Here’s something that caught me today:

Colossians 2:6-7 ESV
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

The word “as” seems absolutely key here. Another way of reading this sentence is “Walk in Christ Jesus the Lord AS you received him”. So – for those of us who have received Christ… the question becomes: how did we receive him?

We received Christ as a gift, through repentance and belief in the gospel.

1) As a Gift:

Titus 3:4-7 ESV
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

John 3:3 ESV
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Just as we had no involvement in our physical birth, so we have none in our spiritual birth – other than that, once born, we begin to breathe and live. Salvation is ultimately a gift, something given to those who believe by God himself – something we cannot and have not earned by doing anything. It’s a gracious blessing – something entirely unmerited and unsolicited.

Similarly, just as our salvation is God’s doing, the life we live from that time on is God’s doing also. Whatever “good” (God-honouring, God-exalting) things we do, we can understand that they are gifts also – things our natural self is entirely incapable of.

Philippians 2:12 ESV
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We are to work out, live out, breathe out, speak out our salvation… actively, voluntarily, volitionally… because we understand that as we do so, it is God at work in us making it happen. So then, living as He desires us to is not something we do, but rather something He does in us, for His good pleasure and enjoyment. This is a great comfort and a great challenge to consider!

2) Through Repentance and Belief in the Gospel:

When Jesus spoke to people and told them to do things, he often reduced the ‘action requirements’ down to basics. Some balk at this, thinking that favour with God must be more difficult to acquire. In a sense, those who balk are correct – it is more difficult than they could possibly imagine. Impossible, actually.

Truth is, the life-changing heart-rending repentance and belief that Jesus speaks of is utterly impossible for human beings to accomplish. Impossible apart from being regenerated (aka “reborn”, “born again”) and given a new heart and a new life – complete with new desires and an unceasing pattern of… you guessed it, repentance and belief.

Matthew 4:17 ESV
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

When God takes hold of sinners as his own, gifting to them new life, they in turn… turn to Him. Repentance is not merely what happened when you “received Christ Jesus the Lord”, but rather it becomes the new pattern and the hallmark of your life from that moment on – a pattern of growth into the likeness of Jesus Christ that scripture calls our sanctification. What is repentance? Simply, it’s turning away from your sin and towards God. Mentally, it’s the process of developing a Christlike hatred toward sin (while cultivating an increasing love for God). Where once we were enemies to God, we increasingly become enemies to sin (particularly our own).

Mark 1:14-15 ESV
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Similarly, belief is not just something that happens at the beginning of a person’s walk with God, but rather it becomes the new pattern of your life. Where once you lived in rebellion and unbelief, now you persevere in the faith, believing in the God of the Bible and in His glorious Gospel – the message that in Jesus Christ, God entered human history as a man, lived a perfect and sinless life, died a sacrificial, substitutional, atoning death on the cross, defeated death, and lives forever as King and Lord and God.

Let’s revisit our starting point:

Colossians 2:6-7 ESV
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Do you remember the time in your life when you came to repentance and belief? Experientially, it may not have been a climactic moment of awakening but instead a process. Regardless, do you remember those times? Do you remember the feeling of “scales falling from your eyes”, of understanding and believing what before had seemed foolish and detestable? Do you remember realizing the enormity of your sin, and rejoicing in the grace of God expressed in the atoning sacrifice of his son for you? Do you remember the bliss and the mourning of being brought to repentance?

Do you remember?

Friend, just as you received Christ Jesus our Lord… walk that way. Put your roots in him. Build up and establish yourself in the faith, just as Scripture teaches it – and never forget to abound in thanksgiving for what God has done.

Luke 9:23-24 ESV
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

God’s will for us – what an utterly important thing to grasp! Yesterday, I introduced the topic here. Be sure to check that out if you haven’t already.

Here’s where we left off – thinking about God’s will in practical terms:

1 Thesselonians 4:3a ESV
For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

Seriously though, when I said we often over-complicate it, I wasn’t kidding. Although there are other places where the methodology for ascertaining God’s will (contexually) is shared – such as Romans 12 – there’s nowhere else in Scripture where “God’s will” for Christians is stated more explicitly. I’m guilty of missing this, and you probably are also.

