General Superintendent
Max Edwards
April 2, 2024
The sixth of seven thoughts I’d love the church to hear is this:
“If we hope to preach holy transformation, We must be transformed people.”
The Gospel is the good news that though we have been separated from God by sin, there is hope of reconciliation through the atoning work of Christ on the Cross - but that is not the whole message. Reconciliation with God is the first step into a brand-new existence.
2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new .”
When we are born again, we take on a new DNA - - a new way of thinking and living. That process of change is described in the Scriptures as metamorphosis, or transformation. The Greek word metamorphoo (mεταµορφόω) literally means to be formed after being with something or someone. If we are truly in Christ, we will be formed into His likeness and image.
Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Galatians 6:15: “It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.”
Jesus often described the religious leaders of His day as hypocrites, which means actors - - performers on a stage. They were not effective leaders. Jesus once called them blind guides, which is precisely why it is not okay for us as Christian leaders to simply ACT differently than we used to, or differently than others. We must BE different, inside and out.
When we only pretend to be different (or are indeed different, but only on the outside), we, like those blind guides Jesus referred to, lead others right into the ditch. If we truly want to see spiritual transformation in people, if we want to see lost and broken people permanently changed, mended, and brought to a place of wholeness, we must model transformation. People can find true metamorphosis by and through the power of the Spirit.
But if what we are showing them is only a proper way to “act” by putting on a mask and playing a part, we are not leading them to Christ. We would be encouraging them to pretend, rather than to give in, give up, and give themselves over to true spiritual transformation.