Living a Life without Limits. Part 1:

Living a Life without Limits.

Part 1:

I’m going to ask you to think about this question and I would like you to pray about your answer and see what God will speak to you about?  The question is what is limiting and/or restricting your life reaching its full God ordained and significant potential?

Seriously what is holding you back?, is it circumstances, disappointment, previous or existing rejection, the fear of rejection, fear of failure, or are you just scared etc., etc., this list could be almost endless but hey I can’t ask you what is holding your back only you can ask yourself that question?, I would like to clarify that God’s morals and ethics aren’t what is holding you back they’re non-negotiable.

Earlier today, I had an email but unlike every email I’ve had today, this was prophetic, yet I wasn’t from a prophet or any other church leader, it was a job advert, to look at the email initially it looked boring and I didn’t pay it much attention, however when I took another look at, and thought’s it’s only an advert from the Royal Navy but the title caught my attention, “ Live a Life without Limits”, this title caught my attention and lead to chain of thought and I asked myself this question if serving in the Royal Navy is  Living a Life without Limits, how much more then should the Christian Life be Living a Life without Limits ?

It says in Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what does it mean to be a Christian Believer or Disciple in 2013, and for an example is it any different from being a Believer in 1913?, The world and society have changed a great deal in the last 100 years, the World has seen two World Wars, we have seen the rise and fall of political, economic, social systems,  we seen an increase of the advance of technology and we’re reaping in many ways both the benefits and disadvantages of that technology!

We face both challenges and opportunities, persecution and praises, but then did the Church of the 1^st Century AD, the Christian Life was never meant to be boring, predictable and dull.  Our Lord Jesus says in John 10:10b “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”

I give my life to Jesus in 1981, and have been a Jesus Follower or Disciple since then, my background is Welsh Pentecostal, and was part of a great Christian Fellowship called The Apostolic Church (Apostolic not as in Oneness Gospel, They’re Trinitarian) for the early part of my Christian Walk, and in many ways Welsh Pentecostalism is closely related to the Welsh Chapel or Non-Conformist Culture, although in some ways has strong Evangelical roots.  I’m not criticising or condemning that Culture, I grew up in it and it’s my history.

In many ways, History can be positive, negative or neutral. All of us have a History that includes a combination of various factors including good, bad and neither good or bad, we’ve all made mistakes and errors, but there have been times when we’ve done things well and are proud of what we’ve done and there times we regret, or ashamed or embarrassed about, we’ve all disappointed and hurt others and we’ve all been disappointed and hurt by others, sometimes unintentionally and if we’re honest intentionally too! It’s time to forgive ourselves and forgive others, for many of us unforgiveness is holding us back!

Matthew 6:14-15

 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Colossians 3:12-17

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 John 1:5-10

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practise the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Many of us need to break free of our History, or the version of our History we believe or the version of our History that others have told us,  our history has little bearing or relevance to our present or a future,  our present and future aren’t or no longer a case  of history repeating itself and its time to realise that for ourselves both on an individual or collective basis, our history isn’t our present or indeed our future, for too long we’ve lived in the present and looked to our  future and they for various reasons have become a continuation of our history,  today it’s time to stop and break that cycle.

We can no longer live in our history, wishing tomorrow, tomorrow I love you tomorrow, which is our present and future, then continue to live today or tomorrow as if it was our yesterday!

Can you imagine that  you live in a rickety old house that is falling down all around you, and there cobwebs and dust everywhere, there are no modern conveniences like running water or electricity, but you like it because it’s familiar and in way it feels safe and comfortable, suddenly there is knock on your front door and Jesus is standing there, and he asks you why are you living in your old house that doesn’t suit you when he has a better house for you, and just behind Jesus, you see a fantastic house,  your heart says wow, but your head says no, and you say thank you, Lord but I like my house and you close the door on Jesus,  you go and sit on your broken chair, and think I like my house it’s familiar then there is another knock on your door, and Jesus is standing there again, and again he shows the new house, and you think to yourself, I will visit this new house, and you walk inside and it just blows you away,  it’s your dream house, but you keep looking back at your old house,  and say you to yourself,  this new house is fantastic but my old house is familiar and go thank you Lord for showing me this new house but I still rather live in my old house, and close the door of the new house behind you, thinking this new house is too good for me and I don’t deserve it, you go back to your old house and you sit there and the rain comes and wind blows, and you think to yourself I can patch up this old house it wouldn’t be as nice as the new house, but it would be better than before, then there is another knock on your door and your answer it and it’s Jesus again, and you tell him your plans for your old house and he smiles and says to you, why continue to live in this old house when I’ve given this new house which is better for you and you do deserve it because I’ve forgiven you and because you’re in me and I’m in you. Then suddenly you finding yourself walking towards the new house, you start to get excited and start running towards it, and you say to yourself, it’s mine.  You sit in your new house on a comfortable sofa and Jesus is there with you, and you get up and to say thank you, you make Jesus a cup of tea, and through the kitchen window you see your old house and think to yourself why did I live there so long! When I could have lived here instead.

