Impossible Mixtures

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:7-8  In the ancient world, you would never see an ox and a donkey yoked together, pulling a plow. That stipulation is found in the Old Testament along with others about mixing unlike things together (Deuteronomy 22:9-11). These stipulations reflected a principle for the Israelites: Don’t be yoked together with unbelievers in Canaan. That principle made its way into the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

But it also reflects an even more impossible mixture: the Holy Spirit and the carnal nature of man (the flesh). When we are saved, we are delivered from the power of the carnal, sinful flesh in our life; set free to live life powered by the Spirit of God. The flesh and the Spirit are like oil and water—they simply cannot be mixed. For a Christian to manifest the nature of the flesh is a signal that something is wrong. Life in the flesh can never be pleasing to God. It is what Christ died to deliver us from! To please God, live a life yielded to the power and guidance of the Spirit. The flesh is radically and wholly evil. A. W. Pink 1- David Jeremiah

Sanctification: Glorification

Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

The Golden Chain of Salvation…  A series of steps in the process of salvation, necessarily ending in the believer being glorified.  Paul writes “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”[i]  Following on this, Paul continues with a description of what happens when God predestines.  The one that is predestined is called, justified, and finally glorified.  The status of “being glorified” is equated to conformity to the image of his Son.

What then is “sanctification”?  The Golden Chain of salvation found in Romans 8:29-30 does not present all the steps of God’s redemptive work.  Reformed theologians have filled out the chain using the term “Ordo Salutis” (The order of salvation).[ii]  The Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the question as follows:

Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God , and are enable more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.[iii]

The image of God is defined in scripture as True Knowledge, True Righteousness, and True Holiness.[iv]

True Knowledge

True knowledge is knowledge that corresponds to the mind of God.  One obvious source of true knowledge is the scriptures as given to us in the Old and New Testaments.  The pursuit of science can potentially yield “true” knowledge.[v]  When we study something under the microscope, we are looking into the mind of God, for its design came from the mind of God in creation.  To the extent that what we know is “actually” what God has established, we have “true” knowledge.  Our knowledge however is never “exhaustive”, we will never know what we study completely as only God can know in this fashion.  He is infinite, we are finite.  He is omniscient and holds original knowledge.  We know derivatively.  He is creator, we are the created.

The rest is at: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/sanctification-glorification

Sanctification: Glorification

Martin Blocki

Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Read at: https://www.reformation21.org/blog/sanctification-glorification

The Slowness of Sanctification

https://laradentremont.com/articles/slowness-sanctification

Christ-Centered Sanctification

A Broadcast with Guy Waters

Christians are made right with God because Jesus lived perfectly in our place. In this message on Romans 6, Guy Waters considers how we are to live in light of this glorious truth.

https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?e=10e1a68c17&u=32a41d449a635dc91898c8337&id=91dcf42dfa

The Holy Spirit and Sanctification – podcast

A Broadcast with Guy Waters

The Christian life of dying to sin and living to righteousness remains impossible without the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In this message on Romans 8, Guy Waters looks at the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence and role as the Spirit of adoption.

 

https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?e=10e1a68c17&u=32a41d449a635dc91898c8337&id=c5a7961be8

Christ-Centered Sanctification – podcast

https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?e=10e1a68c17&u=32a41d449a635dc91898c8337&id=91dcf42dfa

The Five Key Factors in Every Christian’s Sanctification

Growth in Christlikeness is a lifelong, active progression. We are holier on the day we die than we were on the day we came to Christ. We are holier on the day we die than we are on the day before we die. Yet this long progression is peppered with seasonal lulls, drudgery, and complacency. We know we are never as Christlike as we ought to be or even as we want to be. Yet while our lack of holiness ought to motivate greater effort in godliness, we often allow it to contribute to discouragement, laziness and apathy. Sanctification is a tricky business.

How does God go about this work of sanctification? David Powlison helpfully narrows it down to five means or five streams through which God pours out his sanctifying grace. These factors work in tandem, each one contributing to our lifelong gain in godliness.

Continue:

https://www.challies.com/articles/the-five-key-factors-in-every-christians-sanctification/

Justified and being sanctified

4 Ways God Conforms Us Into Christ’s Image

https://www.christianquotes.info/images/4-ways-god-conforms-us-into-christs-image/