The Least Holy Person in Your Church | Tabletalk

The Least Holy Person in Your Church

It is a typical Sunday—the parking lot, the stroll up to the church doors, the usual people who arrive at the same time you usually do. As you walk in, you see two ushers just inside the door with a basket of glasses, handing out a pair to each person. It reminds you of attending a 3-D movie and the requisite glasses involved. Each pair of glasses has looped over one of the arms a small piece of paper, apparently the directions for proper use. While other people fill the sanctuary around you, you sit down, take the small piece of paper with directions, and begin to read:

These are holiness glasses. When you put them on, they will change the way you see others. Everyone you look at through these glasses will glow dimmer or brighter based on their relative level of personal holiness. Disclaimer: These glasses will not make you more holy; they may do the opposite. They will not reveal the holiness of the operator. These glasses are for diagnostic purposes only.

Justification and Sanctification

The Protestant Reformation recovered the important distinction between justification and sanctification. You see the emphasis on clearly describing each of these doctrines, their similarities, and differences, scattered throughout the confessional literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Reformers had seen firsthand the spiritual harm done to individuals and entire churches who had harbored confusion on these crucial biblical truths. 

Justification, they taught, is the declarative act of God in which He pardons, accepts, and accounts as righteous the sinners He chooses, not for any work they have done but solely on the basis of the obedience and satisfaction of Jesus Christ on their behalf. This righteousness God imputes to them—He puts it on their record—and it is received by faith alone (Westminster Larger Catechism 70). Summarizing the Bible’s teaching on how God saves sinners, the Reformers revived the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Sanctification, they taught, is the ongoing work of God in those who have been saved by faith. In sanctification, the Holy Spirit applies the death and resurrection of Jesus to them, progressively renewing them after the image of God (WLC 75). They summarized this process by two simultaneous processes: mortification (progressive death to sin) and vivification (progressive life to God through the Holy Spirit). Summing up the Bible’s teaching on the renovating work of the Holy Spirit, the Reformation revived the doctrine of sanctification—the Christian’s personal growth in holiness. 

I can’t overemphasize the importance of charting the distinctions between these two rich doctrines. You will be hard-pressed to find a better description of the differences than the one given in question and answer 77 of the Westminster Larger Catechism. That question and answer pull together two fundamental realities for any group of Christians. First, all Christians are equally justified before God, with zero gradation in righteousness between them, since all Christians are righteous before God based on the same imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Second, sanctification differs in all Christians, based on God’s purposes and plan for the sanctification of each Christian. When it comes to sanctification, no two Christians are alike. 

Sanctification in a Congregation

With this biblical distinction between justification and sanctification in mind, you reach into your lap, pick up the holiness glasses, and put them on. As you look at the people filling the sanctuary, you find that the glasses cause each to glow, almost as if the light came from within each person, but each to a greater or lesser degree. Some are barely visible, ghostly silver. Others are radiantly bright, not with a brightness that makes you look away but with one that draws your gaze. And as you read in the disclaimer, the glasses don’t show you your own level of holiness, just that of others. 

Holiness glasses are a fictional and imperfect illustration at best. But consider for a moment the idea behind them. Based on the biblical differences between justification and sanctification, there is, on any given Sunday and in any given congregation, a holiest Christian and a least-holy Christian. This isn’t a statement about salvation or justification before God. There is not a least-saved or most-saved person. All the saints of God are equally righteous in Christ. But sanctification admits degrees. 

If the first difficulty is that justification and sanctification are often confused, the second is that Christians often judge sanctification by unbiblical standards. 

How to Tell

If the first difficulty is that justification and sanctification are often confused, the second is that Christians often judge sanctification by unbiblical standards. Inaccurate marks of sanctification include the following:

• Worldly accomplishments: Starting your own business, earning a medical degree, or running a legal firm are not accurate measures of personal holiness. Surviving extreme suffering does not create holiness. Holiness can’t be charted by GPA or resume.
• Age and gender: A 16-year-old girl may be vastly more spiritually mature than a 75-year-old man.
• Talk about religion: How much someone speaks about religious topics or theology is not an accurate marker of personal holiness.
• Raw Bible knowledge: Even an encyclopedic knowledge of Bible facts is not a reliable metric for sanctification.

This list is brief and incomplete. But considering it and how it might be used to judge sanctification in a local congregation shows how wildly inaccurate Christians can be in assessing the holiness of others or themselves. Even worse, consider what might happen to a church that thinks of the list above as an accurate metric for judging the kind of spiritual maturity needed to be an elder or deacon.

The Bible offers a different way of determining growth in sanctification. Some of the things to look for in those who are growing in godliness are the following:

• Fruits of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit produces specific, supernatural fruit in Christians in the process of sanctification (Gal. 5:22–23).
• Use of the means of grace: Those who are growing in godliness will make use of and enjoy Bible study, prayer, the sacraments, and participation in a local church.
• Repentance: Those who are growing in grace will also grow in humility and repentance as God humbles them for sin and encourages them with the gospel (2 Cor. 7:9–10).
• Demographic holiness: The Bible says that holiness will run in different channels for Christians based on their age, gender, and responsibilities (Titus 2; 1 Peter 2:12–3:7). 
• Hatred of sin: Growth in holiness always involves a growing hatred for sin (Rom. 8:12–13).
• Love for and obedience to Christ: It isn’t love for morality or yourself as a holy person that marks the Christian who is growing in godliness. Instead, it is a growing love for Jesus and a desire to obey Him in all things, in every area of life (1 John 5:1–5).

Like the first list, this second list is brief and incomplete. The Bible’s picture of sanctification in a believer is complex and beautiful but also distinct and unmistakable. Charting holiness in yourself (Phil. 2:12) and in others (Heb. 3:12–14) is biblical and essential and implies a set of principles and priorities for a local church.

 
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on October 20, 2017.

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What Is the Difference Between Justification and Sanctification? | Tabletalk

What Is the Difference Between Justification and Sanctification?

In this video, Dr. Joel Kim explains the difference between justification and sanctification.

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One of the teachings of Scripture that we ought to cherish, but often forget, has been the teachings on justification and sanctification. And for those of us who love history and have studied history, the recovery and precision of understanding of justification and sanctification during the time of the Reformation is a cherished heritage for us, as we continue to dive into the Word and understand better what the Lord is doing in our lives. So, what are justification and sanctification, and how do they differ? Perhaps this can be a class by itself, and many books have been written regarding it, but maybe I can summarize it this way, by borrowing the words of the confessions in particular. I’m from the PCA, so I use the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a way to teach people. And the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is justification?” And it begins by simply saying that it’s an “act of God.”

And in particular, it emphasizes it’s an act of God’s free grace, wherein our sins are forgiven—He forgives us of our sins. And then He goes on to point out and accepts us as righteous in His sight only because of the righteousness of Christ Jesus imputed, counted to us, and received by faith. What’s intriguing about sanctification as a whole is that it talks about the work of God’s free grace—the same Catechism understands—and it talks about the fact that we continue to grow in our understanding of the image of God. That is, we are renewed in order that we may reflect the image of God. That we may have strength enabled to die to our sin on a regular basis so that we may live unto righteousness, is how the Catechism language differentiates the two.

Perhaps I can define it this way or at least explain it this way. Here, both are teachings of Scripture that deal with our sinfulness. But justification is the way God forensically, that is, legally, declares us righteous before His sight. Here, we have offended God in an eternal way. Here justification in Christ Jesus allows us to stand in a new position because of the declaration of God, the judge—who also, by the way, has come to our aid as our Mediator. Whereas sanctification deals with our sin in such a way where the pollution and corruption of sin that we have continues to be corrected by the workings of God through the Spirit in our lives. Perhaps in seeing the difference in the ways that it deals with sin, the additional understanding we ought to have in mind is that justification is once and for all—a declaration forensically that cannot be overturned. For it’s done, not because of what we have done, but it’s about what Christ has accomplished in His life and on the cross. And it’s a once and for all declaration.

