Sanctification happens in the dressing room
Series: Holy – Holy – Holy | Bible text: Ephesians 4:21–24
Our personal sanctification should grow out of our amazement at the mystery of God’s holiness. This happens in partnership between God and us humans. The human part consists of taking off the old clothes of deceitful desires and putting on the new clothes characterised by righteousness, holiness and truth. What happens in the dressing room is crucial for our personal sanctification.
A few months ago, I shared one of my most exciting and wonderful childhood memories here. As a large horde of armed boys, we often went into the forest. There were cave-like indentations on certain slopes. We surmised that these were fox dens. On the one hand, we were somewhat awestruck and afraid, but also fascinated by the thought of encountering a fox in the near future. We tried to lure the foxes out of the den with firecrackers. Although we didn’t startle any foxes, we tried again and again. It was scary, fascinating, attractive, frightening and adventurous all at the same time.
Holy Church
My dream of a church looks something like this. A church whose heart burns passionately for its God and which is aware that He is holy. A church that realises who we are actually encountering in our prayers and songs and rediscovers the wonder of His beauty. A church where we marvel in awe and where the mystery of divinity is not dissected or given human attributes to make it more tangible. A church in which God is allowed to remain mysterious and which has realised that it is precisely in his mysterious, holy nature that the special attraction lies. Nobody needs a tamed God whom we have merely downgraded to a better version of ourselves. We need the God and Father of Jesus Christ, who is terribly beautiful, loving and merciful and who remains forever untamed. If God is no longer a mystery to us, we lose not only our awe but also our fascination with Him and faith becomes boring.
Holy grace
Our personal sanctification should grow out of our amazement at the mystery of God’s holiness. «You shall be holy, for I am holy!» (Leviticus 19:2 LUT).
Time and again, we receive incredibly attractive offers via social media. Many fall for them and only realise too late that they have fallen into a trap. The attractive profit has to be paid for dearly afterwards through monthly direct debits. Are we confronted with the same problem in our faith in Jesus Christ? First the promise that a person is redeemed by pure grace and gains access to the heavenly Father. Then the costly bill of sanctification, which involves painstakingly changing one’s life in order to fulfil the Bible’s instructions?
Last August, the men’s event took us on the Klingenstock – Fronalpstock ridge hike. The world’s steepest funicular railway and a chairlift took us up to 1934 m without any effort. That is grace. And many think that this is the beginning of life with Jesus Christ. A person is redeemed by grace – to the summit without effort. Soon, at least some of the men realised that their own performance was now required. Via Rot Turm, Huser Stock and Furggelen, the route leads up to Fronalpstock. The sweat is dripping. Is it also the case in faith that an uplifting start is followed by years of strenuous and sweaty sanctification? No! C.H. Spurgeon says on this subject: «Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the defender of sin.» Grace is more than «just» forgiveness of sins. It is the undeserved gift of God that enables us to lead a holy life in the first place. Our salvation is a pure gift of grace; from it we embark on the path of sanctification in order to become more like Jesus. In doing so, we can count on the transformative power of God’s grace.
Aelred of Rievaulx (Cistercian abbot in the 12th century) wrote about the process of sanctification: «Our decision of will alone will not bring about a change in our nature. But in it, with it and through it, God works on us and moulds us more into the image of Jesus.» It becomes clear: our sanctification can only happen in partnership between God and us, but never outside of grace. But within this grace we may, indeed must, become personally active and pursue sanctification, without which no one will see God (Hebrews 12:14). Grace is a contrast to merit, but not a contrast to effort.
As I preached in my last sermon, we will want to change when God’s love in our lives becomes greater than anything else. And this love will capture us in the sight of God’s glory. This is the starting point for taking concrete steps. No longer because we have to, but because – enveloped in God’s grace – we want to.
Holy clothes
Some houses have spacious walk-in wardrobes or separate dressing rooms. Imagine you are standing in the dressing room. On one side of you is the laundry chute and in front of you are the shelves with the clean clothes. Every morning you stand there and pick up different items of clothing and weigh up what the right dress code might be for the day. In passing, you throw the clothes with signs of wear that you wore yesterday into the laundry chute.
