The Justification, Sanctification and Glorification of Salvation

 

Are you who you were yesterday, last week, last year…?  Are you still the same person you always have been?  I hope not.  I accepted Christ as Lord and Savior over 20 years ago.  I can honestly say, I am not who I was before I surrendered my life to Christ.  I have changed and changed a lot especially those first couple years as a Christian.  Regretfully I share with you that most of the years that followed I changed very little.  That should not have been.

This morning our pastor preached on Romans 3:11-14.  I was about the sense of urgency we must have as Christians.  Especially as we see signs of the end times approaching.  During the sermon he was sharing about salvation and how it is not a one-time event from our past.  Salvation is a timeless process.  It has a beginning, a process and a future.  The beginning of salvation is when we make the decision accepting Jesus Christ’s offer to be Lord over our lives.  The beginning is when we are justified by Christ’s life, death and resurrection.  The process of salvation is the maturing of our faith as we grow and change to become more like Christ.  The process is called sanctification.  The future of our salvation, well that is when we enter into heaven.  It is the eternal time that will be saved from the trials, hardships, and downfalls of this world.  It is a time of glorification. 

So with salvation being an eternal process and not just some specific point in time, then shouldn’t our transformation be without end as well?  If I am still who I was, then maybe I was never saved to begin with.  The bible teaches that if I am in Christ, then I am no longer who I was; but now someone new.  Salvation requires sacrifice.  The sacrifice Christ made and the sacrifice of your old life so that Christ can make you new! 

I was not until recent years that I truly understood the justification, sanctification and glorification of salvation.  I can honestly say I am not who I was yesterday, last week or even last year.  There is no greater satisfaction than being right on the path of Christ’s sanctification in my life.  I have found no greater joy or pleasure than maturing in Christ. 

The picture is me baptizing one of our youth.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ’s love!

Part 1 -I Finally Found God!

If you read any of my posts, you must read this one, and the next. These are the posts that may make it all click for you in finding Hope in your hopelessness; these are the ones that will show you who God is. It is in this Hope, in truly knowing God, and who He is that has turned my world upside down. It was this hope that brought healing into my heart, brought meaning to my soul, and purpose into my life. I found peace that surpassed all understanding. My soul was brought to life.

It is this very Hope that has sustained me in spite of any and all sufferings I have and still face. It is this very Hope that has brought my life face to face with the one true living God through Jesus Christ Gods sinless, crucified and resurrected son.

Larry and I began our discipleship during the spring of 1993. I must say, it was not what I thought it would be. It had nothing to do with joining a cult or any other bizarre ritualistic behaviors. Larry simply began sharing with me what the Holy Bible was, how it was arranged, how to find scripture, spiritual truths, attributes of God, the Holy trinity, the death of Christ on the cross and His resurrection.

God got my attention, and now for the first time I was about to discover who God was. Not just discover who God was, but literally experience permanently the presence of the Lord in my life every moment of every day that day forward. There were many other things that Larry taught me, but one particular lesson made it all click. Jesus Christ truly is the way, the truth and the life. Just as He says in John 14:6.

I am just going to cut to the chase with this. Larry shared three very important and critical spiritual truths. Here is what they were: First, we are all sinners. Second, we deserve punishment for our sin. Third, God wants to give us the gift of eternal life instead of death.

All this time before I thought I would find God in a church, through an idol, and maybe even through my own spiritual focus. I allowed man to define who God was; I allowed life circumstances to prove if God was love, and simply I tried to define God by my terms. God was not in my definition, God was not in a makeshift cross that I could wear, God was not in a Saint Luke pendant, God was not in the walls of a church, God was not in a wax Buddha, He was not in Scientology, He was not in transcendental meditation, and God was not even found in religious rituals. He was not anywhere that I was expecting.

I had always expected God to do something to prove himself to me. The simple fact He already had. Two thousand years before, He already proved himself. He did it by dying on a cross in my place and rising from the dead 3 days later. He did by suffering brutal beatings, horrendous persecution, a terrifying death surrounded by people cursing Him, spitting on him, and mocking Him all while He was completely innocent. And what did He do? He willingly surrendered His life in order to forgive those who have persecuted him unto His death. Then He shreds open the curtain separating us from His Holiness and says "come follow me, welcome in." Immediately the holy people whom had died were all raised to life in and through Jesus Christ. And it gets even better, Sunday is coming! What more could I ask for?

Prior to this point what my heart was really saying was this: "God what you did on Calvary was not good enough, I expect more." In my next post I will share how God spoke to me revealing Himself and changing my life forever more.

Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

The picture is of children from Niquenohomo, Nicaragua. It reminds me of the child like faith it takes to truly discover God.

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ's love!

God Used Her Yes To Lead Me Right To Him

Shortly after Carri and I had made amends, we both quickly realized that we were meant to be together. More than just friends. We had a bond that just seemed so natural, like it was meant to be. Although we had our issues and our differences, we had a connection than ran deep into our core. To me we were soul mates chosen before time by some celestial being or goddess. I say that because at this point in my life I still had not figured out who God was.

I made the investment, I bought the ring. I had all kinds of romantic plans on how and when I was going to pose the big question and present the diamond ring. Candle light dinner, romantic music, have the ring delivered on a silver platter, maybe just simply get on my knee at sunset on the beach.... I had lots of ideas. But before I knew it, excitement got the best of me.

We were driving home from Boca Raton Florida and we had just pulled on to the Sawgrass Expressway into Coral Springs. I was excited, nervous, shaking, voice quivering, sweaty.... Carri gently asked me "are you OK?" immediately and sharply I barked back "NO!" Then I pulled my Isuzu pickup off the road rather abruptly, Carri's eyes got as big as a full moon and fear was all over her face. I told her to get out of the truck, she almost freaked out. She had thought I had lost it and was going crazy. After she got out of my truck, I pulled the seat forward and retrieved the gold and diamond ring. I rushed over to her side of the vehicle, got down on one knee and said "I can't stand this anymore, I can't wait any longer....will you marry me?" After the shock wore off, tears streamed down both of our faces and she said "YES!"

That day, that yes was a defining moment for my life. I didn't realize the impact it was going to have at the time, but I knew I had been given a gift. This gift could never have been created, planned or prearranged by just any celestial being or even a make believe goddess at that. It was obvious that Carri was a part of me and I of her. We would soon become husband and wife and our lives would soon merge together as one.

I share this story because I am certain that this was all in God's plan in revealing himself to me. God put Carri in the center of it all and she never even really knew it at the time. God was using her to lead me to Him.

God did not just plan for me to marry some girl, He planned for me to marry Carri before either one of us were ever born. Because of this I have faithfully prayed for my children's spouses ever since each of them were born. My eldest child Mackenzie was recenlty married in May of 2012. There is no doubt that Morgan, her husband, is the man I had been praying for all these years. Just like me and my children, God has someone chosen already for each of us if we are to be married. Trust Him in bringing the two of you together. You don't want to settle for less, I promise.

The picture, yea that's me and my amazing godly wife! Just wait, you won't believe the testimonies and how God is using our marriage! I won't say much right now, but I will say this; God has blessed us with what many people call a curse. It's name is Huntington's disease.

Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ's love!