The old house is your history, and when Jesus shows us our new house which is our present and future, but because of we’re familiar with our history and because of our history we feel we don’t deserve our possible present and future, so we decide to patch up our history, but Jesus has better plans for us than to patch up our past he has a far better present and future that we think we deserve because of our history!

It says in Isaiah 43:18-19

“Remember not the former things,

    nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;

    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

It also says in Jeremiah 29:11-14a

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord

In Part 2 we will continue to look Living a Life without Limits

Yours because of His Grace and Mercy

Blair Humphreys

Justification

1 Timothy 1:15-16

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those [a]who would believe in Him for eternal life.

The 19^th Century American Hymn Writer, Fanny J Crosby wrote these wonderful words

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

O what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:

This is my story, this is my song,

praising my Saviour all the day long;

this is my story, this is my song,

praising my Saviour all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight!

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest!

I in my Saviour am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with his goodness, lost in His love

Last week, we looked at the phrase,  in 1 Tim 1:16, For this reason I found Mercy, today  we will start to look at the phrase The Justification and sanctification of believers through the finished work of Christ and  we will start to look at the doctrine of Justification and then next week we will follow on by looking at the doctrine of Sanctification. But what do we mean by Justification ?

Simply put, to justify is to declare righteous, to make one right with God. Justification is God’s declaring those who receive Christ to be righteous, based on Christ’s righteousness being imputed to the accounts of those who receive Christ

We are justified, declared righteous, at the moment of our salvation. Justification does not make us righteous, but rather pronounces us righteous. Our righteousness comes from placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice covers our sin, allowing God to see us as perfect and unblemished. Because as believers we are in Christ, God sees Christ's own righteousness when He looks at us. This meets God's demands for perfection; thus, He declares us righteous—He justifies us.

Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he a) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us and b) declares us to be righteous in his sight

Now let us examine the Scriptures in regards to Justification

1.   Romans 3:21-26 21 But now apart [k]from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those [l]who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all [m]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a [n]propitiation [o]in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, [p]because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who [q]has faith in Jesus.

2.   Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and [b]we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but [c]we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

3.   6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; [d]though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified [e]by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved [f]by His life. 11 And not only this, [g]but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

4.   Romans 5:12-21 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 for [h]until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a [i]type of Him who was to come15 But [j]the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression [k]resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions [l]resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.18 So then as through one transgression [m]there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness [n]there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 [o]The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

5.   Galatians 2:16-21^”nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of ^[n]the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of ^[o]the Law; since by the works of ^[p]the Law no ^[q]flesh will be justified. ¹⁷ But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.¹⁹ For through ^[r]the Law I died to ^[s]the Law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and ^[t]the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through^[u]the Law, then Christ died needlessly

6.   Romans 8:29-35 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was [l]raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of [m]Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !

To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !

To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !

 

When I was growing up, my parents and grandparents would take me and my two sisters on holidays to Ifracombe on the North Devon Coast, and more often or not we would go by the MV Balmoral, which would sail between Swansea and Ilfracombe in the Summer months, and while there go for boat trips that would sail from Ilfracombe harbour, I have  many happy memories of going there as child and early teenager, because of these memories I enjoy spending time by the Coast and now live in a Seaside Resort, although I have not been on a boat trip for a while, I'm fascinated both by boats and the Sea.

