Just over five hundred years ago, in 1517, the German priest and biblical
4. COURAGE TO CHANGE
Just over five hundred years ago, in 1517, the German priest and biblical scholar Martin Luther is said to have nailed his list of 95 theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. It was Luther's "theses" or principles that triggered the Protestant Reformation, and in so doing changed the history of the modern world. Many of Luther's theses had to do with his rejection of the practice of selling "indulgences" in the Catholic Church of his time – a means of raising money for the church which claimed that people might pay to have the souls of loved ones or others released from "purgatory." The stand taken by Luther on this issue alone was a remarkable one, considering the degree of change Luther was demanding.
Luther also argued for a different understanding of what the Christian gospel was and what we must do to be saved. While we may think of these things as theological questions to be peacefully debated, in Luther's sixteenth-century society they were veritably seismic issues – calls for change on a magnitude not seen since the origin of Christianity itself.
The change Luther asked for eventually took hold and transformed much of Christianity, but for years Luther endured great hostility from fellow Christians, and he and his family suffered a great deal of resultant hardship. Yet Luther's personal willingness – and courage – to change even the most entrenched faulty religious ideas led to a deeper understanding of the gospel for millions of people in his own age and beyond. The Latin motto of the Reformation that Luther began was Post tenebras lux, that is, "After darkness, light," but it could just as well have been "After darkness, change."
Not only institutional but also individual change lay at the heart of Luther's teaching. In his very first thesis – which formed the basis of those that followed – Luther (citing Matthew 4:17) wrote: "Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said, 'Repent', willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance." This statement was a remarkable one for its time. The Vulgate – the Latin version of the Bible used by the Catholic Church at that time – translated the command to repent in Matthew 4:17 with the words paenitentiam agite, meaning "Go, and do penance." But Luther found that in the Greek text of the New Testament the word for repentance used by the New Testament writers was metanoia, which does not suggest penance, but means to change one's heart and mind – to be
changed or converted. This deeper and more accurate understanding of the concept of repentance had a direct impact on Luther's teaching. The truth that Luther had learned and that had lain unrecognized in the Bible for many years was that the Christian life is based on ongoing repentance and change. Perhaps it was not coincidental that Luther, an individual more accepting and desirous of change to what is right than most, came to see this. As with all of us, Luther was not perfect as an individual. Historians claim that he was guilty of anti-Semitism and other problems in the course of his life, but the degree of Luther's willingness to change himself and to strive for change in society was a strength that few of us can match.
The Christian Life Is One of Change In reclaiming the concept of ongoing repentance, Luther found something that every Christian must also discover and act on: that true repentance is not just an inaugural event in our Christian lives, but also the very basis of our life in Christ from that time forward. Certainly, the Bible speaks of a primary repentance when we first turn to God from our own sinfulness (Acts 2:38; 11:18), and we might call that the pivotal moment of repentance. But the Scriptures also show that our initial repentance is followed by an ongoing process of repentance that is the continual mindset of the Christian. This does not mean constantly dwelling on our mistakes and failures, but continually repenting and being willing to change whenever we do find we have fallen short of God's way.
We see this ongoing or additional repentance throughout the Bible. We see it frequently, for example, in the psalms of David where he expresses repentance on many occasions. We see it in the New Testament in scriptures such as Revelation 2:5 which commands members of the church to repent of errors into which they have fallen, and in 1 John 1:8-9 which tells us that: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." This is the ongoing reality that the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote: "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him" (Colossians 2:6). Just as we begin our Christian lives with repentance and faith, so Paul says, we must continue.
We know that it is God who leads us to initial repentance (Romans 2:4), and as he continues to work with us through his indwelling Spirit (1
Corinthians 3:16), we are continually guided to repentance from ongoing mistakes and sins. The Scriptures are clear that this ongoing repentance is not done to try to earn salvation, but as a natural result of salvation occurring in our lives and our desire to become more and more like God. In other words, we are forgiven our sins through the occurrence of repentance at the beginning of our Christian lives – but we continue to ask God to forgive us and spare us from the consequences of our sins after that point. Every small repentance along the way reaffirms our original turning to God.
This concept of ongoing lifelong repentance is not a message that is heard in many churches, but it is a biblical message that we need to nail firmly to the doors of our hearts and minds.
Change Requires Courage But even if we accept the need to change in an ongoing manner, the actual practice of this on a day-to-day basis is not always simple. Humanly we all resist change to some degree. It has been said that we change our clothes, our cars, and even our homes and jobs without much difficulty, but the hardest thing for most people is to change our minds – to change how we think and act. Intellectual change is harder than physical change, and spiritual change can be harder than either. This is both because we often tend to justify our own behavior to ourselves, and because it can take courage to change. In one sense, change is a kind of sacrifice – it is willingness to sacrifice what we are for something better. As such, meaningful change almost always requires courage. That is why the famous prayer quoted elsewhere in this book states "God grant me the … courage to change the things I can."
Psychologists know it can take courage for people to change because in doing so we are essentially developing a new identity, and the Christian would agree that this is exactly what is happening. Notice what Paul says about this: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24). But that is something to welcome rather than something to fear!
We can also fear change simply because of the deep-seated fear of failure that many of us have. Failure is, after all, a real aspect of life.
Sociologists and organizational psychology experts assert that as much as seventy percent of attempted organizational change fails, and the rate of failure for individuals who attempt to change through their own willpower is also relatively high. Patterns of thought and behavior are extremely durable – it often takes time and perseverance to achieve deep and lasting change. But once again the Christian can rejoice that we are offered help with the change to which we are called. There are literally dozens of Bible verses confirming this – consider only one from the Old Testament and one from the New:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV) God clearly promises to help us change if we desire to change toward him. But there are things that we must do for that kind of change to occur. The Keys to Change We need God's help to change as effectively and as fully as he desires, but we need to do our part in order to get that help, and that involves two things – an inner attitude and an outward activity.
The first thing we need if God is to help us change is simply an attitude of humility. Psalms 25:9 tells us, "He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way" (ESV). We must have an underlying attitude of humility if we are to see and accept the change that we need. And Psalms 149:4 confirms this: "For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation" (ESV).
The other thing we need in order for God to work change in our lives is ongoing study of the word of God. Real change occurs as we continue to receive God's instruction, commit to keeping it, and then God helps us to do so. But this requires more than briefly reading a few verses of the Bible at the end of a tiring day. We need to live in the word of God – taking study of his word seriously, both in when and how we study. This means studying in the best times we have available. It also means not simply
reading a chapter or two, but whenever possible, studying till we find something that helps us better understand God's way, or refreshes our memory of it. That is the kind of ongoing, meaningful study that continues from the initial zeal praised so highly by the Book of Acts "Now the Bereans were more noble-minded … for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true" (Acts 17:11 BSB). Once we have studied diligently to learn the gospel message, we must continue diligently to let God fulfill his purposes within us.
We do not grow spiritually by chance, we grow spiritually by change, and a humble attitude and an ongoing quest for guidance are the two things that ensure God will help us with the understanding, the courage, and the power we need to make that change real.