Sanctification – my journey
One day while contemplating the seemingly difficultly of living as Christ would have me live in purity of thought and action and in holiness, I believe that the Holy Spirit clearly placed message to my mind, “You are in the sanctification process.” I realized that I didin’t clearly understand much about being sanctified. Like many in my generation, I had heard the word, but never had any one explain this process to me earlier in my Christian walk. So, I began to do some research. The good news is that there is much written on the subject. What follows is hopefully a brief and understandable explanation.
What is Sanctification?
“It is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.” Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, chapter 35, page 746.
Grudem goes on to say that God and man cooperate in this process of sanctification. That both God and man have roles, but those roles are not equal. So what role does God have and what role do I have?
God’s role in Sanctification
This progressive change within me is the primarily work of God. In His role, God will do the following things for me.
God will discipline me as his child as well as others going through the process of sanctification. (Hebrews 12:5-11). He disciplines because he loves us. He causes me to want his will in my life and gives me the power to do his will in my life. (Philippians 2:13). I don’t have that power within myself. I’m naturally too self-centered.
Jesus Christ earned my sanctification for me. (I Corinthians 1:30). And He is also my example. (Hebrews 12:2). He is the “perfecter” of my faith.
The Holy Spirit is at work within me as a believer to change me and to sanctify me, which gives me greater holiness of life. He produces in me the “fruits of the Spirit” as found in Galatians 5:22-23. As I “walk by the Spirit” or as I am “led by the Spirit”, I become more and more responsive to the desires and promptings of the Holy Spirit in my life and character. Something that is a new realized experience for me.
My role in Sanctification
Of course, I have a role in this process also. My role is both passive and active. In my passive role, I must trust God to sanctify me. This is not something that I can just start on my own. Prayer is also something that I do. I should pray and ask God to sanctify me.
In my active role, there is an expectation that I will put to death the deeds of this body. I can only do this by the Holy Spirit, but I must do it. This is my personal responsibility. Obedience is the way in which I “work out my own salavation (sanctification)”. (Philippians 2:12-13).
What is ‘putting to death the deeds of this body’? It is to set my whole life (every aspect of it) to the task of learning and applying the instructions that God has given in his Word, and constanting seeking His help in absorbing and fulfilling them. We constantly examine ourselves, our hearts, our motives, our desires. We already know and have experienced that self-effort is utterly worthless in bringing our flesh into subjection so that we might fully obey the Lord. We are called to put to death, the sin that we practice. Some of those sins we lived and walked in before we knew God (Colossians 3:7).
Choice has been a gift given to each of us. I will either choose to be obedient or choose not to be obedient to God. I will either choose to say NO to the sin in my life or I will choose to sin. God never forces me to make the right decision and He never leads me astray and He never tempts me. This issue of choice must be done continously.
So, do I come to faith in Jesus Christ but yet choose to live as if I haven’t? May that never ever appear to be the case. God, in all His love and wisdom, has faithfully given every believer the power to obey Him, but it falls to each of us to continually choose to do so.
Let me encourage you to delve deeper in the subject of sanctification and your role in that process. May the Lord God watch over you and lead you and love you until you’re home.
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The Revelation (2:8-11) – Smyrna (persecuted believers)
Smyrna (the Persecuted Church) – Christ watches what they are doing and knows of the coming persecution they face. “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:8-11 NASB
[8] “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: [9] ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. [10] Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. [11] ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’
The church at Smyrna was in continual persecution. John McArthur wrote, “Throughout its history, the more the church has been persecuted, the greater its purity and strength.” We can be assured that the church at Smyrna had a strong fellowship and pure in their faith. Notice that they received no condemnation from Christ. Take notice of how many Christians today are persecuted and killed for their faith in the Middle East now.
But why the persecution of the church in Smyrna? The city was founded by Alexander the Great. During the decades that followed, there were many wars and battles fought that left parts of the old city destroyed and rebuilt over time. However, by John’s writing of the Revelation, it had become one of the most beautiful cities in Asia; called “the Crown of Asia”. As a center of science and medicine, Smyrna had a large public library and a museum.
It also was a center for pagan and emperor worship as many of the cities listed in Revelations. Annually, the citizens were expected and commanded to ofter a sacrifice to the emperor. Those not doing so could be executed or fined or both. So all citizens and thus the Christians of Smyrna were confronted with the need annually to choose between saying, “Jesus is Lord,” or “Caesar is Lord.” It meant a great deal of pressure and persecution to not say “Caesar is Lord.” How would many of us respond if we were required to say “Allah is Lord”? Just a thought.
There were two extremes that these Christians lived with constantly. On one hand, they had a very rich, warm, and loving fellowship within the church which strengthened their faith. But on the other hand, outside the church, they were faced with continuous hurtful and unfair treatment by the citizens of Smyrna which resulted in persistent hostility. The Smyrna Christians were considered ‘rebels’ because they refused to offer sacrifices in emperor worship and as ‘athesits’ because they refused to participate in the pagan religious. All this cost many of them the loss of their possessions and livelihoods; hence the “your poverty (but you are rich)” reference in verse 2:9.
Lesson for me
True Christians are meant to persevere regardless of the personal cost by keeping their eyes on the eternal rewards mentioned in James 1:12. Or will the Western culture so influence me that I remain silent when I should be bold?
POEM: Author Unknown
I counted dollars while God counted crosses.
I counted gain while He counted losses.
I counted my worth by the things gained in store,
But he sized me up by the scars that I bore.
I coveted honors, and sought for degrees.
He wept as he counted the hours on my knees.