This is why the Confession uses the word an “act” of God’s free grace. Whereas sanctification is a lifelong process of change, renewal, and growth by the workings of God. We are not saved by grace alone and then sanctified by our works. No, grace is through and through at work here, for God is the one who justifies and sanctifies us. But in sanctification, it’s a lifelong journey of becoming more like Christ Jesus, dying to our sins, and living unto the righteousness that God has declared for us.

So here, in our understanding of justification and sanctification, they cannot be separated. They go hand in hand. It deals with us in our sinful condition, as God desired in Christ Jesus, but it also cannot be reversed in terms of their order, because it’s not because of our sanctification that we’re justified. We are justified by Christ Jesus and therefore start a lifelong process of progressive change in us to reflect His image.

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Cooperating in Sanctification | Study – Grow – Know

Cooperating in Sanctification

What do you know about your sanctification? I’m obviously talking with people who believe themselves to be authentically saved, not people who merely profess they are Christians but may actually not be. But even those people hopefully have some thoughts about what it means to be saved and going through the process of sanctification.

Many to most authentically saved Christians may still be focusing solely on their justification, which occurs the moment a person is truly saved. At that point, because God opened their eyes and gave them the faith to understand and embrace their need for salvation, they became immediately justified. I’m wondering if too many Christians come to that juncture and then simply stop, wrongly believing that they are “good” now. Anything beyond this justification may seem to them to be “works-related” and we are not saved by our works, so why bother?

While it is 100% true that no one is saved by their works at all – it is the gift of God made possible by faith in Him and the finished work of Jesus on Calvary’s cross on our behalf (Ephesians 2:8-10)- this does not mean that Christians are never to put any effort into their lives so that they start cooperating with God in order to grow in Him.

As Christians, we are called to help, comfort, warn and be patient with one another (1 Thessalonians 5:14) and is part of our sanctification process. We are called to be encouragers, helpers, coaches, if you will, and at times, even Christians might need actual biblical counseling to help them over areas in their lives that have begun to strangle them. Since my own experience with counseling provided me with insight I had never realized before, it is incumbent upon me to be able to help other Christians over life’s hurdles. Whether I do this professionally or simply come alongside other believers from time to time to help them in time of need remains to be seen. I’m sure the Lord will direct my steps though.

In many ways, as noted, the entire process starts with the first part of sanctification, which is justification. If we do not fully understand what that is, we may easily get stuck in the mud. Let me give a for instance to get things rolling. Do you swear? Is that a normal part of your conversation? Maybe it was prior to being saved, but is that something you should continue doing?

In Ephesians 4:29, Paul the apostle makes things starkly clear.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

What could be more simple than reading and understanding that. The above statement not only includes swear words as so often and routinely used by the average person today (with the “F” bomb being the go-to word used), but I believe Paul is talking about words and statements that tear others down even if not using swear words within those statements.

If the intention of our communication is to tear down or harm others, then we are not edifying them. So what is our responsibility here as believers who confess Jesus as Savior and Lord?

But someone might say, “Gee Fred, I’ve been swearing all my life and I just recently became a Christian. How am I supposed to break a habit that has been part of me forever?” Good question and the answer is that it takes time…and effort.

Simply put, do I want to speak in a way that edifies (builds up), so that I impart grace to those on the other end, or do I still want to give way to my sin nature and just say what I want to say regardless of how it might harm the person hearing me?

If I don’t want to change my behavior leading to replacing the old verbiage with new, then I need to start there. I need to go to God admitting my failures and my wrong desires and I need to ask Him to help me get to where He wants me to be. This is a process because no one can change a habit overnight. In fact, it takes at least 21 days to develop a new habit. This is part of our sanctification.

If I want to change my ways so that I no longer swear and only speak words that edify those who hear me, that’s half the battle. So as I submit to Him, acknowledging that He wants me to speak in ways that share grace with others, He will help me do that. Will I become perfect about it after 21 days? Probably not but I will be further along then than I was 21 days prior.

Again, this is our sanctification, as He works in me to recreate the character of His Son. In essence, I cooperate with God by wanting to do what He wants me to do and then actually using effort to force myself to do what I can to change my bad habit into something that pleases Him.

People who work out probably didn’t enjoy working out at first. It was new to them and it was hard work. By persevering, they developed the habit of working out and began to see the results of their workouts. This then prompted them to push on so that they continued to see results and the results pleased them. But way back at the beginning, they were probably not fully emotionally onboard, yet they stuck with it. They knew what they had to do and did it. When they began to see results, that in itself gave them the energy to continue pushing onward.

Everyone of us – all true believers – has work that needs to be done in us because God is trying to recreate within us the image of His Son’s character. One day, when we leave this life and enter eternity, we will become glorified with the removal of our sin natures and the addition of glorified bodies. Now, as Paul says, the entire Creation groans because so many forces are at work against us to keep us from moving on and growing up in Jesus.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:22–23)

I spent a good portion of my life believing that if I did any “work” at all to improve myself, I’d be using self-effort to accomplish it and that would not glorify God. On the contrary, we are to cooperate with the Holy Spirit who indwells us and go where He leads even when that means moving away from troubling sins and habits that do not bring glory to God.

This is also why Paul tells us in essence to persevere and to push on in our high calling of Jesus. He makes this clear in Philippians 3:12-14.

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul is referring to sanctification in the above verses. He is telling us that we have an obligation to apprehend what Jesus apprehended us for – ultimately perfection that will be ours in the next life. Notice also Paul said he had not already obtained it, nor was he already perfect. I’ve met believers who honestly believed God made Paul perfect at some point in his life. This is absurd and goes against Scripture with Paul himself admitting that he hadn’t been perfected yet, which is why he continued to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

This is, in a nutshell, sanctification, which will continue in this life until we take our last breath. Once we pass from this life to the next, God will grant us the perfection we seek in this life. If you are not working by using effort on your part to live, do, say and think the things that bring glory to God, then you are not doing it correctly.

In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul makes a comment that has taken some people back.

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

The opposite of being disciplined is being lazy. There’s too much of that going around, even among Christians today. Paul could have just coasted. After all, he was saved, right? Why did he work so hard to bring about the change in his life that God wanted? By that I mean why did he make the strong effort to cooperate with God the Holy Spirit in order to become the person God wanted him to become? The answer is much more simple than the process itself. Paul did this because he wanted to bring glory to God and he understood that whatever he was going through, it was because God ordained it and in every situation, he wanted to respond in a way that pleased God. Because of that, he literally disciplined himself – his thoughts, his actions and his words – so that he relied heavily on the power of the Holy Spirit to create in him (Paul), what was good for edifying others and glorifying God. This meant constant growth and change for Paul.

Most of the epistles written by Paul deal with aspects of sanctification. If you are not reading God’s Word on a daily basis, then you are simply not getting it. All you have left is how you feel about something, which may or may not be biblically accurate.

If you are an authentic believer in Jesus, one who has salvation and is now justified by God alone, then you have an obligation to fully cooperate with the Holy Spirit by putting forth the daily effort to do, be and say what He wants. This is our sanctification – our work in progress.

Consider this last example, which I will flesh out more in an upcoming article. How do you memorize Scripture or anything for that matter? You make the effort to repeat it, repeat it and repeat it until you know it without looking at the actual text.

