Back to the Basics

Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

In the Christian walk, it is easy to fall back into Satan’s pits. He will continue to tempt us and hint at our flaws. Satan wants us to believe that we are not good enough for God’s kingdom. Whatever it may be, Satan will say, “see, you did it again. You fell into sin. You’re not holy, you’re not a child of God. God’s children are better than you.”

It is very subtle, yet the more we walk with God, the harder Satan will try to deceive us. What makes it so hard and believable is the fact that Satan is telling the truth. We can’t reject such thoughts. We are sinful. We did fall again into the same sins we want to get out of. We fail God again and again. Satan dangles these mistakes over our heads and makes us stare into our flaws. 

Our solution is not to reject what we did wrong. It is also not to succumb to self-pity because of our apparent failures. Our solution is to turn to God and return to the basics of who He is and what love He has and continues to love us with. Paul reassures the Thessalonians that the one who keeps us holy and blameless to the end is not ourselves. It is the God of peace himself who will sanctify us completely. His sanctification will not fail, and our whole spirit, soul, and body will be kept blameless.

Even though our faith seems to be stagnant and our love for Christ is so dim, He is faithful. He will surely hold us to the end because, in the end, it is not our works that justified us; it was Christ’s blood alone. Our sins and mistakes are washed clean by Christ, and we have been made righteous and blameless in the blood of Christ. This is freeing news. It will unclasp us from the bondage of our guilt. Do not look to self; look to Christ. 

The Christian walk is not one of keeping the law to obtain righteousness. The Christian walk is humbly knowing that Christ has already obtained our righteousness. It is about walking freely in the love of Christ and learning to love Him because He loved us. Know this, that even though our love may fail, His love never fails, and He will pull us back again. We are safe in God’s hands because He is faithful.

The world will say that Christianity is binding. However, it is the complete opposite. Blessed are you if you are in Christ because you are freer than ever. You are holy and justified and able to step in God’s sanctification as He works to renew us completely, keeping us blameless until our perfection when our Lord comes back. 

Lord, thank You for Your love You showed cavalry. Thank You that in You, we who are sinners, are forgiven. Thank You that we don’t need to live up to a standard. Yet, because You first loved us, help us love You and continue to learn of Your love and Your ways. Thank You, God. May Your Spirit continue to work in us to sanctify us and keep us until our perfection when You return. In Jesus’ name, amen.