Keep on

The pain of parenting is not greatest the first time a child commits a significant and serious violation of trust.  It is when that child persists in his sin for years and decades.

The greatest trouble for a cancer patient is not the first chemo treatment.  It is the ongoing chemo treatments, followed by radiation, followed by more medical procedures — only to discover that the cancer is still persisting.

The strongest evidence of transformation is not the first act of obedience to Christ in a husband, but the same act of obedience carried out many times over a long period of time. Only after a long duration of consistent obedience (or confession and repentance after sin), will a wife’s trust in her husband be rebuilt.

The goal of the Christian life is to “walk [i.e., live] and please God” (1 Thess. 4:1).  But no matter how well one lives to please God, the inconsistencies of his fleshly nature will keep him from being fully sanctified, so there will always be ways in which he can “excel still more” (v. 1).

So Paul repeatedly reminds the Thessalonians, that while they are doing well in their lives with Christ, they must persist and keep on in their growth in Christlikeness:

• “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thess. 4:3)
• “That each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor…” (1 Thess. 4:4)
• “For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.” (1 Thess. 4:7)

Notice also that since God has willed us to be sanctified, and called us to be sanctified, we can also be assured that He will provide the means for us to be sanctified.  God never calls a sinner to repent or a believer to be obedient without also equipping that one to do what he has been called to do (which is why Augustine could ask of God, “Command what you will; give what you command”).

So if you are not actively pursuing conformity to Christ, remember that you were called to salvation not so that you could stay in your sin, but so that you could be freed and redeemed from your sin.  So pursue holiness and sanctification.

And if you are growing in Christ and being sanctified, thank the Lord for that work of grace in your life.  And keep working and pursue Him.