sanctification

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Thought and Action

Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:5-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:3a; James 1:22; 2:8, 14-26

Introduction

Over the course of this blog, I have delineated five categories that comprise a worldview: mind, meaning-making, valuation (ethics), humility/finitude, and thought/action. For this month’s blog article I want to focus on thought/action – do our actions align with what we claim to believe, do they provide evidence for the worldview that we espouse? I write from a Reformed Christian perspective, so I will speak to the building up of a Christian worldview (See Abraham Kuyper; Francis Schaeffer; James Sire; Os Guinness; Chuck Colson; Nancy Pearcey).

Thought and Action for the Believer in Christ

As Christians, we are called, not only to salvation, but to sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Sanctification entails our lifetime growth in the knowledge of God, the study of His word, and the building up of relationships with other members of the body of Christ, the church. To claim to be a Christian, but to neglect these areas in our lives demonstrates a misalignment with what we claim to believe and how we live out our claim. Although we are not saved by works, the epistle of James informs us that works should evidence our faith (James 1:22; 2:8, 14-26). No doubt none of us are perfect in living out the claims of our faith, but our lives should indicate a change in the way we live as a believer in Christ in contrast to the way we lived prior to our salvation.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Although there is no checklist for the purpose of merit, there is Biblical teaching regarding what our growth in Christ should look like. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians speaks of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Interestingly, though nine characteristics are listed in those two verses, Paul uses the singular fruit of the Spirit. This passage is one indication of the change that should comprise our lives upon confessing Jesus, the Christ, as our savior. The apostle Peter delineates a similar list in his first epistle to believers in various churches (1 Peter 1:5-7). Again, these Christian virtues written for the purpose of our sanctification are not checklists that we mark off for the sake of merit or demonstrating our Christian beliefs. God works in our lives through grace in every way. The fruit of the Spirit manifests in our lives via the power of the Holy Spirit upon our inner being. Hence, the Christian worldview, although acknowledging that evidence for our faith is real, embraces God’s grace. Our relationship with God grows through grace and faith. The Christian worldview does not proffer any kind of meritorious action for our salvation or our sanctification. The fruit of the Spirit is God’s planting work within us.

Doers of the Word

As Christians, the alignment of thought (belief) and action should be evidenced by our being doers of the word rather than mere hearers of the word (epistle of James). Our worldview is not held merely intellectually, but we live it out consistently with what we claim to believe. The old adage, actions speak louder than words, indeed carry a truism that should inform us. Any mature believer in Christ knows that we fall short of this thought/action alignment everyday in someway. But such inconsistency should not be characteristic of our day-to-day lives. We should see that our way of living prior to our being called in Christ should diminish over time. Such a way of life should not characterize our lives now that we are in Christ.

Misalignment of Thought/Action

What does it mean (how should we explore the reality) when our actions do not align with our professed beliefs (when such a way of living becomes a marked characteristic of our lives)? Can we actually deceive ourselves as to what we claim to believe and value? I think it’s quite possible that we can. On the other hand, I believe people will be acutely aware that the way they are living does not align with what they claim to believe. They may not want to admit it, to themselves or to others. But the proof lies in what daily characterizes their way of living, what they consistently practice as a way of life. For the believer in Christ, this is one reason why it is important to be a member of a local body of Christ, a church. It is in this setting that other believers can approach us and admonish us. This is an important element for a Christian worldview. We all must take on the uncomfortable task at times of lovingly admonishing others in the body, as well as receiving admonishment ourselves.

Conclusion

We hold a Christian worldview not merely by intellectual assent. Such a belief system becomes demonstrable in the way we live day-to-day. God informs believers in Christ that His will for them is their sanctification. Hence our lives should evidence our growth in the knowledge of God, in the truth of His salvation to which He has called us, in a deeper understanding of God’s word, and in the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The Greek word, ginosko, means to know something so as to act on what we know. Biblical knowledge entails an experiential and intimate knowledge of what is claimed to be known. It is the opposite of mere mental assent. We know God relationally and experientially because He has called us to such knowledge. As believers we approach God’s throne as members of the household of God, crying out to Him as Abba Father. Likewise Scripture tells us to make sure of our calling. Do our actions (the way we live day-to-day) align with our thought (what we claim to believe)? This requires diligence on our part to be aware of those times when we fall short of such alignment. Hence, the place of confession in our growth and sanctification.

This blog article spoke to the life that a Christian lives in Christ. One who holds a Christian worldview should see an alignment in what one claims to believe and how one lives the calling of a Christian day-to-day. There are other important truths regarding thought/action for the believer in Christ as one looks not only to the body of Christ, but in all areas of life, exercising dominion as Christians are called to do. That is another blog article.

