No, Nominal, and Active: The Three Groups of (Non)Sanctification

2 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV) "But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."

Sanctification is "to made holy through Christ and . . . to grow into and strive for holiness by cooperation with the indwelling Holy spirit until . . . complete conformity to Christ" (Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 105).  Literally it means "to be set apart."

If we take a look at the Church of today we see basically three types of people involved in one form or another in the work of the Church.  One group of people attends because it is what they have always done and have never truly put their faith in Christ or made him Savior, Treasure, and Lord of their life.  A second group has a relationship with Christ, is actively pursuing Christ, and desires for His glory to be seen and revealed through their lives.  The final group has a relationship with Christ but is very nominal in their understanding and belief in following Christ.  It is this final group that I would like to comment on.

This final group makes many excuses as to why they are not growing in Christ or actively pursuing Him through the work of the Church: too busy, not smart enough, haven't gone to seminary, etc.  The excuses are boundless and they are completely unjustified.  Sanctification is not an option.  It is not something that is only for special Christians who are smart enough to give the Latin definition of the word.  When we put our faith in Christ or better said, when God pursues us because he "chose us as the firstfruits to be saved" we have no choice but to be sanctified.

So, this begs the question: If someone is consistently not actively pursuing Christ then are they truly a believer?

Click here for a powerful video on sanctification suggested by my good friend Paul Veal who pastors in Nebraska.  Or check out his blog here for more on sanctification.

Really? . . . Really! . . . Really?

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (ESV)
"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

I believe that God is sovereign over all things.  He either allows or causes all things to happen.  He is in control of all things, knows all things, and if it is his desire he will do something.  This seems to me a very basic understanding of God that most Protestants hold to with a few exceptions or tweaks.

I recently met a pastor who has a theology that blew my mind (and not in a good way).  He does not believe in God's omniscience (all-knowing) nature.  At least, not in the way most theologians, let alone everyday Joes, define it.  He believes that God knows what He is going to do, but not what we are going to do.  Wow!  I had never met someone with that belief and hope that someday I can have a conversation with him about it.  But putting my "Really?" response aside, I want to address this issue.  Long, drawn out arguments are not to be used on a blog, so I will keep this short.

It seems that most of Paul' writings are not focused on himself.  Even when he calls himself the "foremost" of all sinners (1 Timothy 1:15-16) the focus is not on himself, but on Christ.  The entire book of Romans, though Paul here mentions himself numerous times, is not focused on Paul, but on Christ.  Ephesians is written to a group of believers to teach them doctrine focused on Christ.  When Paul lays out the requirements for elders, deacons, women, men, children, etc. the focus is not on the people, but on Christ.

Where this pastor I mentioned above misses the point is that his life is not about himself.  God is not out there rubbing his hands together waiting to see what we are going to do.  If you take the omniscience away from God then you lose his sovereignty.  God is no longer God and we begin to live for ourselves just hoping that God will join us.  God has a plan for each of us and he is in control of that plan.  We cannot put ourselves outside the sphere of God's sovereignty.  If we do then we become God and we reduce God.  Not a good thing.

". . . so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him . . ."

Amen.

Living In Community Can Be Such a Pain

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 (ESV)
"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone."

Why do we gather together as the church of Christ?  Why do we feel the need to sit in a seat and listen to someone give a message on Sunday morning?  Why do we live in community with other believers?  Because inside of us is a desire to live in community: with other people and with God.

I've said on numerous occasions on Sunday morning that we gather together because we know that living the life God desires us to live can be a war and we need comrades at arms who are willing to fight our sinful selves by our side.  Accountability partners is usually the word used to describe these types of relationships.  I'm in one of those groups with two fellow pastors and I can tell you that those two men are willing to fight with me and they proven that as true. 

Paul, Silas, and Timothy are urging the church in Thessalonica to hold each other accountable.  Not an accountability like the Spanish Inquisition, but an accountability of love.  "[A]dmonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all."  And all too often churches are afraid to do admonish, enourage, help, and be patient.  But when a church follows through with these words of Paul, Silas, and Timothy then so much good can happen.  Yes, there will be growing pains.  Yes, people may be offended and turn away from the church or even God.  But we can be confident that when we stand firm to these words that at the end of all things God will be pleased and the church will be blessed. 

Resistence is Not Futile

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (ESV)
"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;"

I had a conversation a few days ago with a couple of fellow pastors about resisting the devil.  We do not realize, those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the power that we have the ability to tap into.  We forget that the God of the universe, the creator of all things, the one who was here before here even began is the same God that we worship and the same God who has made himself known to us.  He has power over all things including the devil and our sinful nature.  After all, the work on the cross defeated the work of Satan with Adam and Eve.

But this power is not something to mess with or take lightly.  Psalm 111:10 makes this very clear. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!"  In other words, we are to have a healthy fear of the Lord.  We need to understand that we are on the side of the power of the universe and that it is not our power to use, but to respect with holiness, honor, and glory.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you" James 4:7-8 (ESV).  Too many times we either fight the devil on our own, half-heartedly, or not at all.  But God has reminded us that if we truly resist the devil he will flee from us.  If we tap into the power of God it is God that will push the devil back.  It is the power of God that the devil will flee from.  But all too often the devil knows that we will not resist him.  He knows we will not rely on God but on ourselves.  He is cunning and gives us opportunities to deny the power of God in our lives.