I remember a few years ago, while on holidays in Porthleven, Cornwall, spending time in the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth and had an interesting and enjoyable time there, although one thing I noticed more than others that the boats on display, none of them were in their original context , it was fascinating looking at these boats and reading all about them, but all them weren't doing the job they were designed and build for, yes, being on the water. Porthleven is a lovely, fishing village situated near Helston, and has a very picturesque harbour and I noticed that all the boats were doing the purpose they were designed and build for. Like other seaside holiday destinations, Porthleven has several shops selling goods to tourists, some of these shops sell model ships, they look exactly like the originals, but they could never do, the same job as the original ! they were just for display

For centuries Great Britain has been a maritime nation, and many of our national heroes have been sailors, from the historic figures like Sir Francis Drake, Horatio Nelson, Captain James Cook, to the fictional heroes such as Horatio Hornblower, many of our wars and the battles that we fought have involved fighting on Sea, from fighting the Spanish Armada, The Battle from Trafalgar, The Battle Of Jutland, The Battle of the River Plate. Most of our imports and exports travel by sea, the sea has important part to play into our history, present and future as Great Britain. The sea routes used today both for business and pleasure had to be discovered, and the ships that travel those routes use sea-charts to show them where they are going and how to get there, from the smallest cabin cruiser to the mighty container ship. Yet someone had to go out and navigate the sea in order for these sea-charts to be produced. Many of these men, such as Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook, stand tall throughout our history.

We see in our Bibles, countless references to sailing and to sea, from Noah's Voyage, to Jonah and we know that the Lord's Disciples Peter, Andrew, James and John were fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, and many of the early missionaries such as Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Mark, Timothy and Luke often travelled by sea to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation to the people of the known world. In Ephesians 4:12, one of the meanings of the Greek Word we translate as equip is prepare a ship for voyage (one of the other meanings, is to set a broken bone).

In the 19th and 20th centuries many people left these shores and other shores to travel the world, to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation, following the example of men like William Carey, John Wesley and George Whitfield, I remember growing up in small Pentecostal Church in the South Wales Valley's, and hearing about many men and women who went forth as missionaries, and being inspired by the reports that came back from our missionaries in places like Nigeria and India, I had the privilege not only of having a retired missionary as one of my Sunday School Teachers, and having two former missionary couples as my Pastor and his wife , but also being related to one of the earliest Pentecostal Pioneers from the United Kingdom that went to Nigeria, who in his later years inspired me to seek and serve God. While a student in Bible School, several of my lecturers had been missionaries, and I know how much they inspired me and my fellow students.

In the early part of the 21st Century, many of us may not have the same opportunities to travel to other lands following in the footsteps of our brothers and sisters who went before us, there are still opportunities we can take, perhaps in short-term mission trips, we have advancements in technology they didn't have anything  like the Internet, I remember being in School in the 1980's and never thought then I could not talk to people in places like America and Australia via a computer and a phone-line but to count them as friends as well. On the other hand we don't have to travel to other lands to be a missionary, we can be missionaries in our villages, towns, suburbs, cities but most importantly in our communities. I know that in the coming days, the Lord will inspire many of us to become missionaries on other towns, cities and regions throughout our own lands but other lands as well.

In the last 12-18 months, I have been greatly inspired by the writings of people like Alan J Roxburgh, Alan Hirsch, Neil Cole, Martin Robinson and Floyd McClung, especially when it comes to being Missional and being challenged by the concept of mission dei or God's Mission. I may not have the opportunities to travel to other lands to spread the Good News of the Gospel of Salvation, but it doesn't mean that there are no opportunities here in the United Kingdom. I've just read something that David Cameron, the Prime Minister here in the UK, said about Broken Britain and Social Recession. (If you would like to read more about Missional, I strongly recommend (Introducing the Missional Church by Alan J Roxburgh). Both my prayer and desire is to see God raise up His People here in the UK and other lands to see the spiritual needs in our own lands, and be willing to follow His direction either to pray, support or go, hopefully to do all, some of us He will send to our neighbours, some of us He will send to our streets, some to our towns and cities, but all He asks are we willing to go to those He will send us ?

