| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Salvation past, present, and future” Our Bible verse for today: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.” 2 Peter 3:18 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Growing in grace and knowledge” Over the last two days, we have been thinking about what Paul meant in Philippians 2:12 when he told us to “work out” our salvation. We have also considered Philippians 1:6, where he explained that God will continue His work of molding and shaping us until He has us in heaven and we are the completed person He has always intended for us to be. The Apostle Peter builds on that theme in 2 Peter 3:18 where he urges us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This present state that we live in as saved persons is a time of growing and changing as God develops us into the people we will be for all eternity. That is known as the process of sanctification. Sanctification is intended by God to be an ongoing and dynamic experience of growth in Christ that continues throughout our time here on earth. God has decreed this to be so for four important reasons. First, He does it for His own sake. God is holy and He wants us to be holy too (Isaiah 48:10-11). He purifies us over time so we can honor and glorify Him with our lives. Second, He does it for the sake of the cause of Christ on earth. As John 15:5 helps us to understand (the parable of the vine and the branches), Jesus wants to live His life in and through us. He wants to produce His fruit in this world through our lives. The process of ongoing sanctification results in the fruit of Christ being produced through the life of the follower of Christ. Third, sanctification is for our own sakes. Galatians 5:22-23 describes the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Those are character traits of Christ that become more and more a part of your own character as you grow in the grace and knowledge and likeness of Jesus. The more progress you make in the ongoing process of sanctification, the more you will be like Jesus and the better your life will be. And fourth, your sanctification now will have a direct impact on what eternity will be like for you later. The Bible teaches this truth in numerous places. Jesus’ favorite illustration was of rewards the believer will receive in heaven based upon how that person lived their life on earth as His follower (we will address that subject in greater detail later in this series). The point here is that God wants you to grow spiritually. That’s what the process of sanctification is all about and it is what should be happening in your life now, in this present state of being a saved person. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
| Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
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