Broken Faith

"This is the will of God, your sanctification..." (1st Thessalonians 4:3)

Definitions of sanctification: (from Dictionary.com)
1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate.
2. To make holy; purify.
3. To give religious sanction to, as with an oath or vow: sanctify a marriage.
4. To give social or moral sanction to.
5. To make productive of holiness or spiritual blessing.

Oswald Chambers mentions that we should be careful of saying, "Oh, I am longing to be sanctified" because the truth of the matter is...we are not longing at all to be sanctified. He goes on to mention that we need to receive Jesus Christ as sanctification for us by absolute, unquestioning faith.

Did you read that right? We need to "receive" by faith. Humans aren't good at receiving when it comes to God, especially when it comes from His Son Jesus Christ. And don't even mention the Holy Spirit, because that's clearly taking it too far. On the other hand though, there are some Christians who won't just talk about the Holy Spirit or claim gifts from Him, they live on the other end of the echelon by action for God...preaching the good news of the gospel without any hesitation. It's interesting how all kinds of Christians (and there are so many different, unique people in the body of Christ) no matter what their actions say...could still be in the same situation when it comes to "receiving Jesus Christ as our sanctification." Action doesn't have to equal relationship.

I realize while reading Mr. Chambers devotion "Is God's Will My Will?" that my faith is mostly broken. The only part of my faith that is not broken is that I can say out loud to people whom I don't know that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. I don't know if that qualifies for much of anything, but it would take care of "confessing with my mouth that Jesus is the Son of God," at least in part. Possibly that is just what I tell myself though. I really don't know for sure.

1st Corinthians 1:30 says:
"It is because of him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption."
So according to this verse, Jesus Christ has become wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption for me. That means that I don't "acquire" these things through a relationship with Jesus Christ...HE IS THEM FOR ME. I know this is what I don't fully understand, and may well never fully understand. When I say understand, I mean fully...life changing, live my life reflecting this truth. I understand in my head that this is the case. My life constantly reflects that I do not believe this. Who am I kidding, my life reflects that I think it is a bunch of garbage. But I believe in Jesus...right?

Mr. Chambers also mentions that we should not confuse the effect with the cause.
"The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ."
See, I have this trouble with thinking of prayer, obedience, service, meditation, fellowship, worship, as the "effect" instead of things I need to do to "get closer to God." This is why my faith is broken. It's not because I don't believe enough. I think it might be because I don't believe that Jesus is enough. Why do I constantly focus on things I can do for Jesus? I should just be focusing on Jesus with every breath, for everyday, in everything.

It is a good thing that Jesus is sanctification for me...because if it was up to me to make myself holy and blameless in the eyes of God, I'd be tired, miserable, and no good to anyone...especially God (not to mention no better off than when I tried to start the whole thing). This is me trying to prove that I am worth something by my own standards, and not allowing Jesus to be everything. If I am trying to do "more" for God and my relationship with Jesus is suffering or hurt by this...then I'd better stop and get back to Jesus in a hurry. Jesus is the only thing about you that makes God proud. The Holy Spirit is dedicated to making Jesus Christ become evident in your life on this earth. Everything that pours out of you as a result of Jesus Christ is Holy. Can you believe this way?