Can A Person Really Change?

In life, everything changes. Your circumstances, your finances, the politics of the nation, our economy, the technology, etc.... Change is all around us. But, can a person really change?

First we must ask ourselves, do we really need to change? The answer is yes, we do need to change. Why? Because it is in our nature to sin. Ever since Adam and Eve first ate that forbidden fruit, we have had sin in our lives.

• "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.'" Romans 3:10-12
• "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
• "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Psalm 51:5

Sin corrupts everything in our life. All of our attitudes, all of our actions, absolutely everything is corrupted by sin.

• "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Matthew 15:19
• "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." Ephesians 2:1-3

The Bible tells us that with this sin we are separated from God for eternity. We need to change our heart and turn away from our sinful natures.

So, how do we change? How does it happen? Can we do it ourselves with self-discipline? Can a self-help book change us? What about a therapist? While all these things can be good for us and do good in our lives, they ultimately can not change our sinful nature and they definitely do not eliminate the separation that exists between ourselves and God.

• "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil." Jeremiah 13:23

To change, it takes four steps. First, we must transfer our trust from ourselves to Christ. We can't do it ourselves. God has to do it. Second, we must receive Christ as our Savior. Third, you must trust in Him as Lord. Finally, we must repent of our sins and turn away from these. When we follow these steps our nature changes instantaneously.

• "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything to hard for me?" Jeremiah 32:27
• "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" Matthew 19:26

People can change by the gospel and love of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

(Part 2 of the sermon preached by Jarrett Stephens on 5.8.10 at Prestonwood Baptist Church)