Becoming More Like Christ
Updated: Sep 10
Sin can be a difficult subject to talk about. For some, the word immediately brings to mind long lists of rules, condemnation or traditions that were treated as though they were commandments from God. Jesus confronted that kind of thinking in His own day, warning against teaching “for doctrines the commandments of men.” But Scripture does not avoid the subject of sin, and neither can someone who truly desires to become more like Christ. The goal is not to point fingers at everyone else. It is to allow the Word of God to reveal what needs to change within each individual heart and then ask a much more important question: How does that change actually happen?
John 8 gives a powerful place to begin. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been taken in adultery. They placed her in the middle of the crowd and demanded to know what Jesus would do with her. Their motives were not righteous. They were trying to tempt Him and find something they could use against Him. Jesus answered with words that have become familiar to many: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” One by one, convicted by their own consciences, her accusers walked away. Then Jesus turned to the woman and said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” John 8:11 KJV. Jesus did not join the crowd in condemning her, but neither did He tell her that what she had done did not matter. His concern was what happened next.
That brings the question directly into the life of every believer. What happens when someone knows a thought is wrong, recognizes that a response is not pleasing to God, or realizes that something has gained too much influence over his or her life? Knowing something is wrong is one thing. Learning how to overcome it is another.
Jesus gives an example in Matthew 4. After fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. Each time He was confronted with a thought or desire that would have taken Him outside the will of God, His response was rooted in the same thing: “It is written.” He returned to the Word. When hunger pressed on Him, He answered, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” When another temptation came, He answered again from Scripture. Jesus showed that the Word of God is not simply information to know. It is a standard to return to when the mind, emotions or desires begin pulling in another direction.
That is why reading Scripture matters even when it feels as though nothing is being retained. Jesus promised that the Holy Ghost would bring His words back to remembrance. A believer may find himself in a situation and suddenly remember something he read days, weeks or even years before. The Scripture comes back. The standard becomes clear. But there is still a decision to make. Will the person follow the feeling that has risen up inside, or follow what the Word of God has said? That is where spiritual growth takes place.
Paul describes this process in Colossians 3. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.” Then he gives a strong instruction: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.” To mortify means to put something to death. There are things in the old nature that cannot simply be managed forever. They must gradually be put away as a believer grows in Christ. Paul names fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence and covetousness. Later he adds anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy and filthy communication. These are not merely outward behaviors. Many begin inside. Anger can become a long-standing resentment that changes how someone treats another person. Wrath can become an explosive reaction that takes control in a moment. Malice can move beyond anger into a deliberate desire to hurt someone. Covetousness can turn something good into something that begins competing with God for a person’s devotion.
And sometimes something may not be sinful in itself, yet it can still become harmful if it gains too much control. Paul wrote, “All things are lawful unto me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 1 Corinthians 6:12 KJV. That principle forces every believer to look beyond the question, “Am I allowed to do this?” A better question may be: What is this doing to my relationship with God? Is it changing how I think? Is it changing how I speak? Is it affecting how I treat people? Is it beginning to control me? If something starts getting between a believer and the Lord, wisdom may require letting it go, even if someone else could participate in the same thing without being affected.
But the Christian life is not simply about removing things. Paul does not end Colossians 3 with a list of everything believers should stop doing. He tells them what to put on. After saying to put off the old man, Paul says to “put on the new man,” which is renewed after the image of the One who created him. Then comes a very different list: mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearance, forgiveness, charity, peace, thankfulness, and the Word of Christ dwelling richly within. These are not merely good personality traits. They are the evidence of a life increasingly being shaped into the image of Christ.
That is the real purpose of confronting sin. It is not to produce shame. It is not to create a culture where believers watch one another looking for faults. It is not to pretend that someone who struggles has somehow been abandoned by God. The study made an important distinction: struggling with an attribute that God is revealing is not the same thing as deciding to remain in it. Growth is a process. There may be times when anger rises before someone can stop it. There may be thoughts that have to be brought back under control repeatedly. There may be habits that take time to overcome. There may be another layer of the old nature that the Lord brings to light after someone thought he had already changed so much. That does not mean the process has failed.
The question is whether the believer is still willing to be changed. Is there still a desire to mortify what does not please God? Is there still a willingness to return to Scripture and say, “It is written”? Is there still a desire to put off the old and put on the new? Paul describes this transformation as being “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” That is the goal. Not simply becoming a person who avoids a list of prohibited behaviors, but becoming like Christ.
So much like Him that mercy begins to replace resentment, kindness replaces harshness, humility replaces pride, forgiveness replaces the desire to retaliate, grace begins to shape speech, and peace begins to rule the heart. When others interact with that person, they should begin to recognize something different. They should be able to tell that person has been walking with Jesus.
The Christian life is a lifelong process of putting something off and putting something else on. The old nature does not disappear overnight, but every time the Word of God brings a standard to remembrance, another choice is presented: follow the old response, or follow Christ.
And perhaps that is one of the simplest ways to understand spiritual growth: the more the old man is put away, the more Christ should become visible.
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