Pastor's Bible Study

Sanctification is the act of God whereby the believing sinner is set apart FROM sin (its penalty at salvation, its power in our lives, and its presence in eternity) and TO God, Christ, and righteousness. 

This lesson focuses primarily on the practical aspect of sanctification, i.e. being set apart from the power of sin in our lives. Paul teaches us in Romans 6 four things that can lead us to living above the power of sin:

1) There is a fact to know. As believers we are dead to sin.

2) There is a faith to apply. We must account the fact as true to ourselves personally.

3) There is a function to fulfill. We must choose to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit as opposed to yielding to power of sin.

4) There is a faithfulness to live out. We must choose to obey God.

Job asks the all important question in Job 25:4, "How can a man be justified with God?" Paul answers the question in Romans 5:1 stating that we are justified by faith.

Justification is the judicial act of God whereby He legally declares the believing sinner to be innocent of all sin and as perfectly righteous as Christ. This act of justifying believing sinners comes only through faith and by the grace of God. (Rom. 5:1; Rom. 3:24)

The gospel is God’s plan to deal with man’s greatest need - the need of salvation. Our need is to be forgiven, to have our sins cleansed. The gospel is good news because it tells us that our sins can be forgiven through the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

Reconciliation (theologically) is the act of God whereby He replaces the state of enmity between God and man with a relationship of friendship through peace purchased by the death of Christ on the cross, which now places the believing sinner in a favorable position with God through the covering of the guilt of sin with Jesus' blood. 

Before we are saved, whether we like it or not, we are the enemies of God. And yet, God in His love, grace, and mercy, made the first move toward unbelieving sinners and died on the cross for us. Because Jesus shed His blood on Calvary, we can now be reconciled to God through faith and placed in a relationship where God's peace is upon us instead of His wrath.

What is it that drives God's plan of salvation and allows for all of its blessings and accomplishments to be bestowed upon believing sinners? Grace! God's amazing grace is what brings salvation to us. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "For by grace are you saved through faith..." Salvation is by grace through faith. We cannot earn salvation. We cannot merit salvation. We are not worthy of salvation. Grace is only for the undeserving, unworthy, and those who fall short. And that is every person. But saving grace only flows to those who believe and trust Jesus' finished work of the cross.

The gospel is good news to me because God grants (imputes) righteousness to me. God imputes the righteousness of Christ to sinners who place their faith in Christ, and He imputes the guilt of sinners to Christ. Through Jesus' death, he pays for the guilt of sin. As Paul teaches, the One who knew no sin became sin (a sin offering by taking our guilt upon Himself) so that we could be made righteous through His finished work (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21). God imputes Jesus' righteousness to us when we believe and trust in Christ as Savior.

The gospel is good news because Jesus bought me! That is such a grand statement. We sing the song "Victory In Jesus." The lyrics say...he sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood. The idea of Jesus buying me is the doctrine of redemption. We should truly rejoice when we consider just how far reaching Jesus' redemption of us goes: 1) He paid our ransom price with His blood, 2) He bought us out of the slave market of sin never to be sold again, 3) He not only paid the price, but He set us free, 4) and beyond freedom, He actually invites us into his family through adoption. Jesus doesn't just save us from the uttermost. He saves us to the uttermost. And when we think about what He has done for us by redeeming us we will know personally that the gospel is good news because Jesus bought me.

Our greatest need is the need of salvation from sin, the effects of sin, and the penalty of sin. It is a need that we cannot meet in our own strength, goodness, self-effort, or self-righteousness. Left to ourselves we're done for, hopeless lost and without a relationship with God. But praise God that because of His love for us, He has implemented a plan whereby we can be saved from our sin by His grace on the basis of nothing more than simple trust in His plan. The Gospel is the good news of God's plan to meet man's great need.

The gospel is a simple message. It is Jesus plus nothing equals salvation. We can add nothing to Christ's work of redemption. We can take nothing away from it. We're saved and made righteous in God's eyes when we put our faith in Jesus' finished work of redemption.

When we repent of our sins and disobedience, good result can come forth. When Jonah repented, he saw some amazing results:

1) A second chance to obey and fulfill God's call on his life

2) A spiritual change in his life

3) A willingness and desire to sacrifice in order to fulfill God's call

4) Salvation among the Ninevites

The thing that moves us to a repentance like that of Jonah is an understanding of our resemblance like Jonah. But here's the good news: if we repent like Jonah, we put ourselves in a place to see results like Jonah.

What did Jonah's process of repentance look like?

1) The preparation of repentance. God prepared Jonah to repent using multiple perils like a storm, affliction, a big fish, etc.

2) The period of repentance was thee days and night in the belly of a fish. While in the fish, Jonah came to a place of repentance and surrender.

3) The prayer of repentance. Jonah cried out to God. He remembered, repented, and returned to God. He praised God and then promised to do what God had called him to do.

4) The pardon of repentance. The big fish vomits Jonah out of its mouth an onto dry land where Jonah would make his journey to Nineveh.