Sanctification

[aspen]

The work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, which results in a transformation of our soul into a citizen of Heaven.

We need to practice our sanctification by loving God and our neighbor

Sanctification is a life long struggle of picking up our cross and following Christ by choosing to be vulnerable enough to love unconditionally.

Perspective talking skills, sympathy, empathy, love, forgiveness and finally unconditional love are the steps and levels of sanctification.

One day, we will be able to love like Adam and Eve did before the Fall, with the added skill of forgiveness.

 

[Vaccinius]

There are no steps or levels of sanctification. Either you are a Christian, or you are not.

SO TO BE

Christ was meek and light at heart.
So to be is not an art,
so to be is not a value –
so to be the Christian issue!

 

[aspen]

There are no steps or levels of sanctification. Either you are a Christian, or you are not.

SO TO BE

Christ was meek and light at heart.
So to be is not an art,
so to be is not a value –
so to be the Christian issue!

We become Christians when we are Justified.

 

[Rach1370]

There are no steps or levels of sanctification. Either you are a Christian, or you are not.

SO TO BE

Christ was meek and light at heart.
So to be is not an art,
so to be is not a value –
so to be the Christian issue!

There is a biblical difference between salvation and sanctification. Salvation happens at the moment you become a Christian, when Jesus gives you a new heart and baptises you in the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is the process of our lives, walking with the Spirit in conviction, repentance and growth. To say we have nothing more to do implies perfection...something we are far from! Any Christian who recognises their own sin, repents of it and moves forward in faith and love, is walking in sanctification.

 

[aspen]

There is a biblical difference between salvation and sanctification. Salvation happens at the moment you become a Christian, when Jesus gives you a new heart and baptises you in the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is the process of our lives, walking with the Spirit in conviction, repentance and growth. To say we have nothing more to do implies perfection...something we are far from! Any Christian who recognises their own sin, repents of it and moves forward in faith and love, is walking in sanctification.

Your post is eloquent.

 

[Angelina]

...and biblically correct... ^_^

Shalom!!!

 

[Vaccinius]

You are wrong. A Christian may grow in wisdom, and he will. And a Christian will grow in being active, and he will. But there is no growth in being qualified.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians, 5:17)

If you have something to develop with respect to being pure, you have not yet learned Christ. (Ephesians, 4:20)

 

[aspen]

You are wrong. A Christian may grow in wisdom, and he will. And a Christian will grow in being active, and he will. But there is no growth in being qualified.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians, 5:17)

If you have something to develop with respect to being pure, you have not yet learned Christ. (Ephesians, 4:20)

So I am not a Christian, yet?

Are you fully redeemed, right now? Sinless? Love others perfectly? If you are still a sinner like the rest of us, you do not have the qualities of a citizen of Heaven, yet.

 

[Vaccinius]

My heart is perfect.

 

[Angelina]

You are wrong. A Christian may grow in wisdom, and he will. And a Christian will grow in being active, and he will. But there is no growth in being qualified.

I disagree...
We came to him as filthy rags and he has washed us from sin with the blood of his precious Son.
Salvation is a free gift given to those who believe and receive Jesus as Lord and savior. We now have right standing with God. He covers us in his righteousness. There is nothing that we have done to deserve this. We are justified in his presence because of the work of the cross on our behalf.

Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Jesus. We are not prefect at this point, nor could we ever be because we live in the body of this flesh. Flesh that struggles with the Spirit, that God also imparts in us at salvation.

Galatians 5
[sup]16 [/sup]I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. [sup]17[/sup]For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. [sup]18 [/sup]But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
[sup]19 [/sup]Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, [sup]20 [/sup]idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, [sup]21 [/sup]envy, murders,drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

If you think that the verse above is referring to non- believers or pretenders...think again. Only believers have the gift of the Holy Spirit and the above verse speaks directly to them...

Romans 8
[sup]29 [/sup]For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. [sup]30[/sup]Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Blessings!!!

 

[jiggyfly]

There are no steps or levels of sanctification. Either you are a Christian, or you are not.

SO TO BE

Christ was meek and light at heart.
So to be is not an art,
so to be is not a value –
so to be the Christian issue!

Do you see the process of spiritual maturity in this same manner?

 

[Vaccinius]

Do you see the process of spiritual maturity in this same manner?

Growth in wisdom may be termed growth in spiritual maturity, and in that respect we all grow. We also become more certain as time passes and knowledge and experience confirms. But there is no growth in The Holy Spirit. Either you got it or you have not. You are either a righteous person or you are not.

