We have started a new series on Wednesday nights entitled, “How can I Change?” There will be a series of post which will focus on answering this question.
“How Can I Change?”
We began by studying Titus 2:11-14.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”
In that passage, Paul reveals two perspectives of grace:
1) Forgiving grace (“redeem us from all lawlessness”)
2) Transforming grace (“training us to renounce…”)
All change is motived and enabled by grace. It is a work of God (Phil 2:13).
But just because change is a work of God, we are not exempt from effort. There is no “let go and let God” in the battle for godliness. There are far too many commands to make that a legitimate option. Rather, godliness is a fight waged by the grace of God.
As we work through the study we will be addressing various tools used in our sanctification, wielded by the grace of God. These include godly sorrow, accountability, confession, prayer, etc.
Some resources that we will be using are:
Bridges, Jerry. The Pursuit of Holiness. Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1978.
———. The Transforming Power of the Gospel. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2012.
DeYoung, Kevin. The Hole In Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012.
Lambert, Heath. Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.
Mahaney, C.J., and Rovin Boisvert. How Can I Change?: Victory in the Struggle Against Sin. Edited by Greg Somerville. The Pursuit of Godliness. Gaithersburg, Maryland: Sovereign Grace Ministries, 1993.
Piper, John, and David Mathis. Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification, 2013.
Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1997.
Whitney, Donald S. Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. 1St Edition. NavPress, 2001.