SALVATION/SANCTIFICATION

The notion that a person must do something (penance, rituals, good deeds) in order to gain eternal life has no basis in Scripture – it is a man-made fabrication, it is misleading, it is evil.

So a clarification of the essential nature of biblical salvation and its inseparably related theme of sanctification is given here in a concise approach.

Biblical salvation requires no work on the part of man - Christ did it all. Even the act of faith in Christ is "not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Having said that, once a person is saved, he is considered sanctified - set apart from his old position of unbelief into union with Christ (John 15:4-7; 17:23, 26). This is known as positional sanctification.

He is set apart now to a new position of service to God: "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10), this is known as present sanctification.
This is what Paul meant when he told the Philippians (2:12) to "work out your salvation." He did not mean for them to work in order to attain salvation, but to work serving the Lord, which is the standard for the believer while present on the earth.

Ultimate sanctification is when the believer is finally in the presence of the Lord, either when death occurs or the Rapture of the Church. (See Romans 8:29; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:23)

Unfortunately, many miss out on the blessing of serving the Lord while present on the earth because they have believed and failed to understand that they have been set apart for a higher calling in this life – to serve the living God and have fellowship with Him. They will die and experience ultimate sanctification, but miss out on the associated eternal rewards.

 

Note the two extended Scripture passages bearing on the doctrine of rewards: 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 and 9:16-27; also the passages on the various crowns: 1 Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4: 1; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2: 10; 3:11.*

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* Chafer, Lewis Sperry,  Systematic Theology, 7.269

What is the “Normal” Life? – Part 2

This present article is an attempt to further the study of how the ‘normal life’ can be defined.

The first study (February 2016) described that a person who has accepted Christ as their Savior has the unique opportunity of living a normal life provided they were to place Christ at the center of their lives.

The problem for believers in Christ is that the world about them is driven to eradicate any and all Christian influences which would advocate an absolute moral standard for living. This viewpoint is mandatory for them to invert that which is morally degenerate and claim it as socially acceptable. This is how they assuage their guilt complex regarding same-sex marriage, lesbianism, homosexuality and gender-bending, to name of few, labeling them as alternative lifestyles. However, they are not satisfied with the term ‘alternative lifestyle’ – they would have all within our culture to perceive them to be ‘normal’ lifestyles. 

And what is distressing is that many Christians have allowed themselves to be duped into this false narrative because of an erroneous understanding of “Love thy neighbor.” “Love they neighbor” ends when Christians are coerced into condoning the aberrant lifestyle. That doesn’t mean we express venomous anger towards them and treat them in a demeaning manner.

As in the previous study, the normal life was defined as a life that conforms to a set of norms and standards. The Word of God has instituted a set of norms and standards for mankind. For those who have obeyed His calling, they are enabled to live this ‘normal’ life by diligent study of His Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to empower and guide them in their moment-by-moment walk of faith.

It can safely be suggested that since God has provided the normal, ideal lifestyle, then all other lifestyles are man-made abnormal lifestyles – and no matter what ‘good’ they may entail (i.e. committed-loving relationships), they are not pleasing to God.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper. (Romans 1:26-28)

From this point, it can be stated that this ‘normal life’ of faith in Christ is the Divine ideal. And since it is God’s ideal life for all men, He has made it available to all men. However, in order to have the power to live this normal life, a person must recognize that He does exist and that He sent His Son to die on the cross for their sin. And so this ideal life, this normal life can be attained by accepting Jesus Christ as Savior.

Many have done so through the ages. These have realized the true significance of their existence – to serve God with their lives and in so doing, bringing glory to Christ.  And in turn, they secure for themselves eternal peace and harmony with God, and peace with others and within themselves.