Why Are We Here?

Romans 14:8

If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should linger here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven and to be found fit to partake in the inheritance of the saints in light, even though he has only just believed in Jesus. 

It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected until we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, if the Lord had wanted to, He could have changed us from imperfection to perfection and have taken us to heaven at once.

Why then are we here? Would God keep His children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battlefield when one charge might give them the victory? Why are His children still wandering here and there through a maze when a single word from His lips would bring them into the center of their hopes in heaven?

Transition Takes You Higher

JOY STRANG

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(Justin Hobson)

Nothing in life is certain except for death, taxes—and change. God never changes, but we do. Through sanctification we are transformed from sinful, carnal creatures into the image of God’s Son.

Becoming like Jesus requires a lot of change—and often involves difficult periods of transition.

Transition can take many forms. It can be like the transition during labor—intense pain followed by a clear reward. Or it can be like the momentary transition that takes place when you switch gears in a car to face the challenge of the road ahead.

For an instant you are between gears and though the engine is roaring, you have no control. You may not know what the road ahead is like or whether you even want to move to a higher level. But when the shift occurs, you are connected once again with the power of the engine and are translated into a higher level of operation—the next gear.

Transition can also be a time that seems as if it will never end—a long, dark night of the soul when all around you seems dim and you lose sight of God’s promises to you. In this season, you may lose your sense of God’s presence and feel that He has abandoned you.

Christ-likeness Is Produced Through the Holy Spirit

by Rick Warren

“God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13 NLT)

It is the Holy Spirit’s job to produce Christ-like character in you.

The Bible says, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). This process of changing us to be more like Jesus is called sanctification.

Transition Takes You Higher

JOY STRANG

 

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(Justin Hobson)

Nothing in life is certain except for death, taxes—and change. God never changes, but we do. Through sanctification we are transformed from sinful, carnal creatures into the image of God’s Son.

Becoming like Jesus requires a lot of change—and often involves difficult periods of transition.

Transition can take many forms. It can be like the transition during labor—intense pain followed by a clear reward. Or it can be like the momentary transition that takes place when you switch gears in a car to face the challenge of the road ahead.

For an instant you are between gears and though the engine is roaring, you have no control. You may not know what the road ahead is like or whether you even want to move to a higher level. But when the shift occurs, you are connected once again with the power of the engine and are translated into a higher level of operation—the next gear.

Jack Hayford: Developing Christlike Character

JIM DAILEY / BILLYGRAHAM.ORG

 

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Jack Hayford, founding pastor at The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, Calif. and the founder and chancellor of The King’s College and Seminary, is known for his keen insights on living for Jesus Christ. His seminar at The Cove, "A New Time and Place" will be streamed free of charge Friday at 7:15 p.m. on The Cove's website.

How do you define Christian character?

Hayford: The thing that makes the difference in Christian character is that we are answering to God foremost. Christian character is character lived out in the reverence for and respect for God, as opposed to simply honoring man. The “fear of God” is the biblical terminology for it. The fear of God is the starting place, but what it boils down to is the willingness to die to our own agendas, to die to our own conveniences.

Genuine Christian character involves sacrifice, and that is something that the culture will not require of us. That is something that only faith will bring us to. We are called to be servants—not just honest people, but servants. Jesus cast it in the most severe terms. He said, “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luke 17:10, NIV).

How is Jesus "The Truth"?

Randy Alcorn

Truth is rooted in the eternal God who’s all powerful and unchangeable. Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is Truth” (John 17:17).

Truth is far more than facts. It’s not just something we act upon. It acts upon us. We can’t change the truth, but the truth can change us. It sanctifies (sets us apart) from the falsehoods woven into our sin natures.

As Christ the living Word is truth, so his written word is truth. Though heaven and earth will pass away, God’s truth never will.

Over half the New Testament uses of “truth” (aletheia) are in John’s gospel. Truth is reality. It’s the way things really are. What seems to be and what really is are often not the same. As I develop in my novel Deception, “Things are not as they appear.” To know the truth is to see accurately. To believe what isn’t true is to be blind.

You are important to God

Pauls epistle to the Romans chapter 1 - 8 highlights the following interesting topics.

God is no respector of persons. It doesn't matter what nationality you are, salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only way to heaven.


