After considerable circumstances of discovering that God’s
children struggle with very difficult and painful trauma from their pasts, and
that these things consistently hinder them in their freedom to grow up to be
like Jesus, I settled into a way of looking at my ministry that I describe something
like this:
“Leading people to
freedom in Christ
so they can
experience God
in a real and personal way.”
Eternal life is to know God.[1] We
enter this eternal life through the justification that is by faith,[2]
and we continue to experience this eternal life through our sanctification, or
our growing up in Christ, also by faith. This redemptive work of God is leading
us into the fulfillment of Jesus’ words, “So
if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”[3]
What, then, are we dealing with when people have a testimony
of turning to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith (justification), and yet
they experience such limited freedom to grow up in their salvation
(sanctification)?
In the simplest of terms, my long journey to an answer comes
down to this: their inner being is unable to relate to God in faith over
whatever traumatic experiences that are still hurting them from within. They
need ministry from the body of Christ.
Now, I know that “faith
comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”[4] I
also know that people cannot “hear”
without someone teaching and proclaiming the word of God to them.[5]
Therefore, my ministry in life, as expressed through home
church ministry as well, is to present the word of God so people can hear
whatever God is ministering to their inner beings for the healing of the
brokenhearted and the binding up of their wounds.[6]
I have used the logo “In2Freedom” in order to summarize my
belief that there is one kind of freedom in our justification by faith, and a
second kind of freedom in our sanctification by faith.[7] Justification
sets us free from death to life; sanctification sets us free to grow up in
Christ.
My aim in ministry is to present as many
possibilities for people to interact with God’s word in order that they could see
how the words of Christ will minister to whatever ails them in their inner
beings. As every experience of sin, and trauma, and doubt, and unbelief, is met
by the very words of God as breathed-out in his Book, the Bible,[8] I
expect to find people who discover faith growing in the dark and hidden places,
just as God promises to do for all who come to him through his Son.
So, if you benefit from the encouragement to experience freedom in Jesus Christ, share this around; consider who you know who seems to know they have
justification by faith, but their description of sanctification, or growing up
to be like Jesus, doesn’t match God’s expectation of us, “being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to
another.”[9]
The same words of Christ that brought us to life through our
justification will lead us to freedom in our sanctification as well. And, the
journey to freedom will become a journal full of testimonies of how we daily
come to know God better than we have ever known him before.
Jesus said, “If you
abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you free.”[10] I
will keep posting things to help us abide in Jesus’ word. Through his words, we
will grow in our experience of knowing the truth, and the effect of that truth in
setting us free.
© 2016 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
[1]
John 17:3
[2]
Romans 5:1
[3]
John 8:36
[4]
Romans 10:17
[5]
Romans 10:14
[6]
Psalm 147:3
[7]
There is a third freedom coming, referred to as our glorification, but that is
something we will not experience in this present earthly lifetime.
[8]
II Timothy 3:16-17
[9]
2 Corinthians 3:18
[10]
John 8:31-32
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