Continuing Pastor Kyle's message: When speaking about God, the word “holy” applied to the Supreme Being signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character. 1 John 1:5b tells us, “God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].” Christianity is not a ladder we climb to get closer to God; God bridged the gap between us and Him by sending His one and only perfectly sinfulness Son Jesus Christ to live this life in the flesh, to suffer the punishment we deserve by dying the death that He did not deserve, and then rise from the grave so that anyone who believe in Him would be saved and have the Holy Spirit reside in their heart because we have been reconciled with God. The technical term for that transformation process is “justification” by Christ’s atoning and redemptive work on the Cross. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
John 3:16 ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Creator God chose to create the world because He loves us. Temptation-assisted original sin bought disastrous disorder, decay, death and second death into that perfection that contaminated creation and the heart and flesh of man. But, God chose to create a plan of salvation, reconciliation and restoration because He loves us. Only a sinless Savior could pay the wages of sin, so Jesus came and traded Him righteousness for our sins and as an atoning sacrifice died the death meant for us on that Cross so that we could be redeemed, forgiven and saved unto eternal life to all those believe this gospel truth.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].”
Ephesians 2:1 tells us that we were spiritually died in our trespasses and sins. 100% of our salvation comes by the grace of God through faith in the finished redemption work of Jesus Christ in God’s plan of Salvation. There is nothing that sinful mankind can do to earn, deserve or pay for this salvation. Repent of sin, believe in and follow Jesus, the Savior of the world – you must be “born-again” of the Spirit (born of God). This Believer of the Lord Jesus can absolutely grow in maturity of holiness in discipleship as they walk in the Spirit and take up their Cross daily in following Christ; that is the power of sanctification. It is actually the evidence of our salvation through the inward transformation and regeneration visibly lived out and observed daily, not in what we do but in who we authentically are.
Three things: 1. Sanctification has a definite beginning at the point of salvation (the moment that we are washed clean by the blood of Christ and regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit). 1 John 3:9 says, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.” In the fallen flesh on this side of heaven, the born-again Believer may fall but will hate the sin against their just and holy God, repent, overcome it and get back up and follow the Lord.
2. Sanctification increases throughout our life, growing over time as we learn more about God, the Bible truth and experience godliness in our daily walk with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Over the course of our lives, we are becoming more like Christ. In Romans 12:1-2 The Apostle Paul instructs us saying, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We are continually learning what it means to obediently walk with God in godly new, holy and deeper ways, increasing aware of areas of our lives that God is working on through the Holy Spirit to refine us in this journey towards heaven process that brings lasting satisfaction all along the way.
3. Sanctification is completed at death and glory. Glorification is the third stage of Christian development. The first being justification, then sanctification, and finally glorification. Glorification is the completion, the consummation, the perfection, and the full realization of salvation. In glorification, there is "the receiving of perfection by the saints (those who have been sanctified) entering into the kingdom of heaven," and "the receiving of the resurrection bodies by the true Believer". God is holy and cares about our holiness process. An increasingly holy life leads to an increasingly happy life. That's holy happiness.
In Christ, Brian
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