Words for the Wise, Freedom from Sin and it's Power, 1 John 3

1 John 3 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

More on love and hatred

11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: we should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[b] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit he gave us.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

The Work of the Son of God, the Work of the Devil (3:8-10)

This second section reiterates the Elder's understanding of sin and righteousness and their relationship to the work of Christ. Although the basic structure of thought parallels that of 3:4-6, the imagery differs. Here John develops the theme of family resemblance and parentage in order to underscore what he has already said about the believer as a child of God who cannot sin (v. 9). Behavior is a test by which one's basic orientation in life may be discerned. Note once more the threefold structure of the passage.

The character of sin (3:8a). In this verse John includes some of the strongest negative statements that those who are sinful are of the devil. Both the epistles and Gospel of John frequently speak of being "of" something, a phrase that points to allegiance or orientation. Sinning characterizes the devil, not God, and so those who sin cannot be said to belong to God (3:8, 10). In fact, the Elder writes that the devil has been sinning from the beginning. That is, the devil is characterized through and through, and has always been known to human beings, as one who challenged God's standard of righteousness and tempted people to do the same. His identifying characteristic is sin.

Note that the epistle does not say that those who sin are born of the devil, which would give a neat parallel to the corresponding phrase born of God. But the opposite of born of God in Johannine thought is "born of the flesh" (Jn 3:6; Brown 1982:405). All people are created by God (Jn 1:10), but those who come to faith in Christ give evidence that they are also "born of God" (Jn 1:13). A new act of the Spirit's creation has taken place. On the other hand, those who refuse to come to Christ have chosen animosity toward God and allegiance with the devil. They are of the devil by virtue of their denial of Christ, deriving their orientation in life not from relationship with and orientation to God but to darkness, evil and sin. Again the Johannine dualism comes to expression. And it is clear from this passage that such dualism is a description not of the way human beings are created but of the choices they make (see Kysar 1986:81).

The work of the son of God (3:8b). If the devil is characterized by sinning, the Son of God is known by his coming to destroy the devil's work. This work is sin, for as righteousness characterizes God, the Son of God and the children of God, so sin characterizes the devil and the children of the devil. In fact, it is their sinning that marks them as the devil's children. Not only are the devil's sin and Jesus' sinlessness con trasted but so are their characteristic works: the devil sins, Jesus destroys the devil's works (Stott 1988:129). Jesus tears down the edifice of sin that the devil builds up, and so frees people by transferring them to the realm where they abide in righteousness and in Jesus (3:6, 14).

It is important to note that this transfer is viewed as effective and secure. If believers sin—and it is clear that they do (1:8, 10)—their sin does not indicate that they have temporarily moved into the sphere of darkness. The Elder does not threaten his readers that they are in danger of "losing their salvation," of backsliding or of falling in league with the devil. They are assured that they are the children of God. The call comes, then, to live so that the family resemblance will always be manifest. If there is exhortation here, there is also encouragement.

The implications of Jesus' work for the believer (3:9-10). The destruction of the devil's works of sin is so complete that we read a very bold statement in verse 9, No one who is born of God will continue to sin . . . he cannot sin (or go on sinning). Indeed, when Jesus' work both opposes and destroys sin, how can those who are born of God dwell in it? John continues with the explanatory statement that they cannot sin because God's seed remains in [them]. Exactly what this seed is does not receive further explanation, and it has puzzled commentators. Obviously we must take it here in a metaphorical sense. Some have suggested that it means the Holy Spirit; others, the Word of God; and others, that it means both. Perhaps, however, it does not so much symbolize some thing else, but merely continues the family imagery. As Kysar writes, "God has implanted in Christians that which makes them his children" (Kysar 1986:81; Brown 1982:411; Stott 1988:133-34). And that God's seed remains points to the permanence of that work. The seed that God plants cannot be uprooted.

Verse 3:10 takes us back to 3:1-3 and its contrast of the seen and unseen, the known and unknown. In 3:1-3 the Elder asserted that now we are children of God, although what we will be has not yet been made known. The passage under discussion, 3:4-10, has assumed that just as children have a likeness to their parents, and just as that likeness will and must manifest itself in behavior, so the conduct of the children of God makes it manifest to whom they belong. Specifically, being related to God has two manifestations: righteousness and love. Both are characteristic of God; both are characteristic of the children of God. More over, both are and need to be actively expressed, and expressed in a way that conforms to God's standard and to the pattern set by Jesus.

