From what we read in our Bibles...there is an inheritance awaiting those who have been sanctified by faith in Christ (Acts 20:32; 26:18).

We are also informed from this same Bible that those who continue to live according to the ‘flesh’...will NOT...be recipients of any inheritance (Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).

If you just read that and then immediately...felt some ‘kick’ within you, and you wanted to pop up and make the point that this has nothing to do with you being ‘saved’...would you take a moment and ask yourself why you felt threatened by what I just shared from your Bible? And why was that the first thing your mind went to, your being ‘saved’ or not?

Let’s turn and read Gal. 3:26-29. First thing right out of the gate there, Paul writes: “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Now that sounds comforting because it makes sense where one needs to be a child in order to be an heir to an inheritance, in most cases. And since you have professed a faith in Christ, that automatically makes you a child of God, correct? Well...not so fast there.

If you opened up your Bible and had an atheist read that verse ('you are all'), or some vile person you know of who clearly has no interest in the things of God or spiritual matters, faith, etc... would they be jumping to conclusions if they just assumed they too were a ‘child of God’? Oh, but they don’t have a ‘faith in Christ’ or believe He is the Son of God, etc., so clearly it would be a false assumption because they don’t profess to ‘believe in Jesus’.

But anyone who does ‘profess to believe in Jesus’, they can rightfully assume or conclude that they are indeed... a ‘child of God’ and therefore an heir and in line to receive this inheritance, yes? Well, once again...let’s tap those brakes and be clear of something here:

‘Saying’ you believe in Jesus does not automatically make you a child of God. Seems I read somewhere that a spiritual ‘birth’ needs to take place first, which makes sense, does it not to you? (John 3:3-7) That’s where Jesus told Nicodemus that unless...one is ‘born again’ or ‘born of the water and the Spirit...they cannot enter the kingdom of God’; so there’s that.

Then, there was that matter that one must ‘receive Him’ in order to BECOME...a child of God’ (John 1:12), whatever ‘receive’ means to you. But again, let’s be clear here: We read in Romans 8:14 who the actual ‘children of God’ are- they are the ones who are ‘led by His Spirit’. So...are you? I’ll give you a moment with that one. And please note that it did not say anyone who claims to be ‘filled with the Spirit’, or can ‘feel/sense...the Spirit’; it specifically says those who are ‘led...by the Spirit’, which implies one is ‘following’, does it not? I’m not twisting any words here in your mind now... am I?

I want us to all be on the same page here because there are many who do think, or have been told with the utmost assurance that they are now a ‘child of God’ because they prayed some prayer and joined a church. I think we can agree that all those Pharisees who were constantly butting heads with Jesus assumed they were a ‘child of God’ because they saw themselves as descendants of Abraham (John 8:33,41). But Jesus set them in their place quickly when He flat out told them: “IF...God were your Father...you would love Me...but Your father is the devil...” (John 8:42-44). I’m guessing that did not land well for most of them who heard that.

For anyone who would be more comfortable if I offered up at least one more verse to show this distinction between who the children of God are and those who are children of the ‘devil’, take a quick look at 1 John 3:10. Now remember, it can be easy to want to quickly justify ourselves and say: “Well I ‘practice righteousness’ off and on, or on so many days of the week, or when I’m around other believers...but I also have my bad days like anyone else and bear a lot of bad fruit as well. I mean, nobody is perfect, right?” So if that's the case... what do you make of Jesus’s words when He said: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit”? (Matt. 7:17-20)

So back to Gal. 3...”For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have ‘put on Christ’...” (27). Lots we could unpack there, but for now...please turn to Romans 13:14 and please underline that part that indicates what those who have actually ‘put on Christ’...no longer do. They no longer...do what? Do you know why that is? Because those ‘obedient children’ whom Peter mentions in 1 Pet. 1:14 who no longer ‘conform themselves to their former lusts’ ...are actually being ‘led by the Spirit’ and are putting to death the deeds of the body (flesh nature) Rom. 8:13.

You do agree that when you put something to ‘death’ (or bury someone who has died) you don’t usually see any signs of it anymore? You may certainly have memories of that person who died and whose funeral you attended...but you sure don’t see them anymore. And if you do...we need to talk. So...what do we know about those who indeed...’belong to Christ, have done...(past tense) ...from what we read in Galatians 5:24? Which now points us back to Gal. 3:29 where Paul wraps up saying: “IF....IF....IF...you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Does this shed any new or useful ‘light’ for anyone reading here today?

It’s easy to ‘say’ we trust, or love, or believe in Jesus, but we also know that Jesus told us that ‘not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord’...will enter the kingdom of heaven...but those who do the will of the Father...” (Matt. 7:21). So it was a fair question He asked those folks in Luke 6:46 when He turned to them and said: “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’...and not do the things I say?”

Now back to this topic of what it means to be ‘sanctified’. Maybe we should explore once again, what it means for us today to be sanctified, while looking at what it is that we are being ‘sanctified’ of, or from; and exactly how does this process work? Anyone interested? If so...meet me back here tomorrow.