Sanctification by Imputation

“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds will I write them. (Heb. 10:14-16)

Quite a title, isn’t it? These two wonderful words, when put together, provide a Biblical truth that would surely make an Episcopalian jump for joy! Don’t let them scare you. Once you’ve considered their meanings and laid them side by side, they’ll be rolling off your tongue like a song in no time. And once you understand their implication for everyday Christian living, you’ll thank me for adding them to your working vocabulary.

Sanctification is probably the more familiar of the two, and you likely think it has something to do with being holy. Verse fourteen would tend to verify your assumption by adding the idea of perfection. Actually, it has a two-fold meaning: a separation that which is sinful, and also a setting apart for godly purposes. The old-time Methodists would have said that it is a process that begins after conversion wherein one can reach a point of perfection. The Calvinist or Reformed view holds that this is, at best, a pipe dream and, at worst, heresy. Being just a plain Bible-believer, I can tell you that I concur with Paul. There is nothing good in my flesh, and even when I want to do the right thing, it’s the getting it done that often eludes me (Rom. 7:18). That’s where the other word comes in.

Imputation is simply attributing, vicariously, something to someone that he or she could not obtain or accomplish on his or her own. And that’s exactly what happened. Someone made an offering of Himself (vicariously) that makes us (believers) perfect forever. The sacrifice of Calvary is an ongoing compensation that produces a manifestation of its presence. According to verse sixteen, God’s laws that were written on “tables of stone” and then with writing instruments for perpetuity, have been written in the minds and hearts of God’s elect. It is a covenant He makes with us when we accept Him as Lord and King of our lives. As one preacher I heard said, “Nobody had me to tell me that such-and-such was wrong. I knew it in my heart.” (Sadly, he felt that we, his audience, were not as spiritually astute as he!) You and I are in need of exhortation to righteousness, but you can only stir up something that is already there.

So, like the old preachers used to say, “I’m saved, sanctified, and satisfied!” I will be sanctified as long I am justified, and that will be forever. The salvation I am “working out” (Philip. 2:12) is what God has “worked in” (2:13). And any sanctification I possess (and am able to display) is the result of imputation. I received them both over fifty years ago and they will both stand good for eternity. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Random Thoughts on Grief, Holy Ground, and Hard Preaching

These three paragraphs come from several years ago, but they bear repeating, I think. Hopefully, you will be as provoked to think as I was to write. In any case, here they are.

● Grief ●

“…none spake a word unto him for they saw that his grief was very great.” (Job 2:13)

Some grief is too great to be expressed. While at the same time, we often search for words of comfort when there are none. Not because there is no comfort, but because the comfort will not come through words. Grief that cannot be expressed, like “groanings that cannot be uttered,” call for a specialist—the blessed Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26). It is not for nothing that He is called “the Comforter.”

● Holy Ground ●

“Then said the Lord to him [Moses], Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.” (Acts 7:33)

I have seen preachers take off their shoes before they preached, the idea being that they were standing on holy ground. I suppose this could indicate either humility or pride. I do know that when God told Moses to remove his sandals, Moses was not standing behind a pulpit; he was standing in the presence of God. And anyone who finds himself or herself in such a place will feel anything holding him or her to this earth is unnecessary baggage. Wherever God condescends to meet with us is holy ground, whether it is behind a pulpit, on the backside of a desert…or sitting in a rocking chair.


● Hard Preaching ●

“Therefore it is no great thing if his [Satan’s] ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness…” (2 Cor. 11:15)

Apparently, hard preaching against sin by “ministers of righteousness” is not a guarantee that the one doing the preaching is actually speaking for God. It’s no big deal for the devil, says Paul, to find someone to condemn your sin; the trick is to find that saint, preacher or otherwise, who will help you on your way to victory over that sin. The one whose ministry could be defined as “confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith…” (Acts 14:22)

Glorifying God...the Hard Way

“This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.” (John 21:19a)

A.W. Tozer suggested that a spiritually productive prayer would be, “God, glorify Thyself, and do it at my expense.” It is safe to say, most of us would consider the glory of God to be the highest of all goals. Indeed, in the Westminster Confession considers the glorifying God to be “man’s chief end.” Sometimes, though, this all sounds well and good until we find ourselves with our backs against the wall—at least theoretically. (Our pastor told us last week about a new book entitled, God Never Has Failed Me, but He Has Scared Me to Death a Few Times!) As one preacher said, “We’re never as dedicated as we think we are.”

Still, our most meaningful goal, as recipients of the undeserved grace of God, must be to use whatever means God puts at our disposal to magnify and glorify His name. One way that can easily be overlooked is what we find is this verse in John—our death. And this is appropriate, I would seem, because, while older people are living longer, young people are dying earlier. This may sound like a contradiction, but if you pay attention to statistics, I think you will agree. Therefore, just as it’s never too late to think about living, it’s never too early to think about dying. And, as this indicates, just as there is more than one cause of death, there is more than one way to die. By this I mean, some deaths are more significant and meaningfully. Or, to use John’s term, there are some deaths that “glorify God”; in which case, there are others that do not.

