Sanctification is the progressive narrowing of the gap between confessional faith and functional faith.

 

 

 

Thoughts from the book You can change by Tim Chester.

In a chapter dealing with identifying the cause of destructive behavior he deals with the thought of Christian not trusting God outside the church doors or outside of known Biblical truths.  He brings up a very interesting scripture that I have not noticed. Romans 14:23 “What ever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

“Not many people think of themselves as someone who believes lies. But every time we don’t trust God’s word we’re believing something else, and that something else is always a lie. If I get angry when I’m stuck in traffic, it’s because I don’t trust God.  I believe the lie that God is not in control or that His purposes for me are not good.”

Our negative emotions are a symptom of unbelief.  He states “When we are bitter or depressed, it is because we believe God is not being good to us or that He is not in control.

Not many Christians think of themselves as unbelievers.  More often it arises from functional or practical disbelief.  The problem lie in the gap between what we believe in theory and what we believe in practice.

Sanctification is the progressive narrowing of the gap between confessional faith and functional faith.

This is a powerful thoughtful truth that can help us in our daily walk.

read and meditate on these two scriptures.

Proverbs 4:18-23  and Jeremiah 17:5-8  Some scripture quotes from these passages (still read the complete tests).

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. (In the car, work, life)

My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words.  Do not let them out of your sight,
    keep them within your heart;  for they are life to those who find them  and health to one’s whole body.

Romans 14:23 “What ever does not proceed from faith is sin.”   Wow, this chapter is an eye opener to trusting in God and resting in His faithfulness and control of my life every day.  

Join me in practicing this truth as we make our days brighter knowing that God is there. No shadow of turning from us (James 1:17)

So tomorrow we will get up and trust in God.  The day and our life will brighten up as we live with LIGHT N SIDE.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.  Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord .” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.  Psalm 32:3‭-‬5 NIV11

We sin

As a  Christian we enjoy the power of God and the presence of Christ.  However we are still part of the fallen nature of man.  We sin.  We are turned by our desires and traps designed by our enemy (James 1:14-15  “14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.“)  Like King David our eyes see something we may not even have been looking for.  Our carnal fallen nature rises up and we find ourselves falling into sin.

We Justify

The first response is to justify and minimize the sin.  Using our logic we devise a world where we can live with the pleasure and pretend it has no effect our relationship with God.  But, we notice a dryness of God’s presence.  The desire of seeking God’s presence is reduced or replaced.  Day after day a decrease of seeking God is replaced by the carnal desires you tasted and liked.

Listen to your body

If this is you,  listen to your body and heart.  As David described during his sin his body reacted to the lack of God’s presence.  There is a pressure and groaning in our bodies.  You feel it.  Trying to escape this pressure you keep yourself occupied with distractions and entertainment. But all along a Christian’s body that houses God’s presence moans and  suffers. The joy of God’s presence is dampened as the Holy Spirit calls for repentance.  This is a difficult and uncomfortable feeling.  The clash of God’s presence with our selfish desires is an inward battle.

Confess and enjoy

I am glad the Holy Spirit does not give up.  I know I need to confess and reject that carnal pleasure that was birthed by gossip, lust, anger, or any other emotion.  Once I begin to confess this to God, a sweet presence floods my life.  I am forgiven.  I am free of the inward pain. The joy of seeking God and His word returns and strengthens me.  We serve a great God who knows we are part of a fallen world.  He understands and His grace covers us during these times of wondering.  We can continue to reject Christ to our own shame and judgement but as I confess, I am restored.

Jesus prayed for Simon “before” he denied Christ

Jesus prayed for Peter (also called Simon) when He saw his future denial of Christ.  Luke 22:31-32 NIV “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. [32] But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30 NIV

 

What is a lasting quality in a woman?

Is it her words? Is it her looks? No, it is her faith. There is nothing more graceful, loving, and wonderful to see is a woman shut off from the world and closed in with her creator.

