Sanctification (part 3)

Bethlehem Bible Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

Well, I don't know what has taken place in your week or what you've experienced or what's gone on, what you've seen with your eyes or heard with your ears or experienced in your life.

00:10

Maybe you went out to eat and you looked at a menu at a restaurant and it was wonderful. It was absolutely amazing. And it just kind of like the old phrase, the meal that you got was just incredible.

00:22

But what we're going to talk about this morning far exceeds that. Maybe you saw your favorite television show this week.

00:29

Maybe you went to a movie and it was the special effects that were on that and the plot and the whole story was just wonderful.

00:38

It was just like beyond your belief what you could think would be seen on a screen like that.

00:44

But what we're going to talk about this morning blows that off the charts.

00:51

What we're going to be talking about this morning is just a continuation of the study of sanctification, which is which is a component or a part of what takes place in the life of a person who is a sinner, who has been saved by grace, a sinner who had characteristics and attributes that were far from God, far from godliness, far from holiness, far from purity.

01:15

Think about the life of the of a person who was born into this world with a fallen nature whose understanding is darkened, the

01:24

Bible says. That's just one description. Maybe you can help me out. What other descriptions are there for a person who is graceless,

01:32

Christless, hopeless, a person who is not saved? What is another description the Bible uses of that person or how is how they describe

01:39

Vida dead, dead in trespasses and sins? It's not like we're we're just doing the best we can and we're floating where what is that when you're dog paddling on the top where we're on the surface, where we're doing the best we can to get through this life and we're holding ourselves up as Pastor Steve would say, it's solo bootstrapper.

02:02

We're just holding ourselves up by pulling ourselves up by ourselves, by our own power. No, the

02:07

Bible describes us as being dead in trespasses and sins, which means we're not on the top of the water.

02:12

We're down the bottom of the lake or bottom of the ocean dead. And we need life.

02:18

We need to be brought back to life, just like Lazarus, who was dead in the grave. Jesus needed to speak life so that and say and by the power of God for him to be raised back to life again.

02:31

What's another description of a person who is lost? Well, that's another description. But what about what about Peggy?

02:38

They love the things of this world, right there. They're they're lovers of the world.

02:43

In Ephesians two, it says their life is going in the vein or in the course of this world.

02:50

They're like in the river of this world. They live in it and we love it. And that's what our life was like before God came and saved us.

02:59

What else? What's another description? It's Pastor Steve in the domain of darkness, we were held captive in that domain, and John Wesley knew that very well.

03:15

We were in a prison. We were in a in a dungeon. And he says, when God saves us, the work of regeneration is

03:22

God's. I defuse that quickening ray. We sang that song last week. God's I defuse the quickening ray.

03:29

I woke the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off. My heart was free. I rose, went forth and followed the where you see what

03:39

I'm talking about. This is an unspeakable gift. This is something that we could never have done for ourselves.

03:45

The subject of salvation, when we experience salvation, it's better than that restaurant.

03:51

It's it's better than that movie, it's better than that, it's better than that entertainment, whatever it was, that sporting event that you went to, whatever it is, better than better than anything else you experienced this week, because God rescues sinners out of the pit, out of the domain of darkness.

04:13

And he translates us into the kingdom of his dear son. He brings us into the kingdom of light.

04:18

We are raised from the dead, new life in Jesus Christ. And this is not something that we could have bought.

04:25

This is not something that we could have earned. That is, this is not something that we ever deserved because it is all by grace.

04:33

It is the unmerited favor of God. God saves us by his grace. And when God saves us and God, as we saw the example of the children of Israel, when

04:43

God saved them, when God delivered them, when God redeemed them out of Egypt, out of that captivity, out of that slavery of 400 years, when

04:52

God took them out of Egypt and brought and was bringing them to the promised land, one of the things that God was going to do.

05:00

And we've and I've quoted this almost every class as we've been going through this. He got them out of Egypt and then he works in their lives to get

05:07

Egypt out of them. And when he gets them out of Egypt, of course, he is setting apart a people for his own name.

05:15

Setting apart. That's the idea behind sanctification. When God has sanctified us, yes, positionally in Christ, he has set us apart for himself.

05:25

And that's a positional sanctification. But what we've been talking about and hopefully what we're going to get in today, and it'll be a bit more practical, too, so that we can go out here and say,

05:34

I know that God has saved me. I know that I've been delivered from the penalty of my sins.

05:40

I know that Christ died on the cross and he was buried and he rose again. And in his body, he bore my sin.

05:48

I'm a believer now because God has done something. God has saved me. God has given me the gift of repentance.

05:55

I've turned from my sin and faith. I've believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ and God has delivered me from the penalty of my sin.

06:03

But sin still remains because what still remains? Somebody tell me. Sin still remains in the believer's life because what still remains?

06:13

Yeah, you're looking at it right in the room, right? Is that what you're going to say, Steve? Look around. Just look at yourself. Look in the mirror.

