Sanctification Isn't a Steady Climb

 

Our instant gratification culture has given us a few good things. I like fast food just fine, and streaming services and voice services like Google, Siri, and Alexa are great for getting information fast. Even AI has its uses for almost everyone. However, I would say that the cons have far outweighed the pros for us because it has created a cultural sense of entitlement; we think we deserve everything and everything right away. This way of thinking has crept its way into the church in several ways, but one of the most harmful for believers, in my opinion, is the idea that once we give our life to Christ everything will instantly be “roses and rainbows.” Too many people think that when they become Christians it’s an immediate leap to perfection and their life will be free of sin and mistakes forever. The problem is this: that’s not how sanctification works. It isn’t an instant change. It isn’t even a steady climb upward most of the time. Sanctification is a jagged journey of peaks and plateaus, spikes, and gradual change. It’s variable, it’s unexpected, it can’t be predicted or controlled. And we need to understand that truth and accept that reality.

Now, let me first explain sanctification, because I don’t want to assume everyone reading this will automatically be familiar with the word (it’s a pretty “church” word, after all). In theological terms, we think about salvation in three stages: justification, sanctification, and glorification. Justification happens in an instant when you give your life to Christ. The act of faith in trusting Christ’s death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins happens the moment you make that profession of faith. However, that begins a lifelong process of sanctification in which you are progressively made more and more like Christ as you live the rest of your life on earth to serve and obey Him. This lifelong process of becoming more like Christ is called sanctification. This process ends in the glorification of the believer either at the end of their life or at the end of time when Christ comes back and we are all taken up to heaven and given new bodies. 

Now, let’s focus on sanctification. Once you give your life to Christ, you begin a process that lasts the rest of your life where you will progressively become more like Christ in your words and actions. This process of becoming holy is never quite completed, but the idea is that each day you are closer and closer to Christ. The problem is that most people believe that each day should be a gradual, synchronous step forward, like a march, where you are moving forward and closer every day. The reality, though, is that our sanctification looks more like the graph at the beginning of this blog. It isn’t a steady climb upward. Sometimes it is a steep jump. Other times it is a plateau with no movement. There may even be times when it feels like we are moving away from Christ. Here’s the thing to remember: our sanctification is a work of both the Holy Spirit and ourselves. Our movement closer to Christ is done when we consciously move closer to Christ. Remember James 4.8 which tells us that when we draw near to God He draws near to us. The Spirit makes us holy, but we take the action to seek that holiness. 

So next time you feel like your faith has “stalled,” remember that you can kick-start it again. God is waiting for you to do just that, and when you do He will draw near to you! Your sanctification isn’t a steady climb, it is irregular, unsteady, and unpredictable. Don’t give up when you feel plateaued. Trust in God and believe that you will start to climb again soon. Then one day you will reach glorification and be with Christ for eternity!