Although the phrase nor is anyone who does not love his brother appears to be added almost as an afterthought at the end of verse 10, in fact it is integral to the author's argument. First, the secessionists whom the Elder chides manifest both a lack of righteousness and a lack of love. Thus the statement anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother summarizes John's rebuke to the dissidents. It can also be generalized, however, for the author certainly means to say as well that every Christian is to be characterized by love and righteousness. Second, those who are related to God as children are also related to each other as brother and sister. Therefore, it is impossible to be part of the family of God and not manifest love toward others in the family. As noted above, the vertical and horizontal relationships of the Christian are always integrally related to each other. Third, the theme of love has now been introduced, and it provides the substance of the rest of the epistle. Thus the argument of the epistle is shifting now from the nature of righteousness, sin and the work of Christ to the nature of love. Here we will see that no less important in understanding love is the person and work of Christ.

Summary: Transforming Power

In summarizing this passage, we must first underscore the author's emphasis on Jesus' own righteous ness. As the one who is righteous, Jesus effects atonement and forgive ness (2:1). He destroys the unrighteous works of sin and the devil. He provides a model of conduct for the believer (2:6; 3:5). And he will return to complete the work he has begun—to transform us into the image of the God who is pure (3:3). Both the initial manifestation of Christ and his return are spoken of in terms of the effect his work had on sin: in his first coming he took away sin (3:5, 8); in his return (2:28; 3:3) he purifies us.

Clearly, in all this discussion, attention should be focused not on our efforts to become pure or to attain a state of sinlessness, but on what has been done for us to purify us, to transfer us to the realm where righteousness, and not sin, holds sway. God's work through Christ has created a realm where the purifying and transforming power of righteousness, truth and love are operative. And if now we are children of God by virtue of that power, what we will be has not yet been made known. From beginning to end of our life with Christ, the power at work within and among us is the power of righteousness. That is the privilege and promise that is ours.

Inherent in that promise is an exhortation to righteous conduct. Those born of God no longer live without acknowledging God, but are fully aware of the responsibility incumbent upon them as God's children. Their orientation is toward the God who is light (1:5). Their direction in life derives from the character of God. Their responsibility is to live as Jesus did (2:6), in conformity with the character of a God who is righteous, loving and just. Those who say yes to God, whose orientation derives from the will of God, open themselves to God's transforming power. Although God's purifying work is yet to be completed, that trans forming power is even now at work among and in those who have been called the children of God.

In short, the statement No one who is born of God will continue to sin, and others like it, ought to be heard simultaneously at several levels: First, it orients us to our future hope, a hope that as the children of God we shall yet become more like God. Second, in directing our gaze to our future hope, the statement also assumes that the same power that will remake us at that time is already at work in us. Third, that power is now active in the world because it was manifested by Jesus himself in his work of breaking the grip of sin on us. And finally, in his own life, Jesus exemplified the self-giving love and obedience to God that is the responsibility of God's children as well. If John's statement seems hyperbolic, it is because of his eager anticipation of the blessings of the future age, now being realized through the ministry of Jesus among his followers.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

6028 sin, God’s deliverance from

The gospel reveals the purpose and power of God to deal with sin and all of its effects. Scripture uses a range of images to express the comprehensiveness of salvation.

God’s removal of sin

Atonement for sin Isa 6:7 See also Ex 32:30; Lev 4:27-31; Pr 16:6; Ro 3:25; Heb 2:17

Forgiveness of sin Mic 7:18; Ac 13:38 See also 1Ki 8:35-36; 2Ch 30:18-20; Ps 103:2-3; Isa 33:24; Isa 55:7; Joel 3:21; Mt 26:27-28; Lk 24:46-47; Eph 1:7; 1Jn 1:9

Cancellation of a debt Mt 6:12 See also Mt 18:21-35; Lk 7:41-50

A covering over of sin 1Pe 4:8 There is a close relation between “covering over sin” and “atoning for sin”. See also Ps 32:1; Ps 85:2; Jas 5:20

The taking away of sin Ps 103:12 See also 2Sa 12:13; Isa 6:6-7; Zec 3:4; Jn 1:29; Heb 9:28; 1Jn 3:5

Remembering sin no more Isa 43:25 See also Ps 25:7; Jer 31:33-34; 2Co 5:19

God’s deliverance for the sinner

The salvation of the sinner 1Ti 1:15 See also Ps 28:8-9; Mt 1:21; Lk 19:9-10; Jn 3:17; Heb 7:25

The image of healing Lk 5:31-32 pp Mt 9:12 pp Mk 2:17 See also 2Ch 7:14; Isa 53:5; Isa 57:18-19; Hos 14:4; 1Pe 2:24

The image of cleansing Ps 51:2 See also Lev 16:30; Eze 36:25; Jn 13:1-11; Ac 22:16; Heb 10:22; 1Jn 1:9

Redemption by God Ps 130:8 See also Isa 44:22; Tit 2:14; 1Pe 1:18-19

Justification before God Gal 2:16 See also Isa 53:11; Ro 3:24-26; Ro 4:5,25; Ro 5:16-19; Ro 8:33

