Glorification – Being a Pilgrim

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”
1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT

Continuing in the opening remarks in Peter’s letter, we find he writes about salvation. So far he has reminded us that we have been born again because of the resurrection of Jesus. Then Peter highlights our Heavenly inheritance. And now he brings into the mix our faith, God’s power and our coming salvation, due to be disclosed “on the last day for all to see”. Just three verses at the beginning of this letter but such a profound and concise summary of important aspects of our life as believers.

Peter implied that we haven’t yet received our salvation. But we have to be careful how we use this word. “Salvation” comes in three parts. We were saved, we are being saved and we will be saved. It is a life time process, reliant on our faith in God, and the way we live our lives. After we repented of our sins and turned to God we were saved. But if we then reject that decision and return to our old ways of sin then we fail to keep the second part of the process. Day by day we walk in faith, reliant on the Holy Spirit within us to help us. Paul wrote about this in Philippians 2:12-13 and the Amplified version of the Bible makes the process very clear. “So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energising, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfil your purpose] for His good pleasure.” (Emphasis mine). Finally, as Peter wrote, we will one day, on the last day in fact, “receive this salvation”. The theological names for this process are Justification, Sanctification and Glorification. We are Justified before God when we made a decision for Christ, we are Sanctified as we “work out [our] salvation”, and we are Glorified on the “last day”.

In his great sermon following the Pentecost experience, Peter said this, “ … Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Just a few words but how profound they are. That’s where we pilgrims started our Christian lives, being birthed into a new existence. And what he preached obviously had quite an impact because 3,000 were saved that day. It must have been an amazing spectacle observing that many baptisms!

“It is by his great mercy that we have been born again” Peter wrote to his Turkish audience. And in the end, it is all about God and His mercy. We have been released from the penalty we deserve by His grace. We are saved. And now we pilgrims are being sanctified through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. It’s all in God’s plan and He gets all the praise and glory.

Father God. Through Your grace and mercy You have saved us. We know that it is an ongoing process and we thank You for Your help in the journey. We worship You today. Amen.

“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armour of right living.”
Romans 13:11-12 NLT

I’m sure we have all been in a church meeting at some time when a testimony is given, about someone who was saved on such and such a day and what an impact that had had on their lives. But Paul wrote here in Romans 13:11 that “our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed”, implying that the original assumption of claiming to be saved might be flawed. So which is right?

We first have to consider what we mean by “being saved” or “salvation”. The dictionary definition is “deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ”. And that is indeed the case, because one day, at some time in the future, we will enjoy bring able to enter God’s presence. Through our faith in Jesus, we believe that He dealt with our sins at Calvary. No sinful person can ever enter God’s presence, so through His grace, He provided a way in which our sins can be forgiven. So we are saved. And Paul reminded his readers that the time when they will enter God’s presence was getting nearer.

But there are in fact three phases in what we call “salvation”. The testimony from a person claiming to be saved is the first step in a process, that starts with their faith being placed in Jesus and ends with the receipt of a resurrection body when we enter God’s presence. Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. Note that Paul didn’t say you are saved, but “you will be saved”. God’s grace in accepting a sinner who turns to Him is life changing and incomprehensible to many. But it’s all about His gracious love for His human creation. Warts and all, everyone has an opportunity to be accepted by God. We should note what Peter said in his Acts 2 sermon. In Acts 2:38 we read, “ … “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit””. The first step that all Christians must take involves repentance from sins and turning to God away from their old sinful lives.

The second step is what the theologians call sanctification. A long word meaning that we are being made holy. God won’t accept anything that is unholy in Heaven. But through a growing up process, the new Christian learns how God wants him or her to live. In 1 Peter 1:14-15, Peter wrote, “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy”. Such a process would be impossible in our own strength, but God sent the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to help us. Romans 8:11, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you”. Note that Peter told his listeners in Acts 2:38, that by turning to God, they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. One follows the other. We cannot turn to God but deny access to the Holy Spirit.

The third and final step is the wonderful realisation that we will one day be glorified. This is when we will receive a resurrection body just like Jesus’s. Romans 8:30, “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified”. Colossians 3:1-4, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory”. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians, “We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

We pilgrims made a decision to follow Jesus, taking the first steps in our journey to glorification. It’s a lifetime commitment, and the wonderful thing is that God will never reject a repentant sinner. We may be a few minutes away from glory, or many years, but God will accept all those who repent.

Sadly, there are many who have decided that they don’t want to be with God for eternity. Foolishly, they think that they can continue their sinful ways after death, if they even believe in an afterlife. One of my neighbours thinks that he will join, what he calls, “the big party downstairs”. Others think that death will bring oblivion, so why not just enjoy the sinful lives they live while they can. But Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, warning them to wake up. He knew what would happen to those who refused to accept God’s wonderful and gracious of salvation through Jesus, and he didn’t want his friends in Rome to be counted among them.

Dear Father God. How can we thank You enough for Your grace and love, so freely given. we worship You today. Amen.