When you undertake to memorize Scripture, is this salvation by works? No, you are already saved, correct? Therefore, memorizing Scripture is an effort you put into it in order to hide His Word in your heart, so that you can think, contemplate and even pray it whenever you want to do so throughout the day.

No one would say, “Hey, you’re trying to earn your salvation by your work of memorization!” Yet, we often believe this to be the case if we put forth any effort to live in a way that pleases Him. I’ve been there and maybe you have as well.

Sanctification is the God-ordained way He has chosen to begin the process of perfecting us in this life. It will be completed in the next life with our glorification, that one-time event in our future that God is responsible for completing just as justification was the one-time event in our past that God was responsible for completing based on our faith and embrace of Jesus.

I don’t know how many more years in this life God has given me. I simply know that when I stand before Him at the BEMA Judgment Seat of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:10, where my works are judged but I am not judged as to whether or not I am saved), I do not want to be ashamed. The process of sanctification will be finished when we stand before Him and become what He determined we will be.

Are you cooperating with the Spirit in this process called sanctification? I pray you are doing just that daily.

Living for the King | G3 Ministries

Peter was a fisherman, rough around the edges, with a quick temper and a tendency to speak before thinking. One day, as he worked by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, a man came to him with a simple invitation: “Follow me.” Peter, leaving his nets behind, didn’t hesitate. He followed Jesus, though he had no idea just how much his life would change.

At first, Peter’s enthusiasm was unmatched. He was the first to declare that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised one of God. But often, he was also the first to stumble. He spoke boldly, but sometimes foolishly, eager to be a leader but unaware of the humility and patience Jesus was teaching him. When Jesus spoke of his coming death, Peter rebuked him, only to hear shocking words from Jesus: “Get behind me, Satan!” His heart was in the right place, but his understanding was incomplete.

The moments of failure were numerous. On the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter swore he would never leave him. Yet, when the pressure mounted, Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times. The rooster crowed, and Peter’s heart broke. His mistake was monumental, and the weight of his failure felt unbearable. But even in that moment of crushing defeat, Jesus was there, waiting. After the resurrection, Jesus met Peter on the shore and asked him, “Do you love me?” Three times, Peter answered, “Yes, Lord,” and Jesus restored him, commissioning him to feed his sheep.

Over the years, Peter’s transformation continued. No longer the impulsive fisherman, he grew into a bold and faithful leader of the early church. His once hasty decisions were replaced with wise counsel. He learned to rely on God’s Word and to lead with the humility he had once lacked. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood before a crowd, no longer the man who had denied Jesus, but the man who boldly proclaimed the gospel. Three thousand souls were added to the church, a testimony to the grace that had shaped Peter’s life.

Peter’s story didn’t end there. He traveled, preached, healed, and guided believers, becoming a cornerstone of the early church. His faith, once shaky and uncertain, had grown firm. What began with an impulsive fisherman had become a mighty leader, shaped by years of following Jesus, stumbling and rising again, but always moving forward in the power of God’s grace.

Peter’s life is a powerful reminder that spiritual growth is not always a straight line. There are setbacks, stumbles, and moments of confusion along the way. Yet, just as Peter was transformed from a rough fisherman into a bold leader of the early church, so too are the King’s people progressively shaped by his grace. Little by little, through every failure and victory, we are being conformed to the image of the King. As his people, we are called to follow him, to reflect his character, and to live in a way that advances his kingdom on earth. Just as Peter was transformed through his relationship with the King, so are we, continually growing in our faith and purpose as citizens of his kingdom.

Little by little, through every failure and victory, we are being conformed to the image of the King.

The Spirit’s Work in Sanctifying Believers

Peter’s life is a powerful illustration of what it means to be sanctified. Sanctification is the process by which God, through his Spirit, makes believers more like Christ, shaping them from the inside out. It begins the moment we are saved and continues throughout our lives.

The path of sanctification, however, is not one we can walk on our own. Just as the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasures” (Phil 2:12–13). Peter didn’t work on his sanctification in isolation. Yes, he had to make decisions, face challenges, and grow, but it was God the Spirit who continued to work in him, reshaping his character, his desires, and his actions.

Think of the many times Peter failed: when he denied Jesus three times, when he rebuked Jesus for speaking of his suffering, or when he attempted to walk on water and sank. Each of these failures were opportunities for God to work in him. The same is true for us. Like Peter, we are not left to struggle alone in our sanctification. God is at work within us, teaching us, molding us, enabling us to do what is pleasing to him. The Spirit works within, guiding our will, empowering our actions, and giving us the strength to obey.

Little by Little

Sanctification is not instantaneous, but gradual. Our journey of becoming more like Christ unfolds over time. Just like the growth of the human body, spiritual growth is not always tied to dramatic, crisis moments, but rather to steady, progressive sanctification. Think of the way Peter’s boldness gradually shifted from being impulsive and reckless to being full of conviction and wisdom. After the resurrection, we see a Peter who, though still passionate and bold, was now confident in the gospel, ready to stand up in front of thousands and declare the truth of Jesus Christ.

Sanctification is not instantaneous, but gradual.

His speech on the day of Pentecost stands in stark contrast to his earlier denials. The same Peter who had once cowered before a servant girl now stood in front of a hostile crowd, proclaiming the resurrection of Christ with boldness and authority. This wasn’t the result of a single moment of crisis, but the result of years of being shaped, corrected, and transformed by Christ’s teachings. Just as Peter was sanctified little by little, so too is our growth in holiness a gradual process. We may long for the instant change, the moment when sin is completely eradicated from our lives, but God often works in us in the day-by-day journey, slowly refining us as we follow Christ.

Means of Grace

God has given his people a variety of means of grace through which the Holy Spirit works to sanctify and transform them into the image of Christ. These means are not flashy or extraordinary, but ordinary tools used by the Spirit to bring about lasting change. Each of them is centered in the Word of God. Through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the gospel, convicts us of sin, and guides us in godly living. As we read, hear, and meditate on God’s Word, we are shaped and transformed by its power. The preached Word, in particular, plays a crucial role in sanctification. Through faithful preaching, the Spirit convicts our hearts, teaches us about God’s law, and challenges us to live according to his will.

God has given his people a variety of means of grace through which the Holy Spirit works to sanctify and transform them into the image of Christ.

Prayer is another essential means of grace. Just as Jesus called his disciples to pray, so too are we called to seek God through prayer. It is through prayer that we communicate with God, lay our burdens before him, and align our desires with his, strengthening our faith and drawing us closer to him.

The regular gatherings of corporate worship are important means by which God sanctifies his people. As we gather together to worship God through singing, prayer, and the reading of Scripture, we are reminded of his greatness, his holiness, and his love. Corporate worship is a powerful tool for growth, as it unites believers in praise and strengthens us in our walk with Christ.

The sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are particularly powerful means of grace. Through remembering their baptism, believers are strengthened and encouraged to live for the King with whom they have been united. The Lord’s Supper nourishes believers spiritually, reminding us of Christ’s sacrifice and renewing our covenant relationship with him. These sacraments are not just rituals; they are visible signs of the invisible grace God has applied to our lives that progressively form us to live for him.

Equally important is faithful church involvement, where believers gather for mutual edification. In the fellowship of believers, we are encouraged and strengthened in our faith. The church is not merely a place to go, but a community in which we are actively involved, caring for one another and building each other up. The mutual edification of the body is vital for sanctification, as we bear one another’s burdens, encourage each other in the faith, and hold each other accountable.

