Are you being sanctified?

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." Romans 8:29,30

Sanctification?

There is a teaching in the Church today that goes something like this:

Believers have been predestined by God to become like Christ. This becoming like Christ is termed, sanctification and is understood as a process by which the believer increasingly becomes more and more like Jesus. God's purpose for the believer's life is therefore to use circumstances and life to conform His children to Christ. Every hardship and difficult circumstance is then embraced as God's will to refine the believer to become Christ-like. Scriptures such as Romans 8:29,30 and Hebrews 12:5-11 are quoted to substantiate this teaching and you will hear Christians speak of God taking them through the desert; God breaking them; God disciplining them so that they become more like Christ. It sounds spiritual but is this really what the Bible teaches?

The Problem

The problem with this teaching is that it is not only unbiblical but also deceptive.

Let us suppose for a moment that the teaching is true and that every believer is undergoing a process of sanctification.

First of all one needs to ask, why? What is God's purpose in saving us and then working on us to become like Christ? If it is to prepare us for heaven, then surely it is unfair when some live longer than others. If the goal of sanctification is to make us Christ-like, then who will be included as the Bride that God is coming back to that is "a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" (Eph. 5:27)? Will it be those who have completed the process of sanctification?

Confused Christians

Those who believe this theology live lives of condemnation and fear and interpret the work of Satan as God's work of sanctification! These poor Christians live their lives in misery and even thank God for His "discipline" when the Devil is having a field day, tormenting the deceived child of God. "It's my cross to bear," they explain and continue faithfully and miserably serving the Lord. I thought the Gospel was Good News and that the teaching about God our Saviour was attractive (Titus 2:10)!

Sanctification explained

The root of the problem is in the wrong understanding of sanctification. Wrongly interpreted, Romans 8:29,30 is said to show us that the believer is predestined to be conformed to Christ in the sense that once saved, the believer becomes more and more like Christ. However, the Bible is clear that once the believer is saved through faith in Christ, s/he is sanctified! The believer is therefore predestined to be conformed to Christ, the moment s/he believes. In other words, the believer is Christ-like, the moment s/he is baptised into Christ (Gal. 3:26). The believer's union with the Holy One makes him holy - sanctified! The NT always addresses the Church as God's holy people (sanctified people).

Be holy!

"To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy." 1 Cor. 1:2

God says "Be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:15,16

God does not say, "become holy"; He says, "BE holy"!

You can only be what you are! I cannot be holy unless I am holy!

You ARE sanctified!

Those who are in Christ are holy - they are sanctified. The believer is called to live a holy life because s/he is holy and not in order to become holy. Click here for more on "Are you holy?"

Does God not dicipline His children?

Yes, certainly! Hebrews 12 confirms that. But, what does God discipline us for?

The context in Hebrews 12 is not character-building but disobedience (sin). God disciplines His children when they sin so that they will continue to live holy lives. God is faithful and will help us continue in holiness (see 1 Thess. 5:23). Hardship is used by God to test our faith and for us to persevere in holiness (see James 1:2-4).

Good News!

The Good News is that through faith in Christ, the believer is sanctified and is made "a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" (Eph. 5:27). This is the believer's assurance and hope and it is from this hope that faith springs up that drives out fear and condemnation (Col. 1:5; Rom. 8:1, 33-39; 1 John 4:18).

Where is your joy?

Where is your joy? The fruit of the Spirit is joy (Gal. 5:22).

"For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Romans 14:17

Satan is intent on stealing your joy. As long as you believe that the purpose for your life is to become holy, the Devil will continue to accuse you, condemn you and and make you completely ineffective for God's Kingdom purposes as you continue your self-improvement program and live in misery and continuous failure. Don't let Satan deceive you, child of God! Jesus is your holiness (1 Cor. 1:30)! Depend on Him! He has made you holy!

Jesus, your Brother!

You have been predestined to be like Jesus so that He can be your Brother (Rom. 8:29).

"Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." Hebrews 2:11

As a son of God, you have been made holy; you have been justified and you have been glorified (Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:30). That is Good News! Rejoice in your holiness and don't allow the enemy to deceive you and rob you of your joy!

