Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

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Most of us cannot simply decide to change. Even if we could, is that really what we need? We need to be changed. Our sinful nature needs to be dealt with. Why then do we place rules on ourselves?

“Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations– “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)–according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:18-23)

Let no one lead you astray. Many people have their own ideas about spirituality but lack any substance of truth. Even within Christianity, many miss the point and primarily teach us to practice biblical principles. Don’t be led astray by such teaching. Serving God is important, but that’s not how we are saved. We’re saved only by the grace of God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Christianity isn’t about striving to be different. It’s about being changed by God. When we trust in God, He changes us immediately. And he continues to change us. It’s not by our striving, but by God working in us.

The logic of the world says that if we are basically good people, then we deserve good in return. This is the essence of self-made religion. The danger of self-made religion is that it ignores the fact of our sin, our primary problem. Simply practicing good deeds will not make us right with God. Our main problem is our own sinful nature. We must hold fast to our Head, which is God, and trust only in Him, not only for our salvation, but for our continued sanctification in this life.

It’s okay to set goals for yourself. But if you want to quit smoking, the answer is not merely a decision of the will. The secret to follow-through is motivation. It’s got to run deeper than a surface level decision to change. Why do you want to quit? To be healthy. But why? To glorify God, realizing your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. And after you make that decision, you must not then go about it as if it depended upon you, but always lean upon God, going to Him in prayer, clinging to the promises of His Word, so that through all of the process, it’s God’s power changing you. We cannot glorify God in ourselves. He must glorify Himself through us.