Sanctification

As God's priesthood, we must draw near to God, keep His commandments, and witness to the world that God is God. God is shaping and fashioning His new creation.

Misguided theologians have tried to create a false dichotomy between grace and works. We do works of obedience to build character, not to earn salvation.

David Maas, acknowledging that the daily events in today's news can seem frightening and intimidating, provides five strategies to turn the overcoming, character building, and sanctification process into an exciting adventure. Our ultimate objective for go. . .

Richard Ritenbaugh, challenging the Protestant assumption that "getting our lives straight" (morality) distracts from the Gospel message of grace, suggests that this emphasis on "hyper-grace" is wrong-headed, denying any need for repent. . .

John Ritenbaugh discusses the implication of Dathan and Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16:1-5, agitating for a democratization of priestly responsibilities. God clearly reveals that not everybody set apart is holy in the same way, nor is God dealing the same. . .

John Ritenbaugh focuses upon conditions for acceptable sacrifices and offerings, differentiating the holy and authentic from the defiled, unclean and strange. God will only accept as sacrifices those things He has given to His called out ones in their cove. . .

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that only God, not man, can determine whether something or someone is holy or authentic as opposed to profane and strange. God will accept only what He has set apart or designated as holy or authentic, such as the sacred fire in . . .

God's plan of salvation has past, present, and future aspects, and each has its own rewards. The Bible uses 'salvation' and its related words just over 600 times.

John Ritenbaugh, addressing both parents and young people throughout the congregation, warns against becoming complacent in the matters of child rearing and obedience to parents. God Almighty is more solicitous than we physical parents are prone to be. As . . .

Some in Antioch believed the preaching of the persecuted Christians, and they not only agreed with the teaching but also changed or transformed their lives.

We know the holy days typify the steps in God's plan. What happens between Pentecost and Trumpets, the long summer months? John Ritenbaugh expounds on the subject of sanctification.

The Bible makes it very plain that salvation is by grace, but it is also clear that we are 'created in Christ Jesus for good works' (Ephesians 2:10). Having explained justification, John Ritenbaugh tackles the process of sanctification, showing that the fa. . .

John Ritenbaugh explains that justification is not the end of the salvation process, but merely the doorway to a more involved process of sanctification, symbolized by the long journey through the wilderness toward the promised land, a lengthy purifying pr. . .

It is a given that works cannot earn us salvation. However, they play many vital roles in our Christian walk toward the Kingdom of God. In this concluding article, John Ritenbaugh gives specific reasons for doing good works, showing their close relationshi. . .

Where can we find the true religion, the true church, in all this confusion? Only the church Christ founded and heads today has the answers to eternal life.

Sanctification is an incremental process in which we systematically destroy the sin within us as our forebears were asked to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan.

A portion of Leviticus, dubbed 'the holiness code,' describes how God lives. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expanded the application of the holiness code.

Satan has attempted to obliterate the sanctification step from the conversion process. Sanctification is produced by doing works pleasing to God.

We have been called, not just to believe in Christ, but also to overcome sin, an action that takes a great deal of effort. John Ritenbaugh takes pains to explain God's act of justification and what we are required to do in response.

Richard Ritenbaugh, reflecting on the many cultural pressures to conform, insists that Pentecost forces us to stand out from the rest of the crowd, separated as firstfruits for the purpose of sanctification and holiness. The two wave loaves, baked with lea. . .

John Ritenbaugh, reflecting upon themes covered in previous sermons and sermonettes, including commitment and our ultimate goal of becoming a member of the God family, explores sanctification as both a state and a process - a time period between justificat. . .

John Ritenbaugh somewhat modifies his amazement at individuals who made gigantic sacrifices in the fledgling days of the Radio Church of God, concluding that it is in fact God who expends the lion's share of the energy, putting us all through flip flops in. . .

John Ritenbaugh asserts that after justification, for grace to be made dominant, its influence must extend beyond justification, into the sanctification stage where the believer must yield himself to righteousness, keeping God's commandments making himself. . .

Many fail to understand that Matthew 24:14 is a prophecy and instead read it as a commission. God will ensure His gospel is preached; we follow His lead.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately follows the Passover. In it we see how hard it is to overcome and rid our lives of sin.

Richard Ritenbaugh, using the metaphor of "balancing" a checkbook, wherein two totally distinct documents, the user's register and the bank's statement are squared, or brought into agreement, explains Christ's work of "squaring" us&mdas. . .

John Ritenbaugh, asking the questions "Who are we?" and "Where do we fit in?" examines the process of sanctification, comprising the state we are in because of God's action, a continuous process. The end result is that we will possess a. . .

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that walking worthy demands a balance between doctrine and application or between doctrine and conduct. Unity demands both. It is impossible to make a corporate union of all the splinters of the greater church of God because doct. . .

John Ritenbaugh, finding a commonality in three scriptures describing our calling and sanctification, answers the questions: "Who are we?" and "How do we fit?" God has demonstrated that He loves us in a different way than He does our ne. . .

Most of us have heard the courtroom mantra, "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." John Reid, however, applies these criteria to our behavior, showing that many of us shy away from "nothing but the truth"!

Purity before God is far more than just being clean. John Ritenbaugh explains that to Jesus being pure in heart touches on the very holiness of God!

John Ritenbaugh, discussing our journey to perfection or sanctification, asserts that even though everything we need in this quest has been given to us, our spiritual growth is largely dependent to the extent that we believe (and act upon this belief) in t. . .

John Ritenbaugh, suggesting that much of Protestantism shares more of an approach to Deism (that is, God establishes His laws and then abandons His creation to their machinations) than to Theism (that is, God maintains watchful control on His Creation), ta. . .

If we are not receiving God's correction or chastisement, we should be concerned! God's chastening is what He uses to sanctify His spiritual children.

Why must we put leaven out, yet we do not have to circumcise our boys? Earl Henn explains this apparent contradiction.

Protestantism is based on Luther's insistance that Christians are saved by faith alone. But is the really true? Earl Henn explains that the Bible says this of justification, not salvation.

Forgiveness is only the beginning of the grace process, enabling us to grow to the stature of Christ. Paradoxically, grace puts us under obligation to obey.