Blogging BCM: What Is Sanctification?

Last night Tim spoke about sanctification. For me, this message was powerful and was something I really needed to hear. Perhaps the greatest thing Tim said that needs to remain a challenge to all of us was:

Maybe the world is satisfying you more than God is.

How often do we let the things of the world satisfy us more than the Creator who created us. I felt this message and this challenge specifically brought our semester focused on worldliness to a great close. We must not let the things of this world satisfy us more than our God. Today I want to look at sanctification and its implications for moving away from the satisfactions of this world to being satisfied only and truly in Jesus Christ.

Sanctification is a term referred to greatly in Scripture. 1 Thessalonians even goes as far to say in chapter 4, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification." We must realize that it is God's will for us to be sanctified. When Christ enters our lives through the process known as regeneration, we are made anew and begin the process of sanctification. It is this process that requires us to move away from the things we do that please this world, to only those things that will please God. Tim shared a great verse from Romans 6 last night that talks about this process:

I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Once we are in Christ, we no longer are regarded as sons of lawlessness (1 John 3:4), but sons of obedience (Romans 16:19, 2 Corinthians 7:15, 1 Peter 1:22). So therefore we must present our members as slaves to righteousness. Now what does it mean here by our members? The Greek word for members means our bodies. We are to give our bodies over to be slaves of righteousness. Seeking to use our bodies for that which glorifies God, leading to our sanctification.

Throughout our walk as Christians, we will go through the long process of sanctification. We must realize that this is a long process. We will not be fully sanctified over night. We will make mistakes. It is in this that we understand that it is not us who can sanctify ourselves, but it is the process of the Holy Spirit, through the power and work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. In His high priestly prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus Christ cried out to God:

They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

It is in these verses that we see a true picture of sanctification. It is here we see that Christ calls us to not be of this world, and to not be satisfied by the things that this world will offer, but to be satisfied in the One True God. It is here that we see how we are sanctified. We are sanctified in truth, which is the Word of God. We must constantly dive into and remain in the Word of God for the process of sanctification to abound in our lives. Ultimately though, these verses show us that Christ came to be consecrated, to die, that we may be sanctified in His truth. We ultimately find our sanctification at the cross, where as I have said in previous blog posts, we see the depraved creatures we truly are and see our full need for Christ as Savior in our lives. It is when we read these verses, we see that Christ came and died on the cross that we might be sanctified. That we might move away from the pleasures and grips that this world offers us and grab on to God. It is when we realize and move towards this fact that we move closer and closer to God in Christ through the process of sanctification.

Things to focus on in your daily devotions:

1. Study John 17 and Romans 6.

2. In what ways do you need to stop satisfying this world and start satisfying God?

3. Dwell on the things God has done in your life and the things, through His power in the process of sanctification, he has enabled you to let go of.

As always, if you need to talk or have more questions regarding sanctification or worldliness, do not hesitate to talk to Tim or myself.

Read more...

A Bigger Problem Than Death

Watch this great clip of Joshua Harris' sermon:



For more go to Covenant Life's website.

Read more...

Blogging BCM: Not All Paths Lead to God

Last night Dan spoke on the subject of not all paths lead to God. This message was very timely in the fact that our culture so often believes the opposite of this. Dan shared at the beginning of his message:

This is our cultural current. You can do whatever you do if it feels right to you. As long as you don't infringe on others you can do it.

Dan touched briefly on the fact that so often our culture is too tolerant. We don't want to infringe on others beliefs. We don't want to offend anyone with what we say. So we mosey through life, protecting this thing we call "the Gospel" from reaching anyone around us. If we were to even think about sharing the Gospel to those in our lives, it would be offensive and might push them away. We might loose them as a friend. Question...if we lose a friend because we try to share with them the greatest news they could possibly ever receive, are they truly a friend we want to have? This is our culture. The culture of "coexist." I hate that term so much. Let us coexist in this world, not bothering each other with what we believe. We can be friends and not even discuss what we believe. As long as we're tolerant of each others beliefs and I don't offend you and you don't offend me, we are good. I am going to make a pretty bold statement. We, as Christians in this coexist culture, must stand firm in proclaiming the Gospel. If we buy into the lies of Satan, if we sit back and remain tolerant, we are coexisting people into hell. Hell is a reality. A very, very real and dangerous reality. I am sure that if we all knew exactly, descriptively what hell was like, we wouldn't just sit back and withhold our precious Gospel. Christ came to this world claiming He is the only way. He says in John 14:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

How much more plain can it get that Christ is the only way...only path...to God. Who is this Christ, one might ask? What is this Gospel that we hold so dear. I think the passage Dan used in Colossians last night explains it very well. Colossians 1:15-22 reads:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

That is the picture of who Christ is. That is the Gospel. That in Him, through His atoning sacrifice on the cross, we might be reconciled in order to be presented as holy and blameless and above reproach before God. Through Him, we have our path to God. No other path will lead us to God. No other path will lead us to Heaven. So why do we sit around and tolerate this coexist nonsense, when we should be proactive in going out and proclaiming this Truth that we have. We must be passionate and stand firm in knowing that Christ is our only path to God, and it is our duty to proclaim this Truth to the whole world.