If you think that the verse above is referring to non- believers or pretenders...think again. ...

But that is exactly what it does.

 

[jiggyfly]

Growth in wisdom may be termed growth in spiritual maturity, and in that respect we all grow. We also become more certain as time passes and knowledge and experience confirms. But there is no growth in The Holy Spirit. Either you got it or you have not. You are either a righteous person or you are not.

But do you consider growing spiritually to be automatic?

 

[Vaccinius]

But do you consider growing spiritually to be automatic?

Will the branches of the vine not be delivered?

 

[Episkopos]

You are wrong. A Christian may grow in wisdom, and he will. And a Christian will grow in being active, and he will. But there is no growth in being qualified.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians, 5:17)

If you have something to develop with respect to being pure, you have not yet learned Christ. (Ephesians, 4:20)

This is true. Jesus Christ provides the purity...no spot or wrinkle. The trials produce maturity....so we are learning to better hold onto the purity through trials that produce a maturity. It is in this regard (maturity) that we are striving to attain the full stature (in maturity growth) of Christ. We can be perfect in an instant through abiding in Christ. But we must walk out the maturing process.

 

[tarmack09]

Here this will make you holy!

Psalms 29:5-6

The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars ;
yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
He maketh them also to skip like a calf ;
Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

 

[Angelina]

Angelina, on 20 May 2012 - 04:52 AM, said:

If you think that the verse above is referring to non- believers or pretenders...think again. ...

But that is exactly what it does.

...no it doesn't...the Holy Spirit does not dwell in unbelievers or pretenders [unrepentant sinners]. The Holy Spirit is given to those who believe and have received salvation by faith.

Acts 2:38
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will not dwell where Jesus is not.....He is the guarantee of our inheritance.

Ephesians 1
[sup]13 [/sup]In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, [sup]14 [/sup]who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

The Holy Spirit was a promise given to Abraham and for all those who believe in Jesus by faith...

Ephesians 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

Hebrews 9
but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. [sup]27 [/sup]And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, [sup]28 [/sup]so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Peace!!!

 

[Vaccinius]

...no it doesn't...

Hi hi!

I will not quarrel with you, Angelina!

My point is that we should be assured of our qualities as Christian. The sinner will be tormented by his conscience, and always feel small. We are past that. We should feel good about ourselves. We may rightly question ourselves, that is our motives, since we have desires like all other human beings. But we should land on the safety of our constitution, which is the living by faith. Not faith in any particular being, but in The Son (of ours). That is holiness.

 

[Angelina]

Hey Vacc!

there is no growth in being qualified.

This is what we were talking about...we are already qualified at salvation because of the cross but that is not the end of our commitment as saved ones. It is the beginning. The whole purpose of sanctification is to be more like Jesus. It is a life-time process. The Holy Spirit helps us in this process by gently pointing out stuff in our lives that need to change or sometimes we are placed in situations that allow stuff to be exposed. Once they are exposed, we then need to make the appropriate changes. Some things in our lives may need deliverance, other things may mean that we need to exercise self-control. The Holy Spirit helps us to make those changes. The Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Living God and he dwells within believers and helps them to become more like Jesus. ^_^

If we were made perfect at salvation, there would be no need for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us...but he does.

Love! ♥

 

[Vaccinius]

This is what we were talking about...

Sorry! You impressed me so much with all those scriptures I was quite overwhelmed. But let us get back to the issue.

You make here two points, as I see it. One is that the Bible is written to righteous people only. Two is that righteous people grow in being righteous. Neither is really true.

The letters were written to specific churches, but at that time writing a letter was what we know as being published. Not many people wrote, and interesting writings were copied and spread everywhere. Of course Paul knew this. And he was not unaware of his own status; he had been made a god in Greece. So the letters were intended for anyone. Paul was the apostle to the heathens. But in the passage we argue about (Galatians 5:16-21) he referred to the unjust, lead by the flesh, as you correctly suggest.

The other point is that being a Christian is not a mastery. It is not a degree. There is no such demand as being Jesus alike. We do not worship a character. We are justified by faith, and being justified by faith means always aiming at The Son (of ours). Once having gained that orientation we are qualified. We cannot be more qualified. We are nice and cannot be nicer, since being nice is to live by faith. Of course, if you only say you live by faith but worship an idol you must grow from that. But a righteous person cannot be more righteous. A holy person cannot be more holy. A Christian cannot be more Christian.