| Author | Message | ||
| Patti |
It has been said that there are 3 stages to salvation: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. Justification, it is said, happens when the individual believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. His sins are forgiven and he is given the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Based upon Christ's work FOR us) Sanctification is said to mean Christian growth and maturity, the work of a lifetiime, our offering of obedience to God. (Based upon the work of the Holy Spirit IN us) And Glorification refers to the actual event of purifying our sinful flesh at the consummation. However, I do not believe that the New Testament supports this threefold dichotomy. I recently did a search for all of the uses of the word "sanctification" in all of its forms in the New Testament. Here is what I found: 1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you were. 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. Immediately one must sit up and take notice. This text refers to sanctification in the past tense: You were sanctified. And it does not separate it from the process of being set right with God when we believe in Jesus Christ. "But you were washed (sins forgiven), you were sanctified, you were justified (accounted as righteous for the sake of Christ's singular act of obedience) in the name of the Lord and for the sake of the Holy Spirit." If we look at the following text, we have a better definition of just what it means to be sanctified: 1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours: To be sanctified is to be set aside for a holy purpose. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we are set aside for a holy purpose, and that purpose is to give glory and honor to Christ by depending upon His promise and His saving work for us. Moving on: Acts 20:32 "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Again, past tense. It does not say, those who are becoming sanctified. Acts 26:18 ...to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Not only are we justified by faith (set right with God), we are also sanctified when we believe. Hebrews 10:29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? We are not only justified, but also sanctified by the blood of the covenant, and not by our good deeds as we strive to grow toward character perfection. John 17:19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. Just as we stand righteous and holy in Jesus Christ, so we stand fully sanctified in Him. He is our full salvation. Romans 15;15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit This speaks of the Gentile being sanctified. The Jews, for millinia, had been set aside for God's holy purpose. Now it was the Gentiles' turn. And on what basis could the Gentiles claim the same legacy, being sanctified, set apart for holy purposes, as the Jews? By the doing and dying of Jesus Christ, by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ to all who will believe. 1 Thess. 4:3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; This passage relates directly to this one: 1 Cor. 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. Do we flee sexual immorality in order to become sanctified? No. We do it because we have been sanctified. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have been set aside for holy purposes. Romans 8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. This is probably the strongest statement of the completeness and unity of the salvation "package." God predestined us, He called us, He justified us, and He glorified us. A package deal. And it is ours by faith alone. Salvation, one big glorious gift, given freely to all who trust in the merits of Jesus Christ: Justification--Our sins are forgiven; Christ's perfect life of obedience is credited to us. Sanctification--We are set aside for a holy purpose. Glorification--We live in the blessed hope; we know that when our faith shall be made sight that we will be like Him. What can we add of any positive value to such a glorious gift? All we can do is graciously accept the gift and continually sing Christ's praises for His great salvation. | ||
| Max |
NIV Hebrews 10:26 If we deliberately KEEP ON SINNING after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that SANCTIFIED (PAST TENSE = COMPLETED ACTION) him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Blessings! | ||
| Colleentinker |
