Thursday, June 1, 2006
1 Corinthians 6:11 You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
SANCTIFIED TO DO GOOD WORKS
It takes as much to change a person's heart from unbelief to faith as it took to raise Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20). It's a change that must be worked by God the Holy Spirit Himself or it cannot happen at all. A mind that was dead in transgressions and sins becomes willing to love and serve God -- that's a major difference!
The transformation from unbelief to faith is evident in the way the Christian lives his life. The Holy Spirit not only calls us to faith and enlightens us with His gifts, He also creates pure hearts within us that are eager to do what is good. This sets Christians apart from the unbelievers. While the unbelieving serve themselves out of selfishness, the believing serve God and neighbor out of thanksgiving for His wonderful blessings.
Yes, we still have the old sinful nature clinging to us and in this life we will never be entirely free of sin. Now, however, we can be victorious over evil when it rears its head because the Holy Spirit is working inside us too. "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works . . ." (Ephesians 2:10).
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
