Been listening with Jim to CJ Maheney speak on various topics, they come from Sovereign Grace Ministries audio series that one can download for free! Check them out.
Yesterday, instead of us going up to London for a day to relax, we stayed home. In the morning we worked on trimming back our tremendously overgrown hedge, and Jim's mom came up to watch Justin the afternoon. Jim and I went fishing.
On the way there, CJ Maheney was talking about Justification and Sanctification, and how we all have this legalist within us. Justification is something bestowed upon us when we become believers in God. It is not something earned, merited, or anyways somehow gotten BY us. It is just something that God does because he is most merciful.
Sanctification on the other hand is something that as we learn more about God and his ways and are willing to change and repent of how we are not like the way he wants us to be. I know, I worded that poorly, but sanctification is a process of becoming more like God.
Anyways, I never thought of myself as a legalist. There are things I don't do on Sunday because it's God's day and it's good to keep one day not focused on ME and MY Stuff. But a legalist is more than that. A legalist thinks, okay.. I did this thing wrong, my guilty conscience, or my general awareness says.. I sinned. So.. I will do thus and such to make up for it. That's ME trying to MAKE it all right with God, when we can't do that. And that is legalism.
ALL we have to do is genuinely confess our sin, and then then get with the further process of sanctification. God has already declared us justified. We can't make it ALL right with God. It's ALL HIM ANYWAYS! Anything that we do to try to make it right (other than confession of sin and turning from it) is legalism. It's all God's work in us. That's it.
Wow...strike an cord that was unknown before. Something for me to consider further in my walk with God. Hmm.....
Go there, now, listen to messages, learn stuff and be further led along the journey of sanctifcation...
4 comments:
hi Annete, thanks for visiting my blog. I thought I'd check yours out too.
I love Canadians. Canada is wonderful.
--michael
Do you really see as Sunday as God's Day, btw? i see that all days belongs to him adn if anything, teh Sabbath remains sundown Friday to sundown Saturday..but unlike the adeventists, i relaly don't think that matters that great of a deal in terms of salvation or anything...
Hey, you live near London? london, Canada or UK? i am from the latter.
yes actually MMM I do see Sunday as God's day. Starting after supper on Saturday (so that one can prepare, be rested for Sunday) til after supper on Sunday.
Sunday is part of the new covenant of Christ. Looks back to the resurrection of Christ and forward to his eventual return.
Is it a salvation issue? Absolutely not so I have NO problems with people seeing this very differently. :)
I'm near London, ON. Small town actually, but relatively near.
Thanks for stopping by. :)
OK.
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