These ordinary means of grace are the channels through which the Holy Spirit works to sanctify us. They are the tools he uses to transform us into the image of Christ, shaping our hearts, strengthening our faith, and enabling us to live out our calling as his people. Through these means, the Spirit not only works individually in each believer’s life but also unites the body of Christ as a whole, making us more like Christ and empowering us to carry out his mission in the world.

Freedom from Sin

Christian liberty is a powerful aspect of sanctification—the freedom that believers receive through Christ to live according to God’s will. Before coming to Christ, believers are slaves to sin, unable to break free from its grip. But through Christ’s sacrifice, the power of sin is broken, and believers are set free. As Paul writes in Romans 6:6, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” This freedom does not mean a license to sin, but rather the liberty to choose holiness, to live in obedience to God, and to reflect his character in every aspect of life.

Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Christians are empowered to live in this freedom, progressively growing in the ability to resist temptation and walk in righteousness. As sanctification progresses, the believer experiences the increasing ability to choose what is good and pleasing to God, living a life that reflects their new identity in Christ. This freedom is not merely the absence of sin’s power, but the positive ability to live in joyful obedience, walking in the fullness of God’s will and reflecting his glory in the world. Christian liberty is a mark of the transformed life, one that is not bound by sin but free to pursue holiness and to live as the King’s people.

Living for the King

Sanctification means living out the implications of being a follower of Christ. In our families, we are called to love and serve one another sacrificially. Husbands are instructed to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and wives are called to respect their husbands (Eph 5:25–33). Parents are told to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, and children are called to honor their parents (Eph 6:1–4). In the family, sanctification is seen in the way we mirror the love, humility, and grace of Christ, creating homes that reflect his kingdom.

As citizens, we are called to submit to governing authorities and to live peaceful, godly lives (Rom 13:1–7; 1 Tim 2:1–2). This is not only for our benefit but also for the witness we bear to the world. Our submission is not blind obedience, but a recognition that God is sovereign over all and that our citizenship in his kingdom guides how we live in the kingdoms of this world.

In our relationships with fellow believers, we are urged to love one another deeply, to serve each other in humility, and to pursue unity in the Spirit (Rom 12:9–16; Eph 4:1–3). The body of Christ is meant to be a living witness of God’s love, where believers support, encourage, and edify one another.

In our vocations, following Christ calls us to work diligently and with integrity, as if we are working for the Lord and not for man (Col 3:23–24). Whether in the home, in the workplace, or in public service, our work is an act of worship. We are called to reflect Christ’s excellence and servant-hearted leadership in all that we do, using our talents and resources to serve others and to bring glory to God.

In all these areas of life, sanctification means living as the King’s people—people whose lives reflect his holiness, his love, and his truth to the world around them. It is in the ordinary and the everyday, in our relationships and work, that we most clearly demonstrate the transformative power of the gospel.

Perseverance to the End

Near the end of his life, Peter wrote to the scattered believers, urging them to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). His words, a culmination of years of walking with Jesus, were a testament to the work God had done in him. The Peter who once struggled to understand the depths of Christ’s love now embodied it, teaching others to reflect that same love in their lives.

Peter’s life is a powerful testament to perseverance. After his dramatic failure, when he denied Christ three times, Peter could have given up. He could have believed that he was unworthy of the calling Jesus had placed on his life. But instead, he received grace, was restored, and continued to follow Jesus faithfully. Peter’s story demonstrates that though the road of sanctification is marked with setbacks and struggles, God’s faithfulness never falters. His grace is sufficient, and his power is made perfect in our weakness.

Perseverance in the Christian life is deeply connected to the assurance we have in Christ. As believers, we do not live in constant fear of falling away, wondering if our salvation is secure. We have the assurance that, because of God’s faithfulness, we will persevere to the end. Jesus promises that he will never lose any of those who have been given to him (John 6:39). The apostle Paul reminds us that, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6). Our assurance is not based on our ability to hold fast to God, but on his unwavering commitment to finish the work he has started in us.

Peter’s life came to an end not in the quiet retirement of an old man, but in the courage and boldness that had defined his life as a disciple. Tradition tells us that Peter was crucified in Rome, and when it came time for his execution, he requested to be crucified upside down, feeling unworthy to die in the same manner as his Lord. His final act of obedience, even in the face of death, reflected the transformation that had occurred over the years. From a fearful disciple to a fearless martyr, Peter’s life had come full circle—his faithfulness to the King now extended even to the point of death.

In his final days, Peter’s life told a story of God’s transforming power. He had gone from a fisherman to a faithful apostle, from a man of uncertainty to a pillar of the church. He had lived out the truth that following Christ was not a one-time event, but a lifelong journey—a journey of growth, grace, and continual renewal. Peter’s story is the story of every believer. We begin with brokenness and failure, but as we follow the King, we are made new. Over time, we are shaped and molded into his likeness, becoming a people who live faithfully for our King. Just as Peter’s life bore witness to the transformation Christ brings, so too should our lives reflect the King’s work in us. The King’s people are a work in progress, but in his hands, we are being made into something beautiful, something eternal.

https://g3min.org/living-for-the-king/

Blood and Water: The Christian Fight for Holiness | Blog – Beautiful Christian Life

Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

The apostle John stood on Golgotha and watched Jesus die in agony. He heard him utter, “It is finished,” and he saw his head drop at the moment of his death. He saw the soldier take his spear and plunge it into Jesus’ side, right into his heart. And he saw something remarkable: an immediate flow of blood and water (John 19:34). This distressing and surprising sight gripped John’s mind and soul. We know that because of the very weighty testimony he gives to it:

The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. (John 19:35; see also 1 John 5:6-8; all Scripture quotations from NIV)

This makes us think of the temple. The temple was God’s house, and a person could only go into God’s house via the altar and the sea (1 Kings 7:23-26 and 2 Chron. 4:2-5). At the altar sin was atoned for by the blood of a substitutionary sacrifice. At the sea—which held some seventeen tons of water—sin was washed away.  

Reconciliation to God means blood atonement, and washing. Jesus’ death, releasing water and blood, accomplished both for his people.

Jesus’ death has washed us.

My impression is that we focus very much on the blood. I believe in Jesus, he died for me and his blood atoned for my sins, and so I have been saved from the punishment of hell. This is glorious, but he did not die just to free us from punishment. He died also to wash us and make us clean. He died to save us from the punishment of sin, and he died to wash away the corruption of sin: the guilt of our sin, and its power over our lives.

A believer therefore not only has a new ultimate destiny, but a new life right now. The old sinful nature has been crucified (Rom. 6:6). We have been freed from its slavery (Rom. 6:18). We were once wedded to the sinful nature; but that cruel old husband is now dead, and now we belong to a good husband (Rom. 7:4).  Our sinful hearts of stone are transformed into tender hearts of flesh (Ezek. 36:26). There is rebirth (John 3:7) and a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).

Sanctification is the process of growing in holiness.  

Jesus’ death has washed us. We are free to walk in this new life, we will want to walk in this new life, and we must walk in this new life. This is sanctification.  

The word is built from the Latin sanctus, meaning “holy.” In the Latin Bible the angels around the throne in Isaiah 6 call out Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus! Sanctification is the process of growing in holiness.  

At this point we must distinguish between definitive and progressive sanctification. Definitive sanctification is really the same as justification; it is an act of God whereby he declares us right and holy in his sight on the ground of Jesus’ death:

…But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:11).

 And John saw in heaven a great multitude of the saved, dressed in white robes before the throne of God: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). These passages describe a once-off, complete, and definitive sanctification, wholly wrought by God.

Believers have been sanctified, and they have also been called to grow in holiness.  

