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Romans 8:12-17
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can download our service on iTunes or tune in for “The Good Word” each day on AM 1230 WSAL or on Hoosier Country 103.7 FM just after 8am. Last time we learned that sanctification teaches us we are to be constantly moving further and further from sin while becoming more and more like Christ. There is another interesting truth about sanctification that is important for us to know. Sanctification involves cooperation between God and us. Sanctification is the doctrine that so clearly explains how God reveals His will and work in redemption through His adopted children. So let’s begin with:
I. GOD’S ROLE IN SANCTIFICATION. All things God begin with God The Father. So God’s role in our sanctification begins with The Father as:
- HE PREPARES US. Read 1 Thess. 5:23 and Heb. 12:3-11. We tend to think of discipline backwards rather than in the order God presents it. Here is a concise definition of “discipline” from TDNT the upbringing and handling of the child which is growing up to maturity and which thus needs direction, teaching, instruction and a certain measure of compulsion in the form of discipline or even chastisement. When God disciplines us, He is involving us in the entire spectrum of “being conformed to the image of Christ.” We start with instruction which is saying – this is WHAT you need to know or learn. Once we have the information, we then enter the teaching, or application phase which tells us – this is HOW. Then follows direction which is EXAMPLE or what you are learning is supposed to look like. God never begins with chastisement; He always begins with instruction or telling us what we need to know, then how to do it, and what it looks like in our daily life. This principle of discipline is presented in God’s dealings with Israel and is spelled out by Jesus and recorded in Matt. 18. As God The Father prepares us,
- GOD THE SON IS OUR PATTERN. Read Heb. 12: 1,2. V. 1 tells us progressive sanctification is to be the norm of daily living. The race is life; endurance, perseverance, patience are all words that mean a constant and consistent effort that doesn’t fluctuate. 1 Pet. 1:22 reminds us “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.” 1 John 2:6 tells us “He who abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” The entire earthly life of Jesus says to us “here is The Example/pattern of what your life as an adopted child of God is to look like. The earthly life Jesus “teaches” us how what we read in Scripture is to be lived out in our daily lives. Finally: God is active in our sanctification in that:
- GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCES sanctification within us. Read 1 Peter 1: 1, 2. The Holy Spirit influences and brings about true sanctification/separation as a result of desire from the heart of the believer. Our positive response to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to become more and more like Christ is what Scripture calls being led by the Holy Spirit. Now watch, how this works. When we allow God’s Holy Spirit to lead us He leads us in such a way that it becomes our heart’s desire to “walk by the Spirit” as Paul says in Rom. 8:14, and walking by the Spirit is a visible sign to us privately that we are progressing in our spiritual growth and being conformed to Christ’s image; it is also a visible sing to others around us that our salvation is real, and our commitment to Christ is also genuine. All this is just the beginning of the part God play in our sanctification. The more you study Scripture, the more you will see God is involved in every part of our life all the time, with the goal of leading us further and further away from the ungodliness of this sinful world, and closer and closer to Himself and a life of holiness and righteousness. Next time we will look our part or role in sanctification.
If we can help you with your spiritual questions, call us at 574-643-9419.
