What Are You Doing This Summer? SPIRITUAL GROWTH: MY JOB OR GOD'S?

Psychologists say one of the primary causes of conflict in households involves disputes over what's generally called “division of labor.” If the bed goes unmade, if the dishes go unwashed, if the diaper goes unchanged, who is responsible for getting the job done?  We’re all aware that many households have never had a calm, rational discussion about who is best equipped to do what.

I’d like to ask this question:  Whose job is spiritual growth?  (This really deals with what is known as the doctrine of sanctification.)  For many Christians there is confusion about the division of labor as it relates to spiritual growth or sanctification.  "Is it God's job, or is it mine?"

Some Christians have taken the position that sanctification is solely God's job, and they say, "I can't do anything at all." (Romans 7:18)

Other Christians take a somewhat more militant approach to spiritual life, evaluating spiritual growth as a product of one's commitment level. (Leviticus 11:44)

“Whose job is sanctification and spiritual growth anyway?”  The Biblical answer is:  Sanctification is a joint project between God and us.  The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2:12-13:  Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

First, please note, Paul says work out your own salvation, which means your role is important.  Then, please note, he goes on to say, "For it is God who is at work in you."  You're not doing this project on your own.  Sanctification is empowered by God.  In fact, it's impossible without Him.

Let me explain: 

1. Some things we can control.  We can make phone calls, drive a car, run an errand.  But ...
2. some things we can do nothing about.  Like the weather -- only God can change the weather.
3. But there is a third category.  In a motor boat I'm in control.  I start the engine, control the speed, and go wherever I want.  Sailing is different.  When I'm sailing, I'm not passive, I have a role to play -- I hoist the sails and steer with the rudder -- but I am utterly dependent on the wind.  If the wind doesn't blow, I'm dead in the water. When the wind blows, on the other hand, amazing things can happen.
   

In John 3:8 Jesus says, "The wind blows where it chooses. You hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."  (The word for ‘wind’ is the same as the word for ‘spirit’ both in Hebrew and in Greek.)

Like the wind, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit found in the Word and the Sacraments --  Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper -- is powerful and mysterious.  We can't control or manufacture it.  It's not about us coming up with a program with predictable results we control.  On the other hand, we're not passive. Our job is be where the Spirit works, to have the sails of our life filled, and in faith and by the guidance of the Word to discern how the Spirit is leading us in our everyday context (obedience).

Let me share four crucial truths the Bible teaches about sanctification.

1.   Sanctification is normative, not optional.

In Philippians 3: 12, Paul speaks about the sanctification to which he's called, saying, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

His identity is already secure, but not because of how well he does things. In verses 13 and 14 he claims, "I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Hold on to this hope that Paul shares in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “It is God's will that you should be sanctified."  It is God working and what God wills He empowers.

2.   Sanctification is a process (disciplined, painstaking, God-honoring, joyful, etc.)

Think of a time when you took a long vacation with kids. What's the first question they ask?  "Are we there yet?"

We're an instant gratification society.

Sanctification does not happen that way. Paul asks, “Am I there yet?”  Nope!  Not yet.  Not today.  Not tomorrow.  But this one thing I do.  I don't give up.  I keep after it.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul shares a different and helpful  metaphor:  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

In the pursuit of sanctification we will always be dealing with our sinful nature (flesh) and we will fail.

What do you do if we're serious about pursuing sanctification and you fail and slip into bad behavior?  Run to the cross and in repentant faith ask for forgiveness.

In Philippians 3:13, Paul employs an additional strategy for dealing with yesterday's sins and the resultant regrets.  It can be expressed in a single word: forgetfulness!  He says, Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead …  We tend to think of forgetting as a bad thing, as something we shouldn't do.  I believe ‘forgetting’ is indispensable to sanctification.

We can't be shackled to yesterday's regrets because sanctification is a journey, not an event.  Don’t be discouraged!

3.   Sanctification is empowered by God, not by man.

When talking about transformation, Paul has a strong tendency to use a certain grammatical form. He uses an imperative, which is used when giving somebody a command.  For instance, "Stop!" is an imperative.

There's another form called the passive voice.  That is when something happens to you.  You get hit by a truck.  You get struck by an illness.  That's passive. 

When talking about transformation, Paul often uses a passive imperative.  Look at Romans 12:2 ... Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is …

It is an imperative, but he does not say, "Transform yourself."  Instead he says, "Be transformed."  God is the one working!

Where are the winds of the Spirit blowing in your life?  Where and how is God at work in you?  What sin is He seeking to free you from?   Allow the winds of the Spirit to blow in your life.

4.   Sanctification should be pursued for the sake of others … not just for our own fulfillment and blessing.

The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus' day thought of themselves as very holy, but they couldn't love anybody. They were too absorbed with themselves. The New Testament never defines spirituality or sanctification in individualistic terms.  It's defined in terms of community.

Matthew 5:16:  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

In Philippians 2:14, Paul writes, Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold on to the word of life.  In other words, as the community matures this is what you'll find:  no grumbling and no arguing, just grateful hearts.  Bitterness and resentment will be replaced by a community of servanthood.

In conclusion, I believe that the goal of sanctification, in a single word, is love:  a faith filled life lived in love for God, and a faith filled life lived in love for our fellowman.

1 John 3:1-3:   How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Friends, as we live by the Spirit, may we also walk by the Spirit! (Galatians 5:25)  This summer, don’t miss out on worship.  God never takes a vacation from you, His precious children.

In fact, why not try spending a half hour a day reading the Bible, and another half hour in prayer.  I’m very confident that God’s Spirit will guide you, bless you, develop your faith, draw you closer to the Trinity, and transform your life.

It will not be lost time, but time multiplied, well spent, blessed, and a time of spiritual growth to remember.

Again, blessings on your summer!

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