So what does this mean, that God’s will is my sanctification? What are the implications?

Well, for starters, this makes figuring out the “why” of things-over-which-I-have-no-control much easier. Whatever happens to me, I can trust that it’s been caused or allowed by God for the purpose of my sanctification. That goes for the things-over-which-I-appear-to-have-control, too. From the ‘out of my hands’ to the ‘I totally blew it’, God allows and orchestrates our lives in such a way that we who belong to him, who are called by his name, to progressively and consistently over the course of our lives becomes more and more like Jesus.

So, how does this practically affect when I need to make decisions? This is where it splits two vital ways.

First, it means that prior to deliberating about the many decisions of life, I need to make the primary decision; the decision to live life FOR my own sanctification. Indeed, continually making decisions that PURSUE it. This means that, far above and beyond the importance of any other decision I might make, I must ultimately and continually choose to be obedient to this high calling:

Philippians 2:12-13 ESV (emphasis mine)
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Wow. Ok. Let’s break this down. As believers, we are explicitly called to be obedient to a number of explicit, solid, generally unchallenged callings – things like the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. All of these callings, however, center around bringing God glory. Whether it is the glory for lives transformed by the Gospel we take to all nations, or the glory for the supernatural altruistic love we cultivate for neighbors, enemies, and most of all for God himself. This explicit command from Paul in Philippians (echoed elsewhere) is no different. God sanctifies us for His own glory – he “works in us”, enabling both our will and our work – granting us grace for daily, obedient actions and decisions.

Yet, we’re called to “work out” our salvation. We’re given a clear calling to sanctification. So very clear. Although God enables our rebellious hearts and minds, experientially we work, we strive, we struggle, we battle, we war, we “fight the good fight”.

Paul worded it like this:

Romans 6:19b ESV
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.

What does this work look like? What does obedience to this calling look like? God’s will is my sanctification – how do I obediently work that out? How do I “enslave” my cognitive faculties and my utterly mutinous body to righteousness? What choices are ultimate in my life before I even think about the daily grind decisions?

Here’s some ideas of the kinds of choices the call to sanctification necessitates:

1. Sanctification and Scripture are intricately tied into each other.
Nothing could be more explicit (there it is again – explicit!) than when Jesus prayed:

John 17:17 ESV
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

If that’s not a strong enough argument, I don’t know what will be. Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified by God’s word – namely, the Bible. Scripture. Genesis to Revelation – everything contained therein.

So, Choice #1 is this:
I choose to spend time in the Scriptures every day. God’s will is that I be sanctified, and he himself said that I would be sanctified by the truth – his word. I will be in it every day without fail – searching out all of the truth it contains. Studying it, applying it, wrestling with it, and being obedient to what it says. It’s God’s will for me.

2. Sanctification is rooted in knowing and trusting God – which is expressed in prayer.
As we just saw, the truth of what God has said in the Bible drives our sanctification. So, what has God said to us in it? Among its whole canon, one constant refrain is that we who believe are called to know God, and in knowing him, we are to entrust everything to him.

Here’s a good, simple example:

Psalm 4:5-8 ESV
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.
There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

The Psalmist – David, in this case – contrasts those who don’t know God with those who do (namely, himself!). In this contrast, he compares his joy with theirs and concludes that his joy is far greater. He delights in the peace and the safety of trusting the LORD, and charges us to trust God also.

So, how does trusting God manifest itself in our lives? We pray:

When we have need, when we are oppressed, when circumstances surround us and are so far beyond our control, or when decisions to be made bear down on us and we have no clarity – God asks us to humble ourselves, seek his face, and repent. All of these things are propelled by trusting God, and amidst them, he bids us to pray. When we pray in this way – humbly seeking him with a repentant heart – we are acting out our trust in Jesus to be the one who meets our needs, delivers us from oppression, steer our circumstances, and clarify our decision making. When we come before God with our petitions, we come to a living, active, powerful Saviour who is more than able to see us through whatever difficulties may face us.

It’s for this reason that the Apostle says:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Wow… again with “the will of God” being explicitly and clearly stated. God’s will is that I be sanctified, and that I never cease to pray, to rejoice, to give thanks. The more I know him, the more I trust him, the more I bring everything to him in prayer. He’s worthy!

