Salvation is transformative. Apart from transformation, there is reason to question the true presence of salvation. It is imperative to discern whether one is truly a Christian, or one only in “name;” if one is a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ or one who only claims Jesus for the hoped for benefits.
The Lord did not call us and save us, to remain as we were; He did call us and change us to be who He made us to be. Transformed.
The crippled man in John 5 provides a clear illustration of the transforming work only Christ can perform in one’s life. Having returned to Jerusalem, Jesus went first to the Pool of Bethesda. He went to those who were needy, unwanted, and considered useless to society because of their varying inabilities. He went to a man who had been crippled for 38 years. Having approached him, Jesus said, Do you want to be healed (5.6)? Though an obvious question, the man had an opportunity to say “Yes! Absolutely! Will you help me?” Instead, he provided an excuse for his continued inability: Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool… (5.7). He was basing his healing on water, on doing something, on someone helping him, on hoping the stirring waters would somehow heal his infirmity.
Jesus did not give a reason as to why the waters were not helpful or the senselessness of waiting for something that was not going to happen. He simply responded, Get up, take up your bed, and walk (5.8). His words commanded action; they demanded change. The man believed. He did not question Jesus; he did not argue that it was the Sabbath and the law of the Pharisees prohibited him to carry his bed. He got up, took his mat, and walked away. An immediate change took place. This was not because of any action of this crippled man; it was all because of the power of Christ’s words. This is the sovereign working of our Lord. The man had his hopes set on water; Christ came to him not only as the healer of the body, but also the healer of the soul.
Later that day Jesus found him in the temple and said, See you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you (5.14). Transformation had taken place; his life was to be a living demonstration of the work of Christ. We rejoice in the healing of one man and the Lord’s gracious kindness to him. But there is more to learn.
The picture is clear of our salvation, of the healing of one’s soul. Note the following.
The unnamed man at the pool did not ask for Christ to heal him. He was needy, and after 38 years he continued feeling hopeless. Yet he remained in his condition, seeking the same thing day after day, with the same results – nothing. Jesus came to him. He saw him in his need. Though there were many at the Pool that day, the record indicates that Jesus only went to this one man.
He was immediately healed; transformed. His physical walking is a picture of the immediate transformation which takes place when Christ breathes into us the breath of new life; when the Spirit quickens us; when the atoning blood of Christ becomes effective in our life, and we are immediately cleansed of all sin. Salvation is not a process; it is an immediate action; it is a new birth. Though we may have wondered of the emptiness in our souls prior to salvation, though we may have sought answers to the meaning of life and our purpose, we remained crippled in sin. It was Christ who sought us; it was Christ who saw us; it was Christ who gave us life; it was Christ who rescued us from the bondage of sin, of a broken life, of the bondage of the enemy, of the prospect of eternal judgment.
The man got up and walked. He knew something had happened to him and he followed his healer’s command. When Christ gives us life, the new believer is instantaneously, immediately changed. He is now what he was not; he is alive though once dead; he is free though once chained. Transformation.
True, the new believer is not instantly free of all the habits of sin which were naturally ingrained in him. The sinful nature needs to be quenched and life patterns need to be changed. This is the process of sanctification, of learning how to walk in the Spirit.
As Jesus said to the man in the temple, See you are well! Sin no more… so we too are exhorted to sin no more; to live free of the sinful patterns of the past. This is our command, to be transformed in our daily living. Paul wrote, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12.1-2).
Christ’s work of transformation within us is instantaneous; our work of transformation of our living is a process, and it can be work. Regardless of past habitual sins, whether they be wrongful responses to trials, feelings of bondage, struggles with thoughts, they can be eradicated from our lives. As Christ told the man at the pool to go and sin no more, so He desires the same of us. Having been healed of sin’s crippling in our lives, of sin’s bondage, may we do all diligence to break away from all sin, to be free of sin, to not return to the loathsome life of wallowing in and thinking of sin. Rather, may we flee from it, run from it, and cling to the Cross at which we were washed clean of all sin. May we stay looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12.1-2). Life transformation is possible in believing the Word of God to be absolutely true and in full surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yes, it can be work, but when diligence is applied there can be victory.
Transformation. May it be our sincere and determined goal to be the transformed people the Lord has called us to be. May we be thankful for His redemptive work which brings new life, for His steadfast love, all-sufficient grace, and unending mercy. May we recognize all glory is to be given to our Sovereign Lord, the God of all creation.
Transformed by Christ – we have much to be thankful for –
Terry Burlingame
My Morning Desk 