We are to worship our Creator and not creative things.


We are to honour Him and give God the glory and be thankful for the things he has done.


We are to live righteously in a wicked world and not to follow the examples of unbelievers.


Romans 3:23-25 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.


We were all born sinners and there is none righteous. We are justified freely by the grace of God by faith in the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way a man can be saved.

Value the Kindness of God

R.T. Kendall Daily Devotionals - By Love Transformed

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. —Titus 3:4-5

Gratitude may be defined simply as showing that one values the kindness of God. It is a feeling, but it is more than a feeling. Gratitude is also demonstrated by what we do; it may be a sacrifice in that we don't have an overwhelming feeling. Sometimes we feel grateful; sometimes we do not. But we must always be grateful, whether or not we feel like it. We must do it, that is, demonstrate gratitude not only by words but also by deeds.

Gratitude shows that we set a value on God's kindness. "In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7).

Sanctification is thus the process by which we are made holy. It is both a process and an experience. It is used in the New Testament, however, in more than one way. Sanctification is something that happens to every Christian.

Nothing to Prove

Pastor Colin Smith 

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25

Why did God save you? What did God have in mind when He sent His Son into the world? Is it that you should sin less? It's more than that. Is it that you should serve more? It's more than that. Is it that you should get out of hell and into heaven? Then why would God want you in heaven?

I think we get a clue to the answer when Paul says:"For I am convinced that... neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord"(Romans 8:38-39).

God's rescue is more than justification and more than sanctification. It involves adoption, in which God makes us His own children. God's rescue ends with God's people rejoicing in God's love forever.That's what we're saved for!

Why Thirsty Christians Don’t Drink

by Pastor Colin S. Smith
“Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on…” Philippians 3:12 (NIV).

You want to be better. You are stretching yourself out in pursuit of a more godly life. Do you sometimes find that you’re discouraged by the progress that you’re NOT making? You want to be a better Christian, but you’re not there yet, and you’re painfully aware of it.


That’s what the doctrine of sanctification does: It promotes humility and effort. It says to us “You haven’t arrived yet. You have a long way to go. Press on.” I need this great truth in my life and so do you. I need to apply myself to become more holy. With God’s help, I need to work on being less selfish, less critical, more generous, and more thankful.

Are you as holy as you want to be? The first sign of holiness is that you want to be more holy than you are. The problem we face in sanctification is discouragement. If sanctification is the only truth you have grasped, the Christian life will always seem beyond you.

Strength for the journey

That’s why alongside sanctification, we need regeneration that reminds us of what God has already done, so that we find strength and joy to continue the journey:

A man goes on a journey through a desert. He has a backpack and a cloth over his head as he trudges through miles of sand. In his backpack he carries water to sustain him on his journey. And whenever he drinks, he’s reminded that he needs to find more water, because without it he cannot go on.

Regeneration is the oasis for your soul. It tells you that alongside the work that Christ continues, there is the work that He has already done. That’s water to a thirsty soul!

Imagine the same man, now tired and thirsty, coming to an oasis. His flask of water has been empty for hours. He sees a spring of water ahead of him, and a cool lagoon to swim in. You see him coming, so you go out to welcome him. But he tells you he cannot stop. He must press on.

You plead with him “But you need to renew your strength! You will never survive, unless you refill your water.”

“No,” he says. “I must press on…” And off he goes without water…

Stop fretting and drink!

A lot of Christians live like that. God says “You are a new creation.” That’s water to a thirsty soul, but you rush past it: “I’m not as new as I want to be. I must press on.” God says “You have been set free from sin.” There’s power in that, but you rush right past it, saying “There are so many sins in my life that I need to conquer.”

You’re so passionate about sanctification that you rush past regeneration. And like a man without water in the desert, eventually you will fall down. Drink deeply of this water. Let Christ tell you who you are in Him. Take in the miracle of grace that He has already done. Stop fretting about what you’re not, and take in who you already are: In Christ you are a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come! Take in this truth. Drink of this water. It will be life to you. It will help you overcome discouragement.


This LifeKey is based on the message “Knowing Who You Are,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on May 3, 2009, from the series “Regeneration: How Christ Changes Your Soul.”


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