Section Three

The Biblical Process Of Change

know I have brought any number and types of issues to a crisis point in some people’s lives. As some of you have evaluated how your lives align or don’t align with what I have said in this book, you may have come to the realization that you or someone you know has sexual issues or problems to work through.
The first thing to remember is that God loves you. It does not mat-

ter what you have done or where you have been. Through the blood Jesus shed on the cross your sins can be forgiven and you can be made pure, holy, and just in God’s sight. It doesn’t matter if you have an ongoing struggle with lust or if you have lost total control in the sexual areas of your life. If you turn from your sins, in Christ your life can be made whole. If you still don’t know where you stand or how serious your problem is even after you finish reading this book, it is time to get some outside help. Ask a pastor to help you evaluate your situation. Ask him to help you create a plan of restoration for your life so your relation- ship with the Lord can be restored to its fullest potential. Remember God created you for a reason. He has a plan and purpose for your life. He has a plan of restoration for your family, home, and marriage.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

For true change to take place in our lives, we must do two things:

  1. Address the spiritual issues involved when it comes to dealing with sexual sin.
  2. Have a plan of action in place so that we know what our response is going to be if we start to

struggle as we take action that will bring about change in our lives.

Sanctification

This is the process of making the believer holy, bringing the person’s moral condition into conformity with the legal status established for him or her in justification.
No place in scripture brings us to a greater understanding of this process than Romans 12:1-2. As we look at this section of scripture we see sanctification is something we do and continue in as an ongoing part of our lives. We do this from the time we come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior until the time we go to be with him in heaven. If you want change to take place in your life, this is what you as a Christian will have to do.

 

Becoming Holy as Christ is Holy

As we move forward I will remind you that God loves you. It does not matter what you have done or where you have been. Through the blood Jesus shed on the cross you have been made pure, holy, and just in God’s sight. You are a blood-bought, redeemed child of God, a joint heir in Christ according to all the promises of God. Psalm 139:13 says “you were knit together in your mother’s womb, you are fearfully and wonderfully made and the days of your life were numbered before one of them ever came to be.” Ephesians 1:13 says “You have been marked in him with the seal of the Holy Spirit.” God chose and predestined you according to his plans and purposes. This is who you are. The struggle comes in the fact that you don’t see yourself this way or that your moral condition is not in line with your justified state. You may also have realized you have areas of your life that are not in line with God’s word and have become a stronghold of the enemy. Whether you are struggling with lust or whether you have lost total control of some other area of your life, the good news is that God has a plan of restoration for your life, family, home, and marriage. You are only one right decision away from beginning the process that will enable you to live in a manner that is holy and pleasing in God’s sight.

 

The End Result Freedom In Christ

But if you do this and continue doing it, the physical and chemical processes will stop and you will get physical and spiritual control of your life back, one decision at a time. You will wake up one day and realize your sin is as far from you as the East is from the West. Your moral condition will be in line with your justified state. With each right decision you make, you are one step closer to being the person your Father in heaven created you to be. The Good News is God is not mocked; you will reap as you sow. As you sow to God’s Kingdom and life abundantly, you will reap the spiritual blessings you have sown. As you bring the whole tithe of your life into the store- house of God, you will reap the blessings of God’s kingdom in good measure, pressed down and shaken together.