06:19

Look around and we have a body. And Paul said, who shall deliver me? In Romans 7, who's going to deliver me from this body?

06:26

This flesh, this self, the sin is still remnant there and it is not going to be completely removed until we get where?

06:38

To glory, right? To heaven. And then 1 Corinthians 15 says, at that time, when the

06:45

Lord either comes to snatch us up or we die and go into the presence of the

06:52

Lord in one day, this will take place. This mortal will put on immortality in a moment and the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed and we will be given a glorified body.

07:07

Therefore, when the body is then removed at that time, sin's presence is removed from us.

07:13

Ultimately, we will be ultimately sanctified fully, completely, ultimate sanctification.

07:20

But until that time, from now, when we have been going through our lives and there was a point in our lives when we were not saved and then

07:31

God in his mercy revealed Jesus Christ to us. And at a point in our life,

07:37

God visited us. God arrested us. God stopped us from our pursuit of sin.

07:45

And think about our lives before we were saved. It was not getting better and better and better, as the world says.

07:52

Throw money at it. Throw education at it. Throw science at it. Throw psychology at it. The world will be better.

07:58

So, you know, we could just get better because we can do this ourselves. No, we got worse and worse.

08:04

We went from iniquity unto iniquity. There was a decline. There was more of a bondage. The chains were even more so upon us.

08:12

And we were held fast in sin and nature's night. And we could not overcome that.

08:20

And it got worse and worse and worse. The opposite is true for the believer. What is God desiring to do?

08:26

Not for us to get worse and worse and worse, but for us in our lives to become more pure and more pure as we're going on.

08:36

We're people who've been set apart by God. God set us apart in his heart and mind before the world ever was when we were chosen in Christ.

08:45

Called to be what? Ephesians chapter one to be holy and we become more pure. We become more holy.

08:53

We go from glory to glory. Second Corinthians 318. It's it's we go from faith to faith, from glory to glory.

09:00

We become we're becoming more and more conformed to the image of Christ. And what's happening in our lives is not this.

09:08

The positional sanctification being set apart for God is already taken care of past. The the ultimate sanctification is the future.

09:16

When we leave this body and we're given a an immortal body and we go to heaven to be with God forever.

09:23

Now, here we are in the that's future. Here we are. We're in the present and in the present.

09:28

Progressive sanctification is taking place. Here's a definition. You have one on your page.

09:34

I'll give you another one. Sanctification is the experience beginning in regeneration by which every believer is set apart to God's purposes.

09:43

And if you're taking notes, you're not going to get this, I'm sure, because I'm going to talk too fast. If you want it, you can get it afterwards. But sanctification is the experience beginning in regeneration by which every believer is set apart to God's purposes.

09:56

That makes sense, right? God sets us apart for his purposes. And we are enabled to progress towards moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the

10:10

Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.

10:18

And that's that's progressive, progressive sanctification. It continues on through our lives.

10:24

And as we see, and if you're looking at the notes, you can see part B down on the first page.

10:29

There are three stages. And the first one, it says sanctification has a definite beginning at regeneration.

10:36

If you turn with me, we're not going to look at all those verses, but turn to First John, Chapter three, if you would, please.

10:42

First John three will be the first text that we look at. Sanctification has a definite beginning at regeneration.

10:49

It starts someplace and we're regenerated. We looked at that chart or that order of salvation last week, and that's something that God does.

10:56

We don't do that. God regenerates us. We are born from above. We are born again by the powerful working of the

11:03

Holy Spirit within us. We are given new life in Jesus Christ. And we're regenerated.

11:11

And then there's there's something that takes place in the life of the believer. First John, Chapter three. And I'll begin reading.

11:21

Let's see. How about First John three nine?

11:27

We'll just look at that one verse. First John three nine. Whoever, whosoever is born of God.

11:33

Now that's speaking of regeneration, right? Whoever is born of God does not commit sin or does not practice sin.

11:42

Oh, Brother Dave, I'm in trouble. I'm a Christian.

11:47

I've believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ. I've repented. God has given this me these gracious gifts.

11:55

I believe that God has saved me based upon what the scripture says, what salvation is all about.

12:00

God has come into my life and and saved me. He's given me a new nature. My my ticker has been changed.

12:08

I got a new want to I want to be set apart for God. Now, I didn't want that before. I was oblivious to that.

12:14

And weren't we when we were graceless and Christless and hopeless? We were thinking about ourselves and I want to and our desires were for pleasing us and pleasing the flesh and the lusts thereof.

12:25

But now I've been I'm a I'm a Christian and so and so in my life, I can look back and see what

12:31

God did when he convicted me of my sin. And I believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ by the work of God.

12:36

And I'm a believer. I'm forgiven. I'm a child of God, but I still sin.

12:43

We talked about that before. The struggle is still there. It's because we're still in this body.