I agree, Patti--the three stages of salvation we were taught are simply not biblical. Salvation does not happen in stages. It happened once for all, and we each accept it by faith. The whole package then is ours! The parable of the sower, however, presents an interesting dillemma that I wondered about for a long time. Who exactly are those people whose "seeds" fell on shallow ground? They grew quickly, made healthy looking plants, and then when the hot sun came, they died. Are these people who lose their salvation? I've come to believe that there really are people who publicly appear to profess belief. But deep inside they do not truly commit themselves to Jesus. They do not put roots down and grow. Hebrews is full of admonitions to hold firmly onto our courage and hope to the end. In fact, the New Testament is laced with texts admonishing the believers to hold fast and not to waver.(See Hebrew 2 and 3 as well as others including the one in Max's post above.) These texts, though, do not mean that believers will lose their salvation if they do not keep working. Rather, I think these texts point out that if people don't persevere, they are not true believers. These texts are not saying our salvation is incomplete. Far from it! But they remind us to put down roots, to nurture ourselves in God's word and in prayer. After all, salvation isn't about finally getting the right game plan; it's about finally having the only lasting, truly intimate relationship we will ever have on this earth. And it's all a completely free (to us) gift! In Matthew when Jesus talked about the end of the world and Jesus' dividing the sheep and the goats, the goats didn't get sent to the lake of fire because they didn't live and work for God. They were sent away because God says, "I never knew you." The word "knew" is the word for sexual intimacy. It's not correct theology (important as I believe that to be) that determines our rightness or wrongness. It's our relationship with our Savior. If we love him, 1 Corinthians says, he knows us. Interesting, isn't it? We LOVE him, he KNOWS us. And we can only love him when we've experienced his amazing grace personally. Praise God for his incalculable sacrifice! Colleen | ||
| Jtree |
The gospel of Christ is essentially different from every religion in the world. It is different in one vital point. THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IS A MESSAGE OF GRACE ALONE. Every religion in the world, except the gospel of Christ, tells you to do something to recommend yourself to God. It is the business of all false religions to patch up a righteousness in which sinners can stand before God accepted. It is the business of the gospel preacher to proclaim a righteousness ready made, a robe of righteousness ready to wear, a perfect righteousness wrought out by Christ alone, in which sinners stand eternally, immutably, unconditionally accepted in the Beloved, perfect, complete, and without fault before God. I hold before you perfect righteousness in Jesus Christ, the righteousness He accomplished on behalf of sinners by His obedience as our Substitute, a righteousness without any works, conditions, or stipulations to be met by you (Rom. 5:19). Will you receive this free-grace righteousness, by faith alone, without works; or will you perish, seeking to establish righteousness by the works of your own hands? (See Rom. 9:31-33). WORKS RELIGION, UNDER ANY NAME, IS DAMNING RELIGION. Any religion that conditions salvation upon something you must do, be it a work ever so small, is antichrist. Any religion that conditions any part of salvation upon you is damning to your soul. REDEMPTION is not a work to be completed and made effectual by you. It is an effectual work, completely accomplished by Christ (John 19:30). REGENERATION does not depend upon your will, but upon God's will (Rom. 9:16). JUSTIFICATION, SANCTIFICATION, PRESERVATION, AND GLORIFICATION are all works of grace alone. They do not depend upon man's obedience, but only upon Christ's obedience! If you would be saved, you must give up your works and trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone! If you do anything by which you hope to win God's favor, or improve your standing before Him, "Christ shall profit you nothing" (Gal. 5:2-4). | ||
| Max |
Hi Jtree, Good morning! Loved your message. Do you believe therefore that as a result of salvation (forgiveness of sins past, present and future and all-time perfect sinlessness before God) means that true believers can "continue in sin that grace may abound"? Be of good cheer, for Christ has overcome the world! Max of the Cross | ||
| Darrell |
When a baby is born into a family, he is 100% a child of his parents. He will eat and he will grow, but that growth never makes him any more a part of the family. If the child disobeys, he will be disciplined, but still remains in the family. Also, he already enjoys the benefits of all that his parents own, but he does not immediately receive his inheritance. Likewise, we become children of God by His grace when we are born into His family. Any growth we experience as a result of His Spirit living in us does not add to our being His children, nor can any sickness we experience make us any less His children. Eventually we will receive the promised inheritance. It is unfortunate that sanctification has come to have a different meaning in the church from how Paul used the word. Patti hit the nail on the head: it meant "set aside for a holy purpose". As Paul says, "a holy purpose" does not mean "continue in sin that grace may abound". Living according to a holy purpose is not salvation, it is the fruit of salvation. | ||
