THE SECOND STAGE OF SALVATION (2)

 Today, we shall continue with our discussions on “THE SECOND STAGE OF SALVATION!” (2) “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30).

What happens in sanctification? The very moment you got Born-Again, all your sins were forgiven.  You instantly became the righteousness of God because of what Christ has done for humanity (2 Cor. 5:21).

At this point, you are said to be justified, holy, and positionally sanctified. This is then followed by the process of progressive sanctification (Jn. 15:3), which continues until we exit this planet.

You see, justification is not the final scene. It is only the beginning because the same blood that justifies you in an instant demands that you now walk into the wilderness, the furnace, the battlefield where your soul will be purified, reshaped and made truly holy.

This is why the Bible says that we shall through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (Jam. 1:2-3).

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him” (Jam. 1:12).

This is where many Christians get confused. Many think that the Christians are called to walk on the bed of roses. No! We are called to walk on serpents and scorpions (Lk. 10:19). 

We love the robe we get at justification, but we resist the fire that keeps that robe unspotted. We praise God for His forgiveness but we weep when He starts chiseling us into the image of His Son. And yet sanctification is the very evidence that the declaration in the courtroom was real. 

You don’t just receive what Jesus did. You become like who He is.  Hebrews 10:14 declares, “For by one offering He hath perfected foreverthem that are sanctified.”

You cannot be sanctified without the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t work beside you. He works within you. 

And when He enters a life, He doesn’t merely rearrange furniture. He tears down walls, burns away idols, exposes hidden compartments, and remakes you from the inside out. 

When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in you, He does not come to bless your comfort zones. He comes to confront them.

In John 16:8 Jesus said, “And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”

That is not passive. That’s warfare and it begins inside your soul. If you have ever felt the holy sting of guilt after gossiping. If you’ve ever been haunted by your apathy in worship. If you ever felt that ache of sorrow after indulging in what you know grieves God (like immorality). That is not a sign that God has left you. It is a proof that He lives inside you. That’s the Spirit doing what only He can do – piercing, shaking, refining, awakening. 

Because the Spirit is not just sent to tell you “You are loved,” He is sent to teach you to live like someone who is.

Romans 8:13 gives us no room for spiritual passivity. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify (put to death) the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

That’s the role of the Spirit in sanctification – to kill what you cannot. You don’t overcome lust through mental tricks. You don’t crush pride through self-help books. You don’t silence the lies in your head by trying harder to believe truth. It is by the Spirit that sin dies. 

Conviction is a strong persuasion. It is the state of being convinced. The conviction of the Spirit is not to crush you. It is to set you free. The same fire that scorches also purifies. The same voice that confronts also heals. The same Spirit who exposes your sin is the one that pours the love of God into your heart until it drowns every whisper of condemnation.

Romans 5:5 says, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghostwhich is given unto us.”

 

The conviction of the Holy Spirit leads to intimacy. His correction leads to closeness. He does not scream from a distance. He whispers from within because He is already in the room (your spirit-man). And yet you can grieve Him (Eph. 4:30).

The Holy Spirit does not force transformation. He invites it and every time we resist His nudge, every time we dismiss His conviction, every time we drown out His voice with noise, pride or comfort, we harden ourselves.

 

So, how do you walk in step with the Spirit? Galatians 5:16 gives us the map: “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

Notice: it did not say that you’ll never struggle. It says, “You won’t be controlled (ruled).”

 

Walking in the Spirit doesn’t mean perfection. It means alignment. It means saying yes when the Spirit says pause, and no when the flesh screams yes. It means fasting, not just from food, but from distractions. It means choosing to worship when you don’t feel anything. It means studying Scripture even when it feels dry because you believe He speaks through it. It means opening your mouth in confession when shame tells you to hide.

Sanctification is the job of the Holy Spirit, but surrender is yours. And that surrender must be daily. 

The Holy Spirit is not your occasional adviser. He is your breath, your power. Your holiness without Him is not possible. You may perform Christian behaviour but you’ll never manifest the fruit of Christ’s character. That is why Galatians 5:22-23 describes the result of walking with Him. Not tasks, not duties, but fruits.

 

Love, joy, peace, gentleness, faithfulness, longsuffering etc. are the supernatural outflow of a surrendered soul. So, stop asking, “How can I be more patient?” Start saying, “Holy Spirit, why am I resisting your shaping?” Stop trying to love people better in your own strength. Ask the Spirit to expand your heart until it bursts with compassion. Stop trying to mechanize self-control. Ask the Spirit to rewire your appetites.

 

In sanctification, the Holy Spirit “works in you to will and to act” according to God’s purpose. What He does is to prompt you to “work out your salvation” (i.e., express it in action) by fulfilling these new desires (Phil. 2:12-13). 

 

NLT puts it this way, “…Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him” (Phil. 2:12-13).

 

Christians become increasingly Christ-like as the moral profile of Jesus (the “fruit of the Spirit”) is progressively formed in them (2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:22-25).

 

Conclusion: Without sanctification, you can never remain holy. And without holiness, you cannot see the LORD (Heb. 12:14).

 

To be continued!

 

Watch out for the next Edition of the Good News from the Pulpit!

 

·      Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor, HOG).