12:49

We're still in with it's with the lusts and temptations that in the baggage that we have from the past, but.

12:58

This verse here says, whoever is born of God does not commit sin, and what is it saying there that person does not practice sin, what is it?

13:07

Is it saying they never practice sin? No, Steve, you end up the pattern.

13:14

The pattern of their life is not sinful. It's not that is not what's prevalent. That is not the tenor of their life.

13:20

That is not the the fiber of their life. The power of sin has been broken and we have begun to be a people who, yes, sin, but will not be sinless.

13:34

But we are a people who sin less as as God, the spirit works upon us and we're convicted of sin.

13:40

And sometimes I don't know about you, but when I was first a believer, as I said last week, there were times when

13:45

I didn't even know it was sin until I read in the word of God that it was. And then by the spirit of God enabled the power of God enabled to say no to that and to and to look, look at the pattern of the life of Jesus Christ and say,

13:59

I want to live like him. And God enables you to do that. Bruce, you had your hand up. Absolutely.

14:18

Before we were saved, did we enjoy our sin? Did we enjoy it? Yes, and some of us more than others, yet God in his in his might delivered us from that.

14:32

And now when we sin, what is our attitude towards sin? You kind of talked about we don't enjoy it, but what else?

14:38

What else? What other word would you use? We hate it. We despise it.

14:45

Why do we despise it more than more than anything else? And it doesn't let me give you a clue. It doesn't have to do with us.

14:50

Why do we despise sin so much, Charlie? Right.

15:05

Our our our lives are to glorify God. And one of the ways that we glorify

15:11

God is that we imitate Christ. We walk as he walked and we desire to be and to fulfill the calling, the holy calling that has come to us.

15:21

And as as Peter said in first Peter one, 15 and 16, as as it is, as he which hath called you is holy.

15:29

So you be holy in all your behavior or your manner of conversation. And when we don't do that, we displease the

15:35

Lord. We bring disgrace upon his name because we're saying what we're believers, we're

15:41

Christians. We've been saved by the grace of God. We have the spirit of God living within us. And yet we sin.

15:48

That is that is just dishonorable to the Lord. And it is not, as Charlie said, what we were recreated for, regenerated for to be conformed to the image of Christ.

15:59

And yet we struggle with sin and it's and it's going to happen. And yet we struggle. And by the spirits enabling, we don't practice sin.

16:08

That is not the the tenor of our life. That is not what we're known for as believers.

16:13

We're we're known for being different. We're actually known for as the world looks at us as being strange and we ought to be when when the when the

16:25

Gentile nations looked at Israel in the Old Testament and the things.

16:30

I mean, even when they saw them from a distance and they saw that tabernacle in the wilderness, that weird looking thing with that badger or porpoise skin or whatever it was on the outside and the that cloud or fire over their camp and all that stuff.

16:45

And all the things they may have heard about about what they did label them most likely as being very strange people and as believers, the world thinks that way of us, too, for Christ's sake, because what

16:57

God is working in our lives, because we are set apart for God. And this verse here says whoever is born of God doesn't practice sin for his seed abides or remains in him and he cannot sin or he cannot continually practice sin.

17:11

Because if you do, you are not a believer. If your life is marked by sin, and this is why this study of sanctification helps us so much, because for ourselves, we can glorify

17:23

God and we can be so, so thankful and so caught up in wonder and awe what

17:28

God has done as he's working in our lives to will and to do or purpose to do his good pleasure.

17:37

We personally are just so elated and excited about what God is doing. But in the life of the believer as Christians or as a local

17:44

New Testament church, one of the things that we do is when we get together is we start talking about things and hopefully we're talking more than the weather we get past the weather, the superficial things, those subjects, you know, the weather, how you doing, you know, it's almost robotical, mechanical, sometimes, how you doing good, you know, and it doesn't get very deep, but when it starts getting deep, and we and we ought to get deep, and we ought to get past that, and and be able to just kind of go over it and say, okay, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, here's what we're going to do, and we're going to go up to each other and look each other in the eye and say, how are you really doing?

18:16

What's really going on in your life? And when somebody begins to say, it's bad. Of course, if you're going to ask that question, be ready to help.

18:24

Because because it's going to take a bit of sacrifice and patience and love and long suffering, but but in order to be able to figure out how you can help a person, you're going to need to know where they are, you really need to know, as you're dealing with anybody inside or outside the church,

18:38

I don't have the other the drawing the order of salvation. with the line from election to regeneration all the way through.

18:45

If you look at that, it's on the last page. You need to know where a person is there in the order of salvation.

18:50

And I know that's not a perfect drawing. It's not a complete drawing, as I said before, but you need to know if you're talking to someone who's regenerated or if you're talking to somebody who thinks they're regenerated.

19:00

And the questions that come up and the struggles that they have, and you begin to judge righteously, and it's okay to do so.