Notwithstanding, there are many passages that describe a progressive sanctification, a steady growth in holiness through the believer’s life:

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18)

Notice here the process: believers are being transformed. We see something similar in Ephesians 5.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Eph. 5:25-27)

Husbands are called to steadily wash and sanctify their wives with the Word of God in the same way that Jesus is steadily washing and sanctifying his church.

Holiness is not something to which only some special Christians aspire.

We see both definitive and progressive sanctification in 1 Corinthians 1:2,  

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified [definitive sanctification] in Christ Jesus and called to be holy [progressive sanctification], together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.  [“Sanctified” and “holy” translate Greek words with the same root.]

There is nothing optional about sanctification.  

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Heb. 12:14)

Holiness is not something that some special Christians will aspire to. Every Christian will “make every effort … to be holy,” for the Lord is holy and without holiness we will never see him. 

Thus, while justification and definitive sanctification are things that the Lord declares true of us, without any cooperation on our part, progressive sanctification is something in which we participate. Progressive sanctification is a work of God in and with us. God commands us by his Word to work and strive for holiness, and as we do this by power and strength of his Holy Spirit he transforms us into the likeness of his Son (Romans 8:29).

How does God do this? There is a fighting against and a fighting for.  

Like Joseph, who fled from Potiphar’s wife, we must flee and fight against what is corrupt and sinful.  “Flee from sexual immorality!” says Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:18. And in 1 Timothy 6:11-12, “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.” The Greek word for fight is ἀγωνιζομαι (agonizomai), a word used to describe athletic contests: struggling, striving, and straining every nerve.  

And we fight for holiness. This means taking hold of the “means of grace,” the tools that Jesus has lovingly given us to sanctify us. In Clash of the Titans the gods gave Perseus special gifts that they knew he would need in order to survive his ordeals, and to rescue Andromeda from the Kraken. They gave him a sharp sword, a polished shield that could be used as a mirror, a helmet to make him invisible, and Pegasus to fly him swiftly from place to place. 

The living God has given us the gifts of his word, prayer, fellowship, and the sacraments.

We fight for holiness, for this leads to true peace and joy. 

You can tell those Christians who are fighting for holiness. They are systematically and greedily devouring God’s word. They have calluses on their knees. Wild horses could not keep them from meeting with God’s people. They often remind themselves that they are baptized: not the event itself, but the fact of their baptism, an outward sign and pledge that Christ has cleansed them with his blood. And they treasure the Lord’s Supper, that regular tangible seizing of the body and blood of the sacrificed Jesus, without which we have no life.

There is nothing passive about the Christian walk. We trust and rest entirely on the grace of God for our salvation, and from there we struggle and fight for holiness with “might and main.”

We fight for holiness, for this leads to real peace and joy. We fight for holiness, “for without holiness no one will see the LORD” (Heb. 12:14). We fight for holiness, because our Father, whom we love, is holy and he wants us to be like him. “Be holy, because I the LORD your God, am holy” (Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet. 1:15-16).  

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23).

May the blood and the water that poured from Jesus’ side do its work in you as you strive for holiness.

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This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on October 3, 2019.

Related Articles:

• 2 Important Things to Remember about Fighting Sin—Romans 7:13-25
• Sanctification in Christ—the Rest of Your Story
• 3 Reasons Why You Must Mortify Sin in Your Life
• What Is the Difference between Justification and Sanctification?
• 3 Reasons to Be Thankful for the Lord’s Discipline in Your Life
• God Can Handle Chaos—Including Yours

Recommended:

The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness by Kevin DeYoung

https://www.beautifulchristianlife.com/blog/blood-and-water-the-christian-fight-for-holiness

February 8th | Instantaneous and insistent sanctification

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. 1 Thess. 5:23–24 .

When we pray to be sanctified, are we prepared to face the standard of these verses? We take the term sanctification much too lightly. Are we prepared for what sanctification will cost? It will cost an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth, and an immense broadening of all our interests in God. Sanctification means intense concentration on God’s point of view. It means every power of body, soul and spirit chained and kept for God’s purpose only. Are we prepared for God to do in us all that He separated us for? And then after His work is done in us, are we prepared to separate ourselves to God even as Jesus did? “For their sakes I sanctify Myself.” The reason some of us have not entered into the experience of sanctification is that we have not realized the meaning of sanctification from God’s standpoint. Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the disposition that ruled Him will rule us. Are we prepared for what that will cost? It will cost everything that is not of God in us.
Are we prepared to be caught up into the swing of this prayer of the apostle Paul’s? Are we prepared to say—‘Lord make me as holy as You can make a sinner saved by grace’? Jesus has prayed that we might be one with Him as He is one with the Father. The one and only characteristic of the Holy Ghost in a man is a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, and freedom from everything that is unlike Him. Are we prepared to set ourselves apart for the Holy Spirit’s ministrations in us?

Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

The Nature of Sanctification | Decision Magazine

https://decisionmagazine.com/the-nature-of-sanctification/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-nature-of-sanctification

Sanctification is that inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ does in a man by the Holy Spirit, when He calls him to be a true believer. He not only washes him from his sins in His own blood, but He also separates him from his natural love of sin and the world, puts a new principle in his heart and makes him practically godly in life.

The instrument by which the Spirit effects this work is generally the Word of God, though He sometimes uses afflictions and providential visitations “without the word” (1 Peter 3:1). He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people has yet much to learn. Whether he knows it or not, he is dishonoring our blessed Lord and making Him only a half Savior.

The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people’s souls require: not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sins, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit; not only to justify them, but also to sanctify them. He is, thus, not only their righteousness, but their sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30).“He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people has yet much to learn.”

Let us hear what the Bible says: “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified” (John 17:19). 

“Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it” (Ephesians 5:25-26). 

Christ “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14). 

Christ “bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). 

Christ has “reconciled [you] in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:21-22).

Let the meaning of these five texts be carefully considered. If words mean anything, they teach that Christ undertakes the sanctification, no less than the justification, of His believing people. Both are alike provided for in that “everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure” (2 Samuel 23:5),  of which the mediator is Christ. In fact, Christ is called “He who sanctifies,” and His people “they who are sanctified” (Cf. Hebrews 2:11).  

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version.

This article is taken from Holiness, by J.C. Ryle (1816-1900). Work is in the Public Domain. 

The post The Nature of Sanctification appeared first on Decision Magazine.

The Secret of Sanctification

One of the most beneficial things I learned from my professors during my seminary days was that ministers must continually preach the message of the cross to the people of God for their growth in grace. One professor in particular constantly exhorted us to preach Christ “for pardon and power.” The longer I am a Christian, the more clearly I see the wisdom of this counsel. The message of the cross meets our deepest need for pardon and power as we seek to overcome indwelling sin.

Few things trouble the soul of the child of God as much as the presence of indwelling sin and the sober realization of the inability of the flesh to overcome it. True believers often come to the end of themselves and cry out: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24). Christians grieve over sin and spiritual weakness. They long for victory over it. The Scriptures command us to be diligent in examining ourselves (1 Cor. 11:28), taking heed to ourselves (1 Cor. 10:12) and asking the Lord to “Search me and see if there be any grievous way in me” (Ps. 139:23–24); but they do not stop there. God’s Word reveals that the work of Christ is the source of pardon for sin as well as the source of power to overcome it. Believers possess this power by virtue of their union with Christ in His death and resurrection. In order to grow in Christlikeness, the believer must remember that sin’s dominion was broken when Christ died and rose again. This is the apostle’s chief concern in Romans 6:1–14, a passage to which we must regularly return.

