DRAWING NEAR
December 29
He Who Sanctifies
"Both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all
from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them
brethren, saying, 'I will proclaim Thy name to My brethren, in
the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise.' And
again, 'I will put My trust in Him.' And again, 'Behold, I and
the children whom God has given Me'" (Heb. 2:11-13).
Our holy Christ has made us holy; thus He can now call us His
brothers.
From our own perspective and experience, it is difficult to think of
ourselves as holy. Sin simply is too much a part of us in this fallen
world. In thought and practice we are far from holy, but in Christ we
are perfectly holy.
We may not always act holy, but because of our faith in Christ we are
perfectly holy in God's sight. Just as a child may not always act
like his father, he is nonetheless still his son. We are holy in the
sense that before God, the righteousness of Christ has been applied
and imputed on our behalf through faith. We were made holy through
His sacrifice and have become "those who are sanctified."
"By one offering He has perfected for all time those who are
sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). We are as pure as God is pure, righteous as
Christ is righteous, and therefore entitled to be called His brothers
because we now share in His righteousness.
The Sanctifier and sanctified now have "one Father," and the
Sanctifier "is not ashamed" to call the sanctified His brothers. What
an overwhelming truth!
The practical experience of a Christian's life in this world includes
sin, but the positional reality of his or her new nature is holiness.
"In Him [we] have been made complete" (Col. 2:10). Yet practically we
have a long way to go. So the overriding purpose of our lives is to
become in practice what we are in position. Now that we are Christ's
brothers and God's children, let that be all the motivation we need
to live like it.
Suggestion for Prayer:
Thank the Lord for His sanctifying work on the cross, which enables
you to be holy.
For Further Study:
Read Romans 1:16. Based on what God has done for you through Christ,
can you wholeheartedly echo Paul's statement?
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of
God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and
also for the Greek.
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
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NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase@wowway.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/2425
http://www.gty.org/
http://www.nwbible.org/
There is a living God. He has spoken in His word. He means just what he says, and will do all that He has promised. - Hudson Taylor
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