Change, Sanctification, and God’s Purpose
The Bible says change is God’s purpose for people. The Apostle Paul in a pivotal moment in his epistle to the church at Rome, writes (Romans 8:28-30):
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 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. 30 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.
According to scripture here, which nothing else in the Bible contradicts, God’s purpose for His people is to “conform [them] to the image of His Son.” Conforming people to the image of His Son is change and scripture also calls that change for genuine believers, “sanctification.” Whom God justifies, He also sanctifies, which means, “changes,” and that change is conforming to the image of Jesus Christ, that mankind lost because of sin.
According to Jesus, sanctification occurs through God’s Word, which is the truth (John 17:17-19). Paul calls this sanctification the cleansing of the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26). He also says that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, sanctifies (2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Peter 1:2) by using scripture. God the Spirit is the mouthpiece for the text of scripture, His means of changing the saints, conforming them to the image of the Son of God.
Actual Sanctification Will Have Steps
One can discern actual or real sanctification by the steps of the process of sanctification. A person may change and an organization made up of people may change. When they change, the first step in the process is persuasion from scripture. Study, right division, or exegesis of the appropriate passages of scripture will occur related to the issue of the change.
I’m not targeting a particular subject, but let’s say the issue is drinking of alcohol. Someone said that drinking alcohol was wrong, and he didn’t drink it, but now he says it’s right, so now he is drinking it. He changed. If this is sanctification and conforming to the image of the Son, it would start with scripture in the process. Is that all? Does he just start with the Bible to get his positions? Yes, but in the context of the pillar and ground of the truth, the church.
Scripture Is the First Step
Overall, I would expect first to hear from scripture from the one who changed his position. I would say, scripture, instead of something like this: “My pastor says or my church says.” I’m glad that someone listens to a godly pastor and to his church, but in the end, Jesus said in John 12:48 that He will judge everyone by His Words, whether believers or unbelievers. Someone could stay in the wrong church and hear the wrong message and he is still accountable for that. Nonetheless, the Bible gives authority to the church for sanctification.
Many times a true church preaches a true doctrine or practice from scripture and someone doesn’t like it. He doesn’t prefer it. Therefore, he goes online or to some other source outside of the church to find a more convenient position that matches with what he likes better or wants to do. The preaching of the Word of God through the ordained pastor of a true church and then with the agreement of the whole church carries biblical authority. Paul was making this clear in a number of places, very many, in the New Testament.
The Agency of the Church with Scripture
In an indispensable passage in Ephesians 4:10-13, Paul writes:
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
“He” in verse 10 is the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus in verse 11 gave “pastors and teachers” to His churches for (verse 12) “the perfecting of the saints” until those saints (verse 13) come “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of Christ.” This is that conforming to the Son of Romans 8:28-30, which is the perfecting of the saints. Sanctification is not a private activity and this is seen all over New Testament writings. One does not free float out there, doing his own thing with the Bible. He fits into the body of Christ, submits under the headship of Christ over His churches.
Maybe a Church Is Wrong But Church Is Still Normative
When God sanctifies using the Word of God, He sanctifies using the church, because that’s what He says He does in His Word. When someone reports His change, will He include a true church in a step of the process? It is possible that he reads the Bible, finds that it disagrees with His church and He leaves it. That might have to happen and there is authority for that too, but that would be part of the sanctification story in His process of change. Jesus said churches were wrong in Revelation 2-3. Even everyone in a church could go wrong, like the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22).
The church is the normal, scriptural way of change. Leaving a church is a viable exception. It must happen sometimes. Your wrong church will not serve as an excuse on the day of judgment. However, working through the church is the normal, regular means that God uses for change. Someone would recognize this when he leaves a church, because it departed from scripture and then goes to a different church. The commonality in the two incidents, both for and against the church, is scripture though.
When someone changes, the Lord’s church will enter the steps in the process. Again, someone changes his position or practice. The scriptural means starts with scripture. When I have changed, maybe God used circumstances to get my attention, but it still meant looking at scripture for the change to occur. As I recount my change, I say, “I was listening in my church to a series in 1 Corinthians or I was studying in Romans.” If what I discover clashes with my church, that is serious. That’s going to take a serious interaction with the church, which this series won’t address.
An Example in My Own Life
I would put a gigantic disclaimer as a means of Bible college as an instrument of pastoral training, but I went to a Bible college and seminary for undergrad and graduate school, graduating with multiple degrees. That college has departed from multiple positions it taught me. At no point has the college announced those changes, saying, “We put a tremendous amount of time and study in scripture and here is our new position.” The college should understand when its graduates have a difficulty with the change.
Even though you will not see a Bible college in scripture, still the first biblical step in the process of change is the Bible. What does the Bible say about the issue? In almost every instance, when a college changes, it expects continued support of its graduates, even when it doesn’t give any scriptural evidence, support, or authorization for the change. It wants the loyalty of the graduates to it, the college. When I went to college, the college told me the Bible was the sole authority. When it changed, it looked like something else was its authority, because it didn’t start with a biblical explanation.
My college wanted my loyalty. When it changed, it pressured me for support. Instead, I attempted to persuade the college, using scripture, not to change its position. What did it do? It used political means on me to stop me and harm and belittle my influence. When I was in college, if I promoted a position against the college, the college would suspend or evict me. When the college changed and promoted a different position, it was to suffer nothing for this. One could not expel the college, or could someone do that? He could by withdrawing support.
The Pillar and Ground of the Truth
This series is not about the relationship of believers with a college. I’m using this as an example of the steps in the process of change. I would respect a college changing and that change starting with a serious study of scripture and then trying to have a transparent, open dialogue related to that study, looking for input from graduates. That’s an honest dealing with issues. I’ve never seen that happen. Maybe you can point me to it, but the very unscriptural nature of colleges as a means of sanctification is the biggest reason why that has not occurred.
God doesn’t call the college the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). He calls the church the pillar and ground of the truth. Someone might change on the subject of the college based on what the Bible says. Scripture should announce a change, not opinion.
The First Step in the Process of Change
As I started pastoring in California, I began preaching through the books of the Bible, not in order, but systematically teaching all of them. I did that in thirty three years. As I did that, I changed and our church changed. Every time it happened, it was like the following. I started studying for a series through a book and then began preaching the book, each passage or paragraph in its context. Then I would confront something in one of those books that differed from the belief and practice of our church. Those I spent even more significant time.
I remember studying certain passages for at least 24 hours or more total to be sure about what I would preach. I checked every single commentary that I could. Then I preached the passage, knowing that it was something different. On every major issue, it would take a year or more for the change to occur. Very often I would do a series then on the subject, going to every passage that spoke to the issue. After that, I would do questions and answers on it. The men would gather and discuss. Then we voted to change. Every time, that’s how it happened.
Change should occur, but it should happen with biblical steps in a process. The first of these is scripture. As I continue this series, I will discuss other steps in the process.
More to Come