Holiness Takes a Lifetime

The weekend just seemed to race by and was almost over before it began. Or that's the way it felt for me anyway. Hope yours was both relaxing and productive. Saturday was a busy day for me and it felt really good to get several chores done. I'd been wanting to do something with my binders for weeks (months?) and that was a major undertaking to get everything into two binders and organized in the way I needed it to be. Then once we do away with all the 40 Days of Purpose material, I can narrow it down to just a single binder for the future. And I liked getting my calendar squared away. In trying to stay organized I had succeeded in complicating things by having multiple calendars to work from. Now everything is on the same calendar and I think that will work out much better. Duh!

Yesterday's sermon was very good. I never tire of hearing what all we have in Christ. Because we died with Him we also rose with Him and share in His glory and reward. What an incredible God we have!! Amazing, isn't He? I made it back to church for the evening celebration last night and was really blessed by the service. Mark has been back visiting with us (he'll be moving to Washington state having accepted an Assistant Pastor's position at a church there) since he graduated from North Park Theological Seminary and he put together a wonder, uplifting service last night. I'm so glad I went. We've only been having evening services for a short time now (probably a couple months) and I went to several at the beginning but then decided not to go again because the acoustics in the gym make it nearly impossible for me to hear what's being said. But the Lord had laid it on my heart to support this evening endeavor and so I went again last night. I plan on making it a commitment on my part to go and worship in the evenings from now on. We spend so little time worshiping together as a community and I just feel that we need to do it every time it's available for us.

I noticed last night when I came out of the gym that it was much cooler than usual. And there was a slight hint and feel of fall to the air. I noticed how much darker it was when I left too. The seasons really are changing. I won't miss the heat but I will miss being able to wear fewer, less cumbersome clothes. Soon we'll need to bundle up to go outside and shorts will not be in our wardrobe. But I am ready for the season to change. I've had enough summer. I'm just hoping for a nice, long fall full of cool nights and warm days. And most of the time my jacket is light enough to not feel burdensome. Our high yesterday was only 98 degrees so we didn't even make it to the century mark, as the people in the weather business say. I just appreciate that the temps have cooled down at night. Right now it's almost noon and I'm still sitting here with the door open, enjoying the fresh air. This time last week we already had to have the cooler on and the house closed up to help us with the heat. So things are changing and I think I'm ready for the changes.

As believers we are sanctified (set apart for God's purpose) when we place our faith in Jesus Christ. Unlike salvation, which takes place instantly, sanctification is a lifelong process. When we trust Christ as Savior and allow the Spirit to control our lives we are being sanctified. We are being separated and set apart for God's use, being made holy by His holiness. Hebrews 10:14 says that "because by the one sacrifice [Christ's death on the cross] He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." We stand perfect before God as He continues to make us holy. It is a process that will take our entire lives. This is true regardless of what we feel or how our conduct may appear to ourselves or to others. If we are progressively maturing in our faith, we are being sanctified. Our conduct is not a precondition to the perfect standing of our salvation before God. If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we are Christians. Short and simple. Can you grasp that? We are a Christian; we aren't working on becoming one. We are already a Christian, and as such, we are being sanctified and set apart for God's exclusive use.

And if we are progressing we must be heading somewhere or toward something. At Romans 8:29 Paul wrote: "For those for whom [God] foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son." And if this is the case then our character, conduct, and conversations as believers should reflect Christ, who lives within each of us. But this is something that takes place after we become Christian. Our character and conduct and conversations don't make us Christians. These things change and evolve as we are being sanctified. We don't become "good" to become followers of Jesus Christ; we become Christians and then become "good" because of the work of the Holy Spirit within us.

Left to ourselves, we'd place way too much emphasis on conduct and conversation and get caught up in all the legalities of rules and regulations and commandments that make us look like Christians on the outside but, in reality, have nothing to do with our ability to stand before the holy and righteous God. Fully accepted. Fully approved. We place way too much emphasis on our actions, thinking that if we look holy we must be holy. But that's not the way God works. He works on the inside; not the outside. He gets inside us and changes our wants and desires. He gets to the very root of our problem. We are called to be holy, and in and of ourselves, this is simply not possible. We can never make ourselves holy or perfect. And yet that is what we are called to be. Left to ourselves we are "separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in ... the covenant of the promise, without hope and without God in the world." (Eph 1:12) We stand opposed to everything God requires of us and we are left hopeless and alone. But God has given every believer His Spirit as Teacher and Guide and the Holy Spirit's task is to completely transform our hearts and minds so that our character and conduct is noticeably different from that of the unsaved around us. This comes after salvation and is the role of sanctification. We can only speak and act as the Holy Spirit controls us, reflecting who we truly are: God's children. It is being first, then doing.

Our heavenly Father wants us to be living examples of Christ. He demands our perfection as His holiness requires, but because we have accepted Jesus to be our Savior, He has accepted Christ's perfection in place of our own. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for what [our conduct and rules and regulations were] powerless to do ... God did [for us]." (Ro 8:1-2) We have been declared righteous and now His Holy Spirit shows us how to think and act so that we may walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we've been called. (Php 1:27 and Eph 4:1)