I have often heard people say, “You can’t change who you are.” Do you believe that statement? Do you believe you are born the way you are, and nothing you do can change the person you are?

If this is true, then there is no point in trying. We should just accept who and what we are and live out our life wondering what we would be if we could change.

That way of thinking is certainly against everything the Bible teaches us. Let’s look at some examples of those who made changes in their lives and the results of those changes.

Saul of Tarsus is one that comes to my mind when I think of a changed life. He was a man to be feared. “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3 ESV).

The beginning of Acts 8 tells us Saul had approved of the stoning of Stephen. When the persecution against the church in Jerusalem began, Saul took part in the crimes against Christians.

Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, told the young man Timothy, “Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief…” (First Timothy 1:13).

Later in Paul’s life, he and Silas were accused of disturbing the city. They had cast out an evil spirit from a girl, and the men that controlled her were angry because they lost the income they made from the young woman.

A crowd attacked them, and the magistrates ordered that they be beaten and thrown in prison. A jailer was put in charge of them, and he put their feet in stocks so they could not escape.

At midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing; the prisoners were listening to them. There was an earthquake that shook the doors open, and every prisoner was loosened from their bonds.

The jailer was terrified. He knew that if any of his prisoners escaped, he would lose his own life. But no one left. Everyone remained in the prison.

This jailer was undoubtedly a man committed to guarding his prisoners at any cost. That meant he would have killed them if that was what it took to keep them in the prison, but he changed.

Acts 16 tells us, “And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God” (Acts 16:33-36).

The jailer became a Christian. This was a man that formerly beat and chained prisoners and guarded them under threat of death. He changed!

Let’s look at one more example, though there are many throughout the Bible. This one is found in Acts 2.

The Jews were in Jerusalem to celebrate a feast called Pentecost. The apostles had been told by Jesus to wait there in the city for instructions. The twelve were given the ability to speak in different languages so they could speak to the different people that had gathered for this special occasion.

As Peter stood before this massive group of people to proclaim the words given to him by the Holy Spirit, he touched the hearts of many with these words: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:22-23).

After Peter’s sermon, look at their reaction. “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38).

Some ignored what Peter and the apostles told them, but not everyone refused to change. “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41).

We need to know that we can’t change what has happened to us, but we can change what happens inside of us. We need to recognize that like Saul, the jailer, and those that crucified the Son of God, there is the possibility of change. But the change has to come from inside each of us; and when it does, God will use it to His glory.

Paul said in Philippians 1:12-13, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”

We may not be imprisoned for the sake of Christ, but we can know that we can change. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (First John 1:9).

Sandra Oliver