JP’s Mind

In the previous post we discussed justification as Christ’s righteousness imputed to us through God’s grace by faith (a reliance upon and trust in Him). That justification, a one time adoption as heirs to the Glory of God breeds regeneration (a new birth as new creatures in Christ) thus leading us to sanctification and continuing (progressive) sanctification:

Sanctification [positional], is to be set apart, to be made holy. A status conferred not by moral transformation but by the sacrifice of Christ:

Heb 10:10  And in accordance with this will [of God], we have been made holy (consecrated and sanctified) through the offering made once for all of the body of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One).

Through faith and grace, through the sacrificial atonement of Christ Jesus we are set apart, we are made holy, in the eyes of God, and thus in the eyes of the world. This is the keystone to Christianity and the failure of the idea of being able to do whatever we want to do, however we want to do it.  As new creations in Him, we are to be Christ-like in our lives, our witness is not in only what we say, but how we live.

Not only have we been made holy (consecrated and sanctified) once and for all, we continue in ongoing process of sanctification that conforms us to the image of Christ:

Php 2:12-13  Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).  (13)  [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

2Co 3:18  And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

Heb 12:14  Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord.

2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him [be] glory (honor, majesty, and splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (so be it)!

What exactly are we being told by God’s Holy Inspired Word?  We are told that we are to work on our sanctification with trust and reverence to the power of God working in us, that we are not to trust in, and be cautious of, our own ideas and to guard against those things that would discredit the name of Christ. We are told that we do this continually and to grow in His grace from now until the day we leave this earth and that without this pursuit of holiness others may not ever see the Lord.

How more plain can scripture be? We are to strive to be Christ-like in all that we do, we are to place our faith and trust in Him to cause this holiness to come to fruition for we cannot do it in and of ourselves, and that if we do not continue in this pursuit, the world will not see Him.

Since we are admonished to preach the Gospel to all peoples, and to go out to all nations making disciples it is a no-brainer to understand that the way we act, the way we live, is as important, if not more so, than what we say.

Preach the Gospel at all times; and if necessary, use words.

So, what’s the deal then?  What of ‘Christian liberty’ and the freedom from condemnation if we cannot live the lives we want to live?  The answer is simple:

We are set apart by the most righteous God to be His representatives to the unsaved world. We cannot represent Him if we are ‘wearing’ the ways of the world.

He is not of this world and the things of this world, and as His representatives here in this world, we cannot be of this world and the things of this world either. If your neighbor or co-worker cannot look at you on a daily basis and see the light of God shinning from you in the way you act, the things you say, or the way you say them, then that neighbor or co-worker cannot see God.

Christian liberty is not the freedom to be, or behave, in any fashion we choose. It is the freedom from death and condemnation for the sins we have committed or may commit.

This then brings us to the pragmatic issues of Christianity and the Christian life; hypocricy, self-righteousness, striving to be a ‘good Christian’, legalism, et al.  These are the big issues, these are the tough issues. Do we pretend to be ‘holy’ when we want to cuss and scream?  Do we risk acting as if something we do not feel in our hearts that we truly are?  Do we rely on what we ‘feel’ or what we know?

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

This will be the underpinning purpose here at JP’s Mind; to address the practical issues of daily Christianity from time to time, in order to pursue my own holiness through Him as well as help others in their own pursuits.