Do we understand what it takes to be sanctified?
Romans 12:2
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Sanctification is how we understand and act out the will of God in our lives. Sanctification is the goal for every Christian.
I believe that many Christians have a misunderstanding of what that means, what that entails, and how exactly it is that we get there.
Unfortunately, many people struggle in their walk with Christ because they don’t understand the process. What happens is, people accept Christ, but thereafter their relationship with God is no more than jumping from spiritual high to spiritual high, with deep valleys in between.
When you’re high, we can find you at church every Sunday, you open your bible every day and you might even show up early to church for Sunday School or give up a weeknight for Bible Study. But when you’re low, you don’t even want to see the church, let alone go. You no longer have time for any of the things of God; you can’t even find enough time to read the “Verse of the Day” on your Bible App.
This cycle repeats itself over and over again and after a while, you come to realize that your life doesn’t look much different than it did before you came to Christ. There hasn’t been much change, there hasn’t been much transformation. This realization leads to discouragement and if it sets in, the gaps between the highs and the lows become wider and wider until you wonder if you’re even a Christian anymore.
If this describes you, know this: God still loves you. His love is unconditional. He doesn’t stop caring about you because you went back to your old ways. God doesn’t love you because you are perfect, God loves you even though you are not.
The misunderstanding is that we believe that the change in our life should happen instantly. We think that as soon as we accept Christ, we magically turn into these holy, sinless beings. We think the work is already done and that all we have to do is walk in it. We walk around ready to reap the reward of the harvest, but we haven’t put in any work.
The truth is that while Salvation can come in an instant, sanctification is a process.
Luke 23:39-43
“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
We see from these verses that one of the criminals makes a confession. He acknowledges that he is guilty and he pleads to Jesus for mercy. The guy who confesses is often referred to as the thief on the cross. However, make no mistake about it, this man was more than just a thief. The Greek word lestes is more than just a thief. A thief steals and tries to get away without anyone knowing. The word lestes more accurately describes a robber. Compared to a thief, a robber doesn’t steal in secret; a robber is someone who’s open about it. A robber is someone who uses violence or the threat of violence to steal. So despite all the crimes this man committed, for which he was properly being punished, Jesus, in his infinite love, showed mercy to him and accepted him.
Many of you were the same way. Many of you have felt the weight of your sin and have experienced the joy and peace that comes when we know that God has forgiven us. Part of the confusion that develops is that we think the joy and peace is sustainable by our own might. We think receiving salvation is like a magic pill that instantly makes us holy. The truth is that coming to faith in Christ and being saved is the beginning, not the end. To all my basketball fans, once you become a Christian it’s like the tip-off. Don’t mess around and walk off the court like you’ve already won.
To help you see this, please humor me in this thought experiment. Imagine if that criminal on the cross was spared at the last moment. Imagine that after Jesus accepted him, Pontius Pilate changed his mind and decided not to kill the criminal. Do you think he would have gone from the cross right to the pulpit? NO! I am willing to bet that that criminal would still be dealing with a lot of demons, a lot of baggage. Who knows what he went through in his life that brought him to the point where he became a robber? Does he have a place to stay? Does he have family to support him? Is he going to go back to his old gang? If he did, how long do you think he would last before he fell back into his old ways?
Likewise, many of us have a lot of work left to do after we come to Christ. Even if you don’t have a lot of baggage or a checkered past, like having been a robber, you still have work to do. Think about Jesus’ disciples, like Peter. Peter was a regular person, a fisherman by trade. Peter decided to follow Christ. Peter walked on water. Peter spent years being taught personally by Jesus. Peter was loved and fed by Jesus. Peter saw Jesus perform countless miracles. Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Peter thought he was bold and courageous, but when it came time to take a stand for Jesus, when it got tough, Peter did not have what it took. He denied Jesus 3 times and deserted him.
So if Peter couldn’t get it right after all that personal discipleship. What makes us think that we can? Some people have the experience that when they become believers, God instantly removes certain desires. By God’s grace, when I came to faith, I no longer wanted to watch pornography. After years of being hooked on it, I was able to give it up. However, I wasn’t cured from all lust, or laziness, or pride, for example. Could I say that I had a knowledge and understanding of the will of God and how to apply it in my life? Absolutely not. I’m still in that process.
So what does the process look like? Let’s look at Paul the apostle. Before he came to Christ, he was known as Saul, he was a zealous advocate for capturing and punishing the early church. He went from town to town trying to round them up. He was a bounty hunter. He voted for their deaths. Then came that fateful day on the road to Damascus. He was on his way to round up even more believers and had an encounter with Jesus Christ that changed his life. Now, what happened after his conversion? How did Paul go from violent bully of God’s people to the author of almost half of the New Testament?
1 Cor. 15:9-10
“For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecute the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
When Saul Became Paul, the conversion wasn’t enough. He worked hard for sanctification.
Paul prayed, he studied God’s word, he fasted and he fellowshipped with believers. He went to meet Jesus’ disciples so that he could make sure he was spreading the true Gospel.
With all that, Paul still wasn’t perfect, he still had dark days. His life was not perfect; he ended up spending years in prison just for preaching the Gospel. He wrote about a thorn in his side that he prayed to God to remove, but that God did not answer that prayer. Nonetheless, Paul’s hard work in the process, allowed him to accomplish great things.
What are you going to do? What calling have you given up on or missed because you haven’t been willing to work hard. What many of you don’t realize is that your spiritual process of moving toward sanctification is directly tied to your destiny. Maybe your calling is not in the church like Paul, but outside the church. You might be called into a profession, you might be called into a business, you might be called to heal relationships, or you might be called to be the peace maker in your family. If you don’t put in the work, you will fall short of what God has called you to be. The hard work that you do spiritually can also bear fruit here on earth.
If you want to be promoted, you have to put in the work.
If you want to get into that training program, you have to put in the work.
If you want to be marriage material, you have to put in the work.
If you want good grades in school, you have to put in work.
If you want to be a good parent, you have to put in work.
If you want to develop business, you have to put in work.
If you want to know what God has called you to do, you have to put in work.
Part of our problem is our ongoing batter between our spirit and our flesh (Romans 8:12-13). In order to know and act out the will of God in your life, you have to be led by the spirit of god. In order to be led by the spirit of god, you can’t give in to your carnal desires. When we feed into our flesh, we defeat our spirit.
Romans 7:15-20
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”
How many of you want to do that thing, want to accomplish that goal, want to lose that weight, want to go back to school, want to get that new job, want to write that song, want to develop that mobile app, want to make up with your father, want to get along with that co-worker, but don’t have the ability to carry it out?
All of us have this struggle. One of the main was we should remember to overcome is simple, Fast!
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that teaches the body to obey the spirit. Whenever you do it, it serves as a reminder that you do not live just to feed your flesh, but to feed your spirit. The exercise of denying your body of something it wants, prepares your spirit for other battles. Your spiritual muscles will begin to grow. When your spiritual muscles begin to grow, you will be able to resist temptation more and more. You won’t be defeated by the same schemes of the enemy over and over again.
Likewise, when your spiritual muscles grow, sometimes it bears fruit in your natural life. By fasting, you might be able to stay up a little later to study for that board exam. You may be able to deal with that difficult co-worker or family member. You might be able to stay a little bit later after work. You might step a little bit closer toward your calling and God’s plan for your life.
Of course, fasting is not easy. Denying yourself, especially something that is good, is very challenging. Nonetheless, it is necessary. I trust and believe that if you do this and take one step closer to God, He will see your efforts and come closer to you. God Bless you.