Sanctification Part 3: Jesus Christ changes us to want holiness

We continue our discussion of Jesus' role in our sanctification. Today I will try to explain one more way Jesus works for us to form his holiness in us.

Let's think a bit about Philippians 2:12.  It reads, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, 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." 

Obviously God is at work in our Christian lives.  The result of this grace is that we work out...live out our new life in Christ.  This brings us to Another of Christ's role in our sanctification.

He by his cross and resurrection not only brings us to be holy, but also to do holiness.  You see, Christ humbled himself to be a servant for our salvation - even to the point of the cross (Philippians 2:6-8), to open and secure God to work holiness in us so we will want to and can obey, grow, and mature in holiness in our lives.  God doing his part makes so we can do our part.  It’s not we doing our part first, and then God will do his.  No.  He does his work first and then and only then do we live out what being a Christian is.

So God by Christ working in us is the freedom, and argument, and motive for us to live obediently.  If Jesus is in our lives we will want to obey, and when we don’t we are saddened that God has not been glorified in us.  To put it another way Jesus by his Holy Spirit has so changed the sinner that the man or women saved by grace loves and longs to live holy.