Sin

Both of these concepts work together and tie directly into our mission on earth. In order to be like Jesus, we must intimately and confidently know our earth’s mission for God and likewise confidently and successfully be able to carry it out. It is all together logical and clear that the more that we are freed from sin, the more we can be in relationship with God without our rebellion getting in the way of our relationship as outlined above. It is also clear that the less we are hindered by our own sin, we can more clearly know our true mission for God and have more ability to confidently carry it out. The more sinless we become, the more holy we become or the more divine we become, as children of our sinless and righteous Father God and Brother, Jesus Christ, we should displaying more and more of their attributes in our lives.

For the purposes of this discussion, the concept of sanctification begins with God calling us to be holy because he is holy, a separate people to be used of God for His purposes. At the heart of this design is for us to become free of sin so we can operate in obedience to God’s calling on our lives as He determines it and that we can be a good and faithful ambassador to Him on this planet. Just as a drunken, lewd ambassador is an embarrassment to a country and gives a bad example of their fellow countrymen to the country to which they are deployed, so are we bad ambassadors when our sins interfere with our true mission and display a bad example as a follower of the One True God and His Son, Jesus Christ. When the church values a leader’s worldly gifts and promotes them higher than their spiritual development warrants, bad things can happen. When their hidden and unresolved sin explodes out into the public, hurting their particular church or denomination and giving approbation or the opposite of glory to God, Satan as the accuser, loves it when he can point his bony finger of accusation at a fallen christian. It gives him great glee to be able to say, “see, I told you so, this whole Christianity thing is a sham. These so called followers of Christ are no different than you or me; it’s just that we admit it freely and they preach one thing and live another. They are the hypocrites and liars that they accuse us of being.” As a true follower of Jesus, the last thing we should want is to give ammunition to the devil to mock us and God because of our failings. Instead, we should be proactively seeking to become more like Jesus in our beings to be a more accurate reflection of Him as His ambassador on this planet.

In examining these important issues, it is also important to understand that the concept of sanctification does not sit alone in a vacuum. It is in the middle of two other important christian theological concepts known as Justification and Glorification. Simply put, these are descriptions of activities and states of being within the life of a Christian.

Theological justification is the idea that according to the encyclopedia Brittannica, that by faith and belief in the death of Jesus on the cross so that He took our punishment for our sins and that He was raised by God from the dead showing triumph over sin and death, we are made “just” or righteous for purposes of the final judgment. By accepting Jesus’ atoning work on the cross, we are permitted entrance into heaven not by our works but by acceptance of His work for us. This concept of accepting Jesus death and resurrection as the atoning work for our sins separates us from all other religions which are based in one way or the other on the works and “goodness” of the follower.

Jesus Christ, “who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). In this way, the sinner, despite having broken God’s law through their sins, rather than receiving just punishment for having done so, is instead, reconciled with God; and rather than having to undergo eternal spiritual death as a natural consequence of sinning, instead receives eternal life.

So, justification happens at the time one accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior and takes care of our eternal destination. While it also is logically, the starting point of us being a “new creature” in Christ, it does not magically change us into a completely sinless being like Jesus.

The concept of sanctification fills the gap between the beginning of the Christian life and the end of the Christian life when glorification takes place.

Glorification is the future and final work of God upon Christians, where he transforms our mortal physical bodies to the eternal physical bodies in which we will dwell forever.

1 Cor. 15:42-44, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” Romans 8:17—”If we are children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

Jesus is the first resurrected from the dead to receive a glorified body. He is called the first fruits of creation. 1 Cor. 15:20 says, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” Since he is the first fruits, it is logically necessary that we will follow. His resurrection is the promise and guarantee of our future resurrection and glorification.

Sanctification, on the other hand, occurs after being born again as described by Jesus. It is the process that occurs during and throughout the rest of our lifetime on earth and before we ultimately are glorified when we receive our resurrection bodies. The context in which sanctification occurs– us becoming more like Jesus, is not the cause of our glorification and receiving our spiritual body. In the case of deathbed confessions or for the thief on the cross, there certainly is not a lot of time for the sanctification process if any. It either case, the newly born again person, while a new creature in Christ, does not have time to work through the sanctification process. In such circumstances, while a person’s eternity is resolved by their confession of faith and there is a spiritual change that now allows them to enter into heaven, they , in their soul and personality, are the same people they were prior to their acceptance of Jesus as savoir. No serious theologian argues that the confession of faith turns a new believer into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ on earth but is merely the starting point for the sanctification process to begin.

For the usual case of someone making a confession of faith, activating the justification process, but not in such a time limited example, it would be totally illogical if not impossible for a person to become a follower of Jesus Christ and not be changed at all. The bible references looking at the “fruits” of our lives or outward actions as well as our inner dispositions to examine for evidence of a true conversion experience. As we know, talk and words are cheap. I can claim to be anything and many do, but just because one makes that claim, it would be good to examine the evidence in my life as to those claims before accepting it as true. It is clear through Jesus’ teachings that many who are working in His name, doing advanced religious activities, are actually only carrying out their inner-driven visions, bereft of God’s intention. Even in a case of someone who has suffered awful life experiences and has sunk into deep levels of depravity in their lives, there should be at least, a spark of desire to move towards God and become cleaned or purified once someone has made a profession of faith and has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, is is not for us to judge as only God knows the heart but as a practical matter the church does treat the believer and non-believer differently for many reasons.

With a basic understanding of what sanctification is and how it fits into the life of the believer, let us now review many of the various views of sanctification in the church and ultimately, how they relate to the church’s current sin problems.

While most serious Chrisitians would dismiss this concept, there are today even some self-proclaimed “church leaders” teaching that sanctification is not a process and that any system that claims that a process is necessary, would be teaching an anti-Christ doctrine. Their argument is that at the time of conversion, one becomes like Jesus in all ways. The simplest way to dismiss this argument is see that there is no mention in scripture of of the complete ending and eradication of sin at the time of conversion. Additionally, one only has to know Christians to know that they are not sinless like Jesus. Again, this is not contradicted by the scripture and can only come from delusion masquerading as revelation.

For purposes of trying to give a quick background and overview to various christian ideas and concepts of sanctification, the real questions regarding positions on sanctification are:

For purposes of this book, I believe that scripture describes and demonstrates sanctification is a process and that like in many christian theological issues, there is a tension between two poles of thought. In this case, the tension is between how God is working behind the scenes in our lives to move us forward in our sanctification, holiness, and obedience and how we respond to His directions and what choices we make to work towards pursing God. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8 In this statement, the onus and the action is upon humanity and not God. It is also conditional so that the logical inference is that if you don’t draw near to God, He won’t draw near to you. Theologian John Piper, writes of the importance and implications of this issue of sanctification responsibility. Today there is an intense debate within the church about this vital issue. The stakes are high—your view of sanctification informs and directs how you understand your new nature in Christ, how you evangelize others, pursue godliness, govern your heart and mind, how you raise and discipline your children, and how you understand and follow God’s commands in Scripture. For pastors and church leaders, your position on this issue will determine how you preach and teach, how you give counsel to troubled hearts, and how you engage in church discipline. PIPER