Paul needs this image for sanctification: «Or have you not heard his message? Have you not been instructed in his teaching, in the truth as it came to us in Jesus? But then you have also been taught not to go on living as you have been living until then, but to put off the old man who gives in to his deceitful desires and thereby plunges himself into ruin. And you have been taught to allow your spirit and your thinking to be renewed and to put on the new man, who is created in God’s image and whose characteristics are righteousness and Holiness are based on the truth» (Ephesians 4:21–24 New Testament).
What is grace about it? The new clothes, which stand for the new man who is already created in God’s image, are ready. We can take them off the shelf and put them on. From a full wardrobe we can choose clothes that are characterised by righteousness, holiness and truth. At the same time, we are challenged to undress the old man who lives according to deceptive desires and throw him into the laundry bin.
Someone once told the story of how, many years ago, beans were repeatedly stolen from the garden of a preacher in the Suhrental valley. Over time, an overwhelming burden of proof developed against a resident of the village. After another offence, the victim bought bacon in the butcher’s shop and brought it to the baffled thief so that he could cook bacon and beans. The man took off his trousers of retribution and clothed himself with generosity. This is entirely in the spirit of Jesus, the human face of God’s holiness. He recommends: «If someone grabs your shirt, wrap your best coat and make a present out of it» (Luke 6:30a MSG -> The Message).
In timeout, I often stood in the dressing room and rummaged through the shelves for holy matrimony outfits. I found what I was looking for: Underwear, socks, trousers and shirts. The new clothes make me see my partner with different eyes. He was created by God the way he is, and that is good. I want to see him with God’s eyes, who says: «It is very good!» And as such, I want to love him unconditionally. The old man in his deceitful desires wants to change him and chafes at certain behaviours. These self-centred clothes belong in the laundry basket.
Jesus often spoke of old and new clothes. Eugene H. Peterson has explained this in his translation of the Bible The Message well to the point. Here are three samples:
«If you live only for the approval of others, you say what flatters them, do what flatters them, you are in for trouble. Popularity contests are not truth contests» (Luke 6:26 MSG).
«Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst» (Luke 6:27 MSG).
«If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the opportunity to practice the servant life. No more retaliation. Live generously!» (Luke 6:30b MSG).
All facets of the new man, as we see them in Jesus, are ready as clothes in the dressing room. We must move us – and when we come from beholding God’s glory, want we change our clothes! The dirty, self-important, reactive, self-righteous, egotistical clothes in the laundry basket, the gracious, generous, loving, wholesome ones on the body.
Before I get dressed in the morning, I always think briefly about what my programme for the day involves. For example, if I have to lead a service in a retirement home, I put on a slightly nicer pair of jeans instead of the washed-out ones. I also slip into an elegant shirt instead of the polo shirt I wore the day before.
What would it be like if we went to the spiritual dressing room virtually every morning to think carefully about which clothes we are equipped with for the challenges of the day? When a conversation is coming up where I expect to be criticised, I urgently need to put on a T’shirt that helps me to be meek and ready for free advice. For upcoming meetings with pastors, I need to protect myself by wearing my trousers to help me not get into a competitive situation internally. The jumper helps me to understand, encourage and support the young savages in a fatherly way.
Each of us has our own challenges and will find the right garments in God’s dressing room. I invite you to consciously spend some quality time in the morning in the walk-in wardrobe and carefully put on the clothes of the new man created by God. This requires time, silence and dialogue with God. So it is clear: all those who think that sanctification is a cramp and has to do with performance are mistaken. Becoming holy, as God is holy, is a privilege and a gift. And holy people are a gift to and for this world.
The new clothes, symbolising the new man created by God, are ready for you and me in the dressing room. We just have to pull them off the shelf and put them on ourselves. Hmmmh caught: the correct modal verb is not «have to», but «want to». At least when we have discovered God’s incomprehensible love and his glory. Let us never forget: grace is the mother and nurse of sanctification.
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Ephesians 4:21–24
- Mentally paint a picture of a church that takes the holiness of God seriously. What does it look like?
- What does grace mean to you? What role does it play in salvation and what role does it play in sanctification?
- Do you believe that the clothes are ready for you as an image of the newly created man?
- Specifically: How can you put on the right spiritual clothes in the morning? How do you do that?
- After a moment of silence: What clothes would you like to throw in the laundry basket? What new clothes would you like to wear? Pray for each other!