How, then, shall you and I glorify “the God of the living” by our deaths? Besides the many we read of in the Bible, we know of countless examples of deaths down through history that served to inspire, and, in some cases, inflame those around them. But, in each case, I would venture to say that the common thread among them would have to be this: These people glorified God in their deaths, because they glorified God in their lives.

Those who live well, spiritually, generally have a way of dying well. And exceptions are just that—exceptions. In addition, it is good to remember that we may plan our funerals, but others will take care of the eulogies. We are writing our obituaries now. And, personally, if anything good is said about me at my home-going celebration, I don’t want it to be vague hear-say, I want there to be convincing evidence. I want my death to make Heaven seem more real and more accessible. I want the reality of Christ in a life to be more validated than ever. In short, I want my death to glorify God.

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing
I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now
also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be life, or by
death.” (Philippians 1:20)

Winning the Heart of God

“For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” (John 16:27)

How are we to reconcile the conditional love referred to in this verse with verses such as John 3:16 that tell us God loved the whole world? Perhaps the same way we reconcile the way you and I claim to love all God’s creation yet are unmistakably drawn to certain areas and aspects of it, for personal reasons. Or the fact that my love for children carries with it a special affinity for those four that I gave birth to. Why should I question the motivations of God when my own are exclusive? Having lain to rest a seeming contradiction, we are now free to look at this verse as it stands and glean a precious truth.

Tell me if I’m wrong, but does this verse not say that God loves me in a special way because I love His Son and have chosen to regard Him as just that—the Son of God? Frankly, I find this is as understandable as the motivations I mentioned earlier. I, too, am partial to people who think highly of my children and who recognize them as being “chips off the old block!” When you compliment them, you have complimented me (and their father, of course).

It goes without saying, this has nothing to do with whether or not a man or woman is going to Heaven or hell. That determination and choice is a free gift God offers to the world He loves. I’m talking (and so is our Lord, I think) about the kind of relationship two people share who love the same thing. In this case, God and I love His Son, and that is enough to warm the hearts of both Him and me. And the way I look at it, what’s not to love?

An Unlawful Law

“But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.” (1 Tim.1:8)

The law is good—holy, as a matter of fact. Paul says so in Romans 7:12. But in his first letter to the young preacher, Timothy, he places a qualifier on this premise. Using a valid form of argument: If A, then B; not A; therefore, not B. In other words, if used lawfully, the law is good; if not used lawfully, the law is not good. This is a sobering thought. I am always amazed when I read in the Bible how our omnipotent God chooses to grant powers of limitation to us mortals. As A.W. Tozer has rightfully observed, I think, only a truly sovereign God would be secure enough to do such a thing. Whether we choose to limit this verse to the Law, as given to Moses, or the entire canon of Scripture, as given to us by God through the “holy men of old,” the principle remains the same. Men and women are capable of doing bad things with good implements. And it is possible to handle the Word of God “deceitfully” (2Cor.4:2) and “wrest” (twist) the Scriptures to our own or others’ “destruction” (2Pet.3:16).

As though God were reminding me that we need not wonder how to rightfully use the Bible (and the verse does say “use”), my Old Testament reading today included Psalm nineteen, where David talks about the Law and some of its many uses. For instance, it is capable of generating conversion and making us wise (v.7); it can give us joyful hearts and spiritually enlightened eyes (v.8); and it provides warning when needed, with promised reward, if heeded (v.11). So we may safely say that using the Bible to these ends is to use it lawfully. To use it for other purposes, no matter how lofty, however, is to run the risk of trying to make it say what we want it to say, in order to get favorable results. The Bible is not a means to an end, except for God’s. It cannot be plugged into our personal goals. It is a living, breathing “organism,” meant to change us, not our circumstances.

The law of the Lord is perfect (Psl.19:1); but we are not. The more we try to make it “relevant” (one of my least favorite words), the more we are in danger of using it unlawfully. It is up the Spirit of God to personalize it. Only the inattentive, unaware, or unenlightened fail to grasp its significance. We need to use it, and use it lawfully. And one of the best ways to do that is to use it on ourselves more than others.

Take the Word of God as it is, and it will meet you where you are.

Blind Faith

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5)

He was eighty-seven years old, one of the WW II veterans who are quickly passing off the scene. For that reason, our American History professor thought it would be both interesting and informative for our class to hear and see him. We have been studying that time in our nation’s history—the time Tom Brokaw refers to in his book, The Greatest Generation. John Pershing Glick, our honored guest, flew C-47 aircraft in many missions over Germany and France, carrying troops, fuel, food, ammunition, etc., to forces under the command of men like George Patton. I was glad to be able to hear him and to have the opportunity to personally thank him for his service.

