Lesson 10
Sanctification
May 06, 2007
Mike Larsen
Adult Sunday School
Ephesians 4:21-24
Ephesians 4:21-24, “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
Introduction: This morning we will look at
Sanctification. In an earlier lesson we looked at Justification and found that
Justification is being absolved of our guilty verdict. We are made righteous
before God. The blood of Christ is applied to our account so that our sin debt
is paid in full and we stand before God as if we had never sinned. For the
justified individual, God removes our sin as far as the east is from the west
and remembers them no more! “Though our sins be as scarlet Jesus makes us
white as snow”. We found that we are justified by FAITH. Not of works but it
is a gift of God. We did not do good behavior to earn it and we do not do good
behavior to keep it. The believer does not become justified, he is justified.
It is a proclamation and a position or standing before God. He is declared
righteous. The believer is a child of God making God our wonderful,
perfect, loving, Father.
As our wonderful Father, God guides us and grows us up into maturity. Those of
you with children know what it is like to guide, love, correct, reward, etc.
your children. A good parent will also allow their children to experience
painful things as part of the growing process into adulthood. When a child
makes a bad choice there are negative consequences. As parents we watch it
unfold allowing the child to suffer those consequences so they can see and
learn. Now we don’t allow things to get out of hand where permanent damage is
done to the child but as part of the growing process we let them experience
sowing and reaping when they are young and when the ramifications are small. Examples
· They mistreat a toy, we warn them that if they do that the toy will break, they do not heed the warning and the toy breaks. Now they no longer have a toy to play with. (Do not buy them a replacement!) Use that to teach them to listen to the wise counsel of the parents God has given them. Read from the scripture where the parent’s job is to give them counsel and their job is to take heed to avoid heartache and pain.
· You give them a chore to do and they do not get it done in a reasonable time. You witnessed procrastination or laziness. As a result there is an activity coming up they want to do but the work is not done. Let them miss the activity! Then show them how important Character is from the Bible. Diligence, stewardship, etc.
· When our children disobey or lie to us or commit other serious sins we correct them by instructing them using the Word of God and spanking them. This thinking must be driven from them and we do that because we love them and care for their development and well being.
It causes sorrow when they don’t have a toy or when they miss an activity, or when they get a spanking, but oh what sorrow they will avoid when they are disciplined, diligent, and wise adults. How they will appreciate experiencing the fullness of joy when they have their priorities right later in life when the ramifications are so much bigger. When they are small they break a toy, When they are older and misuse a car they have a serious car accident. When they are small they miss an activity, when they are big they lose their job, reputation and their testimony. When they are small they get a spanking so that when they are big they do not end up in prison or Hell.
We do this so when they get older and the ramifications of their actions can be devastating, they have learned to do right from the heart level thus avoiding those damaging consequences. That is what good parents do. That is nurturing and bringing them up in the admonition of the Lord.
Well God is a perfect Loving Father. To the believer God is a perfect Father. That is how I relate to Him. To the lost person God is the eternal judge with great wrath taking vengeance on those who refuse to acknowledge and obey Him. I feared God greatly the day I was saved. But since that time I do not fear Him in the same manner. Now I fear I will not please Him and I do not want to disappoint Him. I am grateful for His love and overwhelmed to be called His child. To the believer God is our gentle loving Father. He guides us in a similar way that we guide our children, instructing, guiding, comforting, allowing us to make choices and suffer the consequences that we grow and become stronger in the Lord and see that His ways are best and right. (He even puts struggles in our life to get the growth in certain areas we need). We grow in our relationship by learning to depend on Him and trust in Him during difficult times. We find our comfort in Him knowing that He will never leave us or forsake us. In fact He is the only person that will never fail you. Some of you may not have good memories or thoughts about your earthly father but you can always know that your heavenly father is the perfect loving Father.
Last week we looked at separation from the world. We separate from the world’s indoctrination of lies for our own good knowing that our lives will be a train wreck if we follow the devil who only wants to destroy us. Oh we think we can handle it because we are prideful and arrogant but let God be true and every man a liar. We can not handle it. Separation is required for us to fully experience our subject of this lesson. Sanctification.
Sanctification is being made Holy. We use the term “progressive sanctification“ because it is a process of being sanctified. Positionally we are clean, washed in the blood of the lamb. Justified. But practically we are not sinless or clean, we are growing towards holiness as God works in us and leads us along to become more and more like the Lord. This process occurs as we yield ourselves to the Spirit of God and allow God to work in us and through us.