Recommended reading: "The Believer's Secret of Holiness" by Andrew Murray.

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Is the Church superstitious?

Definition

I define superstition as, "deriving truth from the created."

Superstition

Many people are superstitious. Whether they look at the stars to determine the truth (horoscopes) or believe they will have a bad day because they saw a black cat, they use circumstances and creation as a means to determine truth. Anything from fortune cookies to shapes in the clouds are interpreted as being of significance for the superstitious person.

Message from God?

The principle of looking to the natural, created realm for truth is prevalent in the Church. Believers don't go to fortune tellers but instead run to prophets for a word from God. Believers interpret their circumstances as God's message to them. Every dream and every "strange" occurrence is somehow a message from God.

Dependence on the created

Undoubtedly God can communicate to His people in any way He chooses but the believer must be careful not to depend on the created rather than on the Creator. Those who trust created things more than God are practising idolatry. The apostle Paul writes,

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator." Romans 1:25

Led by God

The born again believer who has been born of the Spirit has been given the Holy Spirit to lead him and guide him.

"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13

"...those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Romans 8:14

God has given us His Spirit so that we can hear from God and do His will. It is by the Spirit of God that God communicates to His people. That is why Paul prays that the Colossians would receive spiritual wisdom and understanding in order to do the will of God (Col. 1:9,10).

What about God's prophets?

Someone might argue that God used the natural to speak to His prophets. For example, God asked Jeremiah,

"What do you see?" Jer. 1:11,13

However, they fail to realise that God's prophets walked closely to God and were already hearing His voice when He told them to look at the natural to confirm God's Word!

Listen to God!

Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice" John 10:27

The primary reason Christians look to the natural realm to hear God is because they are not spending time with God and learning to hear His voice out of an intimate relationship with Him. Consequently they don't know God and depend on people, circumstances and the natural realm to determine truth! Clearly this can lead to deception and being completely misled by unspiritual people and the enemy!

Depend on God!


God wants His people to depend on Him and not on creation. The natural realm points to God so that we seek Him first (see Rom. 1:19-23). The principle of looking to God as our Source is so important to Him that Jesus even rebuked the teachers of the Law for depending on the Word more than on God (see John 5:39,40)! God's Word must lead us into an encounter with the living God - the Author!

The believer must learn to be led by the Holy Spirit. Clearly we will only know God's voice if we grow in our knowledge of Him by spending time with Him, by reading His Word and praying.


Spiritual revelation

Ask the Lord for spiritual revelation and understanding as you read His Word, and expect God to speak to you (see 1 Cor. 2:9-14; Matthew 13:11,12). Meditate on what the Holy Spirit highlights to you and allow the Lord to show you the deeper things of God.

Are you holy?

"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'be holy, because I am holy.'" 1 Peter 1:15,16

God is holy.

God is holy because of who He is and not because of what He does. God is holy because He is like no other god. He is beyond compare!

"'To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?' asks the Holy One" Isaiah 40:25

It is the "otherness" of God that defines His holiness. He is completely (wholly) good, pure, loving, righteous, just, light, merciful, gracious, etc, because that is His holy nature!

God makes holy.

In the Old Testament we read about how God brings the people of Israel out of Egypt to set them apart from all other nations as His people - a people belonging to God and set apart for Him. God thus makes His people holy by setting them apart. That which is set apart for God is sanctified - made holy.

For example, when the priests were ordained in the OT, they were set apart with blood and oil (see Leviticus 8). Likewise the believer is set apart and made holy by the blood of Jesus and the oil of the Holy Spirit.

Through faith in Jesus, the believer is sanctified by His blood and by the gift of the Holy Spirit! 1 Peter 1:1,2

The believer is therefore holy! He is sanctified. He cannot become holy in his own effort. It is God who sets the believer apart and makes Him holy. Holiness cannot be attained!

The New Testament calls God's people, saints because they have been sanctified and set apart for God. Believers cannot become saints by their own effort. They are made saints by the mercy and grace of God! See Eph. 1:1,15

"This sainthood is not an attainment, it is a state into which God in grace calls men.." W.E. Vine

You are holy!