John V. Jones, Jr, Ph.D./May 14th, 2025

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/THEMATIC/Thought-Action

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The Gift of Time

So teach us to number our days that we may present to You a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

Introduction

Several times I have posted on this blog regarding six major themes (here) I intend to explore at various times from month-to-month through Contemplations. For this month I want to focus on the theme humility/finitude, more specifically finitude. We are finite creatures with a limited amount of time given to us in this life. As a Christian although I believe in the Biblical teaching of eternal life through the atoning work of Jesus, the Messiah, this present earthly existence is the one life that God has granted us on this side of eternity. Life and time are gifts. Hence we are responsible for how we use this life, how we go about living out our lives. For Christians such a journey is wrapped up in our sanctification (John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). God’s sovereignty is a comforting truth for the lives of us who are in Christ. The fearful truth is that time is something we can waste, thereby culminating in an empty and a wasted life. Meaning making is also one of the six major themes I have explored on this blog. If our lives are to be meaningful, then via God’s sovereignty and providence, we are to obey Him, utilizing the gifts and talents He has granted us via His grace. It is a frightening thing, indeed, for many people to look back on their lives and ponder: What was it all about?

This Side of Eternity

On this side of eternity life is short, whether or not we want to admit it (Psalm 39:5, 11; 103:15-16). Living a full and satisfied life in this world evades the grasp of many people. In 1969, I was just starting out my college studies at University of North Texas (North Texas State University back then). Since then, fiftyy-five years have passed. Needless to say those five-and-a-half decades flew by like the wind. In many ways, I have no idea where they all went. I became a believer in Christ through Campus Crusade when a couple of Crusade’s members stopped by my dorm and shared the gospel. I can’t reinforce enough how I wish I would have embraced my sanctification over those fiftyy-some-odd years, grown and matured in Christ, never looking back to my previous way of life. But I did not. Much too often in my life, there were too many years of wandering, not following God’s truths that led me down some dark paths. Simply put, those days of wandering were wasted time, time that I cannot reclaim and make different. That is not to say that God is not sovereign over all we do. He is. His sovereignty for me involved pulling me back on the right path more than once. That doesn’t alter the reality that I let valuable time in my life expire, not living in the manner I was supposed to live.

God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

We are called in Scripture to obey and abide in God and Christ (John 15:1-11). We are exhorted to pursue our sanctification. This Biblical truth channels us through the thorny knot of God’s sovereignty and our responsibilities before Him. All that is good comes from the sovereignty of God. That includes the commandments He calls us to obey, which we can do only by His grace. The sad fact is that we can also go astray. While such wanderings are part of God’s sovereignty, many times that sovereignty comes with the hard lessons we learn through our erring ways. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us, The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. As finite creatures, we must also embrace the humility that we cannot fathom the mind of God. His sovereignty and our personal responsibilities as saints in Christ are both Biblical truths. God uses the means of our obedience and disobedience to bring us toward the ends He has for us. This is difficult to plumb with finite logic. As saints in Christ totally via God’s grace He has called us to sanctification, which we also obtain via His grace, but which we can shirk in disobedience with consequences that follow. One of the most devastating consequences is that we can waste and trash valuable time in this life on this side of eternity.

Time As a Gift

Whom God has called to be in Christ, the Messiah, He will not lose one of them (John 17:12). God set me on a path to encounter other believers during those wandering times following 1969 that brought me back to the fold. Many of those individuals whom I’ve known since the 1970’s remain close friends of mine. The fact still holds, however, with this question: How different would my life have been had I begun the path of my sanctification following the evening of my conversion? As a finite creature, I’ll never possess the capability of answering that question. I know this. I learned a hard truth. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap (Galatians 6:7).There was some wasted time during those years I would like to have back. But they are gone. God’s sovereignty is not an excuse to waste our time. Rather His sovereignty is a comfort that we can keep our focus on Him, knowing that while acknowledging Him in all our ways, He will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). The reality of this finite life is that we can in sinful disobedience walk many crooked paths. God’s sovereign lovingkindness is not an excuse to walk those paths without fear. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever (Psalm 19:3). His sovereign lovingkindness is a blessing we have, even when we go astray.

Conclusion: Finiteness and Infinity

The epigraph that opens this blog article from Psalm 90:12 provides us with an important truth regarding the time that makes up our lives. Having a Biblical understanding of our finitude should lead us to be wise. The importance of wisdom is highlighted throughout Scripture. We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27). Knowing that our days are numbered should lead us to present a heart of wisdom to God. On this side of eternity, we know our finitude, and for those of us in Christ, we have an unfathomed blessing ahead of us to spend eternity with the Triune God. Although finite, for those of us who have believed in the only begotten Son of God, our infinity with Him begins now. We have the blessing via our sanctification to know God on a deeper level each and everyday. Why would we want to waste our time not pursuing that blessing? Another warning comes to us via Scripture. There is no Biblical justification that an individual can claim to believe in Jesus, the Messiah, and continue unchanged with his or her formal way of living. Wasted time can be a reality for believer and unbeliever alike. For those of us in Christ, God is sovereign in our lives. Let us never call on His sovereignty as an excuse for a wayward life.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./January 14th, 2024

ANALYSIS/CHRISTIAN THOUGHT