Things to reflect on throughout your personal devotions:

1. Study Colossians 1:15-22. How does this describe the person and work of Christ? How does this relate to Him being the only true path to God?

2. Are you tolerant and afraid to offend people? In what ways do you need to stop being tolerant and start proclaiming?

3. Who in your life has yet to realize that Christ is the only way to God? In what ways can God use you to help them see this truth?

As always, if you need anything or have any questions, do not hesitate to ask Tim, Dan or myself.

Read more...

A.W. Tozer on The Cross

A.W. Tozer writes:

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

Read the whole excerpt here.

Read more...

Don't Let Good Friday Pass By...

Kevin DeYoung writes regarding Good Friday:

Do not let Good Friday pass you by like a set of airline instructions. Fix your eyes on the cross. Not as the place to show us our worth, but to show us the weight of our sin. Not as the place where Jesus simply felt our pain, but where he bore our penalty. Not as the place where God overturned divine justice, but where God in mercy fulfilled his justice. Not as the place where love died, but where love reigned supreme. Pay careful attention to the cross. Here we see a great salvation, delivering us from a great wrath, revealing to us a great Savior who was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, that by his stripes we might be healed.

Let us all take this day to dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard. However, let us not just take this day to look at the cross. Let us not just this day meditate on the Cross. Let us dwell there everyday so that we may never for one day forget the sacrifice that was paid for our sins. But especially this day, let us reflect deeply upon the work Christ did in our place. For in our place, condemned He stood.

Read Kevin's whole post here.

Read more...

Blogging BCM: Baptism

Last night Tim talked about baptism and the Biblical basis for our practice of baptism. Today I want to share a quote from Daniel Akin's book entitled A Theology For The Church summarizing what baptism is, then briefly explain why I believe this is true and an outlook of baptism that I hold. Akin writes:

The Bible's teaching on baptism is clear in institution, command, and fulfillment. People enter the new covenant by God's grace, and the means God has graciously chosen to use is faith. Faith is not caused or created by baptism. Rather, baptism is the public confession of faith. It symbolizes a commitment by both God and the believer (1 Pet. 3:21). The submission of the believer to the water of baptism represents his or her humble request to God for a conscience cleared of guilt because of Christ's atoning blood (cf. Heb. 10:22). Baptism is an act of confession and utter dependence. In summary, baptism in the Bible is neither elevated to be the cause of conversion nor diminished to be a mere marker of inclusion in a nonsalvific convent. Rather, baptism is a public profession of God's saving work in the life of the believer.

It is clear that we understand that baptism is not required for salvation and that our salvation lies only in the fact that Christ came into this world to save us, as sinners, and died on the cross in substitution for our sins. It is only by the saving power of His blood, that we are able to inherit eternal life.

Baptism, though, is the outward expression that we received the gift of eternal life. Upon proclaiming Christ is Lord, we then are baptised (immersed) in the water to show our union with Christ in death, cleansing and resurrection. Although, I recognized and affirm that baptism is not a requirement for salvation, there are a few claims I have in regards to why I think it is an important act of the believer following their profession of faith.

First, baptism follows in that of what Christ Jesus himself did on earth. Before beginning His ministry, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. This is recorded in Matthew 3 which reads:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

I believe that baptism is a step which Christ took as an example for us, as believers to also take. Next, baptism was the step Christ took just prior to beginning His ministry. Following His baptism, we see that Christ was led into the wilderness to be tempted, then immediately following He began His ministry. Baptism is a public profession that we are in Christ and that we are committing to a life of ministry, whatever that may be. I firmly believe that if you cannot publicly proclaim Christ through baptism, how can you publicly proclaim Him throughout the world. Baptism therefore, is the first step in the life of ministry Christ calls us to upon receiving Him as Savior and Lord.

Finally, baptism is a physical example of the spiritual baptism that has taken place. Through baptism, we are public showing the baptism that has taken place in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes in Colossians 2:

having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

What Paul is describing here is not the physical baptism of being immersed in the water, but the Spiritual baptism that takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit when Christ comes into our lives. The act of physical baptism is an outward proclamation of those throughout the church and in our lives that we have been baptized with Christ by the power of the Spirit. Therefore the baptism of a new believer should be the celebration of the fact that they have died with Christ, been cleansed by His blood and are made alive in His resurrection. Oh the power and glory of such a proclamation, especially as we reflect and celebrate these Truths throughout this sacred week.