19:08

Jesus didn't say you couldn't take the little speck out of somebody's eye.

19:14

It's okay to do that, but first take the log out or the beam out of your own eye. But you have to judge righteously, judgment.

19:20

You have to know what fruit is being born in this person's life or not being born in order to counsel. Or if you find out if they're a believer, then you can help them with the scriptures and point out what their need might be and help them along to progress in their

19:36

Christian life. Or you might need to call them to question to say, hey, the fruit that's in your life is not unto holiness.

19:44

It's not unto righteousness. And it appears as if that you don't even know the Lord, that you are not a believer based upon the scripture, this corrupt or evil fruit on your tree of your life.

19:55

And you need to take in what you think you have as salvation and throw it out the window. And you need to fall on your knees and beg

20:02

God for mercy and be saved and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus and be saved. And then you can start dealing with the subject of sanctification.

20:12

But sometimes people get all messed up and they're dealing with sanctification with a person who needs to be regenerated first.

20:19

So it's very helpful as we work with other people, as we're ministering to other people to understand these things.

20:25

So this is something, this progressive sanctification takes place after regeneration.

20:31

And if there is no regeneration, there is no sanctification. And if there is true biblical sanctification in a person's life, that person has been born again because God has begun a good work in that person, right?

20:44

God has begun a work. And when God begins the work, he finishes it and he'll complete it and he will perfect that work.

20:51

Secondly, we see here that sanctification increases throughout life. Under B, number two, sanctification increases throughout life.

21:01

Do you remember that verse in Philippians chapter three? Let's turn there. In Philippians chapter three, here's the

21:09

Apostle Paul giving his testimony. And you know how it is when it comes to testimonies, we're testifying of what

21:18

God is doing in our lives. And do you remember in Philippians chapter three, one of the things that Paul said, that one unique thing,

21:26

I just can't believe what he did. He said, I've made it.

21:32

I've arrived. I don't need to grow anymore in grace. I don't need to progress on anymore in my

21:39

Christian life. I mean, I am at the pinnacle. I am the best. I know all things.

21:47

I've subdued every sin, right? Brother Dave, you know, cut it out. He didn't say that.

21:53

And he didn't. What did he say? In Philippians three, verse 13, he says, brethren,

22:00

I count not myself to have apprehended. He says,

22:07

I haven't made it. I haven't arrived. He says, but this one thing

22:14

I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the goal of the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

22:24

Paul knew that you don't come to a place in your life where you're sinless. Paul knew that you don't come to the place in your life where you rest on your laurels and you don't read anymore, you don't exercise, you don't pray, you don't fellowship.

22:39

You don't come to the place in your life where you just rest on the past and you just coast into heaven.

22:46

It's always this pressing. It's always this desiring to please God. It's always desiring to imitate, to go on, to wrestle, to be pure, to be holy, to put off things, to put on things throughout as you read.

23:01

You never come to a place. Now people will take the verses like we looked at in first John three, verse nine and misinterpret it, misimply it and say that you can come to a place where you stop sinning.

23:14

But one of the ways they get around that, and I think I may have been a little bit fuzzy because somebody came up to me on the class that I covered this thinking that the

23:23

Christian point of view is doing this. But no, a wrong way to justify or to come to a place where you can say that a

23:31

Christian stops sinning is a wrong way is by redefining sin or recategorizing or categorizing sin and by saying there are some sins that are just deliberate and those are the types of sins that we have been rescued from when

23:49

Christ saves us. But in the life of the believer, there are ignorant sins or ones that are not deliberate and those aren't really sins.

23:58

So they'll put them kind of like over here. But to me, sin is sin. When you look at the scripture, it does not matter.

24:04

Sin is sin. We can't categorize them. And if you were to go to, and you don't have to go there, one of the verses that just nails it for me as far as the life of the believer is as far as will we have sin in our lives?

24:20

Yes, 1 John 1 .8 says if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

24:26

So the sin is going to be there, but as this point 2 says, sanctification increases throughout the life.

24:33

God is working on us. And how do you think, what would you say if you think back on the prayer of the

24:42

Lord Jesus, the true Lord's prayer in John 17? There is a phrase in there that tells us how

24:50

God is setting us apart for himself and making us and working upon us.

24:56

Does anybody know the verse in there, John 17? It's easy because it's 17, yeah. John 17,

25:02

I saw a couple of hands, you knew that. Jesus was praying, when he was praying, he says, he's praying to his father and he says, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.

25:13

God uses the word of God in our lives to come to bear upon us for conviction of sin, as we read through, or for encouragement or for help, to know the direction that we should walk in, how it is that we should order our lives in a way that would bring more glory and honor to him and for us, and really isn't the pursuit of our life and the pursuit ought to be that we desire to be holy, that we desire to be more pure.

25:43

And that has to do with, it has to do with every aspect of our lives as far as the speech, being always with grace and seasoned with salt.

