Sanctification is one of those religious sounding words that people in the church use, but may not understand what it means. So, what exactly does it mean?
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." ~ Isaiah 53:5 NKJV
In the midst of our guilt and shame we can convince ourselves that we are too messed up for Jesus or that we have done something so terrible that God could never forgive us. Can we really come to God just as we are?
When we truly begin to grasp the magnitude of our sin against God, it is natural to wonder what could possibly motivate God to send his Son Jesus. So, why would He?
From our subjective experience, we may not feel certain. The difficulties of life and discouragement over our sin can lead us to question the reality of our salvation.
Often when one hears the word saint, the first thing that comes to mind is a person who is especially holy or religious. But as it is used in the Bible, the term saint has a different meaning.
The Bible speaks about beginning a relationship with God through Jesus Christ in a variety of ways, so it may come as a surprise that nowhere does Scripture specifically refer to “praying to accept Jesus into your heart.”
“Sinner” is an identity word and is misapplied if it’s used to name the Christian’s identity—their person. Before God, identity is not a both/and (sinner and righteous); it is an either/or (sinner or righteous).