All of this seems so clear that I marvel at how quickly we forget it and how seldom it is mentioned in pulpits and Christian literature (a grand exception being Walter Marshall’s Gospel Mystery of Sanctification). The deficiency is apparent in many seeker-sensitive churches, where pragmatism abounds. Yet, sadly, it is also prevalent in many of our more traditional Protestant churches. I often fear that those who are the most skillful at diagnosing the complexity and atrocity of sin in themselves — and in pointing it out in others — are the least skillful in pointing themselves and others to the Savior. It is far easier to fixate on the problem than to focus on the solution. It is actually quite easy to focus on sin and quite difficult to keep our eyes steadfastly fixed on Jesus (Heb. 12:1–2). Consequently, it often seems expedient to offer pragmatic — dare I say it, even biblical — advice that does not actually give the power to overcome sin (Col. 2:20–23). In order to progress in Christian living, we must remember that sin’s dominion was broken when Christ died for us at the cross. View article →

Source: The Secret of Sanctification

Cycling and Sanctification in the Christian Life | Blog – Beautiful Christian Life

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

I started cycling about five years ago as a hobby. It has proved to be fun, challenging, and great exercise. The more I have ridden through all kinds of weather and landscapes with friends, the more I have seen connections between cycling and sanctification. In fact, in his book Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God, Rankin Wilbourne makes an analogy between the Christian life and a bicycle when he writes,

The front tire is grace. Grace always leads. The back tire is demand. Demand always follows grace (Exod. 20:1-3). But both are needed for the Christian life to move forward. To extend the analogy, belief and repentance are like pedals for this bicycle. You must keep pressing on both. Yes, occasionally the road will head downhill and you can coast, but if you ignore either tire or attempt to push only one of your pedals, you’ll get in a ditch. Attend to both tires, and keep pedaling. [1]

Here are four analogies between cycling and sanctification I have learned over the years:

1. Fellowship is an integral aspect of the Christian life.

I live in a place that is full of hills. This makes climbing a daily discipline in regard to cycling. Climbing can be severely more difficult on my own. Last year, I finally tackled a route in San Diego called The Great Western Loop. While the mileage is not bad (approx. 39 miles), it is the 4,000-plus feet of climbing that challenges riders. I did this ride on my own and had to fight quitting many times because the loneliness can get into my head.

Once a week, though, I ride with a good friend of mine to where he works. I turn around and ride back home on my own, and each way there is a good-sized climb, followed by a fun downhill. Riding with him to work uphill is a joy because of our conversation, often causing me to forget about the pain in my legs or how difficult the route is. Riding back home is often long and difficult on my own. I get caught in my own head. This is a reminder to me how necessary the people of God are in the Christian life. I can say with boldness that I would not be a Christian still if it weren’t for the loving care of others in my life. 

2. The community of believers helps us from being overly introspective.

Having fellow believers remind me that the gospel is good news that is outside of me is a faithful remedy to being overly introspective. Being joined together with a community of believers who have their eyes fixed on Christ, we can move in unity towards the finish line while carrying one another when we are weak. Even last week on a long ride along the coast, my tire went flat. I had all the replacement things I needed, but my thumb and wrist were injured, preventing me from getting the tire back on. My buddy was able to repair the tire, and we began our ride back home. Without his help I would have been paying for a costly Uber thirty-plus miles back home. We need each other in cycling, and we desperately need one another in the Christian life. Galatians 6:1-2 says,

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

3. God faithfully walks with us through present trials to bring about a deep joy in us.

Sometimes we can forget that things that are easy for us now were once difficult. Currently, a buddy of mine and I are both teaching our kids how to ride their bikes. My oldest daughter told me she was ready to try riding without the training wheels, so we went outside and took them off together. As I looked at wonder and excitement filling her eyes, fear and hesitancy came rushing into my mind. What caught me off guard during the next thirty minutes, though, was how I almost failed to understand that it takes some work and trust to learn. I was speaking to her as someone who has been riding a bike for over thirty years. I reassured her that soon her hair will be blowing in the wind as she rides with joy.

Likewise, how often are we so unsettled when God takes us into a place or season of which we are unsure? He is the loving Father who knows all things, holds our seat, and walks us steadily through the trial to bring about a deep joy in us. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says,

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

4. Our physical senses can spur us to meditate on God’s past faithfulness when it seems as if God is absent.

As I was riding my bike early in the morning recently, the brisk air and the smell of car exhaust transported me back to a time seventeen years ago when I was serving in the Army on the border of North and South Korea. As I rode up this steep incline, my mind was taken back to that time with its memories of friends, food, sights, and sounds.

In Psalm 40, we read about David waiting on the Lord. And in the midst of this waiting, he remembers back to God’s past faithfulness when he writes,

You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! (Psalm 40:5)

Oftentimes in the Christian life we can get to a place where it seems as if God is absent. However, it is often our senses that can remind us of the faithfulness of God in the past. For example, as I recently baptized a man in our church, it was impossible to get into the water and not remember my own baptism. Meditating on his past faithfulness in this life is meant to spur on present trust.

Cycling has been a great joy to me for many reasons. The one thing that triumphs over them all is the wonder of riding with a friend in God’s beautiful creation that bears witness to his glory. His fingerprint is in the hills, the downhills, the turns, the sunsets, and the conversation while I hope for many more years and miles to come.

Related Articles:

• Sanctification in Christ—the Rest of Your Story
• 10 Words Every Christian Should Know (and Be Able to Explain)
• 3 Reasons to Be Thankful for the Lord’s Discipline in Your Life
• 3 Things to Remember When You Feel Like God Is Far Away

Recommended:

Father of Lights: Daily Meditations on Scripture for New Dads by Wes Van Fleet

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Notes:

[1] Rankin Wilbourne, Union with Christ (David C. Cook, 2016), 221.

https://www.beautifulchristianlife.com/blog/cycling-and-sanctification-in-the-christian-life

January 15th | Do you walk in white?

Buried with Him … that … even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4.

No one enters into the experience of entire sanctification without going through a ‘white funeral’—the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crisis of death, sanctification is nothing more than a vision. There must be a ‘white funeral,’ a death that has only one resurrection—a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can upset such a life; it is one with God for one purpose, to be a witness to Him.
Have you come to your last days really? You have come to them often in sentiment, but have you come to them really? You cannot go to your funeral in excitement, or die in excitement. Death means that you stop being. Do you agree with God that you stop being the striving, earnest kind of Christian you have been? We skirt the cemetery and all the time refuse to go to death. It is not striving to go to death, it is dying—“baptized into His death.”
Have you had your ‘white funeral,’ or are you sacredly playing the fool with your soul? Is there a place in your life marked as the last day, a place to which the memory goes back with a chastened and extraordinarily grateful remembrance—‘Yes, it was then, at that “white funeral,” that I made an agreement with God’?
“This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” When you realize what the will of God is, you will enter into sanctification as naturally as can be. Are you willing to go through that ‘white funeral’ now? Do you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends upon you.

Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

Sanctification in Christ — The Rest of Your Story | Blog – Beautiful Christian Life

Photo by Natalia Bostan / Shutterstock.com

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

“The good seed cannot flourish when it is repeatedly dug up for the purpose of examining its growth.” — J. C. Kromsigt

One of my favorite things about trees, especially mature ones, is the way they provide shade and shelter from the natural elements. Yet, everyone knows a seedling doesn’t give much of either. Trees need a consistent supply of sun, water, and nutrients over a long period of time to survive and thrive.

Christians often wonder whether they are growing in holiness.

Sanctification is a slow process of dying to the flesh (mortification) and living unto God (vivification). Just as it is impossible to know exactly what a tree seedling is going to look like in ten years, it can be frustrating to attempt to evaluate a person’s growth in Christ over the short term.

