Yesterday I started the meditation with a literary cliché: “If I had known then what I know now…”
Today I’d like to start with a movie cliché: the transformation of the ugly duckling.
You’ve seen it many times. A frumpy character in the movie is swept away by a generous benefactor, intent on proving how beautiful the person can be. There follows a collection of scenes of shopping for clothes and shoes, of having hair styled, of having skin and nails groomed to perfection and, at the end, the ugly duckling emerges as a beautiful swan.
The message is clear that the beauty was there from the beginning, it only needed to be revealed. All it took was someone to believe in the character (and their credit card).
In the movies, all the change is on the outside, but it’s not all that different from what God does to our hearts and minds through salvation. The ugliness is washed away and the beauty that was hidden is revealed.
That’s not to say that we are holy to start with. No, the taint of sin is both real and deeply imbedded in our humanity. But underneath it all is the man or woman that God created and once pronounced “good.” It’s not easy or cheap to reclaim, but Jesus has a better credit score than we do, and we’re doing it on his credit card.
Like in the movies, this makeover allows us to be someone new and to do things we never dreamed of before.
The prophet Ezekiel said, “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Notice that the following of decrees and keeping God’s laws isn’t something we do in order for God to see us as good enough; it’s something God does when we accept that he is good enough.
We’ll be moving on now to consider God’s work of sanctification, which is the task of molding us into the people God meant us to be from the beginning. As we consider the works that come with sanctification, always keep in mind that they are God’s work in us, not our work for God.
– Rev. Mark Fleming
This is part of a sermon/reading series in July-August, 2024, looking at some core Christian beliefs, along with distinctive emphases of the Methodist branch of Christianity.
The daily readings are my own, but they are loosely based on the topics covered in the Catechism of the Global Methodist Church. The column at the right contains the questions from the catechism and the sources it lists.
You can find the full catechism and other information about the Global Methodist Church at globalmethodist.org.
I invite you to join us for worship and other church gatherings at China Methodist Church and Forest Park Methodist Church.
Respectful conversation is welcome. Use the comment section at the end of this post.
From the Catechism of the Global Methodist Church:
67. How does God’s grace continue its work in us through the Word and the Spirit?
God’s sanctifying grace cleanses us from sin in our thoughts, words and acts, and enables us to live in accordance with God’s will.
Psalm 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 51:7-12 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 [God’s promise of a new covenant] Read it here
Ezekiel 36:25-27 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Galatians 5:16-25 [Walk by the Spirit. Acts of flesh and fruit of the Spirit] Read it here
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Confession of Faith, Article XI* We believe sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words and acts, and are enabled to live in accordance with God’s will, and to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Entire sanctification is a state of perfect love, righteousness and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one’s neighbor as one’s self. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be received in this life both gradually and instantaneously, and should be sought earnestly by every child of God.
We believe this experience does not deliver us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes common to man, nor from the possibilities of further sin. The Christian must continue on guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory over every temptation to sin. He must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over him; and the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under his feet. Thus he rules over these enemies with watchfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit.
68. How is sanctification lived out?
Holiness of heart and life
Leviticus 20:26 You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.
Amos 5:14 Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.
Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
1 Peter 2:5 …you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
which includes works of piety
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
James 5:13-16 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
and works of mercy
Deuteronomy 15:10-11 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
Psalm 82:3-4 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Matthew 25:31-46 [Jesus separates the sheep from the goats on the basis of what has been done for the “least of these”] Read it here
Luke 11:42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
Romans 12:13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.