Sanctification Station, From, "What I Believe," by Chris Byers

The following is an excerpt from an ongoing, journal style writing/book that I am working on. It seems relevant so I wanted to share this part of it. Obviously not fully proofread, so disregard that. Be Blessed!

Juliet and I have done well overall with our committments from a month or two ago. We have done our best to rid ourselves of any remains of vice or sin. Obviously there are always stumbling blocks.

In order to fully be rid of sin, we will need to wait until we leave this life for the next. There is a concept within the idea of salvation by grace that gives more insight into the fact that salvation should be viewed as more of a process than a once and for all situation. Sanctification is that process.

When we come to Christ, and fully give ourselves over to him and When we confess our past sins in true repentance (to God), desiring to turn from them, we enter into a covenantal relationship. We are Born-again into it. Within this covenant are terms and conditions, much like the Old Testament covenant between God and Israel. Christ’s death ended that covenant of sacrifices and ceremonial laws, but kept the morality first presented in the old covenant. By that morality, we are still accountable.

The Ten Commandments are really a summary of all the more than 600 laws to which Israel was actually accountable. As Christians now, only one of the ten commandments is no longer in place, the Sabbath Law. This was the one commandment Jesus laid aside as part of the old ways. He emphasized and deepened  the meaning of the others, suggesting that even lusting after a woman could be adulterous. 

So while new additions to prior morals were made by Christ, his sacrifice, his Cross, allows us the opportunity for a grace that eliminates our failure to follow this morality. And, make no mistake, we do fail.

Our trust in Christ for salvation is a multi-part relationship. Yes, salvation leads to eternity with him. We long for and look forward to our Heavenly reign with God. But for the time of this life, Sanctification is more of a result of the covenant with Christ. Sanctification involves daily reminding ourselves of this covenant (or perhaps relationship is a better substitute term at this point) and following Christ in true repentance, seeking to turn completely from our sins, but knowing if we fail, Christ is there for us. This relationship involves terms. While faith in Christ does fully wash away sins; past, present and future, it is not an excuse to continue sinning with Christ’s forgiveness as a fall back. 

For example, someone who is a heavy drug user turns their life around and comes to Christ. They are forgiven, and truly repent. However, being human and naturally sinful, they begin to drift back into that lifestyle. They do not wish for this, but their past catches up with them. Temptation catches up. Soon they begin trying mild drugs, nothing major. The justification is that because they put their faith in Christ and are forgiven, they will just ask for forgiveness and continue in sin. This is not what salvation is about.

Pornography would probably be a better example, and one most men (even Christian ones) and some women have struggled with at some point. It’s the easiest thing in the world to turn from that sin, accept forgiveness, and say you will stop doing that. It’s a whole different ball game to not be mentally or physically tempted to revisit something that is so readily accessible, and then justify the action by using forgiveness as a fallback. 

In both of these situations, assuming the individuals are truly born-again Christians, by succumbing to temptation rather than overcoming it, does Christ continue to forgive them? 

I would answer yes, with a stipulation. The idea behind faith in Christ is to become a new creation. We are to aspire to be what we were always meant to be. We are to be above the earthly things, and focused on the Heavenly things. While a Christian can certainly be a professing Christian,  truly know he or she is saved, and  still fall into sin, to use forgiveness as a crutch to remain in sin results in consequences.

 I would say relational problems would be most common. Are we forgiven by Christ? Yes. But will there be repurcussions to our actions. Most decidedly yes. 

In 1 Chronicles 21, David is tempted (by Satan it says) into taking a census of his army. For him, this would be a direct thumb in the face of God, who until this point, had fought Israel’s battles for them, even using as few as 300 men in one victory. David’s choice to count his men, shows a lack of faith in God’s deliverance. 

So, David is clearly known as a man after God’s own heart. And, we could say he is forgiven, because he certainly repents and attempts to right his wrongs. But, he is not exempt from consequences.

In this particular case, God gives him a choice of his consequences. More often than not in our case, these will happen of their own accord, without our consent. Sin, eliminated by Christ in our lives or not, always has consequences. The benefit is that Christians will not lose their eternal life simply by sinning, but they will invite trouble into their earthly existence. 

A son who misbehaves is chastened by a father. The father still loves his son unconditionally, but must punish actions that are sinful. The punishment does not negate the love for the son, but rather demonstrates how much the son is loved. The desire to make the son into a standup guy, who learns to live morally, is the goal of this chastening.

In this way, God also will not hesitate to chasten those who are his. We are made sons of God by our relationship with Christ, and are therefore subject to his law. Christ can cover the sin and mediate between us via his victory on the cross, but the immediate effects of sin are not negated. The consequences remain.

This leads to a rather large debate of whether or not a Christian (that is truly a Christian) can lose their salvation. There are two schools of thought.

1. A Christian can always choose not to be a Christian, disown the relationship, and turn from God. This Christian according to some, has lost his salvation.
2. With that same example in mind, some would argue that because God created us all, and knew us before we were even born, that He knows ultimately who will choose to love him or reject him. And, that this man who turned is not necessarily lost...

-For one whom God knows will eventually choose him, the turning away may only be temporary, and if anyone knows this it would be God.

-If God knows the individual will later experience an event that brings about repentance, it is conceivable that the Christian has not LOST the salvation, but temporarily set it aside of his own accord, despite God's final plan for him.

-The immediate consequence being that of a consequence, and possible loss of Heavenly reward.

Option 2 is more about God’s sovereignty and the idea that even though we have a free will, it is still limited by God who is above our will. 
-That is, we are free to make our own decisions in this life, but we will always have to answer to those decisions. And, we can never escape God’ will for us, that was planned from before we were born.

-This works for our human side because we appear to make our decisions, and God certainly does not FORCE us to love him

-But some would argue it isn’t truly being free. 


Still, we are also not robots, so there is an aspect of freedom present.

I like this option more because I know that even as Christian, I constantly stumble in my walk. Knowing that no matter how hard I fall, God has already planned a place for me, gives me encouragement in the rough times. It also means that those who hear God’s call and accept Jesus, are set apart (elected) and cannot lose that. It’s the ultimate assurance of salvation. 

Juliet would disagree, and points out that anyone can fully reject God once and for all, and God would likely not bring back someone working only evil against him. 
-Still, the Apostle Paul was like our modern day Hitler towards Christians before he had an experience with Christ that turned him completely around and made him the great champion of the faith. This experience would seem to fall more in line with God knowing from before Paul was born, knowing that while Paul would be against him for a time, he would ultimately come to him, and do great things to bring more to him. 

So, the point is that recently, Juliet and I will both eventually fail at our mission of being perfect Christians. It is probably inevitable since we are still sinful creatures. We can repent and be immediately forgiven, but the consequence comes from how it might affect our relationship. Will we forgive as Christ did for us? Or, will our human nature cause turmoil before final acceptance and encouragement to do better? Only time would tell. One thing is for sure. No matter how “good” someone tries to be, our relationship with Christ is a sanctifying, ongoing process that will not be finished, until we depart for our Heavenly home.