I. 1689 Baptist Confession on sanctification
A. Paragraph 1. They who are united to Christ,
effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit
created in them through the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection, are also
farther sanctified, really and personally,1 through the same virtue, by
his Word and Spirit dwelling in them;2 the dominion of the whole body of
sin is destroyed,3 and the several lusts of it are more and more
weakened and mortified,4 and they more and more quickened and
strengthened in all saving graces,5 to the practice of all true
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.6
1 Acts 20:32; Rom. 6:5,6
2 John 17:17; Eph. 3:16-19; 1 Thess. 5:21-23
3 Rom. 6:14 (Sin is not to rule over us. We no longer have to follow
our fleshly desires. )
4 Gal. 5:24 (Crucifixion is a slow and painful death)
5 Col. 1:11
6 2 Cor.
7:1; Heb. 12:14 (Christians are admonished to cleans themselves of
filthiness) (We need to strive for Peace and Holiness. Heb)
B.
Paragraph 2. This sanctification is throughout the whole man,7 yet imperfect in this life; there
abides still some remnants of corruption in every part,8 wherefrom
arises a continual and irreconcilable war; the flesh lusting against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.9
7 1 Thess.
5:23
8 Rom. 7:18, 23 (Sanctification is not completed in this life)
9 Gal. 5:17; 1 Pet. 2:11 (Telling Christians to abstain from fleshly
lusts in 2:11)
C.
Paragraph 3. In which war, although the remaining corruption for a
time may much prevail,10 yet, through the continual supply of strength
from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part does overcome;11
and so the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,
pressing after an heavenly life, in evangelical obedience to all the commands
which Christ as Head and King, in his Word has prescribed to them.12
10 Rom. 7:23
11 Rom. 6:14
12 Eph. 4:15,16; 2 Cor. 3:18, 7:1
D.
Summary. Christians will sin. We all sin
in thought, word and deed every day. If a person says he has no sin he is a
liar. No one can possibly love God perfectly with heart, soul and mind at all
times in this sin cursed body. The believer, however, will have that war
raging between the spirit and the flesh. They will strive to be holy as God is
holy as they honestly desire to put down the sinful flesh and put on godly
thoughts and actions. Progressive sanctification is a life of growing and
changing in Christ. Throughout his life as he grows in grace and knowledge,
the Christian grows in victory and power in living the Christian life. The
Christian will show that his faith is real by persevering in holiness until the
end. He will not be perfect, but the main desire of his life will be to
please God and be “holy as He is holy”. At times the sinful flesh may appear
to gain ground however ultimately the Christian will overcome the flesh and
come out from the sin.
II. Why Separation is so important to progressive sanctification
A.
Put off! The flesh and Spirit are at war –
When we separate from the world we cut off the fuel the flesh uses in the war
within you! It is said that who you are a few years from now will largely be
determined by the people you associate with, what you watch, and what you
read. If you are trying to live a victorious Christian life you can not fill
your mind with the world’s garbage. When you watch a movie or listen to a song
or radio station you are being indoctrinated by the ideas of the maker of the
program. It is automatic. Good or bad you are being influenced. The messages
are mainly from people who do not know God and many of them hate God and have
an agenda to convert your thinking. This garbage dilutes the word of God in
your heart. You are no longer filled with the spirit but the world. As a
result you become weak and sick in your Christian walk. The flesh gets
stronger as you feed it sensual or worldly food. Your attitude changes, your
appearance changes, your activities change. You begin to believe the lies of
Satan and sin begins to look and feel OK. Sin brings destruction. The Bible
says to guard your heart and mind. You must protect yourself from the wiles of
the devil! Love and seek Wisdom, etc. Keep in mind a Christian may fall into the sinful
way of thinking described here, but he will not continue indefinitely. His
loving Father will not allow his son or daughter to do that, just as we
wouldn’t allow our children to do that. “Whom the Lord loves He chastens”
B. Put on – After you have shut off or separated from the world then you fill your mind and heart with the truth of God’s word. This dilutes the world’s influence and you become strong in the Lord and begin to have victory against the flesh. There is no way around this. If you are feeling sickly in your faith you need to radically alter your input. There is no other way. In this age we live in Satan is attacking on all fronts and technology makes it easy for him. You need to take aggressive action to guard yourself. As you fill your mind and heart with the Word of God and Prayer, Christ’s sanctifying power causes you to grow in grace. As you continue guarding and filling you become more and more strengthened in your walk. Fullness of Joy in the Lord is the result. A life fit for the master’s use. A Father who is pleased and glorified ready to bless with abundant blessing. That is a life that is attractive to others. Witnessing is possible because hypocrisy is gone. Prayers are answered since we are no more harboring sin! Feeding on Gods Word causes you to remain humble as you continue to be amazed at His majesty and appreciating of His great love.
Conclusion: That is the Christian life at it’s fullest. It is a true committed love relationship with your Heavenly Father. It is a continual growth by the power of Christ in our lives. God saved us to live for Him. Let’s live to the fullest!