You Were: Accepted
"And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11
Washed: cleansed from the guilt and power of sin.
Chris Williams
Were washed, that's past tense, meaning it has been DONE.
Pretty simple, but we like to make it complicated because religion and traditions have taught us we have to do something, but in reality Titus 3:5 says "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit."
The next time you are tempted to put on those old dirty, rotten, smelly clothes, remember you don't have to, you've been washed and there's no reason to rinse and repeat; it's DONE!!
Were washed, that's past tense, meaning it has been DONE.
Pretty simple, but we like to make it complicated because religion and traditions have taught us we have to do something, but in reality Titus 3:5 says "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit."
The next time you are tempted to put on those old dirty, rotten, smelly clothes, remember you don't have to, you've been washed and there's no reason to rinse and repeat; it's DONE!!
Sanctified: set apart as holy.
Kale Magness
What does it mean to be Sanctified? By definition, it means to be "made holy," not "making holy." Remember, words and their tense matter. If you've been around organized religion for very long, I bet you've heard or been taught just the opposite. Progressive sanctification is widely taught throughout organized religion and across all denominational barriers. In other words, once you come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, there is an ongoing process for you to eventually become holy. So, the level of expectation is set, the performance track to follow is established. For the rest of your days, you do your best to be accepted to one day in the future reach holiness. Don't believe the lie. Don't believe the whispers of our enemy as he tries to point us back to who we once were. Like most things in life, we have a choice to make. We can choose to believe the lies of our enemy trying to convince us that we are still who we were, or we can choose to believe our God when He tells us who we ARE!
What does it mean to be Sanctified? By definition, it means to be "made holy," not "making holy." Remember, words and their tense matter. If you've been around organized religion for very long, I bet you've heard or been taught just the opposite. Progressive sanctification is widely taught throughout organized religion and across all denominational barriers. In other words, once you come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, there is an ongoing process for you to eventually become holy. So, the level of expectation is set, the performance track to follow is established. For the rest of your days, you do your best to be accepted to one day in the future reach holiness. Don't believe the lie. Don't believe the whispers of our enemy as he tries to point us back to who we once were. Like most things in life, we have a choice to make. We can choose to believe the lies of our enemy trying to convince us that we are still who we were, or we can choose to believe our God when He tells us who we ARE!
Justified: made right with God.
Cody Burt
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2) As the verse clearly states, we have peace with God because we are justified by faith. Knowing that I have peace with God is extremely freeing.
The statement that inevitably follows such a wonderful truth, "so you can do whatever you want." The short answer is yes, but doesn't the Bible address this as well? "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1-2). What could you possibly do or offer that exceeds the sufficiency of Christ's finished work? "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…" (Gal. 6:14). So even if it were possible to be justified through works, I would still prefer Christ's finished work because it far exceeds anything I can think, imagine or do.
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2) As the verse clearly states, we have peace with God because we are justified by faith. Knowing that I have peace with God is extremely freeing.
The statement that inevitably follows such a wonderful truth, "so you can do whatever you want." The short answer is yes, but doesn't the Bible address this as well? "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1-2). What could you possibly do or offer that exceeds the sufficiency of Christ's finished work? "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…" (Gal. 6:14). So even if it were possible to be justified through works, I would still prefer Christ's finished work because it far exceeds anything I can think, imagine or do.
Accepted: made pleasing to God.
Matt Graves
Can we do enough of anything to make ourselves accepted by God? Is it possible for us to be in the right family or give enough money, or do enough good deeds for us to be accepted by God; no. That is why God washed us, sanctified us, and justified us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not in ourselves, our own name, or because of what we have done, but in Christ.
Early in Jesus' ministry, God made this declaration: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17) God looked down from heaven, saw his perfect and holy Son, and was wholly pleased with him. Now that we are in Jesus Christ, we are pleasing to God—because of what Jesus did not because of what we have done."To the praise of His glorious grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).
Jesus is the Beloved. God placed us in Christ and now our acceptance has everything to do with the fact that we have been placed in Christ.
The only way we could become unacceptable to God would be for Jesus to become unacceptable to God. And that's not happening.Now—the motivation for living for God is not to earn acceptance from God, but because we have been accepted by God in Christ. God has forgiven us, so we forgive one another. God loved us, so we love one another.
Can we do enough of anything to make ourselves accepted by God? Is it possible for us to be in the right family or give enough money, or do enough good deeds for us to be accepted by God; no. That is why God washed us, sanctified us, and justified us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not in ourselves, our own name, or because of what we have done, but in Christ.
Early in Jesus' ministry, God made this declaration: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17) God looked down from heaven, saw his perfect and holy Son, and was wholly pleased with him. Now that we are in Jesus Christ, we are pleasing to God—because of what Jesus did not because of what we have done."To the praise of His glorious grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).
Jesus is the Beloved. God placed us in Christ and now our acceptance has everything to do with the fact that we have been placed in Christ.
The only way we could become unacceptable to God would be for Jesus to become unacceptable to God. And that's not happening.Now—the motivation for living for God is not to earn acceptance from God, but because we have been accepted by God in Christ. God has forgiven us, so we forgive one another. God loved us, so we love one another.
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1 Comment
Good word!