| Colleentinker |
WE had an awesome sermon this morning. Gary Inrig used John 14:15-26 as his text. He made the point regarding verses 15 & 16 that the "If" in v. 15 is not an if (in Greek) that implies doubt. It's an "if" that implies the consequence of certainty. For example, "If you're going to Nordstrom's anyway, would you pick up something for me I have on layaway?" (expressing a given certainty) as opposed to "If you're a golfer, I'm a baseball player!" (expressing doubt) What the text says is this: Since you love me, you will obey my commandments. It does not say "If you love me you MUST obey my commandments," he pointed out, but "you WILL obey my commandments." It's a natural consequence. He then went on to point out v. 16. The way we obey the commands of Jesus is to have the indwelling Holy Spirit. Without him it would be impossible. These three things, he said, operate in a continuos cycle. We love him so we obey his commandments by the power of the Holy Spirit, and this cycle of love and obedience and dependence is the mark of a believer. He made this statement near the close of his sermon, "We don't need more of the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit needs more of us." He also pointed out that Jesus revealed the Father and the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus. The three are one, and they all participate in our being sealed with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in v. 16 that he would ask the Father to send us the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself takes responsibility for our receiving him. We don't have to go searching for the Holy Spirit and his power. He is an absolute guarantee! Praising God for his amazing love, Colleen | ||
| Max |
Yes, Colleen, I heard Garyís sermon on the Holy Spirit and was greatly blessed. As an Adventist I had, of course, been deprived of teaching on this vital subject. My dear SDA minister father, may he rest in peace, was fond of quoting EGW: ěOn the subject of the Holy Spirit silence is golden.î And so I learned a great deal from Gary today. He began by telling a story about a man, a Chicago Cubs non-standout player back in 1908. There is today a club of this manís fans including the columnist-TV commentator George Will, Hillary Clinton, Ronald Reagan and I canít remember who else. The slogan for this highly exclusive club: ěMediocrity Under Pressure.î He then compared this man to Christís disciples who were, except for Judas Iscariot, all rather mediocre men. And yet they ěturned the world upside down.î The difference between them and the Cubís player: two things: (1) Jesus rose from the dead. (2) In so doing he ěrestructuredî the disciplesí understanding of life and eternity. I canít tell everything I wrote in my notes, or this would take too long. But Gary came to the point where he quoted the text that says the Holy Spirit could not come unless Jesus ěwent away.î I hope I got this right: The absence of the ěphysicalî Jesus Christ means the presence of the ěrealî or spiritual Jesus Christ or the ěessenceî of Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. Thus, and this is my personal conclusion, the spiritual reality of Jesus Christ and the spiritual reality that is the Holy Spirit are an identity -- one God, together with the Father. This is precious to me because it means that Jesus Christ is in me. And of course this thought is backed up by many texts, especially from the books of John, which Gary quoted and which say, in effect, God the Father is in Jesus Christ who is in the Holy Spirit who is in us. Who is this Holy Spirit within us? A person, not a thing, not like electricity that we can ěplug into,î not something we can use, but a person who uses us! Big difference! And this big difference has to do with obedience. We obey the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit does not obey us! Simon Magus, the New Testament magician who offered money to Peter for Peterís power manifested by the Holy Spirit. Simon wanted to USE the Holy Spirit, whereas Peter was allowing the Holy Spirit to use him. Big difference! (Peter told Simon -- literal translation from the Greek -- ěTo hell with you and your money!î Gary didnít say that. I learned that in Greek class. As you know, most English translations word it with a weak, ěMay your money perish with you.î Pretty blah compared to what Peter actually said!) As Colleen pointed out, The Holy Spirit within us results in a constructive upward spiral -- as opposed to a destructive downward spiral -- ěbuilt around the concept of love and obedience.î ěLove is the indelible mark of the true Christfollowers.î ěIF you love me, keep my commandmentsî is an expression of Christ that does not imply doubt in Christís mind. (I wonít repeat Colleen here.) Suffice it to say that I personally interpreted what Gary said as, ěSINCE you love me, you will keep my commandments.î In Christ ěobedience requires love.