One thing he emphasized, and that he felt saved his life more than once, was his thorough training to always fly according to the navigation instruments, not his own instinct. In fact, during part of his flight training, he was made to fly with a curtain over the windows. He made the observation that John Kennedy Jr., whose plane went down over Martha’s Vineyard several years ago, made this fatal mistake. If he had followed the instrument panel and not his own instinct, that young man (and his wife) might be alive today.

My mind immediately went to this verse in Proverbs, and I was reminded that, for all our good intentions, and no matter how seasoned a Christian we may be, when we start trusting our instincts instead of the “Instruction Book,” we’re headed for disaster. For some reason, there is an independent streak in all of us that has a strong suspicion that no one—not even God—knows what is best for us. Whether it’s our intelligence or our much-praised common sense (which may only be common to us!), it all boils down to leaning toward our own understanding. You see, instinct, an innate impulse or natural tendency, is vulnerable to our senses, always a dangerous gauge for anything; whereas, the Word of God that says “Thou shalt not bear false witness,” “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” “Thou shalt not steal,” does not change when we feel we need to bend the truth to cover ourselves, or “fall in love” and sleep with someone outside the bonds of marriage, or rationalize keeping for ourselves what belongs to another. The readings from the instrument panel of the Bible remain constant. And to rely on anything else, especially our own understanding or instincts, is to risk a spiritual crash.

This may seem like blind faith, but what could be blinder than faulty, fickle feelings? The lights in the control tower are there, whether I see them or not, and if I’m willing to disregard my own instincts, I’ll see them again (“…in thy light shall we see light” Psl.36:9).

As Sound as...What?

“This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Tit.1:13) “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:” (Tit.2:1) “Sound speech that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” (Tit.2:8)


“As sound as a dollar,” was how the saying went, but you don’t hear it much anymore, for obvious reasons. You may hear some enterprise advertising itself as being a sound investment, and I suppose they still begin wills with the phrase, “So–and-so, being of sound mind, etc.” It’s a good word, all the same, and as you know, I’m fond of words. “Sound” is one of those words that to me seems to say far more than its synonyms. For instance, somehow a sound body seems sturdier than a healthy one, and sound reasoning even more convincing than logical thinking. No doubt, the fact that the godly men who translated the old King James felt it expressed exactly the spirit of the text, in so many cases, is one reason that I feel so comfortable with it myself.

Paul used this adjective three times in Titus two alone. The word has several definitions for different uses, and these three passages reflect this, I think. For instance, one definition for the word is “deep and undisturbed (as in a sound sleep),” which is exactly what I see “sound in the faith” as being. It is belief in God that withstands unbiblical reasoning, unfair treatment, and unanswered questions, when the perplexities of life would threaten to overcome us. It is deep, undisturbed, sound faith the makes us understand that the God who framed the world (Heb.11:3) has framed our lives as well (Jer.29:11).

“Sound doctrine” brings to mind the definition, “based on valid reasoning; free from logical flaws” In Paul’s admonition to speak about things that rest on a foundation of sound doctrine, he seems to be warning us against wild speculation or flights of fancy that may draw a crowd, but seldom edify one saint. As I reflect now on some of the so-called “Bible teaching” I have heard over these many years, I realize that some of it was just that—wild speculation that had no real Bible basis. And I have to wonder if it was not a substitute for willingness to apply oneself to the hard work of mastering the depths of the great doctrines of the Church, as found in the Word of God. Make no mistake; the reality of God, though accepted by faith, is highly logical. And the truths about Him and His world, as found in the Bible, rest upon solid reasoning, since they originated in the mind of God. Anything else runs the risk of being less than sound.

But it would be a shame to have doctrine condemned, not because it is unsound, but because it is presented in an unsound manner. I don’t think Paul is insisting upon a spectacular vocabulary when he praises sound speech, in verse eight, only one that is adequate and appropriate. After all, a fifty dollar word is not worth a nickel if it’s used at the wrong time or with the wrong motive. The idea expressed by the verse is clothing sound, Biblical doctrine in the most becoming attire you own. In other words, our most precise, straight forward, and convincing speech should be used to assert the claims of Jesus Christ. And it should be done in such a way, says Paul, that when those who disagree with us say something harsh against us, they are inwardly ashamed of themselves, knowing nothing we have said could honestly be condemned. There is a worthy goal for all of us!

If the primary synonym given for sound is "healthy," then the Christian who exhibits all three of these—sound doctrine, sound faith, and sound speech—could be said to have a healthy spiritual life; and, indeed, the Apostle John told his friend, Gaius, that his wish for him was that both his body and his soul would be healthy and prosperous (3 Jno.2). It’s possible to have a healthy body with a shriveled soul. We should make sure our doctrine is sturdy, our faith is resilient, and our speech is impeccable.

By the way, I know what my own standard for soundness is, therefore, my ending to the old saying would be, “As sound as the integrity of God”.