Sanctification, Part 3.

In this final, brief look at sanctification, I want to consider the phrase “slaves to God” (Romans 6:22). We've already seen that when we were lost, we were slaves to sin. We also saw that conversion leads to a change of heart that makes us slaves to righteousness. This next phrase, "slaves to God," doesn't indicate a third, different kind of slavery. Rather, Paul is broadening our view to see that when we were made slaves to righteousness, we became slaves to God. In other words, we did not come under the influence and power of some abstract idea of righteousness. We came under the influence and power of a righteous God.  Having been saved, we are under His power and control. It is He who will bring us along on this journey of sanctification, and He that will ensure we arrive safely at the end. 

It might be good to remind ourselves of the relationship between His work and ours. His work assures us of the eventual completion of our sanctification. Our responsibility is to willingly participate in it. This is a critically important component of the Christian life! Our participation in sanctification is required but is nonetheless dependent on His initial work. Both parties are engaged in the process: He must work and we must strive. “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” (Philippians 1:6)

J.C. Ryle wrote, "In justification the word to be addressed to man is believe — only believe; in sanctification the word must be 'watch, pray, and fight.'

Finally, I would remind us of the debt owed by the slaves to the Master. God justified us when we were saved- He declared us righteous. We now strive to live out that holiness, but it is not paying back what is owed. We do not strive toward holiness to somehow prove we were worthy of justification. In fact, just the opposite is true- every step taken toward holiness is yet another grace given by God. So as we strive, we are not paying back, but growing increasingly in His debt. Why? Because our sanctification is for His Glory! That has been one of His purposes in calling a holy people for Himself, since the beginning. So He gets all the credit for the progress we make.

Paul asserts in verse 22  that the end of sanctification is eternal life. I can think of at least 3 applications of this passage (Romans 6:17-22):

The first pertains to salvation. To which of these entities Paul names are you a slave? And which is the fruit for your service to that master: life, or death? It must be one or the other. One way to discern that is to determine what your heart really wants. What do you think of a life lived in obedience to him? Would that be a cold prison? Or would it be freedom from the things of the world that can no longer satisfy you?

The second application pertains to struggling with sin in the Christian life. You may be tempted to conclude that if you are still struggling with sin, something has gone terribly wrong. You may think that sanctification is so much your own responsibility that you give up, and fall away. But the struggle with sin is a battle you can fight, because the war is already won in Christ. Don’t let little defeats discourage you- stay the course and press on toward greater obedience. There is sufficient grace in Christ for second chances again and again- so when you fail, begin again in Christ!

A third application pertains to a lackadaisical attitude about sin. We can sometimes jump to the conclusion that because the war is already won in Christ, we no longer need to fight. That’s sanctification weighted toward His responsibility. But this battle is not a charade. If you are not engaged in putting sin to death and pursuing Godliness with all your heart, there is a very good chance you are not on the road to righteousness and eternal life at all.

If you have never placed your faith in Christ and repented of your sin, cry out to God to deliver you from the bondage to sin. The message of the Gospel is: He will hear you. He will come and break the bondage of sin and make you His own. Or, if you need to shake off some deceptions from the Enemy, and get back in the fight against sin, then seek out accountability with a believer you trust - and go to war. Whatever the case, let's join the battle, and fight as those who are sure of victory. The God who calls us to the sanctified life is worthy of our every effort.

Sanctification, Part 2.

In this second part of our look at sanctification, we continue on through Romans 6. Previously, Paul established that we were slaves to sin. But now, he reveals an astounding truth: we have been made slaves to righteousness.

Once, we committed sins because we were under the power of sin… we did the things we wanted to do, and we reckoned them good. In that condition, we would have called righteousness slavery. But with a changed heart, we are want to be obedient. It isn't obedience in the way we previously imagined righteousness to be: forced and cold, and missing out on the things we’d really rather be doing if we weren’t pressed into this religious obedience. No! We have begun to pursue holiness from the heart –because God has changed our hearts– and because we now love to do those things.

What does that look like? The old desires and habits and hang-ups no longer give us the satisfaction they once did. We begin to take greater pleasure in pleasing God than pleasing ourselves. We begin to hate what God hates and love what He loves.

It isn’t accomplished perfectly or all at once. The faith that saves does not produce a perfectly lived righteous life of our own. Rather, it causes Christ’s righteousness to be reckoned to us. So the evidence of saving faith is not perfection, but changed direction. It’s imperfect, but demonstrable.

But what about being a slave to righteousness - what does that mean?

Paul says he’s using this slavery imagery so that we can understand. As horrible as slavery is, it was a part of the Roman world, and Paul knew that his readers would be familiar with it. He has also set this image up as a dichotomy: either one thing is true, or the other is. As he stated in verse 16, you’re either a slave either of sin or a slave of obedience and righteousness. You show yourself to be the servant of whichever master you go on presenting yourself to.