I never knew till one day by a grave,
How vain are the things that we spend life to save.
I did not yet know, ’til a Friend from above,
Said, richest is he who is rich in God’s love!
The Revelation (2:1-7) – Ephesus believers
Each of the messages start with a characteristic of Jesus Christ. There is an angel in every church service. Christ knows the works of each and every church.
Ephesus had an estimated population of between 250,000 to 500,000 people. It was a self-governing city with no Roman troops stationed there. It was the primary harbor in the providence of Asia. Ephesus was most famous as the center of worship of the goddess Artemis (Diana). This temple was the most prominent landmark, and served as onle of the most important banks in the Mediterranean world. Also, the temple provided sanctuary for criminals. Every spring, a month-long festival was held in honor of the goddess. The grounds surrounding the temple had groups of priests, prostitutes, bankers, criminals, musicians, dancers, and frenzied, hysterical worshipers. Immorality was everywhere. In this environment, existed the church of Ephesus that John wrote to about leaving their first love.
The church was aggressively evangelizing the lost, edifying the saints, and caring for those in need. Despite their difficult circumstances, the believers remained faithful to their Lord. They held to a high, holy standard of behavior and were sensitive to sin with spiritual discernment. The Ephesian believers had not grown weary, but remained faithful to The Lord, loyal to His Word, and to the work to which He had called them.
- Keep on remembering from where they had fallen. We need to remember what we were before Christ and what He has done for us. bw Forgetfulness is frequently the initial cause of spiritual decline. JMcA
- Repent in an intentional turning from their sins. We need to repent (turn away from our sins). bw Failure to love God fully is sin (Mark 12:30 NASB) [30] ‘AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’
- Demonstrate the genuineness of their repentance and return to their original deeds. They needed to recapture the richness of Bible study, devotion to prayer, and passion for worship that had once characterized them. JMcA It was a time where the study of the Word was alive and spoke to the hunger of their hearts and souls. It was a return to when their prayers were answered; when they persevered in prayer until God moved on their requests. When they gathered for worship, that The Lord was the focus and not how they felt or how good the band was that day or how good the preacher delivered the message. bw
- Right beliefs and outward service cannot make up for a cold heart.
- “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23
- Love God!
Sometimes Life is a Highway
A friend of mine liked to sing “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts and got only thru the chorus.
Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you’re going my way
I wanna drive it all night long
Then he began to share a slight bit of an allegory story about his personal life inside the church; specifically an unusual church. He had spent many years at different fellowships, but none like the following.
Imagine for a moment a church was like a NACAR race on an oval track. Constantly going around and around in a circle with no real destination in mind. As such, one didn’t have to trouble with the question “where are we going? or what do we stand for?” The answer was in the circle and the game was “follow the leader”; not as I do but what I tell you to do. After all, it was not a race even; but how to be entertaining enough to draw a big crowd of spectators in the stands.
Harmony was defined as everyone lining up behind the lead car and staying in line at the lead car’s pace. Around and around the series of sermons were from 5 years ago with a slight revamp. With the turnover in the stands, who would notice and those who remained year after year were fully mesmerized by the lead car’s tooting of the horn and shiny wheels and comfortable with all the “freebies” for the spectators.
Many times, the lead car would be towing another car; a friend of his. If the other cars trailed too closely, they might find themselves with a cracked windshield from all the loose nuts that fell onto the track. With all the swerving that towed cars tend to do, it was never safe to pass; so few did. Even so, occasionally, one of the cars would attend to do so (God leading them). But the lead car and the others in the line would honk the reminder to keep in line and keep the current pace.
The spectators enjoyed a little excitement from time to time. Nothing like watching the cars get banged around on the track. Sometimes they would be showered with something like metal shrapnel as a car would slammed against the wall. When the bruised car was towed off the track, there was something thrilling for the crowd to see and sad at the same time. After all, this provided something different than the normal pace.
But sometimes a car would pull themselves off the track; to look for another way and discover an open door. Outside was a whole new world, where the road stretched out of sight into the horizon. It was a place of freedom to run into the arms of the Savior; just as fast or as slow as God led. A place where new ideas were the norm. And this freedom in Christ felt good.
By Anonymous
Successful Leaders
What must successful leaders do today?
Focus on values.
Today leaders should be able to quickly answer the following question: “What is your organization’s core value?” The core value is what permeates every aspect of life in the organization. The core value will help to foster and to sustain a sturdy cultural foundation during times of rapid and dramatic change. The kind of change that we are in the midst of right now. Without a core value, the organization will wander aimlessly.
Plan strategically on a continuous basis / not once a year.
Today, leaders…
- Must have a relevant plan. This will be a plan that has a significant and clearly demonstrable bearing on the problem or solution to the challenges facing the organization.
- Must have a clear vision – it has been said that without a vision everyone perishes and your organization will probably go into a long-term decline without a clear vision.
- Must communicate that relevant plan to everyone in the organization. Therefore the leader must have sharp communication skills; the message must be very clear and consistent.
- Must get everyone in the organization to be on board with the relevant plan. This step will require a strong ability to persuade others.
Act with integrity – become virtuous.
Clearly exhibit, express, and behave according to the agreed-upon organizational values. By doing so, you will cause the development of more trust within the entire organization and its staff. As the pace of change ratchets up all around us, the leader’s role has been elevated in terms of providing structure and direction and meaning. Everyone wants to know in what and in whom they can trust.
Refer to the Baylor Business Review article at http://bbr.baylor.edu/exploring-leadership/
Bill Wyler
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