"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." Let's tap into the power of God.  Draw near to him and allow him to change our life, heart, mind, and soul.  And in the end we will stand firm.  Not on a foundation built by us, but a foundation on the blood and power of Jesus Christ.  To His glory forever.

For more on this topic check out Matt Heltzel's blog titled "Make War" (http://matthewheltzel.blogspot.com/2009/11/make-war.html).

My Joy and Glory

1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 (ESV)
". . . for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith.  For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord."

What is my motivation for doing this job?  What is my motivation for staying focused on Christ and His work in my life?  Why do I continue to believe in Christ as my Savior and Lord?  Why do I live?

There are a number of answers for all of these questions: I'm called to be in ministry, I love helping people grow in Christ, I couldn't do anything else, I like the flexible hours, I like working with people, etc.  But Paul gives an interesting answer.  Why do Paul, Silas, and Timothy live?  Because those they lead to Christ "are standing fast in the Lord."

No one would argue whether Paul had a difficult life or not.  He truly understood what persecution was and what it was like to survive it.  But Paul, in essence, says that all the trials, troubles, persecution, "distress and affliction" were worth it because of the faith of the believers in Thessalonica.  He tried and tried to see those believers again but was prevented in seeing them because of the work of "Satan."  But when Paul found out that they had been standing firm in the faith he rejoiced by saying, "For you are our glory and joy" (1 Thesssalonians 2:20; ESV). 

Now, there is a danger in taking this passage the wrong way.  Isn't Christ to be given the glory and not us?  Yes.  Are we to find our glory and joy in those around us?  Yes.  Paul is not putting himself and his glory first in this passage.  His main focus is on the work of Christ in the believers.  But because those believers stayed firm in the faith, rejecting the temptations of the "tempter" Paul can rejoice and find his glory and joy in their faithfulness to Christ.  Christ is still the center of it all.

Where is my joy found?  I can give the normal Sunday School response, Jesus.  But that seems like it should be an obvious answer.  Do I find my joy and glory in those God has used me to have a more authentic relationship with Christ?  I can tell you that when I hear from individuals in this church who desire to be more authentic, real, and relational in their faith it does my heart good.  When someone writes me a note or makes the effort to tell me that the words I spoke in a sermon or Bible Study had an affect on them it does my heart good.  Not because I'm such a good pastor or speaker, but because God is using my simple words to do a profound work.  Those people are my joy and glory because their faith is focused on the glory of God.  Amen and amen.

My Favorite Quote of the Year on Joel Osteen

Usually my blog is reserved for my personal growth and experiences with God through the ministry he has called me to here in Emery, SD.  But tonight I had to post this short entry.

Last night, while sitting and playing my XBox 360 (yes, and I'm proud that I own one) my wife was checking her email.  Suddenly she spoke with so much authority that it immediately caught my attention.  She noticed that Joel Osteen has a new book out and it is already on the New York Times Best Seller List.  (No surprise with that one.)  She began to quote the title of the book, "It's Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams, and Increase in God's Favor."  Funny how we are mentioned first, second, and God is relegated to third in that title.  Any way, immediately after quoting the title she said, "That guy is SO not going to heaven."

Enough said, honey.  Enough said.  Definitely my favorite quote of the year.

Is Christ On The Forefront, Or Am I?

1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 (NIV)

"You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.  And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.  The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia - your faith in God has become known everwhere."

As I have mentioned in the past, our purpose as a church is to "Glorify God by Making Disciples."  And as I have also mentioned in the past, we as a church do not do a good job in making disciples.  And we are not too off base from the normal church in the western hemisphere.  What I mean by this statement is that the church tends to use the right language but not the coresponding action.  We use language like "disciples" or "outreach" or "loving our neighbor" but the reality is that we don't do much of those things because we don't know how to love our neighbor or to reach out to those who don't know Christ or how to be a disciple let alone make one.

I love the language Paul uses in 1 Thessalonians 1.  He tells the church in Thessalonica that he thanks God for their faith because they became "imitators" of Paul, Silas, and Timothy and of the Christ himself.  Not only did they do the work of Christ as Christ commands, but they also became "a model to all the believers" in the surrounding areas.  Their "faith in God [had] become known everywhere."  This church was no slouch and not only spoke the right language of believing in Christ, but lived it out to such a level that everyone in the surrounding regions knew about their faith.

That is my hope for First Baptist here in Emery, SD.  Not that our name would become a household name, but that the work we do in making disicples and glorifying God would be bring God to the forefront of the lips of the people around us.

I will take it even further.  I hope that my life brings Christ and his hope and plan for the people around me to be brought to the forefront of those who hear my name and see my work for God.  All too often I make myself great.  All too often we make ourselves great.  All too often we put Christ secondary to making ourselves great.  If we truly desire for the people of Emery and the surrounding communities to repent of their sins, come to Christ, and make Him great in their lives then we cannot put ourselves first.