And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2 NLT
The Bible is only transformational when we do what it says. If all it is is information, we will never be changed. The problem Jesus had with the religious folks of His day was, they had the information down to a science. They bragged about the knowledge they possessed, but their hearts never moved beyond what they knew. They never discovered or developed a relationship with its Author. They taught and studied to gain recognition and status, but scoffed at the thought of anyone knowing more than they did. They were too rigid in their understanding of scripture to welcome another’s point of view. Especially not the viewpoint of Jesus, who they accused of breaking the very laws He had come to fulfill, and may I add, WROTE.
Religion and all its legalities lacks the power to transform hearts. Yes, to conform to the legal aspects of the Bible may produce a scholar, but the letter (law) always kills Mark 14:1, 2 Corinthians 3:6. The law lacks heart. That’s why certain religious zealots have no problem murdering someone who opposes their system of belief. Jesus even said they would think they’re doing God’s bidding. John 16:2
Jesus suffered fulfilling the requirements of the law. Paul persecuted the church because of the law. He erroneously thought that anyone who followed Jesus was breaking the law. He said he kept the law perfectly. But his heart wasn’t changed, until he met the Transformer.
Religion is a false positive. It suckers people into believing that human effort is enough. Just do these things and you’ll be guaranteed a place in paradise. If our best efforts were enough, Jesus wasted 33 years, and Calvary. The only way to be transformed is by allowing the Information you’re receiving from the Word of God to penetrate your hearts by the Holy Spirit, who takes the written Word off the pages and makes them come alive in your recreated spirit. By actively doing what is revealed, you become transformed by your renewed mind. You move from head knowledge to Holy Spirit revelation and truth. You move from religion to relationship.
Religion is a promissory note that never delivers. It’s not the Savior, it’s identity theft. That’s why I said it’s a false positive. It mimics Christianity but lacks substance because it’s built on a fleshly foundation. It’s hope is really a wish. Its not Christ alone, it’s God and. Consider the religions of today, they all point to a founder whose bones are entombed. But they also have a lot of information to support their beliefs. They live and die by that information, they work at keeping the rules perfectly out of fear of not entering heaven, it’s a hope so religious experience. They do good deeds to gain access to whatever they’re holding to. They can exhaust you with their knowledge but their souls are lost. Why? They have chosen law (information) over grace ( transformation). There’s no love, no grace, no mercy. It’s based on pragmatism and humanistic ideology. That’s why Jesus vehemently opposed it. It’s puffed up information or knowledge.
Jesus has said He’s the only way. The Word says we have been saved by Grace alone through faith. In this way, human effort, plays no role except to receive the gift. Whatever information you may receive, if it doesn’t include Jesus Christ as the Way, Truth and Life, it’s to be rejected. He’s the only One who can transform a sinner into a saint. He is the only One who can give us the right to be called sons and daughters of God. The Bible is the only inherent Truth. Be informed to be transformed. No other Book can offer its readers life changing promises, No other Book boasts an Author who died and rose from the dead and is alive forevermore. No other Book has weathered every attempt to destroy it and whose timeless words are still transforming lives. No other Book has been researched, investigated and argued relentlessly. No other Book is more feared and it’s readers and followers persecuted, maligned and murdered. No other Book has been destroyed by those who misunderstood its worth. What pray tell is the fear of the Bible? Is it because the readers are indeed transformed by the information they’ve received?
Every time a life is transformed by the Word, hell unleashes it’s fury. Religion gets another blow to its authority and influence. Religion doesn’t want you thinking, it doesn’t allow for dissenting views. It’s a cult on steroids. Jesus showed up and disrupted the religious norms. He provoked the thought processes of the masses. See John 7. Like I said, they’re armed with information, but information without transformation produces robots. It’s do as I say or else. A Spirt filled biblically informed Christian, is a threat to any religion. When what you know is based on the Truth of God’s Word, believed and actively lived out, watch out devil. The renewed mind is a weapon against falsities.
“No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God —His plan that was previously hidden, even though He made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 2:7-16 NLT
What or who is your source of information? Are you being transformed by the information you’re receiving? Is it based on Bible facts or man’s religious viewpoint? Is it law and works, or Grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone? If you’re being taught to worship a man and not the Man Christ Jesus, then you may have received information but you’ll never receive Bible transformation.
We who have been transformed, have been given the mind of Christ. The Holy Spirit guides us into all spiritual Truths. Hidden things are revealed to us who are transformed. The world has information from many sources. We only have one. The BIBLE. God breathed and Holy Spirit inspired. We hold to no other truth but His. And we’re forever changed. Everything we see and know exists and was formed by HIS WORD. Hebrews 11:3 if darkness and chaos were transformed by His Word, how much more shall we, His image bearers be transformed by them?
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
May 28, 2021