Renovation of the Heart
The Children of Light and the Light of the World (3|4)
Pages 235-239
• Understanding Sanctification
• A Contemporary Interpretation
• Summary on Sanctification
• Some Marks of the Children of Light
• Virtuous and Happy
TOGETHER read the devotional and the scripture.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Proverbs 9:8-12 (NIV) Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
Psalm 37:1-17 (NIV) Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret —it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your devotional notes and pray.
Understanding Sanctification
“‘The steamship whose machinery is broken may be brought into port and made fast to the dock. She is safe, but not sound. Repairs may last a long time. Christ designs to make us both safe and sound. Justification gives the first - safety; sanctification gives the second - soundness.’ - ‘Sanctification does not mean perfection reached, but the progress of the divine life toward perfection. Sanctification is the Christianizing of the Christian.’’’
What do you think of the steamship analogy? Is it a good one? Is there a different analogy you would use?
A Contemporary Interpretation
“‘Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.’ The work or process of sanctifying the apprentice begins immediately in the newly regenerate heart, the ‘safe; but still ‘unsound’ person is not in a condition of settled, pervasive righteousness that is appropriately named ‘sanctification.’ Sanctification in this life will always be a matter of degree, to be sure, but there is a point in genuine spiritual growth before which the term sanctification simply does not apply - just as ‘hot’ when applied to a cup of coffee is a matter of degree, but there is a point before which it is not hot, even if in the process of being heated.”
What is your response to this statement?
Summary on Sanctification
“So, what shall we say about sanctification in summary? It is a consciously chosen and sustained relationship of interaction between the Lord and his apprentice, in which the apprentice is able to do, and routinely does, what he or she knows to be right before God because all aspects of his or her person have been substantially transformed. Sanctification applies primarily to the moral and religious life but extends in some measure to the prudential and practical (acting wisely) as well. - It comes about through the process of spiritual formation, through which the heart (spirit, will) of the individual and the whole inner life take on the character of Jesus’ inner life.”
What do you think of the view of sanctification presented in this chapter? Is it biblically and psychologically correct?
Some Marks of the Children of Light
“Several characteristics can serve as marks of those who have become established in their whole being as children of light. One is that whenever they are found to be in the wrong, they will never defend it - neither to themselves nor to others, much less to God. - Another of their characteristics is that they do not feel they are missing out on something good by not sinning. They are not disappointed and do not feel deprived. They ‘do not fret because evildoers prosper, and they are not envious toward them’ (Psalm 37:1). They know that ‘better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked’ (verse 16). - Another characteristic, is that the children of light are mainly governed by the pull of good. Their energy is not invested in not doing what is wrong but in doing what is good.”
Is the list of characteristics of the children of light given here adequate? What would you add or take away from it?
Virtuous and Happy
“Our walk with Christ, well learned, is a burden only as wings are to a bird or the engines are to an airplane. The mature children of light are like their Master. They know God and his Word, they think straight, and they live in the truth because every essential dimension of their being has been transformed to serve God: heart, soul, mind, and strength.”
What does this statement mean and what is your response?
EXTRA READING:
“For the glory of God is the human person fully alive; and life consists in beholding God. For if the vision of God which is made by means of the creation, gives life to all the living on the earth, much more does the revelation of the Father, which comes through the Word, give life to those who see God.”
- Irenaeus of Lyon (130 - 202)