see people reconciled to God and to each other, all of those are evidences that we are being transformed. There are many other evidences as well. I would like to highlight a couple of those areas.

For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? 1Corinthians 3:4

Defintiion of Carnal: Greek 4559- governed by mere human nature not by the Spirit of God.

One of the major evidences of change is that we are moving away from carnality and allowing the Spirit of God to govern us. This is a lot more difficult that one may think! In the above scripture, Paul is not happy about the fact that people’s vision has gotten so small that they have to choose between their apostles and decide who they stand with. That’s actually a political spirit that tries to take sides and divide a church or a congregation. Jesus has to be first in each and every situation!!

The body of Christ is suffering from carnality, and we see church splits and various factions and divisions due greatly to man seeing through his natural eyes and taking sides. A transformed life is led by the Spirit of God and evaluates everything in the light of truth not in the light of one’s own personal relationships, preferences, or the benefit one may receive.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

The evidence of a transformed life is the fruit of the Spirit being developed in the life of a believer. This is where the rubber meets the road!!  We can say, teach, preach, pray, prophesy, or do a lot of other things, but the question is, does our life contain the fruit of the spirit? Especially when we are squeezed under tough, stressful, or hurtful situations, can we say that those qualities are evident in our lives?

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Most of us will spend a lifetime walking with God and allowing Him to change us into His image. The question is not “Have we arrived?”, but “Do we recognize we haven’t arrived?”  I hear many people tell me that they were raised in a church but didn’t grow spiritually. Some of these people spent 20 or 30 year of their lives in their Bible believing churches. The church became a social, cultural, or ministry thing people did.

I didn’t grow up in a church because living in a Muslim nation it wasn’t easy to have access to a church, so it pains me greatly when I hear those kinds of stories. I know the kind of price some people pay in other nations to gather together to read the Word and worship God. Jesus didn’t come to just have a following!! He was looking for followers who are willing to be changed by His power and grace!!

If the church in America is going to have potency to be the light and salt of the world, that potency will come from transformed lives of each professed believer. This nation is not going to be changed by another new program a church offers. The believers need to leave the corporate ideas with corporate America. The church is not a place for self-promotion or creating a new “holy” social club!! The self needs to go!!

The only hope for this nation or any other nation is a group of transformed people who are not afraid to share the gospel and tell people the truth. At the same time, their lives must back up their claim to transformed life!! Each of us has a mandate from the Lord to do the work He desires for us in our homes, at work, in our churches, and in our communities. We have a responsibility to take those mandates very seriously and not just follow the crowd even if it’s the church crowd!!  It’s time for each of us to make a decision in the light of His marvelous work, and be a standard bearer for Jesus!!