I’ve missed making my Sunday Reflection posts for a few weeks now; computer problems, being out of town, and such will do that.

This week, I’d like to reflect on the glorious nature of salvation. Pastor John has begun recently an excellent series preaching on the new birth (its nature, effects, etc.). Last night, in his second message on what happens when one is born again, he reminded us of an important truth: that we ought not be see the new birth in an all-or-nothing fashion. Yes, there is a dramatic change that happens when a person is born again, but that person is still a person, still has a sin nature, and cannot be expected to immediately and perfectly demonstrate all the fruits of a spirit-filled life.

This is a significant and important thing to remember. Salvation is a process. We can’t expect to immediately have everything right. And Dr. Piper reminded us this weekend that, if we expect that of ourselves, we will die — either by bailing on the faith or killing ourselves.

Now, before I get burned at the stake for saying that salvation is a process, let me explain a bit. Salvation, I believe, consists of three pieces:

• Justification — God cleansing our record and declaring us not-guilty. This seems to be a state, into which we enter at a point in time (from a human perspective, at least).
• Sanctification — God making us holy and bringing us into conformance with the image of His Son, the perfect embodiment of holiness. This is a combination of a state and a process, I write more on that below.
• Glorification — God giving us new bodies, free from earthly infirmities, and delivering us finally and completely from the temptations of sin to live with Him forever. This is a future action, which will be performed after our death and resurrection (or, for those blessed to see Christ’s return, when they are drawn up to Christ).

Frequently, the term "salvation" is understood to be referring only to the first element, and the latter two are relegated to a position of results of salvation. However, Paul writes in Phil. 2:12b a command to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Later, in chapter 3, he writes:

Not that I have already obtained [the resurrection of the dead] or am already made perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (Phil. 3:12-16)

I believe it is clear that Paul had in mind what we frequently call sanctification — the hard work on our part and enabling work on the Spirit’s part to bring us into conformance to the image of Christ, with the end of glorification in mind.

There seem to be two aspects to sanctification — an initial and an ongoing. The initial aspect is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the act of God by which we are made able to be made holy. An action by which God sets us apart for holiness. The ongoing aspect is the outworking of this. The lifelong, often painful process of becoming holy.

We can see in Paul’s statements above that he had the whole process of salvation in view. Justification ("because Christ Jesus has made me his own"), sanctification ("press on to make it my own"), and glorification.

Praise God that He is patient, and that He doesn’t expect us to have our acts completely together from day 0.5. He saves us, and then works patiently and persistently on us so that, day by day, we reflect more of the renewed image of God implanted in us by the power of the Spirit.