Attraction

Much of the worlds idea of attraction is a sultry voice and a smile.  The real woman’s use of her voice is lifting praise and prayers to God in her home and in her church.  A mother lifting up praises of thanksgiving for her family.  She is aware of God’s goodness and greatness.  She teaches her children to follow God’s commands.

 

Beauty shines from the heart.

Not just from  the makeup and the hair coloring.  It is the reflection of God’s spirit from her heart reflecting out of her face.   The grace from worship is beautiful to see.  God created women to carry and birth life into the family.  A Godly woman constantly births God’s presence and purpose into her family through her prayers and modeling her life of worship and love. Age has no bearing on this beauty.  It is GOD based. How many  look back at the prayers of their mothers that birthed hope for them.

Look beyond the outer shell.

Are you looking for a girl friend?  Are you looking for  someone to raise a family?  Look beyond the outer shell.  Of course beauty and communication are part of the attraction. But go beyond and observe her relationship with God in private and in public.  Notice her moral standards.  What makes her laugh and cry.  As you seek a woman of God you will be so blessed as the years go by.  Your marriage and family will have lightnside.

Proverbs 18:22 NIV  He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.

Both teams share one commonality.  On each team there are bold Christian proclaiming their faith in Christ .  It is difficult for the media to stand still as Christ’s name is proclaimed and many of these spots do not make it to prime time TV.  Below are two links I found this morning reflecting members of each team sharing their faith.

I am a Colt’s fan.  But after the win and the proclamation of faith in Christ from the coach and players I had to order a Eagles Superbowl cap.  I will wear it gladly to join in their faith of the greatest competition in the universe.  The super-super-competition of life eternal with Christ.  You are a player in this game.  Listen to your heavenly coach, King Jesus.  He has many plays to get you beyond the competition and into the kingdom touchdown.

Eagles quarterback “I want to be a pastor”.

 

Patriots Leader Praises Eagles’ Faith

 

Watching the game last night I was impressed with both teams.  I laughed at most of the commercials (Tide and Eli dancing were the best).  But the bold testimonies of men giving Christ the highest praise place a real lightnside my heart.

 

 

Romans 2:5-11 NIV

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath , when his righteous judgment will be revealed. [6] God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” [7] To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. [8] But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. [9] There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; [10] but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. [11] For God does not show favoritism.

 

 

Saved by works?  Judged by works?  How does this work with faith in Christ alone?

When we stand before God in judgement.  We will not be judged according to what we believe, but on what we have done.  In Revelation 20:11-13 “11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.” These verses seem confusing when the Bible clearly states we can never be righteous enough on our own.  It is only through the work of Christ and the revealing of God’s righteousness on us that puts us in a save relationship with God.  Then how do we reconcile this verse?

 

NOT WORKS … EVIDENCE

 

The focus of these verses are focused on the evidence of a changed life. You might say these verses are looking to find proof a life in Christ and living in the Holy Spirit.  Becoming a Christian is more that the initial salvation.  It is a lifestyle.  We learn to walk in the new life and learn to be led by the spirit.  Our relationship to others will change as well as our nature is changing.  We are becoming more and more Christ-like.

If there is no change in your life and behavior it is an indication there was never a change.  Christ in you will change you.  The Holy Spirit in you will change you.  The well of life flowing up in your heart brings peace, joy and power that spreads out into relationships and actions.

What we do reflects who we are inside.

There is a danger in some of our beliefs and traditions.  Some beliefs who baptize babies believing they are forever saved or maybe you believe speaking a prayer one time and now you are forever saved.  The Bible is very clear about salvation that is instant but is also clear there is an behavior of evidence following a commitment in Christ.   Works will never save us.  But when Christ lives in us there is an evidence of our works that point to the work of Christ in us.  Notice the last two verses that follow after Paul write about judging behavior. They are verse 7 & 8. “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. [8] But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.  Choices create behaviors that is reflected in works.

When I stand before God.

