Monday, February 21, 2005
A word about being ‘saints”
“Set apart for God.” That’s what being holy is.
Our sanctification, the process of our becoming more and more holy, is the result of having been made holy.
There is an extraordinary difference between one who hallows the name of the Messiah and one who ignores or demeans that Name. There is an essential difference between one who reveres the work God has done at Calvary and the person who does not. There is an extraordinary difference of foundational existence.
Sanctification proceeds from the foundation of being set apart. We grow in holiness through the give and take of both God’s initiative and our corresponding response. Sanctification is a living thing that is essentially relational. It is the result of cultivating an ongoing relationship with God
We don’t grow into the status of being holy. Through Calvary’s labor actuated by faith, we are a holy people. We are progressively transformed as we develop what God has placed within us. In essence, it’s an outworking of our real identity and destiny. We’re instructed to act in accordance with that which is worthy of our calling. Not being … ingrates.
“Ingrate” is a great word by the way. It helps to describe the person who has received the grace of God and has nevertheless refused to respond in a fashion that looks in any way commensurate to the love God has displayed for that individual. So, I suppose most of us will always have to plead “guilty” to one degree or another. However, in recognizing where one falls short we receive grace to persevere
He loves you although you are what you’re like. Recognizing this is part of abiding in the love of God. It is part of the tension of being saved and hearing the resultant upward call. I don’t know if we will ever be released from that tension while we’re on this planet, or pre-resurrection.
This produces stress in many. That stress can be illustrated in this question, “How do I abide in Jesus’ love while I am so unworthy of His devoted affection?”
Answering that type of question is what the Love of God project is about.
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“Set apart for God.” That’s what being holy is.
Our sanctification, the process of our becoming more and more holy, is the result of having been made holy.
There is an extraordinary difference between one who hallows the name of the Messiah and one who ignores or demeans that Name. There is an essential difference between one who reveres the work God has done at Calvary and the person who does not. There is an extraordinary difference of foundational existence.
Sanctification proceeds from the foundation of being set apart. We grow in holiness through the give and take of both God’s initiative and our corresponding response. Sanctification is a living thing that is essentially relational. It is the result of cultivating an ongoing relationship with God
We don’t grow into the status of being holy. Through Calvary’s labor actuated by faith, we are a holy people. We are progressively transformed as we develop what God has placed within us. In essence, it’s an outworking of our real identity and destiny. We’re instructed to act in accordance with that which is worthy of our calling. Not being … ingrates.
“Ingrate” is a great word by the way. It helps to describe the person who has received the grace of God and has nevertheless refused to respond in a fashion that looks in any way commensurate to the love God has displayed for that individual. So, I suppose most of us will always have to plead “guilty” to one degree or another. However, in recognizing where one falls short we receive grace to persevere
He loves you although you are what you’re like. Recognizing this is part of abiding in the love of God. It is part of the tension of being saved and hearing the resultant upward call. I don’t know if we will ever be released from that tension while we’re on this planet, or pre-resurrection.
This produces stress in many. That stress can be illustrated in this question, “How do I abide in Jesus’ love while I am so unworthy of His devoted affection?”
Answering that type of question is what the Love of God project is about.
