A Forty-Day Study on Sin, Salvation, and Sanctification: Our Journey in Christ

By Rick Jory

Sin. We don’t seem to talk about sin anymore. For some, it hits too close to home, creating a feeling of guilt and unworthiness. Others deal with the issue simply by comparing themselves to the worst of the worst—or even a beer-drinking neighbor next door who doesn’t pull all of the weeds from his yard. They certainly aren’t as bad as this—so they remain with their pride and self-righteousness intact and unthreatened.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Nov 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9781489725479

Rick Jory

Dr. Rick Jory has authored the two-volume work, A Forty-Day Study of the Biblical Story as well as A Forty-Day Study of John’s Gospel, A Forty-Day Study of the Book of Hebrews, and A Forty-Day Study on Sin, Salvation, and Sanctification. This book completes this series. After forty-three years in the business world, upon the sale of his company, Dr. Jory formalized his passion for studying the Bible. He received his Master of Arts degree, Biblical Studies - New Testament, from Denver Seminary in 2012; the Doctor of Ministry, with emphasis in Theological Exegesis, from Knox Theological Seminary in 2017, and his Doctor of Educational Ministry, with emphasis in Adult Christian Education, from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2019. His ministry today includes teaching pastors and church leaders in Vietnam. He is the founder of Friends of Vietnam Ministries, a non-profit organization aiding several Vietnamese faith-based centers that provide care to Vietnamese orphans and at-risk children, as well as scholarships to help young Vietnamese attend Bible college.

Book preview

1

QUESTIONS

Years ago, I was asked to speak to a group of teenagers taking part in a gathering at the foothills of the colorful Colorado Rocky Mountains. I had participated in this annual event several times before, so I knew what to expect.

On my way to this engagement, though, I was troubled. I had prepared a short talk on something out of the book of Numbers. I can’t remember the exact message, but as I made my way up the winding roads along the foothills, I found myself wondering, Do teenagers want to hear this? Do they want to sit and listen to some old codger talking about something that took place thousands of years ago, involving a group of strange, foreign people—people who have long since died?

While the lesson I would present offered theological relevance and truth, and would have certainly been of interest to adults, with each passing mile I became more and more convinced it would fall on deaf ears when shared with teenagers. If I stuck to what I had prepared, I would be making a mistake.

I began rattling through possible options. Surely there was something else I could teach that would be more suitable or relevant or interesting to them. But by the time I pulled into the large parking lot, my mind was still a blank. I only had enough time left to do one thing.

It’s called winging it.

I decided I would ask a question and let the young people do most of the talking. This approach would at least start things rolling, and then I could see where the conversation would lead. Perhaps I could then work in a meaningful lesson.

But what question should I start with?

I decided to ask, Why did Jesus come to earth?

That’s broad enough, and it just might generate some interest among the young people. Besides, I was curious to hear what they had to say.

I presented the question.

It didn’t take long for individuals to begin speaking up. One girl blurted out, Jesus came to earth for me get to heaven.

A slightly older boy raised his hand and responded, Jesus came to earth to die for my sins so that I can go to heaven when I die.

These are good answers.

And additional good answers followed:

– Jesus died for me and forgave me so I can be with God.

– Jesus went to the cross so that when I die, I can be with him throughout all of eternity.

– Jesus paid the price for my sins. He came onto earth to die on the cross for my sins. He has forgiven me of my sins so I can go to heaven.

– I know I’ve done bad things and Jesus took these upon himself and died in my place. We call this salvation and I’m saved, and I can be with him when I die.

All of the answers were quite similar, and all were entirely correct.

Let’s pause, though.

What do all of these answers have in common? If you have a pen or pencil handy, jot down your thoughts below before you proceed. We’ve got time.

And you might also find it beneficial to jot down how you would answer the question as well. Why did Jesus come to earth?

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While the young people’s answers are correct, they are not complete. They have in common a focus on the hereafter—nothing about the here and now. They center on what Jesus did that allow us an eternity in heaven (the new earth of Revelation 21).

And yes, Jesus did come to earth to give us eternal life.

But what about the here and now?

Didn’t Jesus tell his listeners that he came to give life to the full—a rich and satisfying life (John 10:10)?

A rich and satisfying life references the here and now.

So, what aspect of our belonging to Christ is associated with the here and now? And how on earth do we get this rich and satisfying life?