There will be a book opened revealing my works.  It will record mistakes but I do believe there will be a thread of righteousness from God’s Righteousness that has worked itself through my life in doing good.  I will always wrestle with sin but the evidence of Christ in me is my repentance, seeking God’s direction and living by the Holy Spirit.  It is in my works, my life, my lightnside.

Romans 2:4-5 NIV

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? [5] But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath , when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

God’s Kindness

What is God’s kindness?  His forbearance (restraint and tolerance) and patience.  Read 2 Peter 3:3-15. God’s goodness is in the rainbow.  It is in the sunshine.  God is good.  He sent His only Son to forever live with the mark of suffering on the cross.  This was done as we were enemies of God (Romans 5:8).  God’s goodness with Adam and Eve by providing a covering for them and to develop a relationship again with man through the nation Israel.

God’s Patience and Goodness leads to Salvation

How many times in your past have you felt the goodness of God knowing something supernatural has intervened in your life.  Like a time where you should have been hurt or died  but somehow remain safe.  Like when  your car breaks down in a safe place or your home instead of a more dangerous place. It is these times we know something good has happened.  God’s goodness happens many  times when many are living in opposition to Him.  But it is the patience and forbearance in these events that should lead them to the knowledge that God is good and worth following. The Holy Spirit is at work drawing people to Christ.

Satan’s fight against God’s patience

During this patience of God,  there is still wrath being built up toward that final day of judgement.  But it is God’s desire that during this time of patience and goodness men would repent and the blood of Jesus will erase all sin.  The enemy is also at work to cause death which brings judgement and wrath on those who rejected God.  They did not acknowledge His goodness and the calling of the Holy Spirit in time.  Thank God for his patience and goodness in your life and your lightnside.

Romans 2:1 NIV

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

 

Judging others is a self-righteous pastime.

When we slip away from the knowledge of our brokenness we naturally begin  building ourselves up by identifying the brokenness of others.  In a way we are saying “I am a more righteous person than you.”  If you both fall into the mud and you climb out before the other person,  do you really have the right to say “I am cleaner than you?”  Both are muddy.  The act of judging others produces a stern warning from God.  Just the practice  of identifying sins in other people can highlight that sin in yourself.  And God takes notice.

Actions vs attitudes

Looking again at the list of sins in Romans 1:26-31 there were several action sins (sexual, murder, violence inventor of evil things).  But there were also attitudes (envy, proud, unmerciful, etc).  As we begin to look and judge others as  worse than ourselves are we not guilty of pride, boasting, and being unmerciful?  We can begin to worship the created (us) rather than the creator(God).  We begin to take away from God the honor and thankfulness due Him (Rom 1:21).  We will begin to have futile thoughts of our own righteousness.

 

Remember the story of the prodigal son?

The hidden story is the second son.  Not the one who ran away with his portion of dad’s inheritance (and dad was not even dead yet).   Not the one who spent all his money on wild parties and pleasures.  Not the son who came back broken and humble.  Not the son who was welcomed back into the family by dad.  I’m talking about the other son who stayed and worked the fields every day.  He obeyed his father.  This son, when he heard the celebration and found out the “sinful” son had come back,  refused to come in and join the celebration. Dad even went out in the field to talk with him but this second son’s judgmental,  selfish, and hardened heart only saw himself as more righteous than his brother .  He only saw his brother as someone who did not deserve forgiveness. This judging hardened his own heart.

There really was two prodigal sons.

The one who sins greatly repented and was forgiven.  The other prodigal son who never left the house(church)…the bible does not say he ever repented.

Do you find yourself judging others?  “They are a bunch of …..”  He or she are very …”

Be careful.  God notices.  He is kind with forbearance and patience for you to repent.  Don’t build up wrath for the day of judgement.  Rather build up thankfulness and be merciful to others. Let us keep our lightnside and our eyes on the knowledge of  what Christ has done for us.

​Romans 1:21-32 Please read passage before continuing.

