21 Jul Information + Application = Transformation
Romans 15:15-16 – But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In this passage of Romans, Paul talks about giving a reminder of things that the people have already learned. Sometimes, God wants to teach us new things but, other times, we just need to actually put into practice what we’ve already learned.
Sometimes, we forget some things and need to be reminded of them. This is like a married couple that exchanges vows and, 10 years later, one of them is like “Hey, you said you’d be nice” and the other one is like, “Oh yeah, I forgot.” That’s why it got written down or recorded; you may need to revisit that.
Oftentimes, it’s not that we forgot what we learned but we forgot to do what we learned. We tend to think that information leads to transformation, but I’d add to that and say information plus application results in transformation. It’s not just hearing, but hearing and doing, that leads to changing.
Some of you would say “I already know that.” But are you doing that? “Well, no.”
Think about your last physical with your doctor. For some of you, he probably told you that you need to change your diet, maybe exercise once, do a sit-up, baby steps. The next time you come in, he asks how it’s going, and you say you haven’t changed anything. He doesn’t have new information for you – he’ll tell you the same thing he told you last year, the difference is you need to actually do what he says to see any changes.
So, for some of us, we need to be reminded of what we were told. But probably more often than not, we just need to do what we’ve been told to see real, lasting life changes.
Is there something that you know that you’ve been told that you need to apply in your life?
To find the free Romans 12-16 digital study guide for individuals and small groups, hear Pastor Mark’s entire sermon series on Romans, or find a free mountain of Bible teaching visit legacy.realfaith.com or download the Real Faith app.
