How To be Good God’s Way – the process of sanctification

Of course morality is a very complex subject, and ethics develop culturally over time. But this article is focused on becoming righteous as a Christian, rather than what the good life looks like or the different approaches to ethics.  The sanctification process is seldom talked about in detail in church so hopefully this can stimulate discussion. 

Morality is stored in the heart, and we relate to God primarily through our heart to his heart. “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov 4:23) We gain moral sense both from our natural intuitions and from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and these are then hidden in the heart. Reason is then used to apply our ethical understanding when making decisions, and to form principles and to foresee the consequences of our actions.  As we see in 1John 3, character change springs from changes in our heart and in our spirit.

Vision of God

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1John 3:2-3)

The hope that we will see God almighty in his perfection and become like him, somehow purifies us. There are two sides to this: gaining an accurate vision of God and wanting to be like him. “I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken”. When we constantly remind ourselves that God is near and remember his character it helps is us to be courageous, less anxious and and to make better decisions. We make better decisions because as we walk with his in his presence he will guide our thoughts. When we focus on God’s glory it stimulates our desire to be like him in character (not in greatness). Thus the first principle is to maintain our vision of God.

Abide in Jesus

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. (1John 3:6)

In the moment that our sins are forgiven and we surrender to God and trust that his perfect attitudes are within us, then in that moment we are completely holy. The Christian life is lived moment by moment; even though we sin later in the day, when we again abide in Christ we are holy again. Because our self-centered desires and our self-reliant righteousness are crucified, we confidently wait for God to provide us with his attitudes and motivation. John uses the image of a branch abiding in the vine drawing life. We rest in his righteousness rater than trying to be a superhero ruining around making grand sacrifices.

A Virtuous Heart

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous (1John3:7)

Righteous responses and values are stored in the heart, and those good desires and consecrated intentions form new Character. A person must aim to be consistently good and to posses integrity, if they do not this is evidence that there are aspects of their heart that they have not allowed the son of God to invade and to purify.  Make the tree good and its fruit will be good. The idea of ‘Virtue Ethics’ is that it is not enough to just follow rules or to merely use reason to make moral decisions, a person must add virtues to their character. This person then begins to become an example of goodness to other around him as people trust their character. As we make good choices using the free will that God will not take away from us, and as we chose God over sin, we are set free from the power of that sin, and the temptation grows weaker each time.