"Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:2-3 (NIV)
Sanctification is an interesting word that Christians hear, hopefully, all the time. But what is it really, and do we understand its true meaning? Nelson's New Christian Dictionary defines sanctification as an act, process, or experience of consecration and purification by which a person is made holy and acceptable to God through the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit. It also involves separation from the impurities and pollution of the world and a renunciation of sin. The Greek word for sanctification is hagiasmoas which is a "state of purity." All that being said, sanctification is basically being set apart by God for His good works and service to Him. Once you are sanctified by God, you are no longer a slave to sin and the impurities of this world.
Before Christ, God chose the people whom He sanctified by sending the Holy Spirit upon them and their adherence to the Law set them apart. David wrote "know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him." (Psalm 4:3) God could also take away His Holy Spirit, therefore turning one back over to the sins of the world. He removed His Spirit from Saul when he sinned against God and replaced him with David as king. After David sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband killed in battle, he knew that his actions were unacceptable to God. His repentance recorded in Psalm 51 is indicative of the fear he held that God would remove him from His favor. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." (Psalm 51:10-11)
After Jesus came to Earth, He died and rose again in order that He would defeat death and it would no longer control those sanctified through Him. Paul writes to the Galatians "are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" (3:3) The ideas of Christianity and sanctification were fairly new to the Galatians, who were traditionally a pagan, non-Jewish group of people. The ideas of being "set apart by God" was very appealing to them but they were being confused by the Judaizers of the day telling them that they must abide by the Law of Moses to be sanctified. Paul wanted them to understand that they could not be sanctified through human measures but only by the Holy Spirit, and that is why God sent Christ to die in the first place. For if we could be sanctified by our works, there would be no reason for Jesus to have come to Earth.
Romans 8 says "therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." (1-4) This is the ultimate understanding of sanctification, that we are dead to sin through Christ and alive to God through the Holy Spirit. We must live according to the Spirit in us and not according to the worldly definition of what is good. For our "righteous acts are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:4) and the only good in us is the Holy Spirit which was placed there by God through Christ.
This is sanctification, that we are set apart by God Himself as His elect so that we may do His good works here on Earth and live eternally in His glory. We are free from the bondage of sin and the death, inherent in a life not sanctified by God.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Fathers
"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:13-14 (NIV)
As we approach Father's Day, I pondered just what being a father is really all about. I once heard a preacher say that we often interpret God in the image of the father we grew up with. If our earthly father is absent, we often find God to be absent. If our earthly father is unavailable, we struggle with God's constant love and availability. If our earthly father is a loving and kind leader of our family, we will find God to be loving, kind and approachable. And so it goes, that God is everything our earthly fathers should be, and our earthly fathers are what we perceive God to be unless we understand the unattainable magnitude of God our Father.
Fathers are protective. They keep us from harm and make sure that we are taken care of in our everyday needs. In Genesis 35, Jacob set out on a journey and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them or harmed them. There are more occurrences of God's protection in the Bible than can be written about here. His constant provisions of food, shelter, clothing, good harvests, prosperity in times of famine and want, and on an on...a good father is protective of his children.
Fathers are generous providers. A father would give all he has to his children to make sure they are never in want for anything. In Genesis 31, Jacob's flocks are increased in spite of Laban's plot to cheat him out his labors. No matter how obscure the offspring of the flocks Laban promised to give to Jacob, somehow the Lord always made sure of Jacob's prosperity. And so it goes from beginning to end, God was always providing for His children who love Him.
Fathers are counselors. A father will counsel his children in the way they should go. David counseled Solomon on his deathbed to be a good man and ruler and to love God. "As David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying 'I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charges of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies...'" (1 Kings 2:1-3)
Fathers love God. The ultimate test of the father in the Bible probably comes when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, after he waited so long to have a child. Abraham obeyed God and took Isaac out to slay him as a burnt offering to God, but the Lord stopped him and sent a ram in Isaac's place. How deep a father's love runs for his child, but his love for His Holy God must run deeper. God understood how painful that sacrifice must have been for Abraham, for He later sent His only son to die for the transgressions of humanity. How undeserving we are of this Father's love.