As a believer, you are holy by nature, regardless of whether you sin or not! Your obedience or your disobedience does not change the fact that God has set you apart for Himself. As God's holy people we are called to live holy lives - lives that express our separateness for God. Paul writes,

"To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy.." 1 Cor. 1:2

The believer is called to live a holy life because he is holy and not in order to become holy!

Made holy to reveal God's holiness

God's purpose in setting apart a people for Himself, by bringing His people out of darkness, is to reveal Himself through them as the only true God - the Holy One!

"..you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:9,10

"Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes." Ezekiel 36:23

Called to holiness.

The believer is called to live a holy life because God is holy. The believer's holiness is expressed by his separateness from the world, the flesh and the devil. As God's holy people, we are in this world but not of this world.

"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." John 17:15-19

Through the believer's union with Christ, he is made holy so that he will reveal the One to whom he is joined - the Holy One (see 1John 4:15).

Revealing God.

The way we live holy lives, as God's holy people, is to be like Jesus (1 John 2:6)! We reveal God's otherness as we reveal His nature - His love, mercy, kindness, patience, goodness, grace, forgiveness, etc.

As God's holy people "let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God!" 2 Cor. 7:1

Saints, be holy because God is holy and you are holy!

Are you being saved?

"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:47

Salvation is present continuous. Christians are in the process of being saved as long as they believe and remain in Christ.

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8,9

You are receiving the salvation of your soul. Salvation is present continuous.

"Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel." Col. 1:21-23

As the believer continues to believe, he continues to receive salvation.

"And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming." 1 John 2:28

The believer continues in Christ as he continues to trust in God's grace. By faith the believer enters into this grace and it is by faith that the believer must continue to live in this grace until Christ comes again!

"After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Gal. 3:3

"..if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9,10

As the believer continues to believe and continues to confess he is saved and will be saved.

Salvation is union with God that is realised (worked out - Phil. 2:12) by daily and abiding fellowship with Him.

"This is how we know we are in him: whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

Your initial "prayer of faith" to be saved has gained you entrance into the grace in which you now stand. To stand firm, you need to continue to have faith by continuing to abide in Christ. Your abiding in Christ will bear fruit which will give you confidence on the day He returns.

"...as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world." 1 John 4:17

"...those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him." 1 John 2:5

Are you being saved?

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Cor. 1:18

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2 Cor. 13:5

When do you approach the throne of grace?

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infimities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16 (KJV)

Jesus has overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. It is by Christ's overcoming Spirit, resident in the believer that we overcome.

Most of us approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and grace because we have sinned but the above verses encourage the believer to come to the throne to receive from God in order to overcome!

So often we start in the flesh and when we fail we end in the Spirit. Surely God's invitation to His children is to begin in the Spirit and remain in the Spirit by depending on Him for mercy and grace in order to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil?

Paul encourages Timothy and says, "..be strong in the grace that is in Christ." 2 Tim. 2:1

God's mercy means we don't receive what we deserve but God's grace means we receive in abundance what we don't deserve.

Come to the throne of grace and receive mercy and then in your time of need today, find the grace God has given you in Christ to overcome trials and temptation! Don't start in the flesh! Start in the Spirit and end in the Spirit and hold firm to the faith that you profess.

Be strong in the grace that is in Christ!

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The key to praying in power

"It is written, 'I believed; therefore I have spoken.' With the same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak." 2 Cor. 4:13

Speak!

The spirit of faith believes AND speaks!

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

A heart filled with faith speaks.

The words we speak because of faith have creative power to influence and change the natural realm.

The apostle Paul writes,

"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:8-10

Powerful words

The words we speak that agree with our faith, have power! To confess is to agree.

"From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him." Proverbs 12:14

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue." Proverbs 18:21

The words we speak have power only when they are in agreement with what we believe. It is not the right words that have power but the words that flow out of a heart of faith!

Faithless words?

Those who use words without faith can get themselves into a lot of trouble!

"Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, 'In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.' Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?' Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding." Acts 13-16

Praying with the spirit of faith

The believer must pray the will of God. If we are praying in the Spirit, we will pray in agreement with God's will so that His Kingdom is manifested on earth as it is in heaven (see Matthew 6:10). The Holy Spirit intercedes in accordance with the will of God and so should we, if we want to pray with the spirit of faith (see Romans 8:27).

