A Journeywoman is Being Sanctified with Gavin Ortlund
Today we’re continuing our series “What is a Journeywoman” by diving into the topic of sanctification, because a Journeywoman is being sanctified. We’re going back to a conversation we had with Gavin Ortlund on the topic. Gavin is a husband, father, pastor, and writer. We talked about how the Lord uses the seasons and challenges of life to encourage us to turn to the Word, to pray, and to be actively involved in our local churches—all things that the Lord uses to bring about holiness in us.
We pray this episode encourages you as you continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who works in you for his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13).
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Can you tell us about who you are and how the Lord saved you?
Looking back at your life, can you see ways in which God has caused you to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:17-18)?
What is sanctification? What is God doing through sanctification?
What is sanctification grounded in? Why is it important to tether sanctification to justification (and election for that matter)?
Who is it that conforms us into the image of Christ? What does he work through?
What is the danger in attributing sanctification to our own efforts? And yet, how does this doctrine encourage zeal to grow in Christ and to combat sin?
What encouragement do you have for listeners who feel like they're taking one step forward and two steps back? Or who feel like the "journey" to sanctification is long and hard?
Sometimes, when things feel really hard, it just doesn't feel like we're going to make it. But how does God guarantee that we will persevere until the end?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“When you’re really plugged into a church community, so much growth comes from that.”
“God uses the difficult things in life—they force us to trust God and strip us of our self-reliance.”
“There’s one part of our salvation that’s a once-for-all thing (justification), and there’s another part that’s progressive and ongoing (sanctification), and the ongoing part should be based in the once-for-all part.”
“What should be happening for every Christian is that we should be becoming more and more like Jesus every day, to the point where it’s like he’s the elder brother and we’re his younger brothers and younger sisters who resemble our elder brother. Which is such an honor to think that that’s our calling and that’s what God is doing for us.”
“In those times of suffering when it’s hard, it’s helpful to remember this and think that it’s worth it. God is producing this masterpiece over time through the gospel in our lives. He’s making us into ‘little Christs.’”
Lauren: Oftentimes the growth that suffering produces isn’t seen quickly. Sometimes it’s stretched over the span of months, or even years. But, like Gavin said, it is often in these seasons that, unbeknownst to us, God is producing a masterpiece through the gospel in our lives. He’s making us into “little Christs.” He’s growing in us long-suffering, patience, and deep trust. It’s uncomfortable. It’s frustrating. It’s scary. But somehow suffering serves to sanctify us—exposing our sin, growing our trust, and deepening our love of God. When we’re comfortable, we can become blind to the sanctifying work the Lord needs to do in our hearts. It seems that God often grows our faith more when we are uncomfortable or dissatisfied with our circumstances. It seems that it is in the difficult seasons that, like Gavin says, God strips us of our self reliance.” And, friends, it’s also in those times that he draws us near—which is the greatest grace. And we know this, don’t we? Deep down we know that the “better thing” is not our earthly comforts. The “better thing” is nearness to God, which he is gracious to extend to us even in the depths of our despair. So as we keep an eye on this sanctifying work God is doing in our lives, we can confidently face each trial that comes, whether it’s depression, conflict, poverty, loneliness...because we know that God is using them to make us into something. In his goodness and kindness, he is making us more like himself. And if we look at it that way, we can truly see his grace and goodness in all things.
“Remembering that the Holy Spirit dwells within me and ultimately he is the one who is producing any change that’s happening in my life. This helps me to not be so self-focused; that’s the temptation for me, to think that it’s up to me to produce this change. And we’re involved, we should be striving, but it really ultimately is the Holy Spirit’s work through us and in us.”
“Sometimes it’s as simple as the prayer, ‘Holy Spirit help me.’”
“Basing my growth in what God has already done in Christ. Basing my sanctification in my justification.”
“God’s approval of me doesn’t go up and down based on how I’m performing and how obedient I’m being.”
“My ultimate status before God is in Christ, and from that place I go out and fight sin and seek to be a disciple of Christ.”
“True heart change really doesn’t come through pressure and force and shaming; It has to start with recognizing God’s grace.”
“True heart change starts with recognizing God’s grace.”
“Totally irrespective of our performance, God forgives us for the sake of Christ.”
“All true change really does come from a place of love.”
“All other change and growth must come out of that soil of love for God.”
“Is the way I’m changing rooted in my love for God?”
“My primary sermon must be my life.”
“I can know in my mind that it’s God’s work, but it can help my heart be attuned to that if I’m being prayerful.”
“We have to start by letting go of our own abilities, our own righteousness, our own efforts. And then we start from the standpoint of Christ and what he's done for us. And then we work hard, but we’re working from that.”
Lauren: Early on in my faith, I questioned my salvation a LOT. I was always asking, “Am I pursuing Jesus hard enough?” or “am I actually saved?” My journal was littered with declarations of my love for God right alongside my doubts. My faith felt so small, sometimes I didn’t see signs of sanctification, and I wondered if it was enough. And even more recently as I’ve walked through difficult circumstances and the fight against sin, I can find myself wrestling with this tension that Gavin described, of needing to trust in my justification (what Christ has done for me) and work towards holiness from that. When I consider this, I’m always brought back to Paul’s words to the Philippians, where he tells them to: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” The juxtaposition Paul describes there seems almost impossible. How are we supposed to work out our own salvation if it’s God who’s working in us? But what Paul is doing is inviting us into this push-pull of sanctification. The need to work hard toward holiness, while also humbly remembering that we can do nothing apart from God. Because the truth is our sanctification (and, our salvation for that matter) is achieved only by God’s power. This “working out of our salvation” comes right alongside the call to surrender all control to God to work in us. We must work hard at letting go of our self-sufficiency. We must work hard while relying on God to work in us. It’s actually such a beautiful balance between striving and submission. Between sanctification and surrender. It’s a unique call to work hard to let go, to pray that prayer that Gavin said: “Holy Spirit, help me,” and to relax into his work in us as he helps us to be more like him. Let’s trust him to do that in us today.
“Look back at the saints and Christians who have preceded us in church history; see how in many of them God produced this masterpiece, he did something extraordinary through them, but it was a long messy process and they struggled along the way.”
“God did something powerful with Augustine, but it wasn’t a speedy process.”
“We’re not alone. This is a common experience. We have to slow down and realize this is a marathon, not a sprint. God is doing this beautiful thing, but it takes time. We can’t always see what our greatest problems are and where our greatest struggle with sin is.”
“We shouldn’t assume that just because we’re not seeing progress in our life doesn’t mean that there isn’t progress.”
“In the gospel, God is very very patient.”
“God is the one whom I should measure my life by.”
“No amount of falling down will ultimately destroy us if we keep getting back up and running to Christ and just stay in the fight.”
“It’s the process that does something to us.”
“How do we slow down the noise and the clutter that really robs us of joy?”
“Have a practice that helps you to take stock of the long term, where you look back and look ahead and notice evidences of God’s grace in your life.”
“When people are suffering and going through hard times, make it the emphasis to consider the depth of the love of God. That itself will change us and sanctify us as it consoles us and as it comforts us.”
“Jesus Christ is the perfect Savior and he is uniquely and perfectly suited for the job of saving us because he came into our world and he lived a human life… he died and was buried and he suffered and he’s been through everything we go through. The confidence that we have and the assurance we have isn’t that we're making progress or we’ll try harder next week. The ultimate place we put our focus is on how wonderful and awesome and kingly Jesus is. He can get the job done. It’s not about us, it’s his work.”
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
RESOURCES
Dynamics of Spiritual Life, by Richard Lovelace
A Grief Observed, by C.S. Lewis
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What means has the Lord used to grow you in the grace and knowledge of Christ throughout your life?
How does rooting your sanctification in your justification allow you to rest in God’s work?
How might you shift your prayer life to increase your reliance on the role of the Holy Spirit in your sanctification?
Sanctification is a (sometimes slow) process. How does knowing that bring you encouragement as you see the ways God is gradually growing you?
What might you do or change based on what you learned in this week’s episode?
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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