Of Justification and Sanctification

Not long ago my wife’s son was listening intently to us once again spending ourselves on the hope within us. He has heard this many times. His mother has shared her faith with him much. Yet not hearing it from me as much, I piped in thinking I could lend some insights. (You know how we preachers are) So I began to talk about The Trinity in redemption, an essential sorely lacking in gospel shares and the difference between initial justification and sanctification. That’s when this wise young man asked. “So can can one who is saved continue to sin?”

The first thought in my mind was, “huh?, did you not hear anything I just said?”. But when my wife put her hand on my knee to calm me a bit, I realized that what is so clear to those who are being saved is not so clear to those who are perishing.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. [1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV]

I remember being in seminary and someone first identified themselves as a Calvinist. They said that in John 6 Christ said “No one can come to me unless the Father DRAWS him.” Then proceeded to say that this drawing is a violent drawing, a dragging to Christ. It was a little weird. But I remember thinking that I’d look that up. That led me to the TULIP and checking out the 5 points. It all seemed perfectly biblical to me. Yet inside I had some fleshly cries against a few things. The first was…you guessed it-Limited Atonement.

So what’s that have to do with how a saved person can keep sinning? It’s complicated but keep up. This is fun! So anyway. All this is connected. In fact, God has very eloquently orchestrated everything. We are not robots. We are not brave moral free-will creatures either. All of us somewhere inside want to know who and what we are. And God’s perfect Word tells us exactly. We are sinners, enslaved to sin, dead in sins and trespasses and unable to please God. Now where people get this wrong is how they reason this out. The scriptures make this clear, but you’d think it doesn’t for all the crazy opinions out there. Why is that, why all the opinions? You guessed it -Sin! Who wants to be pegged as a dirty rotten no good ungodly hell-bound sinner who can’t save himself and has no chance whatsoever? I don’t. But unfortunately that’s what the scriptures clearly say. Romans 1-3 roughly, lays this out with such forceful clarity that everyone is accountable before God. Both Old and New Testament Words of the Living God are provided. Read it for yourself.

BAD NEWS

Romans 3:9-18

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;

10as it is written,
         “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

11THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
         THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

12ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
         THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
         THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

13“THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
         WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,”
         “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”;

14“WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;

15“THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,

16DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,

17AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”

18“THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

      19Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

GOOD NEWS

Romans 3:21-30

21But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

      27Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

Yet I talk to people who call themselves evangelicals, christians, preachers, etc, and they say they don’t believe men are totally depraved. They believe people are able to respond to God in faith. They say Look! All you have to DO is believe. So in the tulip T is total depravity. That’s the first thing and I think we just established that the bible is clear on that one. There’s way more scripture. U is unconditional election. So God chooses who He will save based on His criteria not based on your work (law), your deeds or your merit. Nothing you do. This seems to have alot to do with the last one, P, perseverance of the saints, because if you got yourself in you can get yourself out, right?

I mean if Christ is the Savior, the one who is our righteousness and our intercessor (Hebrews 7-10) then it stands to reason that we were helpless in our sinful estate and not just partially incapable. We weren’t just sick in sin, we were DEAD in sins and trespasses. (I’m getting to the question from my wife’s son). Paul’s whole point in Romans is that Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin, and accountable before God. All are headed for judgement and not righteous before God. Its not by works of their own that they can be saved. They need the righteousness of Christ Jesus reckoned to them by faith in order to have eternal life. But how do they get faith. What kind of faith? Even the demons believe and they tremble.

And how can God just give us Jesus’ righteousness? To some people it seems rather arbitrary or fake even. Yet what is missing is the recognition of the legal aspect. The concept of substitution, propitiation and expiation. All of that leads to reconciliation with God. But only because by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Christ Jesus alone, one can have peace with God.

Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that true salvations comes from the Father.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Here’s where it gets to be foolishness to people. So it seems to say that we are all lost and unable to save ourselves, and the only way out is for God to give us faith by pure grace? Yes! The bible, written in Koine Greek, says both the grace and the faith is a gift of God. Philippians 1:29 says faith has been granted as well. In John 6, the narrative and the context clearly says that no one can come unless they are given-no one can believe unless they are enabled. Its all over the Bible. Believe or don’t its not up to you! Or is it? That’s interesting. In fact the scriptures tell everyone everywhere to repent and believe. Everyone is accountable to God and He is just in judging all people. So its not a thing where people are off the hook. It’s an issue where we are truly lost and only Christ Jesus can save us through the renewal and washing of the Holy Spirit. John 3, john 6.

Titus 3:5 He saved us— not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Now…to be continued…