Proper 8 | Ordinary Time 13
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
... so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
-- Romans 6:19
There is a temptation in some forms of Protestant thought to become so focused on the moment of experiencing salvation that we forget that it is the beginning and not the end of a lifelong process. To turn from sin and accept Christ as one's Savior is a radical re-orientation of one's life. As we begin to live this new grace-filled life, we begin to mature in the faith. Sanctification is the process by which we develop a maturity in the faith. When members of a church begin to present themselves "to God as instruments of righteousness," they enter into the ethical realm of the faith. We engage in ethical actions not in order to be saved but as evidence of our desire to grow in the faith. "But now that you have been freed from sin and are enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification." Some churches want to avoid becoming involved in taking ethical stands because many of the issues we face as a society are complex and often controversial. The result is that they focus almost exclusively on the personal moment of salvation. The unfortunate result is that they remain "babes in the faith." To engage in ethical reflection and action is to risk being wrong, but that is why we are saved by grace. We do not sin so that grace may abound, but we risk sinning because we are saved by grace. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
-- Romans 6:19
There is a temptation in some forms of Protestant thought to become so focused on the moment of experiencing salvation that we forget that it is the beginning and not the end of a lifelong process. To turn from sin and accept Christ as one's Savior is a radical re-orientation of one's life. As we begin to live this new grace-filled life, we begin to mature in the faith. Sanctification is the process by which we develop a maturity in the faith. When members of a church begin to present themselves "to God as instruments of righteousness," they enter into the ethical realm of the faith. We engage in ethical actions not in order to be saved but as evidence of our desire to grow in the faith. "But now that you have been freed from sin and are enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification." Some churches want to avoid becoming involved in taking ethical stands because many of the issues we face as a society are complex and often controversial. The result is that they focus almost exclusively on the personal moment of salvation. The unfortunate result is that they remain "babes in the faith." To engage in ethical reflection and action is to risk being wrong, but that is why we are saved by grace. We do not sin so that grace may abound, but we risk sinning because we are saved by grace. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