Freedom from condemnation Ro 8:1 See also Jn 3:18; Jn 8:3-11; Ro 8:34

Peace with God Ro 5:1 See also Isa 53:5; Lk 2:14; Eph 2:17

Reconciliation with God 2Co 5:18 See also Ro 5:9-11; Col 1:19-20

Sanctification to God Heb 10:10 See also 1Co 6:11; Eph 5:25-26; Col 1:22

Freedom from sin and the sinful nature Ro 7:24; 1Pe 2:24 See also Ro 6:1-18; Ro 8:1-9; Gal 5:24

A transition from death to life Col 2:13 See also Lk 15:22-24; Eph 2:4-5

Receiving eternal life Ro 6:23 See also Jn 3:16,36; Jn 5:24

Why is everything going wrong for the Scottish Yes campaign?, The New Statesman

With little over a month to go until the referendum, the No campaign is buoyant. Alex Salmond’s unexpectedly weak performance against Alistair Darling in the first televised debate has convinced unionists they are winning the argument as well as the vote. The polls are consolidating in favour of the Union. The currency issue is eating away at the SNP’s economic credibility. The Yes activists I speak to are uncharacteristically downbeat as they begin to accept, some of them for the first time in 24 months, that they might actually lose.

Amidst the gloom, nationalists are telling themselves comforting stories. One is that polling companies haven’t picked-up what’s happening "on the ground"; that the network of Yes groups in poor neighbourhoods will deliver a burst of working class enthusiasm strong enough to propel independence over the line on referendum day. Another is that the SNP has been in this situation before – three years ago, as the last Holyrood election approached – and will turn things around now as it did then.

We won’t find out how credible the first story is until the vote itself, but the second one just doesn’t stack-up. "The difference between 2011 and 2014", one senior Better Together figure told me recently, "is that in 2011 [Scottish Labour] knew the fundamentals, like leadership and the economy, weren’t on its side. This time we know they are." This is surely right. At the end of June, 49 per cent of Scots said independence would make them worse off, compared to just 27 per cent who said it would make them better off. It would be difficult for any party to win an election battling against these sorts of numbers, let alone a referendum on something as far-reaching as national sovereignty.

So where did it all go wrong for the Yes campaign, which only a few weeks ago was fizzing with confidence? The left claims Yes Scotland and the SNP have spent too much time trying to persuade voters that independence will be achieved seamlessly, with little or no disruption to Scotland’s economy or its institutions, when it should have been emphasising Scotland’s bleak prospects as part of an austerity-bound UK. Had the SNP made September 18 a referendum on the current state of Britain, rather than the future state of Scotland, Yes support would be higher than it is now, they argue.

It’s a legitimate point. The weakest feature of the SNP’s independence prospectus – its plan for a post-UK sterlingzone – is also the centrepiece of the party’s "continuity strategy" – the various triangulating gestures the SNP leadership has made over recent years to reassure undecided voters that radical constitutional change needn’t entail radical political change. But the public knows, intuitively, that this isn’t true. You can’t sell a grand political vision like self-determination with a series of (supposedly) pragmatic compromises. Why bother with all the upheaval – and, for some, the trauma – of creating a new state if it’s going to look just like the old one?

Read more here:

So What Do We Do Now With Mark Driscoll? Charisma Magazine, J Lee Grady Fire in My Bones

Seattle megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll has thrived on controversy since he began Mars Hill Church in 1996. His tough-guy image, in-your-face style and distressed jeans made him the ultimate Cool Preacher Dude, especially for young men who regularly enjoyed his non-religious gospel on YouTube. Driscoll became an evangelical celebrity, and his congregation—which is reaching one of the most unchurched regions of the country—quickly grew to 14,000 members among 15 locations.

But Driscoll's ministry hit hard times last week when leaders of Acts 29, a church network Driscoll founded, broke ties with him and charged him with "ungodly and disqualifying behaviour." Acts 29 leader Matt Chandler said Driscoll doesn't show signs of repentance. As a result, LifeWay Stores, a large network of Christian retail outlets in the country, pulled Driscoll's books from its shelves and website.

This is a good time to remind people of the warning signs of an unhealthy church:

1. Little or no accountability. When celebrity preachers seem eager to tell everyone else what to do but aren't willing to hear correction from others, prepare for a train wreck. There is safety in the multitude of counsellors (see Prov. 11:14). There is much less safety—even danger—when a leader does not seek counsel from a diverse group of his peers.