Questions to focus on in your personal devotions:

1. Study the different passages that discuss baptism in the Bible and think about the Biblical calling of the act of baptism.

2. Have you been baptized? If so, think about your baptism and how you felt through the profession of your faith. If not, is it something you feel God calling you to do?

3. Throughout this week, remember to dwell (as we should every day) on the final days of Christ's life, especially His death and resurrection.

As always, if you have any questions regarding baptism or anything else, do not hesitate to talk to Tim or myself.

Read more...

Jesus Wants the Rose

Here's a great excerpt from Matt Chandler's message at the 2009 Desiring God Conference.



View his whole message here.
HT: JT

Read more...

Just Do Something

Tim Challies reviews Kevin DeYoung's book entitled Just Do Something. In his review he writes:

The author who seeks to add something to this genre is entering into a very crowded field and is going to need a unique angle. Kevin DeYoung takes on this challenge and succeeds admirably, crafting a short but powerful book that really packs a punch. His unique angle is reflected in the title: Just Do Something! “My goal,” he says, “is not as much to tell you how to hear God’s voice in making decisions as it is to hear God telling you to get off the long road to nowhere and finally make a decision, get a job, and perhaps, get married.”

I purchased this book last week and am eagerly anticipating its arrival tomorrow. A great subject by a great author, I believe that this book is going to be a must buy and a must read for those who constantly question what God's will is.

Read more of Challies' review here.
Read the forward by Joshua Harris here.

Read more...

Challies on Evil as Entertainment

Tim Challies has a great post on the way evil can entertain us. In it he writes:

The internet is such a strange phenomenon and one we are really only beginning to understand, at least in terms of its impact on society and faith and family and just about everything else. What passes for entertainment on the internet would, at most other times in history, be regarded as shocking or wasteful or disgusting or maybe just plain absurd...So much of the entertainment the internet offers is entertainment at its very worst. Evil has become entertainment.

Read the whole post here.

Read more...

Resolved 2009

While I'm plugging conferences, here's another conference promo to check out:



For more information about Resolved 2009 visit their website.

Read more...

Advance 09

A promo video for the upcoming Advance 09 Conference in Durham, NC. This conference is one you won't want to miss. Just watch the video, it explains itself:



For more information regarding the conference visit their website.

HT: Desiring God

Read more...

Comments

I came to the realization that I had a comment blocker on my blog. I fixed it so that now anyone can comment, even if you do not have a google account.

Read more...

Book Recommendation for College Students

Jonathan Morrow has a new book out entitled, Welcome to College: A Christ-Follower's Guide for the Journey. J.P. Moreland writes regarding this book:

Wow! What a book!! Quite frankly, this is the book I’ve been waiting for the last forty years to give to college students. It is the single best volume I have ever read for preparing students for how to follow Jesus and flourish as his disciple in college. Welcome to College is very readable, the chapters are short yet filled with content, it covers apologetic, biblical, social and moral issues, and it provides critical information that is right to the point. Every parent with a child in or going to college should read this book. Adults should give it as a high school graduation present to every young believer they know. Youth directors need to know the content of this book and recommend it widely. And parachurch ministries like Campus Crusade, InterVarsity, and Navigators should make this a top priority for all staff and students to study. Morrow is to be thanked for writing Welcome to College for such a time as this.

Something we, as college students, might want to consider investing in.

For more information on the book or the author, you can visit the author's website.

HT: JT

Read more...

Blogging BCM: What is Faith?

Last night Tim discussed the question; What is Faith? It was a great night, with a different take. He shared a few verses and in between shared a moving video and we had an awesome testimony of true faith from a man named Juan from Nicaragua. What I am going to do today is a little different than usual as well. I'm going to post the two verses Tim used and then post the video he shared. I think it speaks for itself and will help show what true faith in Christ can do.

Hebrews 11:1 reads:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Matthew 17:20 reads:

He said to them,“Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Questions to focus on in your personal devotions:

1. Read Hebrews Chapter 11 and study more in-depth the kind of faith we should have in our walk with Christ.

2. In what areas of your life can your faith be improved?

3. In what areas of your life do you need to give your faith away from yourself or things that are worldly to Christ?

If you have any questions regarding the topic of faith, or anything in general, please don't hesitate to talk to Tim or myself.

Read more...

Mahaney on Self-Sufficiency

C.J. Mahaney finishes his series on Biblical Productivity by writing:

As the typical day unfolds, the unexpected expectedly happens. With one eye on the clock and another on our schedule, we can often watch our planning derail throughout the day. And as I realize my plans for the day will not be flawlessly executed, my soul has a tendency to be weighed down by accumulating cares. But rather than humbling myself as I should, I find myself vulnerable to self-sufficiency, at risk of relying upon my limited strength and wisdom. This is pride.

Read the whole thing.
To read more of Mahaney's series on Biblical Productivity go here.

HT: Rachel

Read more...