The key to praying in power

The key to praying in power is to know and believe the will of God and to speak it into the physical realm. This is praying with the spirit of faith!

How to pray with the spirit of faith

A great way to build your faith and to grow in the spirit of faith is to pray God's Word out loud. For example, you can take Psalm 91 and pray it out loud over your own life. Verse one states,

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

You can pray, "Thank you, Lord, that as I dwell in your shelter I find rest in your presence! Thank you Lord that I can dwell in your shelter and abide in your presence. Thank you that you overshadow me right now as I rest in your presence."

Faith comes from hearing God's Word (see Romans 10:17)! Therefore, praying God's Word out loud is operating with the spirit of faith and it strengthens your faith at the same time!

I encourage you to develop the "spirit of faith" as you believe and speak God's will on earth as it is in heaven. I pray that you will be filled "with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding....so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Col. 1:9-12

How to listen to God

"You are permitted to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken from them." Matthew 13:11,12 (NLT)

God speaks!

In Deuteronomy 6:4 we read what is known as the "Schema" which says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

God commands His people to pay attention! The Lord speaks and He calls His children to listen. Jesus says,

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4 (NKJV)

Jesus says, "proceeds" and not "proceeded"! God continues to speak to the believer and so the believer must continue to listen.

The apostle Paul in his introduction to spiritual gifts explains that God is not a "mute idol" but that He is the living God who continues to communicate with His people in many different ways (see 1 Cor. 12-14).

Why does God speak to us?

There are many reasons why God speaks to us, but from Matthew 13 we see that Jesus wants believers to know "the secrets of heaven" (vs 11) and to have this knowledge "in abundance" (vs 12) so that they "might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn" so that God "would heal them" (vs 15). Jesus says that those who truly listen will produce "a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown" (vs 23). In the context we see that Jesus is talking about receiving spiritual revelation of the Kingdom so that it grows in our lives and influences our lives through and through (see also Matthew 13:31-33).

Hearing or listening?

There is a difference between hearing and truly listening. To hear is to perceive but to listen is to understand and respond. Many believers hear God speaking to them through the Bible, through sermons, through the Church, etc. but are stunted in their spiritual growth. Christians attend conferences and hear the most amazing sermons but still remain "babes in Christ." Why is that?

The reason that many believers are not growing spiritually and not coming to wholeness in Christ is primarily because they are not truly listening to God!

Luke gives us even more insight to what it means to truly listen to God:

"But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." Luke 8:15

A true listener hears, understands, retains and perseveres so that a crop is produced! If we want to produce a crop then we will need to listen to God.

How do we truly listen?

1. Ask - ask the Lord to give you ears to hear! (Is. 55:6; 1 Cor. 2:9-14)
2. Be alert - be attentive to God speaking to you throughout your day and night (dreams)
3. Position yourself to hear - read the Bible, listen to sermons, etc
4. Have an open heart - listen to receive and understand
5. Have a teachable spirit - allow God to challenge and change your thinking (Isaiah 55:8)
6. Remember what God says to you - retain and meditate on what God has said to you by praying it over your life and repeating it (Psalm 1:2; 119:15)
7. Apply God's Word to your life - act on what God says to you by faith
8. Persevere - continue to act on God's Word to you even if you don't see immediate results
9. Expect a crop - believe you will receive what God has spoken to you
   

How do you train your listening skills?

I have discovered that those who struggle to listen in the natural also struggle to listen to God! Use your everyday relationships to train your listening skills. Here are a few tips:

1. Don't do all the talking - "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak" James 1:19


2. Pay attention - don't think about other things or what you are going to say next whilst you are "listening"


3. Ask questions - make sure you really understand what the other person is communicating to you. Don't assume you know what the person is saying and where the person is going with what s/he is saying.


4. Repeat what you have understood to the person speaking to you. Don't say "aha" or the like when you haven't understood or to be polite whilst your mind is somewhere else. It's dishonest and not "owning up" to not knowing something is pride.


5. After your conversation, check what you can still remember of what the other person told you.

Practice in the natural what you want to grow in spiritually!

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Rev. 3:22

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