Calvary Baptist Church

Imagine that you own a restaurant that is not doing well.  The building needs repairs, the furniture is shabby and worn.  The service is slow.  The food is poor.  The restaurant is on the verge of going under.    Then one day an expert in the restaurant business comes and says, “How about letting me take over, run this place for you, and make you a successful restaurant owner?  Do you agree?”

The new manager comes in, cleans up the outside, paints a new sign, and makes things look great.  The old furnishings are taken out and replaced with beautiful new ones.   New table clothes are placed on the tables.  Competent energetic waiters and servers are hired.  Things are moving briskly.  In the kitchen, a new award-winning chef is preparing award-winning food.  A new sign goes up on the outside, “Under new management.”  People are coming from everywhere to eat in the restaurant.  It is wonderful when your restaurant is yielded to the control of someone who knows how to run it.   You get great results this way! You find success!

This is exactly the way it is in our new lives as Christians.  To yield to the control of the Holy Spirit is to allow Him to get on with the process of cleansing and changing our lives.   This is not a once and for all experience.  It is a continual process.

The Holy Spirit is active in our lives in every stage.  He guides us into the awareness that we need salvation is the work of the Spirit.  Last week we examined the truth that the Holy Spirit of God is intimately involved in bringing us to life.  But the work of salvation is not completed once we are saved.  He continues the work.

It is good to remember the process of salvation.   There are three distinct aspects of salvation.  Affirm each of these aspects as you read the next section.

• I have been saved-Romans 10:9-10

⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^[1]

 

This is a reference to the instantaneous act of conversion.  We are passed from death into life and will not be lost again.  (John 5:24, Romans 8:15-23) It is done and cannot be undone.  Last week’s blog outlined the Spirit’s work in bringing us to salvation.  It is a done deal.

 

• I am being saved-1 Cor. 1:18

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.^[2]

 

The process of working in us is the key word for today’s blog.  We will understand how the Holy Spirit brings about the continued work of salvation in our lives.  We are saved and on our way to heaven when we accept Christ, but He does not leave us the way we are. 

 

We are commanded to be holy as God is holy.  We are not there yet.  We are challenged to be perfect as God is perfect.  We are not there yet.  The great news is, He will not quit working on us until the work is done.  God is working in us to complete our work.  Our salvation is done.

 

 

• I will be saved Romans 13:11

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.^[3]

 

Our salvation is accomplished.  God is working in us now to complete the work.  But the work will be finished when we are glorified in heaven.  We will step into heaven and our salvation will be done.  Because we are focused on the work of the Spirit I will not be preaching on this aspect of our salvation.  Know that we are not done here. The promise of the completion of our salvation is as accomplished as the first part.  We WILL be saved when the trumpet sounds or Jesus comes from us.

The Spirit’s Continued Work in our Salvation

Unlike in previous weeks were overwhelmed with many words describing the Spirit’s work in our salvation, this message will focus on one word: sanctification.   This word is hugely important in both the old and new testaments.  The Greek word is hagiazo and is translated as sanctified, to set apart, and to make holy.

The word has two basic definitions.  First, it speaks of setting apart.  An ordinary table made by an ordinary craftsman became holy (hagiazo) because it was offered up for God’s use in the temple.  Regular bread baked in a normal oven by a gifted baker was made holy as it was dedicated to being placed in the temple. 

The process of God making us holy involves us being set apart from the rest of humanity.  We are not of this world.  We have a different nature, a different master, a different aim, and a different life.  We are set apart by God for a purpose. God brought us into a relationship, and we are committed to Him.

The second aspect of being consecrated is an intentional separation from sin.  We are set apart for God, but we are ALSO set apart from sin.  We are to live with an inward and outward holiness.  The Spirit works in us to bring about a cleansing from sin. 

Scripture makes it clear that this cleansing is the work of the Holy Spirit.  Two key passages make this abundantly clear.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

1 Peter 1:2 “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

 

We are to separate increasingly from the world, from sin and sinners, by making them more holy in body, soul, and spirit. Thus, it is both separation from the world, and a holiness of heart and life.

