Recap

• Authentically Christian
  • Step one – Surrender
  • Step two – Realize that there is help
  • Step three – turn your will and your life over to the care of God
  • Step four – Take stock of your life.
    • To that end, we’ll talk about sanctification and how we can participate in it.
    • To truly be Christian, one needs to take an inventory of your present life.
      • The first step towards solving any problem is to recognize that you have one.

Introduction

• Measuring talent according to one standard when another is far more appropriate.
  • What if we were to consider judging a flying contest and somehow a bear got into the contest?
    • The bear wouldn’t do well, would it?
  • In a similar way, if we measure ourselves by the standards of the world around us, we can come up with
    • The measure we Christians evaluate ourselves is through comparison to Jesus.
  • The Christian is called to the ongoing work of self-evaluation in order to be sanctified in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sanctification

• It may surprise you but the goal of the Christian life isn’t to make it into heaven.
  • Instead, the goal is to expand our relationship with Jesus Christ
    • Jesus Christ IS life
      • John 1:4 – “In him was life, and the life was the light of men
      • John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
    • Sanctification is a never-ending process.
      • Origen – There is always more of God to know and love (He’s infinite)
    • Justification and sanctification
      • Being made holy – set apart for God.
      • Different than justification – that is the means by which God in Christ moves us out of the darkness and into his glorious light
        • Justification is entirely the work of God.
        • Jesus “justifies us” through his death and resurrection
          • We are “Set right” with God
            • Romans 5:18 – “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.”
          • Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit occurring within us.
            • Now, make no mistake about it, it FEELS very much like we’re doing all the heavy lifting, but we are being powered by God.
          • Calvin once wrote that where there is no spirit of sanctification, there may not be justification.

God is going to make Holy those who He has saved.