We are on the way to becoming fully sanctified—imaging Christ through the power of the Spirit. As we move in this direction, we will find ourselves attaining different degrees of this ultimate destiny. When it comes to sanctification, some of us will be living sanctified lives in lesser degrees, while others are living sanctified lives in greater degrees, and this may fluctuate in different areas. Yet, no one is ever completely sanctified in this life. That awaits a future reality. There’s always room to move ahead toward the goal of more faithfully imaging Christ.
Monday, January 10, 2011
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2 comments:
Greg,
When it comes to sanctification, where does the idea of a "Christ-consciousness" fit it, if at all? I guess what I'm getting at is that it seems like there are people I know who are agnostic or atheists, who seem to exhibit more of Christ's image than I've seen in others who call themselves Christians. Can people move in the direction of sanctification without realizing it or even calling it by that term? I'm curious to hear your thoughts.
Robynn,
Thanks. Good point and excellent questions. I think I agree that non-Christians can move in the direction of sanctification and image Christ in some fashion. But there are a couple of other considerations that need to be taken into account.
First, there is also justification that comes into play and therefore sanctification is not taking place on it's own. People can do and be many good things because they're human. Second, the ongoing problematic for people in a Christian view, is that of being caught in the bad that they are and do because they're human. So, despite being able to have some characteristics of a sanctified (holy) life, there is that unsanctified dimension that is not dealt with in a satisfactory fashion. Third, there would be the question of destiny that is important, albeit this is not always as clear as it is sometimes made out to be.
It is lamentable that Christians aren't better signposts to the crucified and risen one, but I think it's pertinent to keep a relation and distinction formulation when it comes to Christ and Christians.
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