Clearest descriptions of fallen man

This passage in Romans is one of the clearest descriptions of fallen man left to his own wisdom and morality.  We are all part of this fallen nature and we all wrestle with carnal thoughts. With the Gospel being applied we have faith in the work of Christ to unchain us from the bondage of sin.  Through faith the  righteousness of God is being reveled from Him to us.  We live with peace and hope.

I do not glorify God as He deserves

However, (Read verse 21 & 25) I do not glorify God as He deserves or give him thanks. I wrestle with my favorite idol…me. I am the created and He is the creator.  I tend to make  decisions and guide conversations to reveal my best leadership and avoid the one showing my mistakes. BTW,   How many Facebook selfies do you have? We love ourselves and sometimes we find ourselves caught between worshiping the creator or ourselves. I have another confession. My past reaction to verses 21 through 32 was “it’s about other people. Sinful people who do not know Christ because of their rejection and addiction to pleasure and selfishness.” But I must confess, there is some of me in these verses.

There are two types of people found in Romans 1:21-32

One is the Christian who has their faith in Christ and is covered by God’s righteousness.  Even with these gifts the fallen nature of man along with the Devil’s temptations trap us into falling into verse 21 & 25.  This darkens our mind and  hearts. You feel it and know it. SELF is a strong magnet to selfishness. It takes repentance and the blood of Jesus to overcome Rev. 12:11.

The other type of person is one without Christ. Refusing to believe there is a God. Their heart and minds become deeply darkened. God’s wrath is to allow the results of their downward fall into perversions and all manor of selfish evil bring destruction, hopelessness and death. Romans speak very clearly of homosexual sin. But before you place that sin above the others, farther down in the fall is sexual immorality,  envy, murder, pride, rebellious. The last four words of their description are the worst: untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, and unmerciful. God help us from ourselves.

We will begin the journey of mans battle with sin and Christ victory on the cross. Ride with me from hopelessness  to heaven in Romans.  Still have your lightnside? Thank you God for everything.  You are almighty God. Creator, redeemer, and  manager of all. Amen.

Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. NIV

What is your reaction?

So you are driving on the interstate with a speed limit of 65 and your speed is around 77.  You turn the corner and off to the side a state police car sets under the overpass.  What is your reaction?  If you are like me all my attention with deep groaning in prayer is on that car.  I am hoping officer does not notice me.  Why do we react this way?  Because there is an authority represented by this car which can arrest, fine, take away drivers license etc.  This is a healthy fear.

Letter from the IRS

How about a letter from the friendly IRS. (Sorry for the oxymoron)  This letter is always last one I opened.  Because within the walls of the IRS there is power and authority to enter your life and make changes that are not pleasant.

BLESSED is the one who trembles before God

The scriptures states BLESSED is the one who trembles before God.  Blessed means a better than normal life.  Goodness is following you.  Easier living than others.  You are blessed.  The blessing always come from outside ourselves. Those with power are protecting us rather than chasing us.  In the descriptions above some fear of Law enforcement and tax law would keep you driving slower and not cheating on taxes.  So when you see the car or letter you do not panic.  Your healthy fear kept you safe.

 

Jesus said we should fear God.

Matthew 10:28  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. This same statement is made in Mark and Luke.  Around this statement are words from Jesus describing God cares for us and  He knows the numbers hair on our heads.  I do trust God,  I do believe in Christ and follow Him.  I am always asking the Holy Spirit to help me and guide me.  But I am also aware of the power of God.  He will judge me as I give an account for my life.

The Bible also has some warning that should put some fear in us.  Like right after the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus says in verses 14-15  For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.   And verse 22-24  “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Do you have a health fear of God?

I don’t know where you stand on once saved always saved.  I am not totally in that camp myself but a healthy fear of God is healthy.  One day your will be driving along in your life and as you turn the corner…the end.  We will stand before God.  He is the judge.  He will welcome or reject.  Have a healthy fear now and your life will be most blessed.   If your heart become hardened you will be heading for trouble in this life and the next.   A healthy fear of God will keep your lightnside.