I understand the words, but… the meaning?
After ‘stamping our passport’ to Heaven – the big word for it is justification – God then begins the slow and painful work of sanctification. That takes a lifetime. And our eternal rewards depend on it!
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- JUSTIFICATION
Justification is immediate. That depends only on what Christ has done for us at the cross. We are declared righteous, even though we are not.
Justification = just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned.
It’s our ‘get-out-of-hell-free’ card.
(Don’t leave earth without it!)
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- SANCTIFICATION
However, even though we now have our passport to Heaven stamped, the nature of sin is still deeply engraved on our hearts. And it’s then that God sets to work to make us righteous. Restoring His full image in us. Sanctification takes a lifetime. It’s when God is engraving His nature on our hearts.
And engraving is always gonna hurt!
Yeow-ch!
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But the good news is: God keeps careful records, and He promises to reward us for our faithfulness.
- Remember that the Lord will reward everyone, whether slave or free, for the good work he does. Ephesians 6:8
- Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24
- And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Revelation 22:12
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Thanks to Chuck Missler for this simple explanation for these big words. Share them with your sponsored child. His wife, Nancy Missler, wrote more about this topic here.
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RELATED LINKS
Heaven – don’t leave Earth without it!
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