![]() Pastor Phelps shared the following illustrations with his ABF class this past Sunday, and I thought I'd pass it along, as it really helps to clarify Peter's tension between justification (1:1-4) and sanctification (1:5-11). When his children were still in high school, Pastor and Mrs. Phelps bought them all inline skates for Christmas. The kids were ecstatic about that gift, especially in light of (1) their 140 foot paved driveway, (2) their large and energetic dog that could pull them around, and (3) the unusual 60 degree weather they happened to have on that particular Christmas day. For one of their children, however, a wrong size had been purchased--the skates fit okay, but would be outgrown within a few months. So, the parents had the incredibly difficult job of convincing that child to wait until their inline skates could be returned the next. Why was that so hard for the child to understand and agree to? Because the natural response for those children--in light of the really neat gift and tremendously warm day--was to run outside and enjoy it. In a picture, that's what sanctification it--having received the incredibly wonderful gift of salvation, we run outside and use it! Recognizing our freedom from sin and reveling in our new status as children of God, we naturally and energetically unwrap the gift and put it to use! Some gifts just make us want to drop everything and start using it right away, and not to do so is agony--just ask the Phelps' child! Likewise, God's gift of true faith through Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1-4) is a gift that keeps on giving, and it compels the recipient who's paying attention to drop everything else and respond in gratitude and cooperation. This is sanctification. Comments are closed.
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