That’s what this study is about. We’ll talk about three things. Yes, these are associated with our eternity with God. But they are also the here and now. All three relate to our lives becoming more vibrant and satisfying—here—now.

The first topic we’ll cover is sin. Sin is an ongoing characteristic of each of us—both saint and sinner. Try as we might, none of us escape this condition. For us to receive eternal life, Jesus has to do something about the sin problem. All of the answers from the young people recognized this.

The second is salvation. Salvation refers to what Jesus did because of the sin problem. Salvation allows us to be with Jesus. Yes, this includes our eternity in heaven, but this companionship begins in the here and now—right now—right this very minute.

The third topic is sanctification. Sanctification is our being separated away from sin and worldliness and set apart for God’s work. In the eyes of God, because of our salvation we are considered fully sanctified. And in the world to come we will experience the joy of complete sanctification. But sanctification also includes the here and now. It involves the changes that happen because of our salvation. Sanctification is the work God does through us because of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.

So, we’ll talk about these three things: sin, salvation, and sanctification.

There is another event I’d like to share. Years later, I found myself halfway around the world from the Colorado Rockies, teaching a group of young pastors and church leaders in Hanoi, Vietnam. I decided to start the five-day event by asking a hypothetical question. As you might have gathered, I’ve learned some of my best teaching and preaching assignments begin by asking one or more questions. Typically, though, I can do this with planning and purpose and not as a last-minute need to wing it.

We don’t find the question I asked for the Hanoi occasion in the Bible, nor its answer. This meant there was no right or wrong response—a plus when teaching in an honor/shame culture and asking people to share their answers in front of a group of peers.

The question I presented went along these lines: Suppose you have died and are now in heaven standing in the presence of Jesus. Jesus can ask you one and only one question. What question do you think he will ask? I added to this the clarification that they are already in heaven and so the question cannot be one like, Why should I let you into my kingdom?

The answers presented were all thoughtful. As you read these, remember they all came from pastors and church leaders:

– Jesus will ask me if I read the Bible enough.

– Jesus will ask me how well I led the church.

– Jesus will ask if I loved God and loved others.

– Jesus will ask if I truly was kind to everyone around me.

– Jesus will ask if I was a good husband and father.

– Jesus will want to know what I did with my time, treasure, and talent.

– Jesus will ask, figuratively, if I took care of the widows and orphans.

What do all of these answers have in common?

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The answers from the young people in the Colorado foothills all focused on the hereafter—not the here and now. These were correct, but not complete.

For the question in Hanoi, all of the answers pointed inwardly, with each person’s response focusing upon themselves and their behaviors.

We tend to do that.

Even in a hypothetical face-to-face with Jesus, we make it all about us. And we seem to think Jesus’ main task is to stand in critical judgment. We focus on whether or not we are worthy of his acceptance—whether or not we’ve done everything we should have done or could have done while we had the opportunity.

Do we really think that’s what Jesus is going to be thinking about?

I think Jesus will look at each one of us with the most amazing, welcoming grin and ask, "While you were on my earth, did you ever truly, fully realize how much I love you?"

Sin, salvation, and sanctification all relate to how much God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit love us.

Does sin show God’s love for us?

Yes, definitely.

God doesn’t love us because of our sin, of course. But God could have handled our sin in a number of ways. What way did he choose? He loves us enough to die for our sin.

Jesus had taught those close to him,

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

Paul reminds us,

God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Jesus laid down his life, not because we were deserving of this. This loving, merciful God of grace died for us while we were still in hideous rebellion against Him. God and God alone paid the price for our sinfulness. There is no greater expression of love.

Similarly, salvation shows God’s love for us because our salvation required the blood of Christ—voluntarily shed for you and me.

What Jesus did, he did voluntarily. Concerning his life, he told those around him,

No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again (John 10:18).

Paul writes,

In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7 - NIV).

The author of Hebrews writes,

Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many… (Hebrews 9:28).

Salvation shows God’s love for us because Christ voluntarily died for our salvation.

Sanctification shows God’s love for us because God desires to bring us from spiritual death to spiritual life—and to perform His work through us. Paul writes,

… because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:4, 5).

…we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life (Ephesians 2:10).

The author of Hebrews writes,

…by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:10).

