Crisis vs. Process
My very dear friend, Pastor David Woods, posed the following topic for discussion in a comment to one of my earlier posts. I feel that it deserves to be elevated to a posting of its own. So, Dave, here it goes.
Is Sanctification an instantaneous experience? Or, is it a gradual progression?
Dave and I once had a pastor who was fond of saying "It is not either - or, it is both - and!" That answer used to drive us crazy! We would try to get a decision in a board meeting and we would get the "both - and" answer. Not exactly what we were looking for to say the least.
But, unfortunately, I think that is precisely my feeling about how Sanctification works in our lives. I believe that there is, or should be, a specific point in our Christian experience that we can point to that is marked by a conversion experience. That date and location ought to be inscribed somewhere on the fly leaf of our Bible. Likewise, the date and location where we once and for all settled the Lordship issue and the sin question in our life ought to be written under the inscription marking our conversion. And our lifes ought to be markedly different from that point forward.
Will we live a sinless life from that point forward? Probably not. But our lives should be coming ever increasingly more like Jesus. We should be being transformed daily and being made into the image of Christ. See Romans 12:2 and Romans 8:1-3. The great apostle Paul talks about his experience in terms of a race or a journey. That certainly has a "process" feel to it. But every race has a beginning and and end. And that certainly has a "crisis" feel to it.
Are you more like Jesus today than yesterday. Are you on the journey of becoming the man or woman that God has called you to be?
~Kevin
You've made a great start with your blog, Kevin. I pray that it be a conduit of blessing for everyone who reads it, and also for you.
ReplyDeleteI only wish that I could point to a specific point when I starteed my relationship with Jesus Christ. However, I can't. I know that I was about 6 or 7 years old when I did, at that point I didn't have a whole lot to "change" in my lifestyle. The date and location are wonderful things to know, but I don't think that they are absolutely necessary. The time when I settled the Lordship issue is more clear because I was older, but it is similar to my conversion experience in that I can't specify the date and location. I was about 14 almost sixteen. I finally decided to answer God's call to ministry for certain, I knew I had first recieved the call when I was about 10 years old at Promise Keepers. In summary of this. Knowing the specific dates is a great thing to remember and to record, that's not how it works all the time though, and I am evidence of that. I think that my ambitions about life have been markedly different and I have grown much since I have settled the Lordship issue. The "Crisis part of it I think comes when we first decide to let Christ mold our lives to be more like him. The Process part lasts a whole lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI meant to say 14 almost 15.
ReplyDeleteMy conversion happened in many steps.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I realized how far I had fallen from my Catholic, moral upbringing, that I had broken all but one of the commandments - and I prayed for forgivness. A day or two later I came to the realization that the Enlightenment I had been seeking was to be found in the Bible, and I started calling myself a Christian. Later someone asked me when I had gotten saved, and my first answer was that I was saved when Jesus died on the cross, No, they pressed, when had I been born again. My answer was, "if you mean when did I make a committment to make Jesus the Lord of my life, lets say Here and Now."
A few months later, I actually went up front at an alter call, just to be sure I had accomplished all the steps necessary to actually become a Christian...but as far as growing, working out my salvation, falling and being picked up by a loving father who dusted me off and set me on my way again (and again and again), yep, it is an endless process.
Your approach is inspiring. I'm gald you approached it with the "both-and" answer. It's been a struggle for me to convey my thoughts on the nature of sanctification. I've always said that slavation is not something that just happens in one moment, it not getting a ticket to heaven and walking away, 'saved.' It has something to do with how we live our lives and it has something to do with now. It's not just believing in Jesus but it's following Him, engaging in His mission with Him at our lead. Both-and is a good answer.
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