On October 19 and October 26 2010, Pastor Craig Peters (Cornerstone Wesleyan Church, North Gower, Ottawa, Canada) preached a two-part series entitled "The Journey Of Salvation & Sanctification. This mini-series attempts to expose the myth that God is just interested in "getting us saved". It also unpacks the Wesleyan theological distinctive of Entire Sanctification (also known as Christian Perfection). Replete with scriptures and attempting to be true, primarily to the Bible, as well as John Wesley's theology, this series will help you understand what God's intention is in creating a holy people, set apart unto Himself.
The journey of salvation and sanctification (Part 1)
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The journey of salvation and sanctification (Part 2)
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Think back to that first evening on the roof. Was David already so far gone that he woke up thinking, I wonder if I can find a woman whose husband I can have killed? To the rooftop!
Of course not. It almost never happens that way.
David's plan started out simple enough: Take a well-deserved break from battle.
Focus dims. Grip weakens.
Stop and stare at the woman, the naked married one.
Completely out of focus now, David's treads begin wearing out. Have her over. Slip.
She's pregnant.
Slipping faster. His shoes are ripping apart at the soles. Then the cover up. Holding onto the side of the cliff, David grasping for anything, clawing to regain ground.
Then the murder.
Darkness.*
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (1 John 1:7-8:1 NIV)
Whatever our sin, be it lust, pride, gluttony, anger, bitterness, faithlessness, envy, running yourself into debt...it all begins with a moment of justification: I've been working hard...I'm tired...I'm wiped...I need a lift...
CS Lewis writes the following:
"...our warped natures, the devils who tempt us, and all the contemporary propaganda for lust , combine to make us feel that the desires we feel are so 'natural', so 'healthy', and so reasonable, that it is almost perverse and abnormal to resist them" **
The funny thing is that, after reasoning ourselves into sinning by creating all sorts of greyness (where there should be black and white) and by justifying (where there should be only one motion - that of running to the cross), the sin is, all of a sudden, so obvious and so crystal clear. It's right there!! I can see it!! And yet it's too late, because it's all ready happened.
But it's not too late. Don't justify your way out of it. Don't plead your case to God. Come to Him in repentance and though your sins are as scarlet, He will make them white as snow. The price has been paid, and will always have been paid, thanks be to God for the glorious richness of His grace in Christ Jesus! He is the one who speaks to the Father in our defense - even as we're standing there guilty as sin!
(*Taken from "Glory Revealed" by David Nasser, chapter 5 "Glory Revealed Through Sin" Redemptive Publishing)
** Taken from "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis, Book 3, Part 5, Sexual Morality, HarperOne Publshing