So, Choice #2 is this:
I choose to spend time in prayer every day. God’s will is that I rejoice in who he is, trust him with thanksgiving, and pray without letting up. I will come to him with all my praise, all my needs, all my requests, and all my confessions as he sanctifies me. It’s God’s will for me.

Some of you might chuckle here – after all, I’ve just described two of the key spiritual disciplines! Let’s recap. First, God’s will is that we be sanctified by spending time diligently studying and applying the scriptures to our lives – depending on him to give us clarity and understanding as we strive to grasp his truth. Second, God’s will is that we be sanctified by spending time trusting him in prayer. Let’s commit ourselves afresh to these disciplines. They’re two of our primary callings in life as believers – two explicit manifestations of our being sanctified, and thus following God’s will for us.

God’s will is our sanctification, let’s align our wills with his on this.

As I mentioned a couple days ago, I’m in a phase of life (called “job hunting”) where finances and economics are on my mind a lot. Money stuff. With that in mind, I’ve been doing a survey of what the Bible says about money… and it’s many synonyms – wealth, riches, resources, etc. I like to call it “THE MONEYS”.

That being said, I’m sitting on a mostly-finished “part 2″ to this series. Before I drop that – in a couple days, Lord willing – I felt inspiration hit tonight and so I decided I’d hit inspiration back with a brief tangent. Consider this post #0 if you like. See, when I started this series I neglected to preface it. I’ve realized lately that it’s often prudent to preface any serious study – particularly if it’s topical – with some of the roots beneath the topic. In the case of this study of finances and fiscal responsibility and “THE MONEYS”, a closely-related and very root-ish issue that I believe needs to be addressed in tandem is something we usually refer to as “the will of God”.

Why the will of God? The easiest explanation is actually my own circumstances. My reason for studying the scriptures concerning “THE MONEYS” is that I’m at a point in my life-journey where there’s a lot up in the air, particularly in the area of work and providing for my family. Of course, this means that studying the principles laid out by Scripture concerning such providence and work and, well, economics… is paramount. With that in my mind, while I was at a meeting tonight someone shared briefly some scripture from 1 Thesselonians which served as a reminder to me that even more deep and vital for me to understand right now (amidst all my many concerns about finding a job and being a responsible post-grad employable individual) is what God’s will for me is. If I have a solid grasp on God’s will, that will both inform and reform my understanding of finances. Thus, we’re going to consider God’s will tonight.

Christians are much in the habit of making “The Will of God” something mysterious and unknowable and far-off and complex and convoluted and so on, ad nauseum. Sure, when we study it theologically in its fullness, there are many facets and components we must necessarily take into account – such as the idea that God has two wills (one revealed, one hidden/secret – etc) and so on.

For the purposes of what I’d like to address tonight – in terms of what I hope both challenges and encourages you – we’re going to be talking about God’s practical will. That is, we’re talking about “God’s will” as it relates to the everyday, mundane decisions and the overarching, significant decisions we make as we journey through life. In my case, right now, that involves things such as “How can I spend today fruitfully and productively?” and “Do I take this job or not?”. Further, we’re talking about “God’s will” as it relates to the many forces that exert themselves upon us throughout life… upon which we have no control or recourse. In my case, right now, that involves things such as… well… some random company offering me a job, or the unlikely event of severe sickness coming upon me. Does that make sense? We’re talking about “God’s will” in the sense that people often say “I’m just trying to figure out what God’s will is for me right now”.

1 Thesselonians 4:3a ESV
For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

Well hey, that was easy!

Come back tomorrow when we’ll start to explore the implications of this profound, explicit truth. All I ask is that you ruminate on this a bit. What does it mean practically to know that God’s will for me is that I be sanctified – that I become more like Jesus every day, in each decision, and in all my faculties? Ponder and consider, friends.

(If you’re skeptical, I already have the next post written – no jokes!)

…and that, my friends, is what I like to call “getting married”. We just got back from the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee (highly recommended) and I feel disconnected and awesome. Hoping to have something to say soon. Marriage is good for you, and hard, and definitely an important component of sanctification, and I love it and plan to for a very, very long time.