@ LibertyGal

Two nights ago I had a very bad night’s sleep and only got about 4.5 hours of sleep. I read before bed and frequently I read some rather deep books, but last night wasn’t up to anything that required too much brain power. I found a book [*The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards*](https://www.amazon.com/Unwavering-Resolve-Jonathan-Edwards-Profile/dp/1567691080/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1) by Steven J. Lawson that my husband had picked up at a library book sale. Honestly, it looked like a summary book for kids, but ended up being a little deeper, although not a hard read. It began with this quote: Living the Christian life, by all biblical accounts, necessitates the passionate pursuit of personal holiness. Sanctification is never an elective course that a believer may or may not take. Neither is it an upper-level graduate study, required for only a few disciples. Instead, it is a core class, mandated for all Christians. Godliness is a lifelong study, for no one graduates from the school of Christ this side of heaven. I found this statement inspiring, especially because I see so many people, who call themselves Christians, but that don’t look any different in the way they live their lives than the non-Christians. I decided to investigate more about what the Bible says about sanctification and holiness. I will start with what Jesus, himself, said to us. > But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. **I have given them Your word**; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. **Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth**. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes **I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth**. (John 17:13-19) {emphasis mine} God gave believers His word, but we frequently leave it sitting on the shelf gathering dust. OK, I’ll admit I’m a book geek and my go-to response to any problem or interest is to read a bunch of books on the subject, but I still don’t understand how someone who knows and loves God can ignore His word. We are so blessed to live in a time when God’s word is easily and cheaply available to all. I’m not sure how many Bibles we have in our home, but it is definitely in double digits. Some are new and some are old. We have hardback, paperback, and leather cover. We have multiple translations. We have Bibles with the traditional order and it at least one that is a chronological Bible. Some are just the words of the Bible while some are study Bibles with commentary from godly men. For most of history, most people couldn’t afford a Bible (handwritten Bibles usually cost more than a year’s income). Those who managed to buy a Bible cherished it and handed it down as a precious family heirloom, but even then, frequently they had to learn a foreign language to read it. They couldn’t read God’s word in their own language. How blessed are we to have Bibles that anyone can afford (and online and Gideon Bibles for those who can’t afford anything) and that we can read in our native language? We all need to make the most of the blessing of being able to read the word of God as if He was speaking directly to us. In this passage, Jesus also says we will be “*sanctified in truth*.” The process of being sanctified to be more like Jesus requires that we know, believe, and obey His word. We can only grow so much without spending serious time in the Bible. How can we become more like Jesus if we don’t know who He is? How can we obey God if we don’t know what He commands? How can we share the gospel if we don’t know the whole gospel as defined in Scripture? Of course just knowing the Bible and the truth is not enough either. > What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? **Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.** > > But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and **I will show you my faith by my works**.” **You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder**. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? (James 2:14-20) {emphasis mine} There are two things mentioned in this passage. I’ll start with the second because it is easiest. We can’t just know and believe in God. Even “*the demons also believe, and shudder*.” Head knowledge is not enough for salvation, much less sanctification. The demons know that Jesus is the son of God and that He is the creator of all that is, including themselves. This has not made the demons saved or good. They know the truth, but reject it. Therefore, the first thing after gaining knowledge of Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit is to believe and submit to His will. Knowing isn’t enough. Believing isn’t enough. Submission and obedience are required. This brings us to the evidence of true belief and salvation. “*I will show you my faith by my works*.” If we see no change in the life of a so-called believer, we need to question their salvation, whether it is ourselves or others. “*Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself*.” True faith will be followed by good works in obedience and thankfulness to God. > If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:10) In the beatitudes, who does Jesus say will be blessed? > “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8) Who has a pure heart? > Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “**He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us**”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” **Submit therefore to God**. **Resist the devil** and he will flee from you. **Draw near to God** and He will draw near to you. **Cleanse your hands**, you sinners; and **purify your hearts**, you double-minded. (James 4:5-8) {emphasis mine} Those who have a pure heart have the Spirit dwelling in us leading to us: - Submitting to God, - Resisting the devil, - Drawing near to God, - Cleansing our hands, and - Purifying our hearts. Of course trying to do these without the indwelling of the Spirit is a losing proposition. We can only succeed through His power. Even though our sanctification requires the guidance and power of the Spirit in us, that doesn’t mean we just sit around passively waiting for improvement to happen. We are called to actively submit, resist, draw near, cleanse, and purify. We are called to actively learn, yield, follow, and obey. When we seek to become more like Jesus, He empowers us to become more like Jesus. Sometimes He puts us in situations to help us grow. Sometimes He makes miraculous changes in our lives. Sometimes He brings other godly Christians into our lives to mentor us. Each person’s sanctification journey looks unique, just as each of us is unique. The key point is to seek a relationship with Him, to study His word, to fellowship with other believers, and to share God’s love and the gospel with those who don’t know Him. Just as when God fed the 5,000, He wants us to take that first step and give the little we have and then He multiplies it to do a great work in us and in others. > He whose ear listens to the **life-giving reproof**\ > Will dwell among the wise.