I Have Decided

Written by Michael Card

[Chorus:]

I have decided.
I'm gonna live like a believer.
Turn my back on the deceiver.
I'm gonna live what I believe.

I have decided.
Being good is just a fable.
I just can't, cause I'm not able.
I'm gonna leave it to the Lord

There's a wealth of things
that I profess. I said that I believed.
But deep inside, I never changed
I guess I'd been deceived.

Cause a voice inside kept telling me
that I'd change by and by .
but the Spirit made it clear to me
That kind of life's a lie.

[Chorus]

So forget the game of being good
and your self-righteous pain.
Cause the only good inside your heart
is the good that Jesus brings.

When the world begins to see you change
don't expect them to applaud.
Just keep your eyes on Him
and tell yourself I've become the work of God.
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I chose to add this song to my blog because it describes just what it means to live like a believer. Michael Card has a rare depth of understanding of just how radical true Christianity really is.

[Chorus]

I have decided.
I'm gonna live like a believer.
Turn my back on the deceiver.
I'm gonna live what I believe.

The chorus begins with a declaration of the desire to live according to what we believe and not according to the lies of the deceiver. But just what are those lies?

I have decided
being good is just a fable.
I just can't, cause I'm not able.
I'm gonna leave it to the Lord

The first lie is that the believing life consists of being good. The truth is that we are not able to be good, even as believers. We can and must only leave it to the Lord.

There's a wealth of things
that I profess. I said that I believed.
But deep inside, I never changed
I guess I'd been deceived.

The second lie is that when we believe then we will be able to change our behavior. We will be able to submit to His lordship. We will be able to follow Him. We will be able to live a life that is pleasing to Him. We will be able to be filled with His Spirit and power if we so chose.

Cause a voice inside kept telling me
that I'd change by and by.
But the Spirit made it clear to me
that kind of life's a lie.

The voice of Satan tells us that we will change. The Spirit tells us that we won't.

So forget the game of being good
and your self-righteous pain.
Cause the only good inside your heart
is the good that Jesus brings.

Being good is just a game. It is a deception...a mockery of the true change that happened completely the moment we first believed. All of the painful changes that we are able to make in our lives are mere self-righteousness. The only good that means anything is the good that Jesus brings to us when we first believe.

When the world begins to see you change
don't expect them to applaud.
Just keep your eyes on Him
and tell yourself I've become the work of God.

Colossians 3:1,2

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Satan's greatest temptation is to get us to focus on change in our lives (progressive sanctification) and not to focus on the fact that when we first believed we, then, became the work of God (positional sanctification).