As you grow in your faith, you are more and more experiencing sanctification.  You love sin less and love God more.  You want to serve Him and be a blessing to others.

Sanctification is only possible through believing and obeying the Word and accepting the forgiveness because of Christ's sacrificial death.   He offered Himself as the sinless sacrifice and calls us to abide in the same way.

Let me ask you this way.  Can you say that you are 100% set apart from sin and to God right now?   90%?  80%?  75%?  So, are you asking God to accept that level of purity?  Are you thinking God should be content with you being 50% free of sin?   How much sinfulness is too much?

Why should we submit to the Spirit’s work of sanctification?  I offer four motivations:

• We should be holy because of the pressure of the world.  The world will push against us.  We cannot be self-sufficient; we must have the Spirit’s help. We are not promised that we will be kept from sin.
• We must submit to the Spirit’s work in sanctification because of the command of Jesus.  He told us that we are to be perfect.  (Matthew 5:48) Simply stated there is no level of sinfulness that God will accept.
• We are to be committed to personal holiness because of the example of Jesus.  He lived a life wholeheartedly committed to God.  He offered Himself as a sacrifice to the Father.  The victim became the priest.  He lived “Not my will but yours.”  We must do the same.
• Finally, we are to practice radical holiness because of the reality of conflict.  The enemy of our soul, the deceiver, the lying snake from the garden will always oppose us. He is real and powerful.  Victory is possible and commanded.

God will not stop working in us until we are welcomed into our eternal home.  Jesus’ blood cleansed us from sin finally.  He also cleans us when we stumble into sin.  The Holy Spirit sanctifies us. 

Sanctification past is a settled issue, and the future sanctification is out of our control.  That means that the only thing we can do anything about is the sanctification that is right now.  

The secret is to realize that He has given us all that is needed to keep us clean from sin, but He expects us to join Him in the work.  He says, “I am going to clean up your life, and you are going to help me.   I am going to provide the power to put all this to death, but you are going to work beside me.” 

Words of Challenge

• Believers are to be Separate from Sin and Submissive to God.  We are to submit to the Lord and resist the devil.  When we do the devil will flee.
• Sanctified believers are to demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit. While we examined the fruit earlier, we understand that the more set apart we are the more fruit we can yield for the kingdom.
• Disciples made clean are obedient to the Word of God.  The Word of God leads us be cleansed.  The Word of God is a delight to believers, having the power to transform us.
• Believers set apart from God are enabled to serve Jesus (John 17:19) Rather than withdrawing from the world and all its sin and hatred, the believers are to remain in the world, as resolute heralds of God’s message.  It is not Jesus' will to take us out of the world.  We are called to be salt and light in the world.  Jesus hands over the ministry to His people who He has approved for the task.

Make no mistake, I am responsible for submitting to the work of the Spirit in bringing us to holiness.  I am held accountable before the Lord for my choices. 

Jesus wants to radically redecorate our lives.   He is like a decorator who comes and says, “I’m in the business of coming into homes that are run down and cleaning them up and decorating them and making them beautiful.”

Two people down the street decide that they want the services of this decorator. 

She comes to the first house and the owner says, “I want you to renovate and redecorate my house.”  She starts to work, cleaning up one room, cleaning up another, putting pictures on the wall, etc.  The decorator then goes to the next room but finds the door look.  The decorator says to the owner, “I need to get in there and decorate it.” 

The owner says, “I am sorry, but I cannot let you in that one.  It is a room I have reserved only for myself.”

The decorator goes to another door and says, “This one is locked also.” 

“Sorry, but you can’t get in that one either,” says the owner.  Parts of this house might get decorated, but several rooms will stay the same.

The same decorator goes down the street, walks in the house, and the owner says, “This house needs repairs.  I want you to clean it up, decorate it, change it, and make a mansion out of it.  Here are the keys.  You take over ever room of the house.  Do not stop until its brand new.”

Will you hand the keys to your spiritual house to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work?  Let Him do His work.