What Now?

Justification

Romans 3:27-30 “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.”

Justification: Declaring something as right or whole in the face of God.

By the saving power of the cross, we are justified. Jesus pays the debt for our sin, and because of that we are pronounced as “right and good” in front of God.

This only happens because of Jesus’ death, there is nothing that you could do to earn it, it can only be a gift given to you by God.

Sanctification

1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

Sanctification: The process of becoming more like Jesus

You clearly aren’t perfect, even though you’ve been saved. But, God works in your heart to slowly make you more like Jesus every day.

This couldn’t be done without God. If it was up to you to become perfect, you wouldn’t be able to change anything, but God works in your life to make you more like how you were meant to be.

The Already but not yet.

1 John 3:1-3 “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

Things aren’t perfect yet, right? Brokenness is still in the world, sin still runs rampant, but we know that God has already died for us, so why isn’t everything great?

We live in what some people call the “already but not yet,” meaning that God already won, we are just in a waiting period.

This waiting period is because of God’s love. God is waiting so that as many people as possible can come to faith.

Questions.

How has your definition of the Gospel changed over the course of this series?

What do you think sanctification looks like in your life?

What can you do this week to work on our sanctification?