THE SECOND STAGE OF SALVATION

 Today, we shall finalize our discussions on “THE SECOND STAGE OF SALVATION!” (3)

 

“For whom He did foreknow  He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son…” (Rom. 8:29-30).

 

“Conforming to the image of Christ” is possible through the process of progressive sanctification. It is in the battlefield that God the Father prunes you over and over again until you conform to the image of Christ.

 

Sanctification is like the refiner’s fire described in Malachi 3:2-3. “But who may abide (on) the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness” (Mal. 3:2-3).

 

What is the refiner’s fire? It is an extremely hot furnace 1,600 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit in which gold and silver are melted, impurities would rise to the surface, making it easy for the refiner to blow or scrape them away, leaving the pure metal.

 

Malachi 3:2 describes the coming of the Lord as a refining fire and a fuller’s soap, emphasizing the purifying nature of His presence and judgment.

 

Imagine that God is sitting and watching the purification process, and He will not take His eyes off you until He sees that the fire has burnt off every impurity in your life, and He sees His reflection in your soul. That is sanctification.

 

But here is the tension: The fire often feels like rejection. And you wonder why it hurts. You ask if you are being punished for your wrongs. You cry out “LORD, I thought I was forgiven at Justification.” And He whispers back, “You are.”  That’s why I am refining you.

What is a fuller’s soap? A fuller’s soap is a strong cleansing agent (likely a type of lye or potash) used by drycleaners to purify and whiten clothes. It is used to remove stains from clothes.

Figuratively, it symbolizes God’s purifying power, and the process of spiritual cleansing. Here is the truth: The trials and challenges we face in life help to remove the impurities in our lives so that we can be pure enough to come into the presence of our Father.

 

Sanctification is not proof that God is distant. It’s proof that He is near enough to burn off the impurities in your life. You are not being abandoned.

 

God is not content with leaving your heart untouched by His holiness. He wants your mind transformed, your desires reordered, your wordpurified, your secret life exposed, and your whole self surrendered to Him. 

 

Sanctification unfolds over a lifetime. It is slow, painful, and repetitive. You will go through battles and you will fail. But never mind, you are being pruned. You will be pruned again and again and again. 

 

Sanctification is a spiritual surgery, and surgery is not interesting. It is bloody, it’s messy. It is done in hidden places. But make no mistakes: God is working even when you don’t feel holy, even when growth seems invisible, even when your faith is flickering. But that doesn’t mean that you get to be passive.

 

Sanctification is a path you walk, not a couch you collapse into. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”

 

Grace-fueled effort is the war of sanctification. But this war is not clean. You will stumble. You will fail. You will have days where you feel dry, unspiritual. And in those moments grace doesn’t mock you. It meets you. It lifts you up and whispers “we are not done,” and throws you back into the fight. All you’ve got to do is to exercise patience and endure. God is not through with you yet.

 

Sanctification is not about being flawless. It is about refusing to quit. It’s about rising again, and again, and again, because the Holy Spirit refuses to let you go.

The very effort you offer, the tears, the prayers, the decisions, the disciplines, they are all His work in you. Even your desire to change is grace, your hatred of sin is grace, your discomfort in mediocrity is grace, the war you feel inside, that’s grace, the conviction you feel, that’s grace. The Spirit of God is simply stirring you up to participate in what He is already doing.

 

But know that nobody can fight this battle for you. Your Pastor can’t fight it for you. Your spouse can’t intercede it away. Your small group can encourage you, but they cannot crucify your flesh.

 

That war belongs to you. And every morning you wake up in a battlefield, the old you still fights to survive. The world still whispers lies to your ears. The enemy still accuses you. And God still calls you to holiness. 

 

So, here is the question only you can answer: Are you engaged in the war or have you used grace as a reason to retreat? 

 

Sanctification is about becoming real. The fire you feel when you are being purified might not be judgment. It might be Jesus sanctifying you.What if the pain you are in now is not punishment, but a proof that you’re your sanctification is in progress?

 

What if the tears you have not told anyone about, the wilderness you have wandered for what feels like years is not God’s silence but His sanctifying hand? 

 

The truth is that we rarely connect pain with God’s love. We pray for peace, breakthroughs, for blessings, but rarely do we say, “Lord, make me holy,” because holiness often comes wrapped in suffering. 

 

But here is the holiness tension: Holiness hurts. No one tells you that upfront. You come to Christ expecting joy, expecting freedom, and they come, yes, but so does the fire. So does the sword. 

 

Hebrews 12:10-11 pulls the curtain back and says it plainly, “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (KJV).

 

Did you catch that? Produces pain now, but peace later. First the wound, then the healing. This was why the Bible says, “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… 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. 1:2-4, 12).

What is the appointed means of sanctification? 

1. We are sanctified by the raw and undiluted Word of God (Ps. 119:9). In other words, how can a young person stay pure? A person can stay pure by obeying the Word of God (Jn. 15:3, Jn. 17:17; Eph. 5:25-26).

What is the Word of God for? (2 Tim. 3:16-17, KJV).

How is the Word of God used to sanctify us? (2 Cor. 3:18).

 

2. We are sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:25-26).

 

What should the believer separate himself from? 1. Unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14-18). 2. Fornication (1 Thess. 4:3-5).

Why should you abstain from fornication? This is because every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body (1 Cor. 6:18-20).

Conclusion: Sanctification is the privilege of every believer to attain a state in which he is entirely free from sin. Our objective is Christlikeness, and we must press continually toward this objective as we carry out His purposes on earth.

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

 

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