What is the ultimate purpose for God's children? ,as we look back we could say a number of things,to save us from judgement,that we may not go to Hell ,and that we may go to heaven.We could mention a number of other things,but the ultimate purpose is that we who are His children may be conformed to the image of His Son.Romans 8 v 29. It is not an instant thing,it is a process, it comes under the term of sanctification. Sanctification means we are called to be holy separating ourselves from all that is evil, all that is sinful,it cannot be done in our own in our strength, the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in this process.That aspect of holiness is not something we receive it is something we do. again let me stress as Vine puts it ,the Holy Spirit is the Agent in our sanctification. Lets add that sanctification does not make us a Christian, we become a Christian by faith in Christ and His finished work,when we do that ,we are Justified,Romans 5 v1,that means we are no longer guilty,on the cross Christ bore our guilt, and punishment. That means we are totally accepted by God,in the words of a hymn,'Near,near I cannot be,for in the person of His Son I'm just as near as He'. Spurgeon put it like this,'Those for whom Christ has died,were perfected by His death. It does not mean that He made them perfect in character, so that they are no longer sinners, but that He made those for whom He died, perfectly free from the guilt of sin. Jeremiah 31 v34/ Hebrews 10 v 1 - 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment