Chapter 10 - A Work in Progress
Whenever we look ahead towards any task we often assess what needs to be done using our understanding of our own strengths and weaknesses. Questions like, “Do I have all the resources I need?” “Will I need help?” or “Can I even do this?” often come to mind before taking on a project or task. Perhaps the biggest question we might wrestle with is, “Will I be able to do it right or even finish?” Christians often struggle with similar questions and concerns as well, after all, Jesus set “the bar” of perfection quite high.
As we have already discussed in the previous chapters, here on earth we are still sinners, forgiven but we still sin. While it is true that Jesus did all of the work for our salvation and there is nothing more we can do to add to what He has done, the guilt of our sin still affects us. Try as we may, we cannot be perfect.
As humans, we often compare ourselves to others. Perhaps we might even think something like this: “well I am doing better than that person!” As Christians, there is only one person we can compare ourselves to and that person is Jesus. We should never aspire to be like anyone else. That includes church founders, church leaders, theologians or any other person. You might say that Jesus is our “plumb line” (that is a weight on a string to show a true vertical line), no one else’s life comes close. How would you like to build something using a defective level? You wouldn’t, that would be counterproductive. I know what you’re thinking, “but I just said, the bar of perfection is high.” Okay, out of reach, but we must still make an effort!
The apostle Paul, perhaps the greatest evangelist ever, struggled with these issues as well. In his epistle to the church in Rome he wrote, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:15-24, NLT) Does that sound familiar to anyone? We want to live godly lives, we want to fully obey God, but the harsh reality is that we can’t. Note the question Paul asks, “Who will free me...?” He answers the question in the very next verse, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.” (Romans 7:25, NLT)
Sadly, we might miss the continuity and conclusion of Paul’s statement if we stopped there. The chapter and verse breaks in our Bibles today, while done well, often create an awkward break in the context or continuity of the section. Paul continues in the first verse of chapter eight, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” (Romans 8:1-2, NLT). There’s the great news, we may be still sinners but we are forgiven.
Even though we will not be perfect until we are in heaven, God is in the process of changing our hearts. I like to think of them as adjustments and fine tuning of our priorities and life styles. While some things in our lives may change immediately when we accept Jesus as our Savior, most changes will be subtle and slow. This work in progress, as we discussed in chapter five, is often called ‘sanctification’ in the English or ‘hagiazō’ in the Greek. Both words are referring to the gradual process of change. What changes? Eventually everything, but for starters, the way we view the world, the way we treat and act around others, but most importantly, our priorities. All believers have been bought by the blood of Jesus (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 7:23; Hebrews 9:1-14; 2 Peter 2:1), we belong to Him. The process of sanctification, through a series of ‘adjustments’ to our hearts, remind us of His authority in our lives. In a sense, we are slowly becoming more like Him on a daily basis. That can’t be a bad thing, can it?
We also see the Greek noun ‘hagiasmos’ in the Bible, which describes the end result of sanctification. Christians are immediately purified and justified by the Holy Spirit, and as a result we begin to dedicate our lives and serve God.
What does all this mean for a Christian? Two things, first Jesus did all the work for our salvation and when we fall in our sin, we are not jeopardizing our salvation, but it does push us away from Jesus. Second, since we are human, we will fall for temptation, we will fail, we will sin and we will do something we regret (or perhaps all of the above). Since we belong to Jesus and we rely on our fellowship with Him, we feel guilt and remorse for our sin. Once we, “come to our senses,” we can seek forgiveness, which He freely gives. We are not perfect!
Earlier when we talked about what is a church in Chapter 5, one point that perhaps I did not emphasize enough was that Christians need other Christians. Working together using God’s gifting is important to fulfill the mission of the church, but we also need to pray and intercede for each other and to be more than just friends with each other. I believe that Christians need to fellowship daily with other Christians. Jesus promised, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:19-20, ESV) While Christians are never truly alone, we really do need other Christians, that’s by God’s design.
We are all a “work in progress,” while we are here on earth!