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Holiness & Sanctification – The Gospel of Regeneration |
Present Progressive Salvation – The Gospel by Command
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The Gospel By Promise (FINISHED IN THE PAST)
God tells you what He has done. How He walked. ~Imputed Righteousness (Rom. 8:10, Eph. 2:8-9, 1 Cor. 6:11)~ 1) Holy & Sanctified
Initial Holiness & Sanctification |
The Gospel By Command (AT PRESENT)
God tells you what you must do, in Him & through Him. How you must walk, in Him & through Him. ~Works Righteousness (1 Cor. 6:9-10, Eph. 2:10)~ Walk: Col. 2:6, Gal. 5:16, 25, Eph. 4:17, 5:8, 1 Cor. 3:3, 1 John 2:6 1) Holy & Sanctified
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“According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” (Eph. 1:4)
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Co. 1:30) “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Co. 6:11) “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.” (Col. 1:21-23) |
As referenced before, Ephesians 1:4 states that Christians are not only chosen to be “without blame” but also “holy”. Initially, Christians are holy because “in Christ Jesus” we become what Christ was made for us to become: “wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). So from our initial salvation onward, it can be said of us in the past tense that we “were” lost but now “are washed”, “sanctified”, and “justified” (1 Cor. 6:11). This entire work was done by the work of the gospel! This could not be stated any clearer than it is in Colossians 1:21-23, and keep in mind that Paul emphasized that this is the work of the gospel initially, BUT we must keep the faith that we had initially, with present continuance, “not moved away” from it, and if we are moved away then we will be unholy, blamable, and reprovable in God’s sight.
Present Progressive Holiness & Sanctification
Present Progressive Holiness & Sanctification
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“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (1Thess. 4:3-7).
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it” (1Thess. 5:23-24). |
Holiness is certainly an initial possession at initial salvation, and it is promised to us by the blessed promises of God (1 Thess. 5:23-24), but is it violently prayed for and sought after in your life personally, for your own sake, and is it violently sought after in your prayers for your regenerate brothers’ and sisters’ sakes? This is the very picture we see in 1 Thess. 3:10, 12-13, and we can see the preachers preaching it in 1 Thess. 4:3-7. In bodily deeds, they are seeking the present continuous holiness and sanctification of the people of God, so that they would walk out the performance of the blessed promise of God written in 1 Thess. 5:23-24. Have you ever asked yourself the question, “what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness”, so that, haply, you are “found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2 Peter. 3:11, 14)? In other words, do you have holiness in your life to a measure and degree of blameless perfection? So many people quote Hebrews 12:14, “without holiness no man shall see the Lord”, but do they really know that they must presently and continuously lay hold upon holiness of spirit and body (1 Thess. 5:23, 2 Cor. 7:1)? It is needful that we have that “DAY” (2 Pet. 3:11-14) in mind as the scriptures continually inculcate, for Christ’s consummated Kingdom will not have one unholy person in it (Rev. 21:27, 22:11)! We, with our sisters in the Lord, will be saved as long as we keep the “IF” – if we “continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety” (1 Tim. 2:15).
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At your death, or the revelation of Jesus Christ, you will have to face the Judgments of God, and if you are not “as obedient children” but rather disobedient children, if you are unholy instead of “as He which hath called you is holy”, then you are falling short of the gospel experience God has “called you” into. If you do not fulfill this call so as to be holy, then don’t expect to escape the wrath and rebukes of God at Judgment. You suppose that He will respect your person, perhaps, because He knows that you are His son. But reader, He will not breach judgment because you call Him Father, and He will not respect your person even if you respect your person. Let this sink down into your ears: “And if ye call on the Father, Who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Pet. 1:17).