3-30 North Point

Priorities for the Saved: Conformity to Christ

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” -- Romans 8:29

When we receive Christ as Savior, we receive forgiveness for our sins, a heavenly home, and a new life in Him. But God is not finished with us! When we are born-again a life-long process of sanctification begins, which is called being conformed to the image of Christ.

What does conformity mean? The underlying Greek word used here (symmorphe) means to be in the same or like form or appearance. God wants us to be like Christ; for our lives to represent Him accurately. Woodrow Kroll writes of this: “As believers, we should become more and more like the Master every day.”

By definition, a Christian is a follower of Christ, one who is like Him! In I Corinthians 11:1 Paul commanded the Christians thusly: “be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

In Paul’s great discussion of the first and second Adams in I Corinthians 15:22-50, he makes a statement that explains the conformity that God is looking for from us. “And as we have borne the image of the earthly (Adam), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (Christ).” (I Cor. 15:49) No, we won’t look like Christ physically, but we will be more and more like Him as we grow in His grace and knowledge (II Peter 3:18).

· List some ways where God has changed and conformed you to be more like Christ.

· “Heavenly Father, thou are the Potter, I am the clay. Mould me and make me to be more like my Master.”