2. Spiritual elitism. If there is a spirit of control in a church, people are usually told their group is superior. If people choose to leave, they are shunned or branded as renegades. Sometimes, in extreme cases, people are even cursed if they leave. This cultic behaviour inflicts unimaginable emotional suffering and also divides families

Read more here:

Comment:

I have read a number of Mark Driscoll books over the last few years,   I was shocked why someone in his position of influence and to certain degree of authority in the transatlantic evangelical sphere  would say the things he said it seems to me that an in-mature believer was pushed into Christian leadership/ministry through situations, circumstances and self-promotion and because of this error, Mark Driscoll lacks/lacked the strength of character to be a leader in His Church.

A New Evangelism, A W Tozer

The NEW "EVANGELISM"

by A.W. Tozer

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic

approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old

life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts

but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing

that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers

the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever

the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment

is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the

religious product is better...

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, or the world of sports,

or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our

message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is

life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross.

Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must

repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who

would find life in Christ Jesus?... He must forsake his sins and

then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend

nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with

God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern

displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die... The cross

that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner;

and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to

a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and

private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of

approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present.

Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the

content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the

world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the

revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders

and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to

God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the

truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the

blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God

forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power.

Scottish Independence essay: Nordic model a fantasy, The Scotsman, Updated, SNP Government Oil and Gas Figures, spectacularly wrong

ADRIAN Wooldridge says there is no evidence the Nordic countries want to engage with Scotland

THE STORY is all too familiar. The marriage grows stale with the years. Those charming idiosyncrasies become intolerable irritations. The unhappy husband or wife catches the eye of a comely stranger. A glance turns into an affair. After a lot of rowing the unhappy couple finally divorces and life begins again.

This is half the story of the possible divorce between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom: a significant number of Scots think they would be much happier with the comely Nordics than with the dowdy English. But the other half of the story is more complicated. The Nordics show no sign of reciprocating the suitor’s affections. And the Nordic model that the nationalists have fallen in love with disappeared 25 years ago.

Evidence of the affair can be found all over the place. The Scottish National Party cannot get enough of the Nordic model. The Nordic model is not only vastly superior to the English model – it provides people with a higher standard of living while guaranteeing a safety net that is so generous that fathers get a year’s worth of paternity leave. It is also more in tune with Scotland’s collectivist and egalitarian tradition. The Jimmy Reid Foundation argues that the Scottish idea of the Common Wealth is the local equivalent of the Nordic ideal of the “folkhemmet” or People’s Home. Lesley Riddoch, a columnist on this paper, has established a thinktank, Nordic Horizons, to push for closer links between the Holyrood parliament and its northern neighbours. Angus Robertson, the SNP’s spokesman on foreign affairs and one of its leading Nordo-philes, says that one of the first things an independent Scotland will do will be to apply to join the Nordic Council, a steering group of Nordic countries.

Scotland’s infatuation with the Nordic model is not hard to understand. The Nordic countries routinely come at or close to the top of every official measure of success, from economic success to social wellbeing. It is common to argue that countries face a trade-off between economic growth and quality of life. The Nordic countries show that it is possible to have the best of both worlds.

Scotland and the Nordics are also drawn together by powerful ties of culture. Some ties are direct and genetic: the Viking raiders of the early Middle Ages left a profound mark on the country. The Shetland islanders still burn a Viking longboat every year. The language is littered with Scandinavian words. Other ties are cultural and geographic. Both Scotland and the Nordics are profoundly shaped by the Protestant religion and a frequently challenging climate and geography (asked to list his nearest railway station on a parliamentary expense form Jo Grimond replied “Bergen, Norway”).

Both the Scots and the Nordics lead the world in extracting natural resources. Both have a marked taste for the grain and the hop. And both excel in producing the modern equivalent of Viking sagas. Henning Mankel’s Inspector Wallender and Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus are cut from the same cloth: brooding individualists determined to get to the bottom of the blood-soaked story whatever the higher-ups tell them.

There are all sorts of obvious problems with this Scandimania. The Vikings left a more profound imprint on Northumbria, Cumbria and Yorkshire than on Scotland. Scotland’s west coast is more Irish than Scandinavian. Denmark and Southern Sweden look more like East Anglia than they do the Scottish Lowlands, let alone the Highlands.

Read more here:

Further Reading:

Alex Salmond’s currency dilemma: Climbdown or lose

Daily question: How big is Scotland’s economy and what's important to it?

Empire shadow still hangs heavy over Scotland

Scots Are Divided Over Independence, and Its Economic Costs

Oil forecast 'spectacularly wrong'

Beyond the Scottish Independence Question, Looking at a Greater Devolution in The United Kingdom, A Perspective

Amazing Grace Yet for this reason I found mercy, The Difference between Justification and Sanctification

Yet for this reason I found mercy, The Difference between Justification and Sanctification

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, in my previous post 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.

Amazing Grace, Yet for this reason I found mercy The Justification of The Believer

Yet for this reason I found mercy The Justification of The Believer

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 19th 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

We have  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?