\ > He who neglects **discipline** despises himself,\ > But he who **listens to reproof** acquires understanding.\ > The fear of the Lord is the **instruction** for wisdom,\ > And before honor *comes* **humility**. (Proverbs 15:31-33) {emphasis mine} In order to grow in Christ, we need to humbly listen to reproof, instruction, and discipline. We need to honestly judge ourselves against the ideal model, Jesus Christ, and be willing to change anything that doesn’t look, think, or act like Jesus. In college I took an art history class. Being a glutton for punishment, I took the harder art history class taken by art majors instead of the easier one for not art majors. There was a story about someone asking Michelangelo about how he carved his masterpiece David statue. He replied something like, “I just carved away everything that wasn’t David.” In the same way, we need to carve away everything in our lives that isn’t like Jesus. Just as in sculpture, the first carvings are chipping away large chunks of rock. In the same way, there are certain things in our lives that are so repulsive to God, they need to be chipped away quickly even if crudely. As the sculptor gets farther along, His work gets more and more precise and usually slower and slower. In the same way, as we become more and more Christ-like, our sanctification may get more fine-tuned and precise. The changes may seem like they come along more slowly and less obviously to those around us, but we will continue to be refined every day of our lives. > **Pursue** peace with all men, and **the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord**. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. (Hebrews 12:14-17) {emphasis mine} Sanctification requires repentance and turning to God. We all have a period of life when we can accept Jesus and when we can grow in His likeness, but a day will come, at either death or rapture, where we will no longer have the opportunity to repent or to be further sanctified. > Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. I**f any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire**. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15) {emphasis mine} Do you want to be the person who squeaks into heaven with nothing to show for your life? Or would you rather be like the good servant who hears: > His master said to him, ‘**Well done, good and faithful slave**. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; **enter into the joy of your master**.’ (Matthew 25:21) {emphasis mine} I want to hear, “*Well done, good and faithful slave*,” rather than, “OK. You can come in.” I want to faithfully show my Savior how grateful I am for His mercy and His sacrifice. I want to show my God how awesome I think He is. > Therefore, **if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work**. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, **with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart**. But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and **escape from the snare of the devil**, having been held captive by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:21-26) {emphasis mine} I know I want to be “*a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work*.” How about you? Are you willing to do the work? Are you willing to submit? Are you willing to sacrifice? I find that the more I serve, the better I know God and the more willing I am to work, to submit, and to sacrifice. I notice my priorities lining up more and more with His priorities. Many things that I thought were so important, don’t seem important at all. Other things, for which I didn’t have much interest, have become central in my life. I had more than a decade of poor health. I could barely take care of my family and our business. I was in survival mode. Still I found time to study God’s word and read the writings of many godly men. It was a time of growing in faith and knowledge and a time of learning to rest in my Savior. Now I have reached a time where I feel an overwhelming need to share what I learned in all of my study. God has given me good enough health that I have more to give (although I still have to be careful to not over do it.) Although we need to grow in our faith and knowledge, we aren’t useful until we share it with others. Sometimes this may be sharing about God to unbelievers. Sometimes it may be speaking the truth in love. Sometimes it may be taking a young Christian and discipling them to be more like Jesus. We all go through different stages of life, but we always need to be available to be used by God. > In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, **constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following**. But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, **discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness**; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but **godliness is profitable for all things**, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. (1 Timothy 4:6-10) {emphasis mine} I want to be a profitable work of my God. We need to make the pursuit of godliness a lifelong pursuit. I’ll leave you with this additional quote from the book that was my inspiration. Growth in holiness is not a one-time act, but a lifelong pursuit, one that requires a daily determination to live according to the truths taught in Scripture. — Steven J. Lawson “The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards May God call you to Himself, guide you in knowledge of Him, carve you into the image of Jesus, and use you to call many others to Himself. Trust Jesus