E=Experiencing Forgiveness And Fullness

The third part of Bronx Bethany's vision statement reads: "Experiencing forgiveness of sin and the fullness of the Spirit."

Recently a friend of mine recommended the excellent book How People Change, written by Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp. Below is a quote from the book that I would like us to reflect on today, as it helps to underline this portion of our church's vision.

It is so easy to coast! We have been accepted into God's family, and someday will be with him in eternity. But what goes on in between? From the time we come to Christ until the time we go home to be with him, God calls us to change. We have been changed by his grace, are being changed by his grace, and will be changed by his grace. What is the goal of this change? It is more than a better marriage, well-adjusted children, professional success, or freedom from a few nagging sins. God's goal is that we would actually become like him. He doesn't just want you to escape the fires of hell-- though we praise God that through Christ you can! His goal is to free us from our slavery to sin, our bondage to self, and our functional idolatry, so that we actually take on his character! (Lane and Tripp, 2008, p. 15, emphasis mine)

• The first step is "acceptance into God's family": have you asked God to forgive you of your sins? Are you sorry for having grieved His Spirit? Do you desire to change?
• The ensuing steps involve answering God's call to change: are you aware of the grace He has extended you? Are you willing to reject habitual sin and embrace the character of God, daily pursuing holiness?

As Pastor Sam noted during his sermon, we as Nazarenes are custodians of the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. It is a tradition in which we seek forgiveness of our sins, we place ourselves in small groups for accountability, we seek to increase in our love towards God and man, and we seek the power of the Holy Spirit so that we might develop an aversion toward continual sin.

Look back one year... five years... ten years... and more. Can you see a difference between your Christian walk then and now? Can anyone else around you testify to that difference? Has your change been a change for the better?

Lord, You have made the way for us to be changed! Give us Your grace in abundance: we will be changed, and we will be agents of change, for the sake of Your glorious Name.