“What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?”
- Romans 9:22–24Steven J Coles states in his Lesson 31 on Bible.com, "But the Christian life is fundamentally a changed life. If you claim to believe in Christ, but are living just as you did before you believed in Him, you need to examine whether you truly believe in Him. Becoming a Christian requires turning from your sin to God (repentance). But repentance is not a one-time event. It defines the lifestyle of a believer. God changes us radically at the moment of salvation by imparting new life to us, but this is followed by a lifetime of changing into the image of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18)....... The changed life stems from the transformation that God works in us through the gospel as we put off the old life, are renewed in our minds, and put on the new life in Christ."
While it is true, Jesus does not require us to change in order to accept His gift of salvation; the Bible does say, Jesus inherently brings changes in our lives. That is to say, we are not required to change to receive Salvation, but once we receive Salvation there is no option but for us to change, because the change comes from Christ not us. It is true, some change faster than others and yes, the change begins on the inside, but that change if it is true change will eventually manifest itself on the outside, if it doesn't it is not true change. Look at it this way; our Salvation is more about the Glory of Jesus and what He did, not about us going to heaven, that is to say heaven is a result of the love of Christ, but it is not the main point of His love. Jesus didn't die so we can go to heaven, He died so His Glory will show through His mercy and Grace. The good news (Gospel) is this; Jesus did not have to give us a way out of the penalty of our sin, He could have allowed us to die eternally, but how does this show His mercy, His Grace and ultimately His Glory? If Jesus doesn't continue the change us then His gift was useless, if His gift is useless, He does not get the Glory He deserves. R.C. Sprouls puts it another way: "Our Lord’s chief end is to reveal and magnify His own glory, and God’s glory is seen in both His mercy and His justice. First, with respect to the elect, God shows His glory through His mercy. By saving us from sin and death, our Creator reveals Himself as our Savior, and He is glorified for His saving work. And because we are redeemed solely on account of His kindness and not for anything in us, the credit and glory for salvation goes only to Him, not to us. His power, His mercy—these and other divine attributes are shown to us when He saves us."
All Devine rights belong to Jesus, yes He gave up those rights for a moment in time for us, but the ultimate goal was His Glory. This is the simple message of the Bible...we were created to show the Glory of God, but we messed that up when we decided sin was more important. So God formulated a new way His Glory could shine, that is through the Mercy and Grace of the Cross....now through God's Son His Glory can shine through those He predistined to partake in His Glory. Let that Glory shine so others can see, this is the change that will come to all who believe.
But you did not learn Christ in this way! If in fact you have [really] heard Him and have been taught by Him, just as truth is in Jesus [revealed in His life and personified in Him], that, regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires, and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image, [godlike] in the righteousness and holiness of the truth [living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation]. Therefore, rejecting all falsehood [whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these], speak truth each one with his neighbor , for we are all parts of one another [and we are all parts of the body of Christ]. B e angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin ; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness]. The thief [who has become a believer] must no longer steal, but instead he must work hard [making an honest living], producing that which is good with his own hands, so that he will have something to share with those in need. Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin]. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.
EPHESIANS 4:20-32 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/eph.4.20-32.AMP
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