Christ shows his love for us by dying for our sanctification. God the Father shows His love for us by inviting us into His family and His kingdom plans. The Holy Spirit shows his love for us by indwelling us and empowering us for the works of God.

Sin, salvation, and sanctification—the subject matter of these lessons as we learn of God’s immeasurable love for each one of us:

– God the Father forgives our sin

– through God the Son’s having offered his blood for our salvation

– and God the Holy Spirit transforming us in sanctification.

2

SIN, SALVATION, AND SANCTIFICATION

There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love.

Let that sink in.

Nothing means nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada.

There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love because He has already shown how much He loves us.

He died for us.

What more can He possibly do than that which He has already done?

Recognizing this allows us to get the first hurdle out of the way.

We can forget about all the things we have done, or want to do, or could do, or should do, or will do, or hope to do to gain God’s approval—God’s love.

Trying to earn God’s love is what we call religion—man reaching for God. Let’s avoid this. Historically it hasn’t been a winner.

During the time Jesus walked the earth, a group of highly religious people—passionate zealots probably far more religious than you and I will ever be—tried all of this.

They were called a brood of vipers.

I don’t think that’s what we want.

I think what we genuinely want is Christianity.

While religion is man reaching for God, Christianity is God reaching for man. And that makes all the difference on earth. And in heaven.

Religion focuses on how we can appease God—what we can do for God. Religion is trying to get God’s attention and earn God’s favor.

Christianity focuses on God’s grace and what God has done for us.

Religion is tied up in behaviors. Christianity is wrapped around belonging.

Religion is a set of practices and performances. Christianity is a person and a relationship.

Religion is being in bondage to the extremes of either self-righteousness or overburdening guilt. Christianity is freedom.

Christianity is not religion. It is peace with God and adoption into His family because of what God has done. It is the assuredness that nothing, nothing whatsoever can ever separate us from God’s love (Romans 5:1; 8:14; 8:38, 39 respectively). Christianity is a life of trust and faith—one filled with such things as love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and gentleness and self-control. It is life to the full.

But, by definition, Christianity involves—and indeed requires—salvation. Since this is the case, a reasonable question to address is how we go about obtaining salvation.

Isn’t salvation man reaching for God? Isn’t that something we take part in—what we do to gain peace with God?

No.

Salvation is not religion. Salvation is God reaching for man. Salvation is Christianity. And we’ll have much to say about this as our lessons continue.

We’ll begin our journey, though, talking about why we need salvation. This requires a discussion on sin and the condition of our existence—our sinfulness. We’ll begin this by explicitly focusing on the first three chapters of the Bible. We’ll see four foundational principles that God established for humankind—and how the first man and woman (our great, great, great…great grandparents) quickly violated each of the four.

We’ll see that this sin—disobeying and turning away from God—led to four broken relationships. We cover this in a brief lesson.

We’ll then look at our sinful condition from what Paul teaches in the first three chapters of his letter to the Roman believers. This will show what we need to be saved from.

We’ll then enter the second significant portion of our journey: lessons on salvation. We start with a discussion on what saves us. We are saved by the blood of Christ. We’ll also see, over and over again, the difference between religion and Christianity. Salvation is not something we do—it involves the many things that God does.

We’ll talk about the work of the Father in our salvation—and this doesn’t include anything we do.

We’ll talk about the work of the Son in our salvation—and this doesn’t include anything we do.

And we will talk about the work of the Holy Spirit in our salvation—and this too doesn’t include anything we do.

All that is involved and required for salvation leaves us out of the picture—other than to receive an unearned and unmerited gift graciously given to us.

But there is far more to salvation than meets the eye. We’ll have lessons covering such topics as:

• Election—God’s sovereign choice in our salvation.

• Regeneration—The Holy Spirit bringing us from spiritual death to new life.

• Imputation—Our sins are given to Christ

• Substitution—Christ being our substitute and taking on the punishment we deserve.

• Propitiation—God fulfilling the demands of His righteousness through the punishment of Jesus on the cross.

• Reconciliation—God’s actions in repairing the broken relationship between God and us.

• Imputation—Christ’s righteousness given to us.

• Justification—God’s determination and declaration that we are not guilty.

• Redemption—Another term for God’s actions in saving us—the purchase of our freedom.

• Positional Sanctification—Our position before God in the here and now and for all of eternity.