25:55

You see those words there, put away lying, you know, Paul writing to Timothy, when it comes to the passions and lusts of the body, he says, just kind of play with youthful lusts.

26:10

No, he says, flee youthful lusts, but follow, flee this, follow that.

26:17

You see it, put off this, put on that, but flee youthful lusts, but follow righteousness and faith and charity and peace with them that call on the

26:29

Lord out of a pure heart. And we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, doesn't it say that in 2

26:35

Peter 3? We grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. We are being conformed more to the image of Christ and it is in greater degrees in some and lesser degrees in others.

26:48

And when you look at that and consider that, much of that does have to do with the aspect that we are responsible when it comes to our portion of sanctification.

27:02

God is working in us to will and to do of his good pleasure, but we ought to work out our salvation in fear and trembling.

27:09

We ought to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. We ought to be a people who order our lives and exercise necessary spiritual disciplines so that we will grow, so that we will, as Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he says,

27:28

I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto

27:38

God, which is your reasonable service. So we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices.

27:45

Then he goes on in verse 2 and he says, and be not conformed to this world, but be a transformed by the renewing of your mind.

27:54

There's this idea of Ephesians chapter 5 being washed by the water of the word. And John, in John 17, 17,

28:01

Jesus prayed, Father sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. Jesus said in John 15, 3 to the disciples, now you are clean through the word which

28:11

I have spoken unto you. It has something, this power in the word of God and we know that it's powerful.

28:17

But when we read it, when we study it, when we memorize it, when we meditate upon it, when it becomes part of our lives and we hide it in our hearts, so for what reason?

28:29

So that we can get more Iwana stickers? Yeah, that's great. Do we hide the word in our hearts so that we get a free

28:36

Bible? We don't do that, do we? Some churches do. No, we hide God's word in our hearts so that we might not sin against him.

28:43

The word of God being used and if we're not sinning against God, what does that mean? We're sinning less and it is

28:51

God and we must understand this that God is working in us, but we are responsible.

28:59

We sing this song, don't we? We're responsible. Take time to be holy, speak off with thy

29:07

Lord, abide in him always and feed on his word. Make friends of God's children, help those who are weak, forgetting in nothing his blessings to seek.

29:18

And every verse in here has to do with our responsibility so that we are set apart so that we fulfill the desire of the

29:26

Lord for us to be pleasing in his sight, to be more holy and to be more pure. And how do we do that?

29:32

Word of God, fellowship with other people, take time to be holy, the world rushes on, much time spend in secret with Jesus alone, communion with the

29:42

Lord. By looking to Jesus, faith in Christ, like him you will be, your friends in your conduct, his likeness shall see.

29:52

And ought they not see that? Isn't that the whole idea of it? God saves us out of Egypt to get

29:59

Egypt out of us. God saves us from sin not to leave us in sin, but so that we will be people who pursue to run in the opposite direction, pursuing to be like Christ, desiring to be holy as the

30:13

God who has called us is holy, and that will glorify the Lord, and that will put the world in wonder.

30:20

Because they'll look at us and they'll say, hey, I used to be just like you, I went to school with you, I worked with you before, and something happened in your life.

30:28

And we can testify that it wasn't us, it was God. We are what we are by the grace of God. And God began to work in us.

30:37

Now I have my wife sitting in the back row and you can ask her this afterwards.

30:43

There have been some projects that I have started and I was gung -ho, ready to roll.

30:48

But they sat there for years and did not get completed. When God begins this work, brethren,

30:56

I mean just think about this, it is not going to stop. Turn, if you would, to 1

31:03

Thessalonians chapter 5, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5,

31:10

Paul's prayer for this church, 1

31:17

Thessalonians 5 verse 23, And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. That word means entirely, it means all the way through.

31:28

And on your sheet down at the, in part D, down at the bottom of page 1,

31:34

Sanctification affects the whole person. Your intellect is going to be dealt with, it's going to be renewed through the word of God.

31:41

Your emotions are going to be controlled by the grace of God. Your will, it speaks of there, is going to be made willing to do

31:49

God's will. In your spirit and in your physical body, you will glorify God because God is working in you.

31:57

And this is something that's progressive and will increase throughout your life. And let me give you a, let me go to, with you now to Romans chapter 6, because here we're going to see some practical examples of what it is, how are we to think and how are we to act when it comes to this subject of sanctification?

32:20

I mean, what are we supposed to do? In Romans chapter 6, the

32:28

Apostle Paul does a great job talking about this subject of sanctification and our part in this, what it is that we ought to do.

32:37

You notice on your sheet too, and I know I'm bouncing around a little bit, but I just want to cover most of this.

32:43

Some of this we already have, so that's why we'll skip a little bit. But in part C, it says, God and man cooperate in sanctification.

32:50

As much as, and many times as I read that, I still have a problem with the word cooperate for me. I mean, it's just, and I don't know the best word to put in there, but I'll put it this way.