Fathers are teachers and disciplinarians. Ephesians 6 says "father, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (4) The ultimate gift an earthly father can give is the understanding of God and His amazing sacrifice and love for the human race. The writer of Hebrews says it like this, "Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirit and live!" (12:9) Rules and guidelines are given to us as children of God and children of men. We should take this information and live by it so that we may prosper on earth and understand that our actions will lead to either destruction or life everlasting.
Fathers are very important. They are protectors, providers, counselors, teachers, disciplinarians, and they love us beyond measure. We owe our earthly fathers our respect and love, and we owe our Heavenly Father our eternal fear and praise. Isaiah writes of the coming Messiah "he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (9:6). We have an Everlasting Father sitting upon His throne in Heaven who is preparing a place for us. He wants to protect and provide for our every need. He counsels and teaches us through His Word. He disciplines us with the Holy Spirit when we are out of His will and He loved us enough to send His only Son, our brother Christ, to die for us that we may live and reign with Him forever. Tell your earthly father Happy Father's Day and how thankful you are for everything he has done for you and don't forget to tell your Heavenly Father, too.
As we approach Father's Day, I pondered just what being a father is really all about. I once heard a preacher say that we often interpret God in the image of the father we grew up with. If our earthly father is absent, we often find God to be absent. If our earthly father is unavailable, we struggle with God's constant love and availability. If our earthly father is a loving and kind leader of our family, we will find God to be loving, kind and approachable. And so it goes, that God is everything our earthly fathers should be, and our earthly fathers are what we perceive God to be unless we understand the unattainable magnitude of God our Father.
Fathers are protective. They keep us from harm and make sure that we are taken care of in our everyday needs. In Genesis 35, Jacob set out on a journey and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them or harmed them. There are more occurrences of God's protection in the Bible than can be written about here. His constant provisions of food, shelter, clothing, good harvests, prosperity in times of famine and want, and on an on...a good father is protective of his children.
Fathers are generous providers. A father would give all he has to his children to make sure they are never in want for anything. In Genesis 31, Jacob's flocks are increased in spite of Laban's plot to cheat him out his labors. No matter how obscure the offspring of the flocks Laban promised to give to Jacob, somehow the Lord always made sure of Jacob's prosperity. And so it goes from beginning to end, God was always providing for His children who love Him.
Fathers are counselors. A father will counsel his children in the way they should go. David counseled Solomon on his deathbed to be a good man and ruler and to love God. "As David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying 'I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charges of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies...'" (1 Kings 2:1-3)
Fathers love God. The ultimate test of the father in the Bible probably comes when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, after he waited so long to have a child. Abraham obeyed God and took Isaac out to slay him as a burnt offering to God, but the Lord stopped him and sent a ram in Isaac's place. How deep a father's love runs for his child, but his love for His Holy God must run deeper. God understood how painful that sacrifice must have been for Abraham, for He later sent His only son to die for the transgressions of humanity. How undeserving we are of this Father's love.
Fathers are teachers and disciplinarians. Ephesians 6 says "father, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (4) The ultimate gift an earthly father can give is the understanding of God and His amazing sacrifice and love for the human race. The writer of Hebrews says it like this, "Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirit and live!" (12:9) Rules and guidelines are given to us as children of God and children of men. We should take this information and live by it so that we may prosper on earth and understand that our actions will lead to either destruction or life everlasting.
Fathers are very important. They are protectors, providers, counselors, teachers, disciplinarians, and they love us beyond measure. We owe our earthly fathers our respect and love, and we owe our Heavenly Father our eternal fear and praise. Isaiah writes of the coming Messiah "he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (9:6). We have an Everlasting Father sitting upon His throne in Heaven who is preparing a place for us. He wants to protect and provide for our every need. He counsels and teaches us through His Word. He disciplines us with the Holy Spirit when we are out of His will and He loved us enough to send His only Son, our brother Christ, to die for us that we may live and reign with Him forever. Tell your earthly father Happy Father's Day and how thankful you are for everything he has done for you and don't forget to tell your Heavenly Father, too.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
I AM the WAY
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6 (NASB)
Why does society think that the idea of Jesus as the only way to Heaven is bad? It thinks that God is selfish by providing only one way. My question then is why is one way so bad if you know what it is? Seems we can buy books and CDs and watch television shows to tell us about how to do something and that is not bad. If you opened a cookbook to get a recipe for a dish and there was only one recipe, would you curse the writer of the book for only giving you one way to prepare Chicken a la King? If you then added ingredients that were not part of the recipe, would you expect the same dish to come out of the oven?
