I used to get tripped up by the message of salvation. I thought, “Well, if Jesus already died for my sins and has forgiven me, that’s great I guess. Nothing left for me to do!”
Silly me. I wasted many years without learning or growing in my relationship with the Lord. I remained blind to His direction and unable to accept His comfort because I didn’t take the time or make the conscious effort to become sanctified.
What in the world does sanctified mean? Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. of VOUS Church summed it up perfectly; “Sanctification is the daily continual process of becoming more like Jesus.”
He preached an incredible sermon about Paul’s message to the Romans in which Paul explains the difference between sanctification and justification when we accept Jesus as our Savior.
Pastor Wilkerson explained, ‘JUSTIFICATION is IMMEDIATE; it is my eternal standing with God and SANCTIFICATION is a PROCESS; it is my earthly standing with others’
In other words, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, our sins are immediately forgiven by God; we are justified. BUT, the “process” of becoming sanctified is something that will last for our ENTIRE LIVES here on earth.
This message fits right into the theme of HAPLOUS. As Christians, we must all take the necessary #babysteps to become more like Jesus; sanctified. But as Pastor Wilkerson explains, this process is NOT easy. It’s difficult-- we get defeated because the enemy attacks us continually.
Paul said to the Romans, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.”
We are always serving either sin or the One who freed us from sin. Becoming more like Jesus takes time. It takes patience, willingness and obedience.
Watch Pastor Wilkerson’s sermon to get the full picture!
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