Some of us in coming days, He will ask to be Pioneers, and to go where no-one has gone before or for some time, to break into new territory or to go and re-claim territory. I'm now going to share some Scriptures with you, and my Prayer is that God will use these Scriptures to challenge you for the first time or to challenge for you for the thousandth time, and follow his direction, which will not only impact your own live, but impact the lives of others, those who is sending you to.

If you're wondering if my title sounds familiar, it's from Star Trek, the days ahead will be days of challenge, courage and grace but most importantly of opportunity, and I pray that we take the courage and the grace, to take the opportunities those challenges will present to us.

Isa 6:8-9a NIv

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

       And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 9 He said, "Go and tell this people

Matt 28:19-20 NIv

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in [a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Romans 10:14015a NCV

 14 But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them;15 and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent.

Yours by His Grace

Blair Humphreys 

Southport

The Justification and Sanctification of believers through the finished work of Christ,

1 Timothy 1:15-16

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those [a]who would believe in Him for eternal life.

The Justification and Sanctification of believers through the finished work of Christ, recently we briefly examined the important doctrine of Justification, which in many ways is part of the bigger picture of Salvation and the Christian life and walk, today we will examine briefly the important doctrine of Sanctification which follows on from Justification.

1)   Now let us look at the differences between Justification and Sanctification

Justification	Sanctification
Legal Standing	Internal Condition
Once for all time	Continuous throughout life
Entirely God’s work	We co-operate with God
Perfect in this life	Not perfect in this life
The same in all Christians	Greater in some than in others

Sanctification differs from justification in several ways. Justification is a one-time work of God, resulting in a declaration of “not guilty” before Him because of the work of Christ on the cross. Sanctification is a process, beginning with justification and continuing throughout life. Justification is the starting point of the line that represents one’s Christian life; sanctification is the line itself

2)   Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives

 Sanctification is the process of renewal and consecration by which believers are made holy through the work of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is the consequence of justification and is dependent upon a person being in a right relationship with God.

Sanctification is applied justification. By its very nature justification does not have a progressive character. It is God's declaration of righteousness. The focus of justification is the removal of the guilt of sin. The focus of sanctification is the healing of the dysfunctionality of sin. Since all spiritual blessings, justification and sanctification included, are the Christian's the moment he or she is "in Christ" sanctification is total and final in one sense Yet, unlike justification, sanctification also continues until it will be consummated when Jesus Christ returns. For then we will be like him, perfect and complete. Sanctification, therefore, has an initial, progressive, and final phase. A believer's present preoccupation is with progressive sanctification, by which the child of God lives out the implications of initial sanctification with an eye to the goal of final sanctification. The sanctified life is victorious, though it is lived out in the context of temptation and suffering. God promises the "overcomers" in Revelation 2 and 3 to restore all that was lost in the fall, in sanctification; the believer is simply applying the implications of his or her justification.

3)   A believer grows in sanctification by living according to his or her new identity

 Sanctification, defined broadly as the work of God’s grace in man’s perfection in righteousness, begins when he becomes a believer and hence is “in Christ.” It continues progressively until death brings him into Christ’s presence unless he “does despite to the Spirit of grace.” It is only as one by dedication and faith realizes in actuality what is provided in the atonement that this grace is experienced; it does not follow as a matter of course, as the exhortations in the NT imply. Parallel to the work of sanctification is the infilling of the Holy Spirit in the believer, perfection in love, having the “mind of Christ,” and “walking as he walked.”

There are many things that I can say about Sanctification but more importantly that I what I can stay about Sanctification is what the Bible says about Sanctification.  

Now let us look at some scriptures in regards to Sanctification

1)   Romans 6:15-19 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin [j]resulting in death, or of obedience [k]resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks are to God that [l]though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, [m]resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, [n]resulting in sanctification.

2)   1 Corinthians 1:30 30 But [u]by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, [v]and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

3)   I Thessalonians 5:23-24 23 now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

4)   I Thessalonians 4:1-8 4 finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to [a]walk and please God (just as you actually do [b]walk), that you excel still more. 2 For you know what commandments we gave you [c]by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from [d]sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to [e]possess his own [f]vessel in sanctification and honour, 5 not in [g]lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but [h]in sanctification. 8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you

5)   2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you [o]from the beginning for salvation [p]through sanctification [q]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, [r]that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter [s]from us.16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.