Comments on: It’s not about me. And boy am I glad.

By: Jon Ericson

Jon Ericson — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:18:15 +0000

In the Protestant way of thinking, the primary task Christ accomplished on the cross was our justification (taking on the sins of the world and receiving just punishment for them). Regeneration (being born again) is the event that happens when a believer accepts the message of the Cross. This is what Paul means when he says that we die to sin and that it is not us who lives, but Christ within us. The sacraments are symbols (not instruments) of that event. Sanctification is the lifelong process of getting right with God with the aid of the Holy Spirit.

The idea that we have already been justified lies at the heart of four of the five solae.

By: waxeagle

waxeagle — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:54:11 +0000

The way I see it (and have been taught) is that we are immediately justified (regeneration), and are in the process of sanctification. We live in a state of being continually sanctified. (in the "Already, but not yet" sense of that).

By: waxeagle

waxeagle — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:50:44 +0000

Yep, that's a typo, fixing now.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:46:08 +0000

We are supposed to die to Christ

Is that a typo? I think I'd expect "die to sin" or "die with Christ".

By: Peter Turner

Peter Turner — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:47:12 +0000

We must remember that faith is the beginning of regeneration which leads to sanctification.

That's good, but I'd say sanctification (in the grace freely given on the Cross) is the beginning of faith (accepting Christ's message) which leads to regeneration (in Baptism and the Eucharist).

By: Jon Ericson

Jon Ericson — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:26:28 +0000

This is actually the flip side of the same coin: “You a far worse off than you’ve ever imagined, but you a far more loved, than you ever dared dream.” What a great line!

Have you read Desiring God? John Piper makes an interesting case for what he calls, "Christian Hedonism". The phrase he uses is "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." That doesn't mean becoming a couch potato. Rather, we find that our deepest satisfaction comes from doing what we were made to do: be God's likeness in creation.