33:00

Let me ask you a question. Why do you, if you're a believer, why do you love God? If you think biblically, because he first loved us, 1

33:12

John 4, 19. We love him because he first loved us. Why is it that you believe in your life as a

33:21

Christian, as a follower of Christ, why is it that you believe that you take steps towards holiness?

33:29

Vida? That's exactly where I was heading.

33:46

She said the Westminster Catechism says that sanctification is a work of God's grace by which we are enabled to become more holy.

33:57

And Bruce? Right.

34:09

Exactly. And that's the verse that I was going to turn to, but I know that I won't get through this class if I go to every verse, but that's it.

34:16

We love him because he first loved us. And we pursue to do this part of the working out of our salvation because God is first working in us.

34:28

If he wasn't first working in us, we would have no desire for this. We would love our sin and we would still be in it.

34:34

We would not desire to be more like Christ. We would not desire to put these things away.

34:40

But because God is working in us, the Spirit of God, our body is a temple below the

34:45

Holy Spirit, and God the Holy Spirit is working on us because he is working.

34:52

For it is God who is working in you. Philippians 2, 12. It is God who is working in you.

34:57

Because he is, the result of that is that we are enabled to be able to work in our sanctification or working out our salvation or we are enabled to be more holy.

35:11

It's because of him first. He is the what then? He is not only, he's the author or he's the beginner of our faith.

35:20

He is also the finisher or the completer of our faith. Yes, he's the source of it all.

35:26

But in so doing in his purpose and to bring him glory, his desire was is for us to have our part in this.

35:34

And our part is to be a people who focus in our lives on obeying the

35:40

Word of God so that we are more conformed to the image of Christ, so that we become more pure in our speech.

35:47

We become more pure in our thought life. The baggage is dealt with. Sin is put down.

35:56

We want to put on love. We desire to be patient, more patient when it's in our relationships with others.

36:05

When we live in the world, we don't want to be conformed to the world. We want to be different than the world. We want to stand out.

36:11

And it's okay if we do because Jesus did and we're to walk in his footsteps. And notice the practical example to us here in Romans chapter 6.

36:22

Paul says in verse 6, knowing this, that our old man or our old self is crucified with him, with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

36:40

For he, verse 7, that is dead, is freed from sin. Verse 8, now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing, verse 9, that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more.

36:55

Death has no more dominion over him. Christ died. Death has no more dominion over him.

37:02

The Bible says that we must come by faith to recognize and to know this truth, that we are so closely identified with Jesus Christ, our

37:12

Savior, that we died in him. And that because we died in him and we are raised to new life because of his sacrifice, because of his death, burial, and resurrection on our behalf, sin no longer has,

37:29

I mean, death has no longer dominion over him. And through Christ's death, sin is no longer to master us.

37:38

Sin is no longer to have dominion over us, we who have been set free from our sin and from the past life we live.

37:47

And he says in verse 11, he says, likewise then, reckon or esteem or consider or ponder you yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto

38:01

God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then he makes this statement that is personal, that is pointed, and it comes right at us.

38:09

And it says, let not sin, therefore, because of what we've just learned, that we died in Christ, we're identified with him, buried, risen again to new life in Jesus Christ because of that, do not let sin anymore reign in your mortal body, that you would obey the lusts thereof of it.

38:34

Verse 13, neither, here's the practical instruction after the doctrine is given that we're supposed to know, do not go on presenting, or neither yield your members, the members of your body, as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin.

38:50

That's if you yield, the word there yield is to present, it means to yield up, it means to put at disposal, don't put your body, don't put your mind at disposal to be dominated by sin or to let sin master you, because one,

39:11

Christ has redeemed you and delivered you from that, and it is uncharacteristic for the person who is redeemed and saved to present their bodies to sin.

39:27

But he says, but, verse 13 in the middle there, yield or present or put at the disposal or allowed yourself to be service to.

39:38

It's almost to me, I always get this idea of the knight who comes before the king and he bows down on one knee and he just says,

39:46

King, what would you have me to do? I am at your disposal. As believers, we're going to have this struggle in our lives and by the grace of God, we can overcome.

39:56

We are either going to yield ourselves to sin and unrighteousness and which brings misery and conviction and doubt and discouragement in our lives, or by the grace of God, we're going to yield ourselves or present ourselves to the

40:13

Lord, as it says here, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto

40:21

God. I'm just going to read this because we don't have time to cover it all, just so that you can see how he finishes this.

40:28

He says in verse 14, for sin shall not have dominion over you. Sin will not have the mastery over you, for you are not under the law, but you're under grace.

40:38

What then? Shall we sin? And he's just answering the question. Somebody goes, okay, so we're under grace and we can do whatever we want.

40:46

No, it's not that we can live any way we want. We don't want to live that way anymore. He says, God forbid, may it never be so.

40:52

Verse 16, do you not know that to whom you present or yield yourself servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or obedience unto righteousness.

