Day 142 - Devotional

The Significance of Sanctification

Pastor Jake

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
— 2 Peter 3:17-18

I remember when I first got my driver’s license. Man, what an exhausting process it was to prepare for the driver’s test, learn about what all the signs meant, understand that even though its Illinois, you still need to use your turning signal.

I was a lazy kid growing up, so having to study for my driver’s test was daunting for me. But I took it, I passed, and I was finally issued my driver’s license. Oh, the immense freedom you feel when you get that piece of plastic that affirms you have received the right to traverse the world. But what do we mean by freedom here? When you get your license, are you able to just drive as fast as you want, wherever you want, disregarding signals, signs and the like? Trust me, sometimes I wish that were true – what with the 21 stoplights between my house and the church. But no, that isn’t the case. Instead, those signs – speed limit signs, stop signs, yield signs, caution signs, detour signs – all of them, suddenly have meaning and purpose. And beyond that, they allow our freedom to be the kind of freedom that best serves the purposes of the roadway – the kind of freedom that most effectively gets you to your destination.

Peter had a problem on his hands among the churches of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). He was hearing about false teachers who were not just some random people floating outside of the church, pronouncing wild teachings in the name of Christ. No, these people were actually counted among those who were in the church. 2 Peter 2, verse 1 says they are false teachers who

“…secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter 2:1)

Peter goes on to compare them with the dogs and pigs of Proverbs 26:11 when he writes

“What the true proverb says has happened to them: ‘The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing itself, returns to wallow in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:22)

He even mentions these teachers in chapter 3 verse 16, where he describes them as “…ignorant and unstable….”

So what were these false teachers doing? What was the problematic doctrine they were pushing on the faithful churches of Asia Minor? Here it is: They were teaching justification without sanctification. They were teaching an over realized Christian liberty and an underrealized Christian chastity. They took justification as if it were a license to drive, and started teaching all who would listen “Oh, those street signs don’t apply to us! We are free from all regulation! Go ahead, drive above the speed limit, disobey the traffic signals, go off the road through people’s yards.” In other words, they were teaching that once we are justified in Christ, we have nothing to worry about. Once saved, always saved. Go and live however you want.

Charles Swindoll describes the twisted religion of the false teachers as

“…sensuality, unbridled moral freedom, and licentious behavior masked by a twisted doctrine of ‘grace.’ … grace to these deceivers means freedom to do as they wish – when and where and with whom they wish.”

Peter is addressing the faithful members of the churches of Asia Minor to help them understand the error of these teachers. Yes, justification is the mighty work of Christ on our behalf to render sin powerless. We have his righteousness, and he bore our sin. But we must understand that justification serves a purpose. It is designed to set us apart as God’s people. It is designed to act as the fuel of our faith that launches us toward Christlikeness. It is designed for sanctification. Having been given our “license” of salvation, all the road signs suddenly make sense and have purpose. God made these signs to instruct us about holy living - about what it means to live a sanctified life. We need only be willing to follow every detour, stop at every stop sign, and go at every green light.