Scripture makes it very clear that God is interested in something a whole lot deeper than the superficial change we tend to be most comfortable with. He wants to live His life in and through us, to bring us to a place of spiritual health and maturity where He can use our life to radically impact the world. And it’s impossible for Him to do this without first transforming our character through the renewing of our mind.

What does character have to do with it? Well, the definition of character largely answers that question. Character in the Greek means proof of genuineness, trustworthiness. It’s not surprising, then, to find it translated in at least one place as “proven character.”(Romans 5:3-4)

When the term character is used in Scripture, a great deal is revealed in regard to the condition of man’s heart. Character is that quality within which governs our response in any given instance or circumstance. It’s who we are at the deepest level of our being. In the end we always behave as our character dictates.

A weak character can’t help but succumb to temptation, sadly resulting in a never-ending cycle of bandaging up our sin, patch by cumbersome patch. But a character transformed through a life of godliness responds the very same way every time temptation surfaces: “Of course I won’t do that. That’s not who I am!” How would you rather live your life—on the verge of failure every time sin rears its ugly head, or benefiting from the much-needed help that godly moral fiber brings?