The path of sanctification is the walk of a true Christian from the moment his past sins are forgiven to the moment of his death. When he is in this path, he will be cleansed from his sins gradually, even as the righteousness of Christ covers him continually, as he walks with the Lord, in the light of His word, and led by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

A person who is saved will walk in this path of sanctification until he enters the heavenly kingdom. If a person is not in this process and not being sanctified, then something is not right. He is probably not saved in the first place. So in this sense it is a requirement. Or it is a proof, if you like, that a person is on the heavenward path.

Some churches believe that Christians may be saved and yet not be in the process of sanctification. We do not hold to that idea. Every saved person will walk on this path.

Pastor GB is not saying that the path of sanctification is a condition for regeneration and conversion. Other posts in the site will make that clear. He is saying that by grace, God has enabled us to be in this process. His next sentence makes this clear.

Although we are very firm that we are saved only by grace, we have enough of verses from scripture to tell us that we must walk very carefully. Why we need to be so very cautious and alert, when we have been saved and when no one can snatch us from His hand, is not obvious. But the word of God tells us to be very careful for some reason, and it is wise to comply. Otherwise scriptures like the following will not really mean anything: Mat 7:14, 1 Pet 5:8.9; 1 Cor 10:12; Matt 24:12,13, 1 Tim 6:11-12,Eph 6:11-13; and many many others. This is spiritual warfare and we must be alert.

The Bible is very clear that God saves us by His grace. But the Bible does not allow believers to dwell on the safety aspect and relax. Scripture upon scripture cautions and warns and alerts the believer to spiritual dangers. Why this is necessary if we are so safe is a bit of a mystery. But we do well to cooperate with the Lord and walk with Him, according to His word.

As for your observation about the sentence that people did not respond to God’s offer of redemption LIKE HE EXPECTED, the word ‘expected’ is used in the sense of ‘wanted’. God wants everyone to repent (2 Pet 3:9). But it is also God who tells us in His word that only some will respond to Him. The Bible also tells us that those whom He predestines will come to Him. These are different aspects of the same thing. This side of heaven, we will not be able to sort all these ideas into a neat equation or formula. So we struggle with our own expressions as well.

(site administrator on Pastor GB’s behalf)

Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”

I would like to see you defend from the Bible the position that “the path of sanctification” is God’s requirement for salvation. Or maybe you should define “path of sanctification.”

At another point you said that people did not respond to God’s offer of redemption LIKE HE EXPECTED. But,
Romans 8:29-30, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

God foreknew, in the very least, those who would be saved. People did not surprise Him.
To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn

I am greatly pleased to note that Nahomi has correctly understood a favourite spiritual term that I often use. Not only has she understood it correctly but has also interpreted it in a way that others who are less familiar with this term can understand.

Effective communication and appropriate interpretation are the work of the Holy Spirit without Whose grace no
believer can understand anything biblically, although he may do so intellectually. If Bertrand Russell one of the greatest philosophers and Bernard Shaw the literary giant, both of the 20th century, could not be Christians as they themselves confessed, it is because they wrongly held to the idea that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ can be understood by any scholar. No, it cannot be. Without the grace of the Holy Spirit no one can understand it.

The word of God says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside”, (1 Cor 1: 19) and again, “….. God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe”, (1 Cor 1: 21).

Murali from the Bangalore Church wrote to me after his recent return to India and to the church after a gap of many weeks. “It made me feel at home. Your message restored back to me the required spiritual fervency. Not to exaggerate or to flatter, I have just been to the most developed nation, attended one of the biggest churches, listened to one of the world’s renowned preachers, and also to several other messages of great preachers in the Internet. But I did not feel this kind of reality, urgency, and relevancy as when I hear spiritual messages from you. Thanks a lot.”

I don’t think Murali compares or equates me with the well-known great preachers and theologians of the world. But my teaching has appealed to him more than that of many well-known theologians. This is because of the communication brought about by the Holy Spirit.

I believe that God has anointed me with a gift for micro ministry. As I repeatedly say, Micro and Macro ministries are different from one another but both are God’s gifts. Nahomi’s interpretation of my term ‘emotional understanding’ that I use in my teaching, is also, I believe, the work of the Holy Spirit.

The origin and source of the entire word of God is Jesus Christ. Interpretation of the words of the Bible also requires the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The truth lies in the right interpretation of the text and not in the mere words.

For instance, the same word ekklesia used for “church of God” is also used for the rebellious gang referred to in Acts 19: 30. On the other hand the English word “Church” is absolutely an irrelevant word for the concept of ekklesia. According to the oxford dictionary the main meaning for ‘church’ is a building used for public Christian worship. Later on some more meanings have been added. But none of these reflect exactly the sense of the Biblical concept. This is just one example to show how that words can be misleading. The word ekklesia is not an exclusive Greek word for the church of Christ.

So also the word baptizo was a word for dipping, and would have been commonly used for mundane activities like rinsing clothes and so on. But this word was used in the New Testament sacramental act after salvation. In the words, many mundane common words have been adopted in the Bible to express spiritual thoughts.

Although by and large, the Bible is readable for preliminary understanding, for a deeper understanding and clarity, the help of Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. Only in heaven the cursed confusion of language commenced at the Tower Babel will be removed. Until then, we rely on the Holy Spirit to understand biblical concepts. We are quite satisfied with that position.
GB