41:03

Verse 17, but God be thanked that you were the servants of sin. Isn't that wonderful?

41:09

But you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered to you. Verse 18, being then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.

41:19

I speak, verse 19, after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh, for as you have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity.

41:28

That's the past life. Even so, now present or yield your members servants of to righteousness, unto sanctification or unto holiness.

41:41

For you were the servants of sin. You're free from and you were free from righteousness. And you were ashamed of those things.

41:47

But in verse 22, but now being made free from sin and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto or resulting in sanctification or your fruit resulting in holiness and to the end everlasting life or the outcome of all of that is everlasting life.

42:05

That's the life of the believer. United, associated with Christ in his death, his burial and resurrection, so that the power of sin is broken, where sin is no longer to be master over our lives.

42:18

And we are to yield or present ourselves on a daily basis. We are, and I didn't finish reading it all, take time to be holy.

42:27

Let him be your guide and run not before him. Whatever be tied in joy or in sorrow, still follow your

42:34

Lord and looking to Jesus still trust in his word. Take time to be holy. Be calm in your soul.

42:41

Each thought and each motive beneath his control, thus led by a spirit to fountains of love.

42:47

Thou soon shall be fitted for service above. And we need to take the time. And this is a daily thing.

42:53

It's not optional. It's not optional for the believer, because Hebrews 12, 14 tells us that we are to follow peace with all men and holiness or sanctification.

43:05

We need to have sanctification or holiness in our lives. If not, no man without which it says in that verse, no man shall see the

43:12

Lord. But when God saves, he begins to work in our lives to make us more holy and giving us the desire and the ability to be more holy.

43:24

Struggling with sin. Yes, not perfection. Yes. But direction, right? Not perfection, but direction.

43:32

And God is the source of it. And we're working it out. And on the second page, just a couple of points up the top.

43:39

Look, these are these are in Grudem's notes here on the part. He on the second page at the top says, what is the motivation for obedience to God when it comes to the

43:50

Christian life or to be more holy, to be sanctified? He says the desire to be vessels for noble use and have an increased effectiveness in the work of his kingdom.

44:01

And he quotes their second Timothy. And if you like to turn there, we can finish there. Second Timothy, chapter two, second

44:23

Timothy, chapter two, verse 20. But in a large house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth or earthenware and some to honor and some to dishonor.

44:36

If a man, therefore, purge or if a man cleanses himself from these things, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and useful or meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work.

44:52

And you have the idea here is that when you're inviting company over to your house and you're going to serve the special punch, let's say, for the meal, you don't go into the kitchen, take the trash can, pull the liner out.

45:07

If there is a liner, stick it up on the counter, fill it full of water and punch and all the ice and lemons and all that stuff.

45:14

While the people are looking at you and say, here, have a nice drink. Isn't that great? We wouldn't do that, right?

45:20

We're very careful when it comes in our lives. One of the things that we're going to eat something very careful to clean it up.

45:26

We clean it up and that makes it useful, ready for us. It's prepared for us. And when

45:31

God desires to use people for the advancement of his kingdom, he's using clean vessels.

45:37

I didn't say perfect, but in the direction of our lives, we are people who like David have our hearts set upon God.

45:45

And we desire to be pure. And we desire in our lives to do what 2 Timothy, notice what it says in verse 19, 2

45:52

Timothy 2 .19, a verse I remember memorizing a long time ago that has been so helpful. Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands sure.

46:00

Having this seal, the Lord knows them that are his. And at the last phrases where I'm getting at, let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity or let everyone your version might say who names the name of Christ, just sit exactly where you are on that plateau and don't progress when it comes to holiness.

46:21

No, it doesn't say that. It says, let everyone who names the name of Christ. Abstain from wickedness.

46:29

Who's the people that God uses? He uses clean vessels. And when we yield to sin, we are sinful, disobedient, dishonoring

46:37

God, rendering ourselves powerless and putting ourselves in a position of not being used for the

46:43

Lord's work. And I have a question for you. Can you ask yourself this question? I am so sinful at times in my life that the

46:50

Lord has to spend more time or am I so sinful that the Lord has to spend more time cleaning me up than using me because I'm already cleaned up because I've purposed to do that in my life.

47:02

That's a good question for us to ask ourselves and way to consider to look at this. God uses clean vessels.

47:09

We do too. But God uses clean vessels and by his grace and by the enabling of the Holy Spirit, we can progress in this sanctification.

47:20

We can go on in the sanctification. And if we don't get this right, as I said earlier, we're going to be confused in our

47:29

Christian life because we don't know if we're thinking about regeneration or sanctification or glorification. We need to get this subject of sanctification proper for ourselves and for when we're helping, counseling others.

47:40

And then as you're counseling someone who thinks they're a believer, you might just come to the place where you say, this person really doesn't know what it means to be a

47:49

Christian. I need to stop counseling them as a believer and I need to preach the gospel to them because they need to be saved.

