Transformation is Needed

Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. (John 8:43-45)

The world is in chaos, yet people have access to more information than ever before. They can listen to weeks' worth of nonstop sermons at the click of a button. The issue isn't that they lack information; it's that there is no transformation.

When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, saying they were of “the devil,” He wasn’t being mean. He was addressing the nature they carried within them. Until you allow Jesus to confront what you are holding inside, you will never be transformed.

Note that Jesus wasn’t speaking to murderers, drug dealers, or thieves; He was confronting religious leaders who believed they were holier than those around them. They knew how to follow the law; they memorized what was allowed and what wasn’t, and they debated how sinful others were. Yet, Jesus said they were following Satan’s murderous footsteps. The enemy always shows up, stealing, killing, and destroying.

I was recently in Auschwitz and saw the depravity of men who would kill others in horrific ways. When you see those horrors, you think, “How could another human being do this?” Their father was the devil. They first allowed the enemy to take their heart, and then atrocious actions followed from an unchanged, unrepentant heart.

You cannot access the Kingdom without transformation. You are not who you were; you are not what happened to you; and you are not what you have done. When you accepted Christ, you became a new creature, and your heart has been made new.

Practical Application

Are you trying to do “right” things without a “righteous” heart? Ask the Holy Spirit to examine your heart and motives today. Be willing to let Him show you where you need to change your words, prayers, thoughts, or actions to align more with Kingdom purposes rather than your feelings.

1 John 3:12; John 8:41