Biblical Truth #7: Sanctification (Living the Transformed Life)

Once Christ paid the price for sin, those who believe in Him and put their trust in Him, begin a new life by His power. The Bible describes this “new life” as a transformation. Interestingly, many have analogized the Christian “transformation” (from “old” self to “new” self) to that of a caterpillar’s “metamorphosis” into a butterfly.

Webster’s dictionary defines metamorphosis as “a change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means” or “a striking alteration in appearance, character or circumstances.” Through metamorphosis, the caterpillar becomes a totally new, and much more beautiful, creation.

Metamorphosis compares to the process of change that Christians undergo in becoming God’s adopted children. The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” In other words, we are not simply reformed, rehabilitated, or reeducated, but we are re-created (new creations) living in divine union with Christ. And in Romans 12:2, Paul states: “Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Upon a person putting their full trust in Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, he (via the Holy Spirit) invades the believer’s heart, transforming their lives to be more Godlike. The Bible states that God has good, pleasing, and perfect plans for his children, and he wants them to be transformed people with renewed minds, living to honor and obey him. Over time, we begin to develop new perspectives, passions, possibilities, and pursuits. More importantly, we transform from being “self-focused” to being “God-focused.” We transform from being the caterpillar that is completely self-absorbed and obsessed with consuming food and destroying plants, to a beautiful butterfly who sails through the air, flying and pollinating flowers and beautifying the earth.

The Bible refers to the metamorphosis process of a Christian as sanctification, which is a daily and growing separation from our old selves to our new selves in Christ. And this change process is typically a lifelong journey that never ends. Daily application of God’s Word has a purifying effect on our minds and hearts. And as beautiful and miraculous as this process is, the transformation process inherently involves some discipline and pain buy facebook followers app. Remember, sometimes God puts us in the fire not to burn us, but to purify us. And sometimes God puts us in the water not to drown us, but to cleanse us. Having a prayerful, surrendering, and God-focused mindset is important.

From Persecutor to Preacher

One of the greatest examples of a transformed life is the apostle Paul. Paul hated Christians and did not believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and as a consequence he persecuted Christians constantly by beating them, killing them, and putting them in jail. However, God had a plan for Paul, and through an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, God took one of the most hardened unbelievers and created a beautiful new person out of him. Paul went from being a famous persecutor of Christians to being one of the most famous preachers for Jesus and Christianity. Only God’s transforming power can explain this miracle. And this same transforming miracle has happened in millions of lives over the past two thousand years and continues to this day.

Dying for Truth         

Finally, it’s significant to know that the supermajority of Jesus’ 12 disciples were killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. They continued to defend their faith in Jesus all the way to the point of death because they had personally witnessed and experienced his transforming truth (i.e., about Jesus’ ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and being Lord and Savior).  Without this transforming faith, these once man-fearing disciples would have certainly confessed the whole Jesus movement was untrue simply to avoid a painful and imminent death – because one basic human truth is that “people don’t die for a lie.”