• Adoption—God bringing us into his family.

• Security—Our assuredness that we cannot lose our relationship with God.

• Resurrection—Our future bodily resurrection.

• Glorification—The eternity that awaits us.

There is a lot to cover—but that’s just part of the story.

It is here that you might be saying, Wait a minute … stop … what about faith?

We’ll have a substantial lesson on faith as well (the longest lesson in this book). But perhaps this needs to be said upfront, right now, and clearly: Our faith does not save us. Faith cannot save us.

Period.

It is the blood of Christ that provides for our salvation.

Oh yes, faith is essential—and it evidences our salvation. But it is not our faith that saves us—it is the blood of Christ that saves. That’s true for you. That’s true for me. That’s even true for Moses and Abraham. We’ll talk about this in one of our lessons.

We will then move on to the third and final section of this book and will discuss sanctification: what are we saved for. Sanctification is where we now enter the picture. It is the process where God does His work through us due to the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. We take part in this aspect of the works of God.

This section on sanctification will begin with a discussion on the Holy Spirit—perhaps the most neglected Personage of the Trinity.

We’ll also make sure we understand what is meant by the works associated with our sanctification.

And lastly, we’ll discuss both the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit.

Learning about sin, salvation, and sanctification are not of value, though, if you are spiritually dead. None of this will make sense to you. It will all be foolishness. There will be a lesson that looks into this also.

I began by saying there is nothing one can do to earn God’s love. But many, many people try to do this, and they work at this in many, many different ways.

That’s religion.

Religion versus Christianity.

We need to separate the two. That’s what we’ll talk about next.

3

RELIGION VERSUS CHRISTIANITY

The Yanomami’s of the Amazon want to appease their god. They believe that death is unnatural; that if they do the right thing, those who die can live forever among their friends and family. For this to occur, they burn their dead, their ashes are mixed with bananas, and those still living pass this treat among themselves and the community eats this concoction. All is well.

The Aghori of India have a similar custom. They place their dwellings near the gravesites of their dead—and eat the corpses. It’s my understanding that they omit the bananas.

One doesn’t have to go to distant lands to find bizarre religious practices. There was a time when many of the plains Indians of North Dakota took part in the Okipa Ceremony. A young man would have his skin pierced and then be suspended from the roof of his dwelling until he would faint. This would prove his physical courage and win the approval of the spirits. This ritual is now outlawed.

Also outlawed is a wide-spread practice that involved other North American Indian tribes. This involved a ritual that began with a four-day fast. After the completion of this time of preparation, the young men of the tribe would enter a holy place and have their chests pierced with skewers connected to a pole. The pole was, strangely enough, referred to as the Tree of Life. The spirits were said to smile upon this and consequently provide blessings to one’s family and community for anyone taking part in this ceremony.

Closer to home, not geographically but somewhat theologically, are the Pampanga’s of the Philippines. Several observe Good Friday by beating themselves into a bloody mess. A handful add to this the act of voluntarily being nailed to crosses. Today there is a requirement that mandates the use of relatively clean, stainless-steel nails, and participants are encouraged to get tetanus shots in advance of the ritual. But the whole process is still fairly gross.

Is this what God wants? God told his chosen people,

What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?

says the LORD.

"I am full from the burnt offerings of rams

and the fat of well-fed cattle;

I take no delight in the blood of bulls

and lambs and goats (Isaiah 1:11).

If God takes no delight in the blood of animals, should we assume He is more satisfied with the blood from a group of devoted Filipinos?

In biblical times it was common in several parts of the world to appease the gods through the sacrificing of children. Usually, this involved passing a child through flames. The Canaanites did this as part of the worship of their god Moloch, also spelled Molech or Molek (note, items appearing in bold have additional information or explanation at the end of the lesson).

Before the Israelites entered the land of the Canaanites, God’s instructions forbade this practice (Leviticus 20:2; Deuteronomy 12:31). But it didn’t take long for those chosen by God to incorporate child-sacrifice into their worship practices (see 2nd Kings 16:3; 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:4, 5; Ezekiel 16:20, 21). One place where these activities occurred is a location just off from the walls of ancient Jerusalem. This is the Valley of Hinnom. Jesus called this Gehenna—the word he always uses, without exception, when describing hell.

Perhaps self-mutilation or killing of the innocent doesn’t appease the gods or