When we are looking at inward and outward religion, there are different effects to each. This devotional reading looks at the effects of growing in grace.
Nuggets
- Salvation starts with grace, but it doesn’t end there.
- We must be planted and firmly rooted in the house of the Lord.
Just as it is our decision whether to accept God’s gift of salvation, it is also our decision what to do with it after we have. Boston told us the two things we can do.
We can either grow or not. Boston wrote, “In the different effects of the religion which those profess. Grace is of a growing nature (Proverbs 4:18). And the longer that saints have a standing in religion they will be the more firmly rooted (Psalm 92:13, 14; Proverbs 26:14).”
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This devotion has gotten long, but it is not looking like breaking it into two is going to be easy. Bear with me on this. I am going to save the connections and application to the next devotion.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in the Habitual Holiness of Heart and Life theme, click the button below.
Here is a running list of nuggets for the theme.
Devotions in the Outward and Inward Religion study
Here is a running list of nuggets for the study.
We are using Boston’s sermon as the foundation for this series.
Resource
Growing Grace
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day” (Prov. 4: 18 ESV)
Salvation starts with grace, but it doesn’t end there.
It is our choice to accept salvation or not. It is also our choice as to what we do with it.
Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from condemnation and sin to acceptance and holiness and changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
- Sin is not believing that Jesus is our Savior to save us from our actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues and to serve and worship God.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
- Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Holy means to be set apart — because of our devotion to God — to become perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues and to serve and worship God.
- Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
- Spiritual death is the spiritual separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
- The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
Glossary
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
What we do with it is sanctification. Sanctification is the transformational process of the mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration; gradually changes our nature and morals through the promptings of the Holy Spirit; and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal new birth and requickening that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character.
Glossary
Arnot reminded us that sanctification is about our character. He wrote, “The essentials of a just man’s character have been in all ages the same.”
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The goal of sanctification is to change our character to be like God’s. We aren’t like Him when we are in our sinful state. God doesn’t flip a switch and make us like Him at conversion.
Sanctification is a gradual growing process. We are gaining wisdom, holiness, and happiness.
When the sun comes up, it doesn’t just magically appear in the sky. It gradually comes into view.
When Adam and I went on our mission trip to Canada, we went to see the sunrise over Lake Erie. It was amazing. The changing colors and the rising of the sun over the water was beautiful.
One thing we have to remember here is that Solomon said we are like the light, not the sun. The dawn is not the sun. It is the effect of the sun rising.
Our character is a reflection of His. Salvation does not make us gods in our own right. It means we serve the One true God.
It is going to take time – and be a struggle – to be changed to have God’s character.
Thomas reminded us that it is not just about character. Sanctification is about condition and destiny.
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Our condition is that we are to be a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (II Cor. 5: 17 ESV).
What we were before – our sinful nature – has to be eliminated and replaced with God’s nature. As we said, this is going to take time.
Glossary
Sanctification is also about destiny. Arnot believed there was no doubt that sanctification would be successful – and this verse backs up that belief. “… which shines brighter and brighter until full day” (Prov. 4: 18 ESV).
Let’s table our discussion on whether that no doubt was justified or not. Our focus right now is on those who do successfully navigate the Sanctification Road.
I do believe there is no doubt of the outcome when we choose God every day. We will become more and more like Him.
We just may have trouble seeing that.
Sunrise occurs when our portion of this continent turns away from the sun. The light of dawn comes from diminishing darkness.
We have to choose to turn away from sin and turn toward the Son. We have to choose to turn away from the world and turn to God.
Oops. We kind of glossed over the righteousness part. Righteousness is the indwelling goodness that is the result of a solid relationship with God built by a sincere life of conscientious obedience to God’s laws and commandments and from which all virtues flow.
We said sanctification is about growing. We are growing in our understanding of the truth. God is revealing Himself to us.
One thing God is revealing to us is how we are to habitually live for Him. We must be holy because He is holy (I Pet. 1: 16).
It is going to take perseverance. Growth is never easy. I remember the year Adam grew 9 inches in one year.
The boy was hurting.
But it is worth it. Sanctification and eventual perfection bring peace and satisfaction.
Growing is all about growing grace. Grace is a free and unmerited gift of love from the Heavenly Father, given through His Son, Jesus Christ, that enables salvation and spiritual healing to believers by the work of the Holy Spirit.
We want to grow God’s favor toward us.
It isn’t about us being better people. Nor is it about us doing a better job of serving others.
It is about us growing closer to God.
Firmly Rooted
“They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green” (Ps. 92: 13-14 ESV)
We must be planted and firmly rooted in the house of the Lord.
Trees are very important to God. How do we know?
Think about the tree of life.
The kicker is that it is planted in the house of the Lord. Why is that so difficult to understand?
God wants us where He is. Isn’t that what Heaven is all about – living with God eternally.
To get there, we have to be planted and firmly rooted.
Let’s continue on the growing theme. In order to grow, we have to be planted. We can’t plant ourselves in Heaven.
Salvation is gained only one way – through Jesus. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (Jn. 14: 6 ESV).
Spurgeon made a great observation that I had never thought of before. This planted doesn’t necessarily mean it was grown from seed. The trees are replanted.
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God comes to us as we are. He calls us to repentance and salvation. Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to change our sinful ways to ways of righteousness through obedience.
- Obedience means submitting ourselves to the will of God as it is presented to us and living our lives accordingly.
Glossary
Then God starts us on the growing process.
We don’t lose our personality. We don’t become robots for God.
We become uniquely us who look like Him.
Johnson told us what looking like Him looks like. He wrote, “Piety must find its nutrition in holy exercises. Worship, meditation with the lights of Christian truth should lead on to far higher spirituality than the broken lights of the Old Temple services. There is never a doctrine in the Word or nature that is not intended for enrichment and elevation of the true and temper of life.”
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Holy exercises – being firmly planted and rooted in God. We become new creations. We truly worship God, not give Him lip service.
It is our choice to become firmly rooted in God. We do that by meditating on Christian truth – seeking Him.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17)
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3)
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16)
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11)
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2)
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11)
Remember, Arnot said that there is no doubt as to the outcome of sanctification. Spurgeon agreed, citing this verse as a promise of that.
But think about it. Where are we planted? In the house of the Lord.
God cannot associate with sin. Whatever is planted in His house has to be pure.
The process of sanctification has to be a success in order for us to enter into God’s presence. We are called to draw near to God. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (Jas. 4: 8 ESV).
We are called to cleanse and purify in order to draw near to God.
When we are planted and firmly rooted, we do what we are supposed to do – bring forth fruit. “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (Jn. 15: 8 ESV).
Many times, we think that bearing fruit means witnessing. That isn’t everything.
Verse 8 starts with the infamous this. It points back to verse 7. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (Jn. 15: 7 ESV emphasis added).
Don’t get me wrong. We are to witness and bring others to Christ. We are to serve others.
Our #1 priority is getting our relationship right with God. As Orton said, our fruits must be “knowledge, holiness, patience, meekness, quietness of spirit, renunciation of the world, preparedness for death, a heavenly conversation, also a deep concern for the [honor] of God, the support of religion, and the good of mankind.”
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We can’t do this outside of His house. We must accept the gospel message to be in a right relationship.
Father God. We praise You for Your gift of salvation. Thank You for forgiving us of our disobedience and making a way that we may be restored to You. Amen.
What do you think?
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