God is faithful. It’s easy for us to give lip service to this, because we intellectually know it to be true, but sometimes it helps to reflect on real, living examples of how God has exercised His faithfulness to His people. That’s when our Lord stops being an unreachable entity in the sky, and starts being the personal Shepherd that He is.

Sanctification is a lifelong process that begins at the moment of salvation and will not end until we are called home to glory.As new creatures in Christ, renewed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we are called to live lives of holiness. As Christians, we must be active in our sanctification, seeking to please God, choose righteousness, and mortify sin. But we are not called to do this alone. Christ does not save us and then leave us to pursue and achieve sanctification on our own. Let us never forget the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, who indwells us and enables us to pursue the things of Christ and live in a way that honors Him!

Legalism is deadly. It deceives unbelievers into thinking they can earn their salvation, but it can also enslave believers, leading them to add works, not as a condition of salvation, but as a condition of God’s continued favor and love. This type of “doctrinally sound legalism” leads to a dangerous combination of spiritual pride toward others and spiritual weakness in our own walk of faith. We do not sin so that grace may abound—may it never be! Still, we must guard against legalism even within our doctrinally sound churches.