î ěObedience without love is bondage -- legalism.î ěLove without obedience is pretense.î There is something of a problem with the Greek word for the Holy Spirit translated as ěCounselor.î Itís better to keep in mind that contained within the Greek word ^^paraplatos^^ are many different English meanings: ěSpirit of truth,î ěLawyer,î ěTherapist,î ěCounselor,î ěSomeone who is called alongsideî us, ěAdvocate,î ěExpert,î ěEncourager,î ěHelper when in doubt,î ěStrengthener,î ěEnabler,î ěOne who lives within us,î ěAssistant as, say, a computer expert who assists us in learning to use our new computer,î etc. The Holy Spirit strengthens us by his grace and his power. In his earthly life Jesus represented the Father. ěI and the Father are one.î ěTo know Jesus Christ is to know the Father.î ěTo knowî means ěto fully reveal and declare.î The Holy Spirit reveals Christ. Jesus came in the name of the Father to glorify his name. The Holy Spiritís task is to glorify the Father and the Son. ěThe Holy Spirit is the bashful member of the trinity.î ěThe Holy Spirit will teach you all things.î ěThe Holy Spirit will remind you of everything Jesus Christ has said to you.î ěThe Holy Spirit will teach you, guide you, and direct you.î Max of the Cross | ||
| Max |
PS. Sorry, the KJV "Comforter" isn't ^^paraplatos^^ in Greek as I wrote in my hasty notes, but rather ^^paraklatos.^^ Blessing all! | ||
| Max |
PSS. There is an English word Paraclete ("to invoke") from para- ("beside") + kalein ("to call") = "advocate" or "intercessor." Definition: Holy Spirit. | ||
| Maryann |
Hi All, My week was all planned out and it was to be very busy pruning, digging, planting and all that good stuff, because next weekend is free dump day and I had planned to have 5 or 6 P.U. loads of brush to get rid of! Only I got a little "break" in my plan! I broke my little pinky toe! Boo hoo;-(( Anyway, it really hasn't slowed me down to much as I taped it solidly to it's neighbor and stuck it in a shoe!;-)) The biggest problem besides being ouchy is that it's my digging foot! I guess I'll learn to be "ambi-footed";-) Sooo, because such a "little" member of body is whining, I just "HAD" to come in and share what I was thinking this morning;-)) When we proclaim Christ as "OUR" master, we are proclaiming "OURSELVES" as His servants. That thought really knocked me over! Just think about it! What is the relationship between a master and His servant? For the purposes of "this" illustration, the master/boss will "ALWAYS" be the master in all ways such as experience, knowledge and ability. My boss, Bernie, is a wonderful person. I will never be as good as him in my work. I respect and honor him. Since he is my master/boss, my responsibility is to do my job as his employee/servant. My job is to follow his bidding. It may be a task that I already know how to do or it may be something new that I need to learn. Because of my respect (I wont say love!-) for Bernie, I am anxious to do his bidding. I never want to degrade his company because I honor him. There are times that I have done things that were not up to snuff and was chided about it. It is my desire to uphold the company name and Bernie. the longer I stay with Bernie, the more I mold to his desires and the more practiced I get in my duties/witness. If I fail in my duties/witness, I disgrace his name. NOW don't go off on me!!! This illustration is a human illustration and FAILS miserably if you go past my point. My earthly boss can FIRE me and I can get mad and quit. That is NOT the option the heavenly boss/Christ exercises or ever will according to my understanding. If Christ is my master/boss, my greatest desire, as His servant, is to serve Him! Do His bidding by spreading the gospel, His finished work for us and to do everything with the Power given to me by and through the Holy Spirit to not bring shame to His name! The more you love the Lord and the more you understand the Spirit, the more you allow Him in you and conrol your life. THIS IS CALLED, FREEDOM IN CHRIST!!!!!!!:-)) Upward and onward.........Maryann | ||
| Max |
I liked your boss-employee illustration, Maryann. In Sunday sermon yesterday pastor Inrig's text was the following with a bit from my sermon notes/commentary interspaced: NIV John 14:15-26: 15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. The meaning is, SINCE you love me, you will obey what I command. Gary commented, "If you love me, you WILL obey what I command. Obedience requires love." He also said, "Obedience without love is bondage, legalism. Love without obedience is pretense." 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" 23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. The life of a true believer and beneficiary of true grace is a life of obedience -- turning from sin, effort, rest -- all motivated by love. And, as you have well said, Maryann, "This is called freedom in Christ!" | ||
| Max |
God bless you Patti, Colleen, Jtree, Darrell and Maryann! It's been sheer delight trading Scriptures with you! Max of the Cross |