In his parables Jesus uses the image of plants to describe spiritual growth in the gospels of Matthew and John (see Matt. 13:1–32 and John 15:1–7):

“Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matt. 13:8-9, the Parable of the Sower)

Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine and its branches to describe the organic union believers have with him.

Throughout the New Testament, believers are encouraged to grow in long-term community with each other in the local church (Acts 2:42; Eph. 4:11–13; Col. 3:16). In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes about this dynamic of growth within the body of Christ:

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Eph. 4:15–16)

Jesus describes this organic union with his people by using the metaphor of a vine and its branches:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (John 15:4)

The Bible instructs all believers to gather regularly to hear the preaching of God’s Word, receive baptism and the Lord’s Supper (these are also known as Sacraments), and pray together (Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 10:16). Christ is present in these means of God’s grace through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 18:20; John 14:16–17, 26).

Christians don’t have to worry about whether they are being sanctified.

While the Holy Spirit is not limited to using Word, Sacrament, and prayer in his work of sanctification, these are God’s ordinary means of grace. Christians should be diligent to attend a church where they are properly bathed and regularly nourished with sound biblical preaching and teaching. Supplemental Christian resources (like this website) can be helpful aids, but they are not meant to be substitutes for regular participation in the local church community.

God has promised to conform all his children to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29), for “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Christians do need to obey God’s command to gather regularly with their fellow saints under the oversight of a faithful minister (1 Pet. 5:2–3). This is the way God has ordered his church on earth so that his sheep are properly cared for and guarded from the snares of the evil one (Heb. 13:17). You can be confident about your spiritual growth in Christ, because God is in control (Eph. 1:11–12).

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This article has been adapted since its original publishing date of March 13, 2018, at Beautiful Christian Life.

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• 10 Words Every Christian Should Know (and Be Able to Explain)
• 3 Reasons to Be Thankful for the Lord’s Discipline in Your Life
• 3 Things to Remember When You Feel Like God Is Far Away
• Christian Basics: What Are the Five “Alones” and Why Do You Need to Know Them?

Recommended:

Pleasing God: Discovering the Meaning and Importance of Sanctification (Classic Theology Series) by R. C. Sproul

https://www.beautifulchristianlife.com/blog/sanctification-in-christ-the-rest-of-your-story

Getting Serious About Sanctification | G3 Ministries

A couple of months ago I attended the ACBC Conference in Fort Worth TX. This was my third of these conferences, and each one of them has been a blessing. However, at this most recent conference Randy Patten—one of our organization’s most seasoned and well-respected biblical counselors—proclaimed a simple, practical, scriptural truth regarding biblical change that is worth sharing. 

When Randy opened his message, he made the comment that he had been counseling for 48 years, and that instantly grabbed my attention. A brother who has remained faithful in soul care ministry for that amount of time obviously has gained some wisdom worth hearing. He went on to share that he had looked back over his years of biblical counseling cases and has learned six key spiritual disciplines that are vital to lasting biblical change, also known as “sanctification.”

As a biblical counselor or a believer who desires to grow in grace, I believe these six disciplines Randy Patten provided are not only simple and practical but profoundly biblical.

1. Systematic Bible Reading

While this discipline can be scripturally supported by many passages, I believe John 17:17 states it perfectly: 

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Jesus makes this statement in His high priestly prayer as He prays for those whom the Father has given Him. Jesus’s prayer request affirms it is God who sanctifies and the means by which He does it is the Word of truth. Sanctification comes through systematic, prayerful, Spirit-illuminated reading of God’s Word. 

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

God’s Word is the primary means of the believer’s sanctification. Reading God’s Word is where we learn of God’s will for His people and the person and work of His Son through the Gospel. The Scriptures reveal sin to God’s people and call them to repent of sin and trust in His Son not only for salvation, but for sanctification. J. C. Ryle affirms, 

Here lies the immense importance of regularly reading the written Word and hearing the preached Word. It surely, though insensibly, promotes our sanctification. Believers who neglect the Word will not grow in holiness and victory over sin.¹J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John. vol. 3 (Robert Carter & Brothers, 1880), 200.

2. Meaningful Scripture Memory

Regular immersion in the Word leads to the next spiritual discipline of Scripture memory. 

The psalmist writes,

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Ps 119:11)

Let’s be honest: this is probably one of the most difficult of all spiritual disciplines. And I have to agree with Randy Patten as he said, “we can come up with all kinds of excuses why we can’t memorize Scripture, but they are just that, excuses.” I am guilty as charged.

Another faithful brother who put on display the beauty and power of meaningful Scripture memorization is the late Brother David Miller. One of my favorite aspects of his preaching was the way he always quoted his preaching text perfectly. His example supports the challenge that there is no excuse for not hiding God’s word in our heart. 

A believer who is in the midst of a spiritual battle for sanctification, has no better, more effective weapon than the Sword of the Spirit. Therefore, if you are going to win the battle you are facing right now, memorize Scripture you can bring to mind when the temptation comes. 

3. Pertinent Theological Reading 

I am all in on the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures. I affirm with Peter that in the Scripture we have all we need for life and godliness. I will also affirm that when it comes to sanctification,  reading that improves our understanding and application of the Scriptures is a great benefit.

A person battling sorrow and grief will benefit greatly from reading on the doctrine of God.

Every believer is at a different place in their progressive sanctification and in the midst of different battles in the spiritual war. This is where pertinent or relevant theological reading can be a means to help strengthen our sanctification. Paul’s words to Timothy demonstrate this truth:

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 1:13)

There are seasons of life when focused study of a certain doctrine is needed. There are faithful men throughout church history and today who have spent time fleshing out specific doctrines and teachings from Scripture that can aid believers in their specific, momentary need for sanctification. A person battling sorrow and grief will benefit greatly from reading on the doctrine of God. Someone struggling with assurance of salvation will find great hope reading of justification through faith in Christ alone. A husband or wife in the midst of a difficult marriage can find hope in reading of God’s institution, purpose, and plan for marriage. 

4. Church Attendance

Biblical change will not happen apart from the benefits Christians receive as they gather with God’s people. 

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. (Heb 10:24–26)

As we gather together as God’s people, we hear God’s Word preached and read. Think back to the first discipline, apart from the Word of Truth there is no sanctification. Hearing it read and preached on the Lord’s Day sets the course of the rest of the week. The gathering of saints on the Lord’s Day is also when we sing to one another as the Word dwells richly in us. Along with these elements of worship, the saints pray and engage in the ordinances which are God’s ordinary means of sanctification. John Gill explains, “It is the duty of saints to assemble together for public worship,…on the account of the saints themselves, that they may be delighted, refreshed, comforted, instructed, edified, and perfected.”²John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament, vol. 3 (Mathews and Leigh, 1809), 449.

5. Loving Deeds and Acts of Service

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to Titus one of the last commands he gives is found in the third chapter:

And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. (Titus 3:14)

Loving and serving one another is one of the ways brothers and sisters in Christ live out their sanctification. As the fruits of the Spirit become more and more evident in the lives of Christians, they begin to think less of themselves and more and more of one another. When believers devote themselves to being led by the Spirit and not by the flesh, they will continue to put more and more sin to death and put on more and more fruits of the Spirit. The simple truth is the more we as Christians focus on serving one another, the less we are focused on our own sinful desires. 

6. Focused, Fervent Prayer 

The final spiritual discipline needed for sanctification is prayer, and like Scripture memory, this is probably one of the most neglected spiritual disciplines. We live in a day of distractions. The world is constantly trying to draw our attention away from the things of God in an effort to shift our focus to feeding the passions of the flesh. But consider Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9–11:

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. 