Just as we were formerly under the power of sin, we are now under the power of righteousness. In the instant that we first become believers, God justifies – He declares us righteous in Christ. He gives new life in regeneration. And in His initial act of sanctification, He breaks the power of sin over us. So this sanctification isn’t about being made to do something against your will. It’s that your will itself is held captive by that which you love. And now, the thing you love, the thing your will is being held captive by, is righteousness instead of sin.

When we were slaves to sin, sin was our master. Sin ensured our continued obedience to it. We went on sinning, powerless to change our status. In other words, we would go on serving our sin master until our demise in death. But being a slave to righteousness means just the opposite- righteousness will ensure our continued obedience to it- we will go on serving our growing desire for holiness on the path to eternal life. As Paul says in verse 22, "now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life."

Next time, we'll look more at what Paul means by "slaves to God," and how we can participate in the work that God is doing in us.

Sanctification, Part 1.

Sanctification sometimes feels as though God is bringing about circumstances in life which will make us both very holy and very unhappy. But that isn’t how it really is. Sanctification is an ongoing struggle, a battle waged against sin and the flesh. But while the battle sometimes seems to be trench warfare, there also great joys that come with victories. And the march is one that leads to home, heaven, and Christ Himself.

The New Testament uses the term “Sanctification” in three different tenses: past, present, and future. 

In the past: referring to the moment of regeneration, when the believer was set apart from sin positionally. In the present: when the believer is being set apart from the power and practice of sin. And in the future: when the believer will be set apart from the possibility and presence of sin.

So Sanctification is being made holy – being set apart. And while we do participate in our present-tense, ongoing sanctification, our contribution is completely dependent on God. No one grows holy by themselves. That is what I want us to see over our next few posts: How God makes sanctification possible for us, and how we should respond in light of what He has done.

Romans 6:17-22  "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,  (18)  and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.  (19)  I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.  (20)  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  (21)  But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.  (22)  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life."

So our first point is this: Before our salvation, we were Slaves of Sin. (v. 17)

What does Paul mean by “slaves to sin?” Romans Chapter 6 is Paul’s argument that saving faith does not produce people who are tolerant of sin. Christians who have been justified by faith and regenerated to new life are not casual or cavalier about sin.

Just think of scriptures like 1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

What part of God’s holiness is cavalier toward sin?

In the first part of the chapter, vs. 1-14, Paul explains that our old self is crucified with Christ and we must now consider ourselves dead to sin. Here, in the second section, Paul uses the imagery of bondage or slavery- and he says in verse 19: "I am speaking in human terms so you can understand." Bondage and Slavery is something that First Century Christians could see and understand. It was all around them.

It is also of utmost importance that we understand sin as being more than a single infraction. It’s a state, a nature, a power. Being a slave of sin means being held under sin's authority, under its power, and being completely unable to change our condition. That's what "bondage" means.

We learn in verse 19 that we presented our members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness. Not only were we powerless to change our bondage to sin-  it’s much worse than that- we wouldn’t have called our bondage “bondage” at all! This slavery is not at all being made to do what is against our will. It is that our will has been taken captive! “We present ourselves.”

When we were lost, we were quite happy with our sin! We’re not happy with other peoples’ sin, but we can’t wait to participate in our own. So, we presented our members to impurity and lawlessness. And that leads to more of the same thing. That’s the problem with a corrupted appetite- it’s insatiable. The thing that made us happy is the thing we want more of.  

In verse 20,  Paul says when we were slaves to sin, we were free in regard to righteousness. That means sin held us in bondage, but righteousness had no power over us- no appeal whatsoever.

You’ve probably heard reasoning like this, before: "Who wants to have to be righteous? Rules and regulations and observances and prohibitions… I don’t want to be prisoner to that! I’m free from all of that."

That’s how badly sin messes us up! Sin-sick people look straight in the face of freedom and call it bondage; and then go right back to the enslavement that makes them happy.

Last time, I brought up the Israelites who wanted to return to Egypt. That little illustration still fits. In Numbers 11, the people were lamenting the manna. So they cried at the doors of their tents for meat. And they said, “Remember in Egypt, we ate fish!” and get this- I’m not making this up! This is Numbers 11:5. “We ate fish in Egypt that cost nothing.” Now that is insanity! In Egypt, if you were a Hebrew, you could have free fish. They also murdered your children and whipped you with Lashes and gave you tasks like “bricks now, without straw.” Of course the fish was free. Tim Keller said, “What rational person looks at this and says, “well there was a perk. The fish was free.”

Think of it! Freedom and provision literally raining down from heaven rejected because they wanted to satisfy their bellies.

So we were slaves to sin, and we didn’t want holiness or righteousness. We were in bondage: endlessly presenting ourselves before sin, our master, and always wanting more. In verse 21, Paul shows us the fruit of this bondage: death. But for those who would believe in Christ, the story doesn't end with death! The call of scripture is to come to Christ in faith and repentance, when God Himself will exchange our bondage to sin with bondage to righteousness. In the next post, we'll see how God makes that possible.