Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
On the day we said “I believe” to Jesus as the One who paid the penalty for our sins — all our sins — and God the Father credited Christ’s righteousness to our account (theologians would say that Christ’s perfect righteousness was imputed to us), in that instant we became perfectly righteous and sinless in the sight of God. Yet we all know by way of painful, personal experience that we still sin and constantly battle with the remaining sin in our lives . . . not just daily, but moment by moment.
You see, sinlessness is not an event, but an eventuality for those who are in Christ Jesus. Inasmuch as we are clothed in the righteous robes of Christ, we still do many things that are utterly unrighteous. The promise for the believer is not sinless perfection on this side of the grave; the promise is sinless perfection when we are received into glory. Until then, we must deal with the disheartening reality that we will sin, because we are still sinners who are very much in need of being saved from ourselves every moment of every day.
The word for this process is sanctification. The power of the Holy Spirit indwelling us makes us more and more like Jesus as we journey though this life. We are not asked or expected to make ourselves perfect and righteous and holy. However, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, who is guiding us into God’s perfect plan for our imperfect lives. God is with us every step of the way, and that includes every sinful misstep along the way. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). The key to sanctification, therefore, is to keep walking by faith and not by sight, knowing that the good work God began in us on that day when we said “I believe,” He will one day bring to completion when we are welcomed into our glorious home in the new heavens and the new earth.
To know that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin enables us to understand that as we walk with Him throughout our lives, He is freeing us from both the power of sin and the pleasure of sin as we grow and mature in our faith. Let that truth set us free to be all God is calling us to be –albeit imperfectly — until we arrive at the eventual day of perfection on the other side of the grave.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 