Paul provides an example of His own prayer for the sanctification of the church. We can see it is a frequent, focused, prayer that the church at Colossae would grow in sanctification. I believe it is safe to say that the church as individuals and as a body can see in this prayer, and other prayers throughout the Scriptures including Jesus’s high priestly prayer, that sanctification is not only dependent on the Word of God or the Church of God, but also our communion with God in prayer. 

Sanctification is not only dependent on the Word of God or the Church of God, but also our communion with God in prayer. 

Conclusion

The necessity of these spiritual disciplines for spiritual growth is not new by any means. However, I am grateful for faithful men of God like Randy Patten who reminded us sometimes we just need to get back to the basics of what the Scriptures say about sanctification.  

Therefore, if we desire to get serious about sanctification we must engage in (1) Systematic Bible Reading, (2) Meaningful Memorization, (3) Pertinent Theological Reading, (4) Church Attendance, (5) Loving Deeds and Acts of Service, and (6) Focused, Fervent Prayer. 

One last encouragement: this is not a trite checklist with which we can pick and choose which boxes to check. These are commands we find throughout the Scriptures which God has given us by His grace. These commands are for those who have been justified by His grace through repentance and faith in Christ. It is through Spirit-filled obedience to these commands that those who are justified will be sanctified by His grace, for His glory.

References

1	J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John. vol. 3 (Robert Carter & Brothers, 1880), 200.
2	John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament, vol. 3 (Mathews and Leigh, 1809), 449.

https://g3min.org/getting-serious-about-sanctification/

January 2 – A sanctified start | Reformed Perspective

“So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.” – Job 1:5 

Scripture reading: Job 1:1-5

For many, the Old Year ended with celebrating, and that drew my attention to our text. We read in the opening verses of Job that his children lived in luxury. Daily they held a feast. Weekly their hospitality continued. When each cycle had run its course, Job knew he had to do something. He knew his children were not perfect. Sin easily enters into celebrations.

Before we go further into the New Year, we do well to consider our standing, and that of our families, before the Lord. Maybe in our celebrations this season, we have sinned. Can we enter a New Year with a burden of sin upon our hearts? No. Surely it is the desire of every disciple of Jesus that we have a sanctified (that is, holy) start before God, as we advance into the New Year.

The Spirit of God gave Job to see that a sanctified life (a life dedicated to God) is no once in a while thing. That is why Job gathered his family for a time of worship with a sacrifice every week. It was his constant practice.

May the year 2025 be off for a good start for you. Know your need: you must be sanctified. Offer to the Lord a sacrifice of prayer and praise each week as you attend worship. Above all, look to Jesus and His sacrifice to cleanse and renew you. As a forgiven disciple, enter into the New Year with your burdens removed, your sin pardoned, your heart encouraged and your life set in the right direction.

Suggestions for prayer

Seek the Lord’s forgiveness through the sacrifice of our Saviour. Pray for discipleship that seeks worship, fellowship and forgiveness week by week.

Rev. Gregg V. Martin was ordained to the Gospel ministry in 1977. In his years of service, he pastored a total of five congregations in three Canadian provinces. He also served for more than seven years in Latin America as a missionary providing leadership training in Reformed mission churches. He is presently retired and living in Toronto. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.

Source: January 2 – A sanctified start

December 3rd | Not by might nor by power

And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. 1 Cor. 2:4.

If in preaching the Gospel you substitute your clear knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the Gospel, you hinder people getting to Reality. You have to see that while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, you yourself are rooted and grounded in faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your exposition, but as you give your exposition see that you are relying on the Holy Spirit. Rely on the certainty of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in souls.

When once you are rooted in Reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith; but nothing can ever upset God or the almighty Reality of Redemption; base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God. When once you get into personal contact with Jesus Christ, you will never be moved again. That is the meaning of sanctification. God puts His disapproval on human experience when we begin to adhere to the conception that sanctification is merely an experience, and forget that sanctification itself has to be sanctified (see John 17:19). I have deliberately to give my sanctified life to God for His service, so that He can use me as His hands and His feet.¹

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¹  Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.

What Does It Mean to “Put Off the Old Self” and “Put On the New Self”? — Ephesians 4:20-24 | Blog – Beautiful Christian Life

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In Ephesians 4:20-24, the apostle Paul writes:

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

What is Paul saying about the “old self” and the “new self” and how is this passage connected to a believer’s new life in Christ?

All Christians should strive both to mortify sin in their lives and to grow in godliness.

The Christian life is one of mortifying our sinful desires (also known as the mortification of the flesh) and living unto God by keeping his commandments (also known as vivification).

The Heidelberg Catechism, first published in 1563, is a highly regarded summary of the Christian faith and has the following to say about a believer’s conversion:

Q. What is the true repentance or conversion of man?

A. It is the dying of the old nature and the coming to life of the new. — The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 88.

Q. What is the dying of the old nature?

A. It is to grieve with heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sin, and more and more to hate it and flee from it. — The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 89.

Q. What is the coming to life of the new nature?

A. It is a heartfelt joy in God through Christ, and a love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works. — The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 90.

All who are in Christ have the benefits of justification and sanctification.

Our justification does not come some day in the undetermined future, based on our own works. Every true believer is declared righteous in Christ and has both legal and relational standing as God’s children. All believers are coheirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17).

Christians not only have the benefit of being justified in Christ, but they also have the benefit of sanctification. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer and is at work conforming them to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

Even the thief on the cross, who had but a very short time left to live, showed his repentance (his confession of his unworthiness) and his faith in God’s promises (his request for Jesus to remember him):

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 20:40-43)

Where there is true faith, there is also mortification and vivification, signs of the Spirit’s work in a person’s life.

Christians should be diligent to “put off the old self” (Eph. 4:22) by mortifying sin, and “put on the new self” (Eph. 4:24), by striving to live unto God. And, as the apostle Paul encourages God’s children, every believer can be confident “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

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This article was originally published under the title “Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New Self — Ephesians 4:20-24” on August 8, 2022.

Related Articles:

• Blood and Water: The Christian Fight for Holiness
• 2 Important Things to Remember about Fighting Sin—Romans 7:13-25
• Sanctification in Christ—the Rest of Your Story
• 3 Reasons Why You Must Mortify Sin in Your Life
• What Is the Difference between Justification and Sanctification?
• 3 Reasons to Be Thankful for the Lord’s Discipline in Your Life

https://www.beautifulchristianlife.com/blog/what-does-it-mean-to-put-off-the-old-self-and-put-on-the-new-self-ephesians-4-20-24

October 20th | Is God’s will my will?

This is the will of God, even your sanctification. 1 Thess. 4:3.

It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement? Am I willing to let Jesus be made sanctification to me, and to let the life of Jesus be manifested in my mortal flesh? Beware of saying—‘Oh, I am longing to be sanctified.’ You are not, stop longing and make it a matter of transaction—“Nothing in my hands I bring.” Receive Jesus Christ to be made sanctification to you in implicit faith, and the great marvel of the Atonement will be made real in you. All that Jesus made possible is made mine by the free loving gift of God on the ground of what He performed. My attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness), a holiness based on agonizing repentance and a sense of unspeakable shame and degradation; and also on the amazing realization that the love of God commended itself to me in that while I cared nothing about Him, He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification (see Rom. 5:8). No wonder Paul says nothing is “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is done only through the superb Atonement of Christ. Never put the effect as the cause. The effect in me is obedience and service and prayer, and is the outcome of speechless thanks and adoration for the marvellous sanctification wrought out in me because of the Atonement.¹

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¹  Chambers, O. (1986). My utmost for his highest: Selections for the year. Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering.