Sin, Repentance, and Grace (5 of 10)
Series: Summer In the Psalms
Bob Ingle
Psalms 32, 38, 51
Let me ask you a question that might sound a little strange at first but stick with me. Here it is:
''Are you committed to change?'' You say, 'Pastor Bob, change is nice, but I prefer dollar bills.'
I'm not talking about that kind of change. Nor am I talking about a change of address, or a change of habits, or a change of your diet and exercise. If you are a follower of Christ, are you committed to deep, personal, ongoing, internal change?
The Bible says we are justified (made right with God) by faith in the perfect life, substitutionary death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are not made right with God by trusting in anything we have done, but solely in what He has done for us. Justification or salvation is a one-time deal. It doesn't need to be repeated. We go from spiritual death to spiritual life. From spiritual darkness to spiritual light.
But God does something really strange after He saves us by grace through faith. Here's what He does: He leaves us here on earth in our flesh and in our bodies. We still have to deal with and fight against the presence of sin and the power of sin that still lures us, attracts us, entices us and wants to pull us from intimacy with God and obedience to God. This constant battle within us between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of this world is called sanctification. We have been justified. We are being sanctified. We have been saved by Christ. Now, we are becoming like Christ. Every Christian is fully saved, but no one is fully sanctified. That's means God's not done growing you. He's not done teaching you. He's not done changing you. So, being devoted to Christ means, among other things, being committed to change. If you are refusing to change, you are refusing to follow.
One of the best tools God uses in our sanctification is something called: REPENTANCE.
Repentance literally means ...
Series: Summer In the Psalms
Bob Ingle
Psalms 32, 38, 51
Let me ask you a question that might sound a little strange at first but stick with me. Here it is:
''Are you committed to change?'' You say, 'Pastor Bob, change is nice, but I prefer dollar bills.'
I'm not talking about that kind of change. Nor am I talking about a change of address, or a change of habits, or a change of your diet and exercise. If you are a follower of Christ, are you committed to deep, personal, ongoing, internal change?
The Bible says we are justified (made right with God) by faith in the perfect life, substitutionary death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are not made right with God by trusting in anything we have done, but solely in what He has done for us. Justification or salvation is a one-time deal. It doesn't need to be repeated. We go from spiritual death to spiritual life. From spiritual darkness to spiritual light.
But God does something really strange after He saves us by grace through faith. Here's what He does: He leaves us here on earth in our flesh and in our bodies. We still have to deal with and fight against the presence of sin and the power of sin that still lures us, attracts us, entices us and wants to pull us from intimacy with God and obedience to God. This constant battle within us between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of this world is called sanctification. We have been justified. We are being sanctified. We have been saved by Christ. Now, we are becoming like Christ. Every Christian is fully saved, but no one is fully sanctified. That's means God's not done growing you. He's not done teaching you. He's not done changing you. So, being devoted to Christ means, among other things, being committed to change. If you are refusing to change, you are refusing to follow.
One of the best tools God uses in our sanctification is something called: REPENTANCE.
Repentance literally means ...
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