GOD’S WORD FOR JULY 23 ~ ~ Acts 26:18 ~ ~ “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”
From “the Pleasures of God” by John Piper
Underlying this mistake (that obedience precedes salvation), is a misunderstanding of grace. Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God NOT to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon. This is plain, for example, in 1Corinthians 15:10. “by the GRACE of God I am what I am, and his GRACE toward me did not prove vain; but I labored harder than all of them, yet not I, but the GRACE of God which is in me.”
Grace is not simply the pardon of Paul’s sins, it is the power to press on in obedience. Therefore the effort we make to obey God is not an effort done in our own strength, but “in the strength which God supplies, that in everything God may get the glory.” (1Peter 4:11)
Doing something by relying on strength which God supplies simply means doing it by faith. Therefore the obedience which gives God pleasure is by grace through faith. It is the obedience of faith.
Paul confirms this in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 by calling our acts of goodness “works of FAITH” and by saying that the glory this brings to Jesus is “according to the GRACE of God” because it happens “by (his) power.” “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by (his) power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him ACCORDING TO THE GRACE OF OUR GOD, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The obedience that gives God pleasure is produced by the POWER of God’s GRACE through FAITH. The same dynamic is at work at every stage of the Christian life,. The power of God’s grace that saves through faith (Ephesians 2:8) is the same power of God’s grace that sanctifies through faith.
The reason for this is that sanctification (making us holy and obedient) is part of salvation. It is a great mistake to think of salvation as stage one in the Christian life and sanctification as stage two. Salvation is the big biblical term that describes all God’s saving work for us and in us, past, present, and future. We “have been saved” (Ephesians 2:8), “are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18) and “will be saved” (Romans 13:11and 1 Peter 1:5)
Salvation is not one stage in the Christian life. It IS the Christian life. Sanctification is one essential part of it.
So Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:13-14, “We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning TO BE SAVED, THROUGH SANCTIFICATION by the Spirit and BELIEF IN TRUTH” (See also 1 Thess 4:7-8 & 1 Peter 1:5)
Notice two things. First, we are not saved apart from sanctification. “God chose you to be saved, THROUGH SANCTIFICATION.” It is an ESSENTIAL part of salvation, not an optional stage AFTER salvation.
Second, this process of salvation through sanctification happens “through belief in the truth.” That is, sanctification is by faith. Or to put it most plainly, the obedience which pleases God is the obedience of faith, and the obedience of faith is an essential part of salvation. We are chosen to be saved THROUGH SANCTIFICATION, which is the same as the obedience of faith.
GOD’S WORD FOR JULY 23 ~ ~ Acts 26:18 ~ ~ “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”
From “the Pleasures of God” by John Piper
Underlying this mistake (that obedience precedes salvation), is a misunderstanding of grace. Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God NOT to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon. This is plain, for example, in 1Corinthians 15:10. “by the GRACE of God I am what I am, and his GRACE toward me did not prove vain; but I labored harder than all of them, yet not I, but the GRACE of God which is in me.”
Grace is not simply the pardon of Paul’s sins, it is the power to press on in obedience. Therefore the effort we make to obey God is not an effort done in our own strength, but “in the strength which God supplies, that in everything God may get the glory.” (1Peter 4:11)
Doing something by relying on strength which God supplies simply means doing it by faith. Therefore the obedience which gives God pleasure is by grace through faith. It is the obedience of faith.
Paul confirms this in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 by calling our acts of goodness “works of FAITH” and by saying that the glory this brings to Jesus is “according to the GRACE of God” because it happens “by (his) power.” “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by (his) power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him ACCORDING TO THE GRACE OF OUR GOD, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The obedience that gives God pleasure is produced by the POWER of God’s GRACE through FAITH. The same dynamic is at work at every stage of the Christian life,. The power of God’s grace that saves through faith (Ephesians 2:8) is the same power of God’s grace that sanctifies through faith.
The reason for this is that sanctification (making us holy and obedient) is part of salvation. It is a great mistake to think of salvation as stage one in the Christian life and sanctification as stage two. Salvation is the big biblical term that describes all God’s saving work for us and in us, past, present, and future. We “have been saved” (Ephesians 2:8), “are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18) and “will be saved” (Romans 13:11and 1 Peter 1:5)
Salvation is not one stage in the Christian life. It IS the Christian life. Sanctification is one essential part of it.
So Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:13-14, “We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning TO BE SAVED, THROUGH SANCTIFICATION by the Spirit and BELIEF IN TRUTH” (See also 1 Thess 4:7-8 & 1 Peter 1:5)
Notice two things. First, we are not saved apart from sanctification. “God chose you to be saved, THROUGH SANCTIFICATION.” It is an ESSENTIAL part of salvation, not an optional stage AFTER salvation.
Second, this process of salvation through sanctification happens “through belief in the truth.” That is, sanctification is by faith. Or to put it most plainly, the obedience which pleases God is the obedience of faith, and the obedience of faith is an essential part of salvation. We are chosen to be saved THROUGH SANCTIFICATION, which is the same as the obedience of faith.