City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”

Romans 8:29

Exegesis

The Apostle Paul wrote the Thessalonians, “This is God’s will for you, your sanctification.” I Thess. 4:13. Christians wonder, pray, and ponder what great thing God has called them to do, and in looking for the splendid they miss the simple. God’s will for them, as it is for every Christian, is their sanctification, that is, that they progressively become more like Jesus. As C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “God became man to turn creatures into sons; not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man.”

God is so determined to produce this new kind of man He commands us to work at becoming more like Jesus in fear of Him, trembling at the thought of ignoring His command, because He has filled us with His Holy Spirit to work in and with us toward the same purpose. Philippians 2:12. It is a joint venture made in heaven and intended to bring heaven on earth. But we miss the significance of sanctification by conflating it with justification.

Justification is a theological term for being born again. It happens in the instant when one repents of one’s sins, accepts Jesus’ atoning work, and agrees to follow Him. Through justification we stand holy and blameless before God and receive the promise of eternal life. As Lewis notes, we are a new kind of man. Our heart of stone has become a heart of flesh, our spirit has come alive, and we are awakened to God. 

But what we become immediately creates only the potentiality of what we may become ultimately. When I passed the bar exam and received my law license it did not make me a good trial lawyer; it only made me a lawyer. We have been born again but as babies. It is yet to be seen whether we will grow, but it is God’s will that we grow, and He promises to help us to grow if we work with Him in the endeavor. 

And here is why it matters. Babies don’t change the world; only adults change the world. That you have been saved does not have to have any effect on the world around you. If you remain the same person you were before you were justified, self-centered rather than sacrificing, greedy rather than generous, loathing rather than loving, how is the world any better off by your justification? 

If however, you are progressing along the road of sanctification, working with the Holy Spirit to become more like Jesus, you cannot help but positively affect the world around you. And eventually as you work out your salvation to become more like Jesus your doing is transformed into being and merely being yourself becomes a means of changing the world. 

Justification changes your standing before God, but sanctification changes your standing before the world. Justification is your salvation, but your sanctification is the world’s salvation. In short, it is your sanctification, not your justification, that changes the world.

Application

Instead of looking back to your salvation, look forward to your sanctification. Work out your sanctification with fear and trembling because it is God Himself who wants to work within you to conform you to the image of Christ, not in the sweet by and by, but in the nasty now and now where it will change the world He loves so much.

Prayer

Lord, please continue to work in me to conform me into the image of Jesus so I can become a change agent in the world.