Forgiveness Ministries - Healing For Wounded Lives

Practicing Authentic Forgiveness--The Missing Element of Life Transformation

A primary aspect of God’s salvation is to save us by changing us. His purpose is to change us so radically and thoroughly, literally “transform”[1] us, that we look like Jesus in the quality of our person and character.

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.”[2]

The gospel of Jesus Christ includes an invitation to let God change you. We cannot make ourselves good and God does not want us to simply try to pretend to be good. He wants to make us truly good from the inside out. How does He do that?

There are six basic elements to inner life transformation. A computer analogy may help to explain the process. In this illustration, imagine that you are a used and broken computer previously owned by Satan.

God purchases a used computer.

God first needed to acquire the legal right to the computer. The “redemption” of Jesus Christ includes the idea of reacquiring proper ownership. God bought you with the precious blood of Jesus Christ![3] You belong to Him now.

God begins to install new software.

There are two aspects to this element of transformation.

First, the very “heart” of the computer needs to be changed. In computer language this is called the “bios” (literally, “life”). The bios consists of the primary directions that govern the computer’s function. When a person begins to believe in Jesus as his or her only hope of salvation, God’s Holy Spirit comes into that person and imparts a new nature—God’s loving nature. The “bios” is changed. A Christian is now capable of loving like God loves.

The second aspect of this element has to do with the human soul, which consists of our mind, will and emotions. Satan and the world have filled your mind with lies. These lies act like faulty computer programs. The lies you believe contribute to the making of bad, unloving decisions. God designed your mind to function on truth. This second element of inner life transformation is the exposure to and assimilation of truth. We need to let God “reprogram” the computer with truth.[4]

God repairs the hardware.

Software in a computer is limited by the condition of the hardware. In the same way, the effectiveness of truth is limited by the condition of the human soul. We need truth, yes, but we also need “repair”! God heals the human soul as we practice all three paths of personal forgiveness: confessing our sins and fully receiving His forgiveness, forgiving other people and asking other people to forgive us.

Practicing forgiveness is not a one-time event at the beginning of the Christian life. Practicing forgiveness is to become the lifestyle of the Christian. Unfortunately, most Christians have not been introduced adequately to this concept and are not practicing forgiveness effectively. As a result, their spiritual life becomes stale and they remain vulnerable to all kinds of temptations and problems.

A healthy soul receives truth quickly and the transformation continues less hindered.

God insulates the computer from “hackers.”

Demons are like hackers who are constantly trying to insert “viruses,” “worms,” “trojans” and bad programs. As Christians we are to learn how to identify, resist and remove them.

God personalizes His computer.

Ten seconds in the presence of God will change someone forever! God invites us to “date” Him in the spiritual disciplines of service, worship, giving, silence, solitude, prayer, fasting, etc. These are places to “meet with God” and let Him reveal Himself to us. When God does this, He is “personalizing” us in an intimate relationship. In a similar way, the user of a computer personalizes his or her computer just by using it.

God upgrades the system.

Eventually, we need a complete upgrade. God does this when we see Jesus face to face[5] and receive new bodies in the resurrection. These new bodies, unlike our current bodies, will be free from sin and will not exert a sinful influence on our minds. We will finally be free from the influence of the “flesh.”

If you are a Christian, God has already done the first element. The sixth element will not happen until Jesus returns. That leaves us to focus on the second through the fifth elements of inner life transformation. We can stumble into them or we can be proactive and pursue them. The Christian who pursues all four elements of inner life transformation will rapidly discover and experience the “abundant life” Jesus came to give us!

[1] Romans 12:2
[2] Romans 8:29
[3] 1 Peter 1:18-19
[4] John 8:31-32
[5] 1 John 3:2