Ice Skating and Sanctification

On Monday, after dropping the three children off at the respective schools, Glenda and I enjoyed a date. Before feasting on Asian food and TCBY yogurt, we headed to the Memphis Zoo’s new ice skating rink. I learned that the Spanish word for ice skating is patinar and am going to work hard to introduce this term into a conversation in the near future.

I also learned that ice skating is not like riding a bicycle. Evidently, once you obtain the necessary skills to keep a bike upright, you never forget. Not so with ice skating! After more than twelve years off the ice, my already meager talent has shriveled and died. I can say, however, that I did better than my wife . . . at falling. The final score was 3 Matt-falls to 1 Glenda-falls! 

Of course, the thing to do when you fall is to get up, and here we find an illustration of the Christian life. There are three facets to what we refer to as “salvation”:

1) Regeneration (literally, the “new birth”) refers to the point in time in which a person passes from death to life (1 John 3:14) and becomes to new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Regeneration is the result of people rejecting their sins, believing in the historical, physical resurrection of Jesus from the grave, and trusting in Him as Master.

3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,                         
3:6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,                                       
3:7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:5-7)

2) Sanctification is the process by which regenerated people become more like Jesus every day. This growth is accomplished through the Holy Spirit, and is a life-long process.

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. (Rom. 6:22)

3) Glorification is the believer’s future hope. Although Christians are saved, their bodies have not yet been redeemed. One day, each believer will be given a perfect body that cannot sin.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18)

Application: At present, all living believers are in the process of being sanctified. Even though we are Christians, sometimes we sin. The Bible recounts the failures of many men and women of God (e.g., Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Mark, etc.), and we will have failures as well. When we stumble because of sin, we must repent, get back up, and continue our spiritual progress through the power of the Holy Spirit!

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)