Matt Chandler - Sanctification

If you have your Bibles, would you go ahead and grab them? If you don’t have a Bible with you, there should be a hardback black one somewhere around you. If you don’t own a Bible, that’s our gift to you. Once you have those, let’s turn to Colossians chapter 3. Last time we were together, we talked about the nature of our relationship with God, and I said that it was imperative to really understand how we relate to God through the lens of two theological terms. The first one was justification, which is a legal term that basically means we have been found innocent, so we are justified. The just judge of the universe bangs the gavel, forgives our sin, and declares us innocent through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is an imputed innocence, not an earned innocence; do you understand that? It’s not that we’re actually innocent, but rather that Christ imputes to us His good deeds, His total obedience, His perfection, and His holiness, so that when God views us, He sees the perfection of Christ, bangs the gavel, and declares us innocent. That was the first component in understanding our relationship with God, but it’s not the only one. So, the first idea is justification, and the second theological term that we discussed is adoption, because God is not only the just judge of the universe who bangs the gavel and declares us innocent, but He is also our heavenly Father who loves, delights in, and finds joy in us being His sons and daughters. Now, I know that’s hard for some of us because most of us had fathers with issues. Does anyone here have a father with a couple of issues? If you’re sitting next to your dad, put your hand down, alright? Just look at him right now, not like it’s awkward, just give him a fist bump. So if your dad had issues, then this idea can be tough. But here’s the thing: our heavenly Father is not like our earthly fathers, and praise God for that! He doesn’t lack patience like I lack patience with my children; He doesn’t get aggravated as easily as I do, so don’t judge me right now. This is not how our heavenly Father interacts with us. He is longsuffering, slow to anger, and abounding in love. He says things to His children that no earthly father would ever say. If I tell my kids to ask me again, it’s a warning! They won’t say, «Okay, let me ask you again.» They’ll just walk away. But our heavenly Father—literally, Jesus said this is what your Father in heaven is like—He invites us, saying, «Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden.» He compares the story to a persistent widow who keeps asking the judge, and in that parable, Jesus describes a wicked judge who will ultimately listen. If a wicked judge will finally give in, won’t a loving Father, who talks about how we give good gifts to our children as sinful as we are, do even more? If we, as broken fathers, will give good gifts, how much more will our heavenly Father do exceedingly and abundantly more than that? So we have not only been justified by a judge, but we are also loved by a heavenly Father. As we walk through that passage in Romans 8, we reach the crescendo of that text, which is popular among evangelicals, where it says, «Who then shall bring any charge against God’s elect?» It is God who justifies. This is in the context of us crying out, «Abba Father,» which isn’t «Daddy Father, ” because there wouldn’t have been a context in the first century for calling a father „Daddy.“ It would have been viewed as disrespectful and inappropriate in a high honor culture. We are in a low honor culture. So ultimately, it wasn’t „Daddy Father,“ but „Father Father,“ like „This is my dad; my dad can beat up your dad.“ Within the context of that text, we see that we have a heavenly Father whom we can point to, boast in, and feel safe with, because He’s the King of the universe. What should I be afraid of? You seen my pops? You think I’m worried about making rent? You seen my daddy? You think I’m concerned about this difficult season? Have you seen my Father? My Father’s not ignorant of this; He has not abandoned me. He’s not like our earthly fathers. Our earthly fathers will let us down. Even if your earthly father was wonderful, at some point in college, you started to see his weaknesses. Am I a liar? They were great, and then you began to see? So our heavenly Father has no weaknesses, does not fall short, delights in us, is longsuffering with us, and has great pleasure and joy in His sons and daughters. It’s imperative for us to understand both of these truths because it will not be relationally sufficient for you to only understand that you’re forgiven. Show me someone who loves Jesus Christ, and I’ll show you someone who understands adoption.