11 August 2019
Isaiah 1:10-20; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke
12:32-40
Though not among the Methodist Articles of Religion in
our Discipline, the following Article was adopted at the Uniting
Conference of 1939. This Conference brought
back together what was once the Methodist Protestant Church, the Methodist
Episcopal Church South, and the Methodist Episcopal Church North – all having been
born of splits in the Methodist Episcopal Church over lay representation and
slavery – to become the Methodist Church.
The Article states: “Sanctification is that renewal
of our fallen nature by the Holy Ghost, received through faith in Jesus Christ,
whose blood of atonement cleanses from all sin; whereby we are not only
delivered from the guilt of sin, but are washed from its pollution, saved from
its power, and are enabled – through grace - to love God with all our
hearts and to walk in His holy commandments blameless” (Book of Discipline,
2016, ¶104, pg 72).
Yet from Article XI of the Evangelical United Brethren
Church, which the Methodist Church merged with in 1968 to create the United
Methodist Church, states in part: “We believe this experience does not delver
us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes common to man, nor from the possibilities
of further sin. The Christian must
continue on guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory over every
temptation to sin. He must respond
wholly to the will of God so sin will lose its power over him … thus he rules
over these enemies with watchfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Discipline
2016, ¶104, pg 75).
Though there will always be disagreements about some
sections of our Social Principles – how we are called to interact with one
another and with the world at large – there are some doctrinal principles which
cannot be denied and which attest to the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the Wesleyan tradition, sanctification is
our understanding of what “going on to perfection” (Hebrews 6:1)
means. As I have shared previously, it
is much more useful to us as disciples to think in terms of process
rather than a stop-and-start series of events.
If we think strictly of events, we come near to creating a check-list of
personal achievements rather than to embrace the reality that until we breathe
our last in this world, we can never settle.
We can never let our guard down.
We are sanctified (perfected) not only by faith
but with a profound sense of hope in active engagement in the life of a
disciple; that hope which gives us a sense of purpose in our being, in the many
means of grace, and which can even find gratitude for the trials and
tribulations we endure in knowing “The Lord disciplines those whom He
loves”. As it is written, we
must not “lose heart when we are punished by Him, for The Lord chastises every
child whom He accepts” (Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:5-6).
Our Holy Father does not take our spiritual growth for
granted nor should we.
It isn’t always easy to take our lumps from Above or
from one another, but it is always necessary for us to appreciate where those
lumps come from and what purpose they are intended to serve. Moses told the people of Israel in their
journey, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put
the fear of Him upon you so you do not sin”
(Exodus 20:20). So must the Spirit and
the Church so plainly speak to us now: it isn’t always the devil out to get us. It may well be The Lord testing us.
Spiritual growth is very easy to take for granted,
especially in an age in which too many traditions focus on events rather than
where each event is intended to lead us.
We baptize our children, but we fail to bring them to worship and Sunday
school. We confirm our children, but we
neglect their Christian education. We receive
new members into the Church and the Covenant, but we refuse to hold them
accountable to the tenets of discipleship for fear of risking personal
friendships – nor do we allow ourselves to be held accountable. We’ve become a mind-your-own-business
kind of people, and that is not compatible with discipleship nor conducive to
spiritual growth.
It stands to reason, however, that as we mature
biologically, mentally, and emotionally; we must also be aware that spiritual
maturity is just as necessary – and yet spiritual maturity does not happen
naturally nor automatically. It requires
patience, but it also requires active engagement and participation. Spiritual growth demands fellowship within
the Body of Christ.
The Lord spoke through His prophet, “Learn to do
good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow”
(1:17). This admonishment was to a
people who had been thoroughly chastised, having fallen from the grace of living
as The Lord’s Chosen; but because His Grace still stood in His love for His
people, what would become necessary for the relationship to be properly restored
would be for the people of God to live into the Covenant of God. And that Covenant requires tangible
expressions and acts of love for those who struggle.
Living into sanctifying grace is not a matter
of merely existing, having once been “saved” or baptized or confirmed. Living into sanctifying grace in “going
on to perfection” is being in a constant state not only of self-discovery
in the Spirit and in the Word; it is also about “being dressed for action
and having your lamps lit – as those waiting for the Master to return … [for]
blessed are those whom the Master finds alert when He comes” (Luke
12:35-37).
Yet because we have been “waiting” for 2000 years, we
have lost sight of His Coming as well as a sense of urgency about His Coming. Even so, St. Peter reminded his readers: “In
the last days there will be scoffers … indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where
is the promise of His coming?’
And Peter’s answer is, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as
some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but
all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:3, 9).
Sanctifying Grace, however, is not strictly about our
watchfulness for His return; it is as much about the watchfulness of the temptations
we face constantly – to let down our guard, to become complacent in our
relationship with The Lord and with one another in the Body.
Sanctifying Grace – watchfulness - is reengaging in
the life of a disciple, learning to love one another as we love ourselves,
learning to overcome the power of sin, and learning to be The People of the
Covenant. It is His Gift which we must
learn to receive constantly and share generously. For it is the Way Home. Amen.
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