Sanctification

I was once again listen to Chuck on my way into work this morning. He wasn't talking about sanctification per se, but it got me thinking about our sensitivity to sin. He was actually speaking on the Lordship of Christ in our lives. He was quoting another author (sorry I didn't catch who it was).  This person was talking about Christ as an invited house guest and the house is our daily life.  We invite Christ into our lives, but we often only invite Him into certain rooms of our house.  Don't look in the closet, I have things in there you shouldn't see, or I am not ready to relinquish to your control Lord.

The "hidden" closets that we cling to reminded me of the sanctification process and hwo we become more sensitive to sin as we remove it from our lives. I thought of an analogy that I though illustrated the process quite well. When we were unsaved we lived in a garbage dump, and we didn't pay any attention to all the clutter (sin) around us.  But after Christ stepped into our lives, he had us start on clearing out the junk in our lives that we don't need. After we clear away all the garbage, we now have a place to live in that looks more like a home.  But we notice that we have dirt all over the floor.  So we get out the broom and the mop and we sweep away the dirt and mop up the stuff we can see.  So now we have a clean house to live in, but that kitchen counter isn't sanitary is it?  I'd better get out the disinfectant before I prepare the meal.

I thought about extended that analogy to a laboratory and how clean that has to be, but I guess you get the point. Chirst's standard is perfection, and He won't stop working on us until He is satisfied.

So here I am Lord in my cluttered room Lord, where do I start?  Do I need a swab, a mop or a bulldozer? 

And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.

I was reading Matthew 18 this morning and I came across verses 8 and 9.

And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
(Mat 18:8-9 ESV)

I've always struggled with what Jesus meant by that. I knew he didn't really intend for us to maim ourselves, but I wasn't sure why he put it like that.


After rereading the passage today, it occurred to me that what he might mean is that our eyes and limbs do not cause us to sin, but rather it is our sinful nature that causes us to sin.


Chuck Swindoll was preaching this morning on our sinful nature and how we still have the capacity in us for all the ugly sins we've committed in the past.


James 4 talks about the source of our sins. It is from our hearts that sins come forth.

Back in Matthew 8 verse 7, it condemns the world for all its temptations, but yet it says that those temptations are necessary. I think about Muslims that force women to wear veils and ultraconservative clothing so that the men may not be tempted to lust after the women. They have taken it so far in some cultures that no part of a woman's body can be showing except for here eyes. We as Christians make similar demands on our women, but to a lesser degree to not wear provocative clothing. But that does nothing to address the real problem - the lustful eyes of men.

So getting back to verse 8, I think that what Jesus was getting at was that it is not our eyes and our limbs that CAUSE us to sin, but they are merely following orders from our sin stained hearts. When my son's arm hurts, I jokingly say "Do we need to cut it off?" I think that is what Jesus had in mind.

Comments?