You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God's right side. Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. Christ gives meaning to your life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.
Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. God is angry with people who disobey him by doing these things. And this is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way. But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.
Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian, and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Colossians 3:1-11
Man was created in the image of God. Then came the fall of man and that image was marred beyond human repair. There is no way on earth that you can restore your life to the perfect condition of Adam and Eve before the fall in the Garden of Eden. The ultimate goal of your salvation is not just to remove sin and its effects from your life, but to ultimately restore you to the perfect condition before the fall of man.
The Bible is not a rule book for the lost. You can obey every rule in Scripture and still be lost eternally! The description of moral purity as displayed in the life of Jesus is not what you do to become like Jesus, it is rather what you do because He has changed you into His image! You can act like a bird all day long, but unless you are indeed a bird you will not be able to flap your wings and fly. You can act like Jesus and impress everyone around you, but unless Jesus has changed your very nature into the image of Christ you will only look like Him, but you will not be like Him.
"Lord, I tremble when I ask You to change my very heart so that I may be like You and not just look like You. May my obedience come from the fact that I have become like You and not because i am trying to become like You! Show me the steps that we will take together today! Amen."
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