47:55

They don't have life within. If you don't get this right and many people haven't, they go off into things like easy believism where they'll say, all you got to do is believe.

48:05

You don't have to change your life. Associated with that is carnal Christianity. Associated with that is antinomianism.

48:12

Chuck out the law. We're just grace. We can do whatever we want, live any... No, we can't. For as he which hath called you is holy, so be holy in all manner of conversation.

48:22

Sinless perfection is another thing. People will misinterpret scripture like 1 John 3 that we looked at.

48:28

They'll go into Romans 7 and they'll say, Paul had to be lost. I mean, Paul, he couldn't be a Christian and be struggling with sin and the things that he wanted to do, he didn't do and the things he didn't want to do, he did do.

48:39

But if you look in verse 22 of chapter 7, he said he delights in the law of God. There isn't anybody who delights in the law of God other than a believer.

48:46

That's a Christian struggling and you struggle. And thank God that he gives us the victory to overcome when it comes to that struggle, when it comes to struggling in our sanctification, a proper view of sanctification.

49:00

Lastly, will help us, as Charlie reminded us earlier, to more glorify God, to bring more glory and honor to his name.

49:10

And I know we didn't cover everything in this three weeks of this subject. But as you read the Bible, as you study daily and open up the word of God and God the

49:19

Spirit reveals to you something that you need to take care of and I need to take care of it, let's take care of it. Let's not play with sin.

49:28

We're to flee from it. We're to shun it, shun evil. We're to put off the old man or the old self.

49:35

And really, this is all a heart issue. Sanctification is a heart issue. It's not something visible.

49:42

It becomes visible as our minds are renewed and as our hearts are more in line with God and desiring to please the

49:49

Lord, then it comes out on the outside. Don't make the mistake of saying, I'm going to be a sanctified person because I'm going to put the right pants or clothes on or I'm going to eat these foods or do certain things.

49:59

Don't get the cart before the horse. Get your heart and mind renewed by the word of God and then it will come out on the outside.

50:06

And yes, we will look different in our clothes, in the words that we use, in the relationships that we have, in the business transactions.

50:13

People will see it. More than anything, I want you to think on this. When it comes to the subject of sanctification, the word in the

50:22

Greek has to do with being separated, set apart for God, being made holy for God.

50:28

Of all the people on the face of the earth, God before time ever was purposed to set aside, to set apart, not set aside, set apart a people that He would put

50:39

His name upon them, a people who He would set His love upon them, a people who would be called the people of God, the chosen ones, the elect, even though they're messed up.

50:52

Corinthians messed up church, right? Go to the first few verses of that and see what God calls them through the writing of the

50:58

Apostle Paul. Saints, holy ones, set apart for God. You and I, brethren, have been set apart for God.

51:07

That's a wonder of wonders. That God would... I mean, you've got things in your house that you've kind of set apart for certain things, and it's got that little holy area in your house.

51:18

You know, you can't touch this. The kids come in here, no, no, no, no. It's only once a year you take this thing out, whatever it might be for a holiday or something.

51:26

We have been like that, set apart for God. I was even thinking of the Holy Land. Why is it called the

51:31

Holy Land? I mean, is the dirt over there holier than anywhere else on the earth? Are the rocks any more pure?

51:37

Is the water any different? Maybe it is in certain areas, but I believe that it's a holy land, not because of the nature or the characteristic of the land.

51:46

It's because God has set apart that portion of the world for his very own purposes.

51:52

And they're not through yet. Jesus is returning there one day. It is a set apart place.

51:58

And you, brethren, have been set apart for God. This week, when you leave this place and you go out to serve

52:03

Christ and to advance the kingdom and to be more different and to talk different and to think different and to act different and to be patient and to love your enemies and to do good to those who despise you, you're doing it as a set apart people.

52:16

And it is just a wonder of wonders that God would do that to us who do not deserve it. And it's a continual work in our lives and to the glory and the praise of God, we experience this and we know what he's doing.

52:29

And we are just so thankful and we give him great praise, don't we? Let's pray. Thank you,

52:34

Father, for this study in sanctification. Lord, we have just scratched the surface.

52:43

We look at it and we consider this wonderful gift of salvation. And in it, you have purpose to have a people that you would call your very own.

52:53

We are your dear children. Lord, even when we fail you, even when we sin and we're disobedient, you correct us.

53:00

You chasten us just like our earthly fathers did. But when you do it, it brings forth the fruit of holiness in our lives.

53:10

And we are back on the track where we ought to be. And we get to the place where you desire for us to be in all holiness and behavior in our lives, where it brings glory and honor to Jesus Christ, your son.

53:26

As we continue to go through this day, the service this morning, would you please smile upon us? And would in a fashion, in a measure, in a way that only you can, would you please visit us and help us for Christ's sake?