For further reflection, let's say you were traveling to an island for vacation. This was touted as the most beautiful place on earth and there was only one bridge available to get you to it. Would you curse the town on the island for only building one bridge or would you take the one bridge to get to there?
The same is true for Heaven, there is only one road. Jesus is our bridge to Heaven. He laid down his life on the cross to establish that roadway for us to get to that beautiful place with streets of gold where He has gone to prepare mansions for each of us. (John 14:2) Why would you not accept His gift of grace and accept the offer to live eternally in a beautiful place? Does the idea of "having to" worship God seem unfair for the glory of eternal life?
It seems Satan would have us to believe these days that we are all good and worthy of going to Heaven, if we so deem ourselves better than the next guy. Since when did God make this a competition to compare ourselves to other humans? He never gave us the life of a "regular old human" as our precedent, He sent us a sinless lamb to be slaughtered as our benchmark. Since we can never attain those standards, we must accept His grace. We are constantly feeling as though we "deserve" so many things in our lives: civil rights, the right to choose and live as we please, the right to say what we want, and on an on. Why then, is it so hard for us to accept that we are given the most wonderful gift in the world yet we refuse to accept the giver as having good intentions. Why is it that God is so unfair if He asks you to accept His gift to you as truth? Is it because He only sent one gift and we were expecting a huge party full of gifts from which to pick and choose? Would we be so bold as to refuse the wedding gift from the Father of the Bridegroom?
These are just some things to consider for today. We must begin to understand the joy of worshiping a God which we were created to worship anyway. Being a servant to the Almighty is a much better job that being a slave to Satan and sin.
Why does society think that the idea of Jesus as the only way to Heaven is bad? It thinks that God is selfish by providing only one way. My question then is why is one way so bad if you know what it is? Seems we can buy books and CDs and watch television shows to tell us about how to do something and that is not bad. If you opened a cookbook to get a recipe for a dish and there was only one recipe, would you curse the writer of the book for only giving you one way to prepare Chicken a la King? If you then added ingredients that were not part of the recipe, would you expect the same dish to come out of the oven?
For further reflection, let's say you were traveling to an island for vacation. This was touted as the most beautiful place on earth and there was only one bridge available to get you to it. Would you curse the town on the island for only building one bridge or would you take the one bridge to get to there?
The same is true for Heaven, there is only one road. Jesus is our bridge to Heaven. He laid down his life on the cross to establish that roadway for us to get to that beautiful place with streets of gold where He has gone to prepare mansions for each of us. (John 14:2) Why would you not accept His gift of grace and accept the offer to live eternally in a beautiful place? Does the idea of "having to" worship God seem unfair for the glory of eternal life?
It seems Satan would have us to believe these days that we are all good and worthy of going to Heaven, if we so deem ourselves better than the next guy. Since when did God make this a competition to compare ourselves to other humans? He never gave us the life of a "regular old human" as our precedent, He sent us a sinless lamb to be slaughtered as our benchmark. Since we can never attain those standards, we must accept His grace. We are constantly feeling as though we "deserve" so many things in our lives: civil rights, the right to choose and live as we please, the right to say what we want, and on an on. Why then, is it so hard for us to accept that we are given the most wonderful gift in the world yet we refuse to accept the giver as having good intentions. Why is it that God is so unfair if He asks you to accept His gift to you as truth? Is it because He only sent one gift and we were expecting a huge party full of gifts from which to pick and choose? Would we be so bold as to refuse the wedding gift from the Father of the Bridegroom?
These are just some things to consider for today. We must begin to understand the joy of worshiping a God which we were created to worship anyway. Being a servant to the Almighty is a much better job that being a slave to Satan and sin.
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