Januarys being what they are pastors can find themselves looking at ourselves and others wondering if disciples of Jesus have made any progress during the previous twelve months. That can be a very, very depressing activity if we don’t hold on to the fact that, unlike justification, that sanctification is a progressive work that is …

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Greg Morse writes about how he remained lukewarm as a Christian, and what maintained that status: Lukewarm and Lovin’ It I didn’t cuss much. I wasn’t sleeping around. I went to church most Sundays. I must be a Christian. I said that Jesus died for my sins. I sang the lyrics on the screen. I …

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More like two sides of one coin rather than two separate works. The church has an inward and an outward focus. Or, as Jonathan Leeman puts it, to be an embassy and an ambassador: The narrow mission of a church-as-organized collective is to make disciples and citizens of Christ’s kingdom. The broad mission of a …

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Words from Sinclair Ferguson posted on the blog Tolle Lege. “Hebrews is all about persevering in sanctification. Without holiness, writes the author, ‘no one will see the Lord.’ We must therefore ‘strive’ for it (Hebrews 12:14). He uses vigorous language. His verb (διώκω, strive) appears regularly in the New Testament with the sense of ‘persecute.’ …

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