Changed......but How Much?

When we were baptized into Christ, a great change took

place.

A. Some of this change was a direct result of God

working on our sin sick souls.

1. God performed an operation upon our souls....

He circumcised us.

a. Not a physical circumcision, but a

spiritual one.....a circumcision of the

heart and soul.

2. When this operation was performed, we were

changed in multiple ways.

a. We became members of the Family of

God.....we are now children of God.

b. We were taken from the kingdom of

darkness....dred.....and damnation, and

placed in the Kingdom of the Son of His

Love....The Kingdom of Light.

c. Our attitudes changed from one of fear

and despair to one of hope and promise.

d. We were no longer destined for

destruction but we were placed on the

path of salvation.

** Yes.....many things took place in the waters of baptism.

1. In truth.....we died and came back to life!!!

Romans 6:6-13 - 6knowing this, that our old man was

crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done

away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For

he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died

with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead,

dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.

10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all;

but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you

also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive

to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12Therefore do not let sin

reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its

lusts. 13And do not present your members as instruments

of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as

being alive from the dead, and your members as

instruments of righteousness to God.

It is quite apparent that the change that takes place is

through the power of God........BUT.....it is also apparent

that God expects some changes to be made by the one

being converted.

A. Converted.....now there is an interesting word.

1. It means to change......but it means more than

a simple change.......it means to change for the

better.....an improvement.....a change that can

used to benefit others, as well as self.

EXAMPLES: I have a few examples of physical

conversion that I wish to share with you.

An electrical “transformer” converts or

transforms an electrical voltage to a higher

or lower voltage, as may be needed......its

product benefits those using electricity.

A power converter (inverter) can be plugged

into our cigarette lighter and it will change

12 volts, D.C. to 120 volts, A.C........in other

words, it gives us the capability of plugging

many household appliances into the

converter (inverter) in our cars.

In every one of these examples, a change MUST TAKE

PLACE FOR THEM TO BE USEFUL. If that change

does not take place, they are useless to the user.

A. It can be said that for us to be useful and

functioning in the Kingdom of God.....as a part of

the Family of God............A CHANGE MUST

TAKE PLACE!

1. But how much of a change is expected, by

God?

Let us revisit the analogy (or fact) of what takes place at

baptism........We essentially die, and then come back to life

as a Child of God.

A. I think that the scriptures explain the change that

takes place from death to life.......far better than

anyone else could.

I Cor. 15:35-38 - 35But someone will say, “How are the

dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”

36Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it

dies. 37And what you sow, you do not sow that body that

shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other

grain. 38But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each

seed its own body.

1. In this illustration we see the death and life of

a seed.

a. Corn seeds are so completely different

from a fresh corn stalk that there could be

no comparison.

** God’s Word goes on to compare a fleshly body with

the body that will be created when Christ returns.

I Cor. 15:42-49 - 42So also is the resurrection of the dead.

The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.

43It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in

weakness, it is raised in power. 44It is sown a natural body,

it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and

there is a spiritual body. 45And so it is written, “The first

man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became

a life-giving spirit. 46However, the spiritual is not first, but