Revolutionary Leaders

Don't Play In The Mud

Playing in the mud can be fun for a time, I guess. But what happens when the fun is over and you want to go back into the house? I’m not letting my kid into the house covered in mud.

Metaphorially speaking, mud represents sin. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that the pleasures of playing in the mud – sin – only last for a season, a short time. We’ve all played in the mud haven’t we? The Bible clearly tells us that ALL have sinned and that the price for that sin is death (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

Playing in the mud has consequences. Just as I wouldn’t let my little boy into our house covered in mud, our heavenly Father can’t let us into heaven with sin. What my son needed was a good hosing to get all that mud off of him. What WE need is to be cleansed from our sin by confessing our mistakes to God, asking for forgiveness, and putting our faith in Jesus as our savior (Romans 10:8-10).

But what happens to our life after we get the mud off – after we become saved?

There is this theological term called “sanctification” which means to be set apart – set apart from sin in order to be set apart for God so that we can be set apart to worship and serve God.

1 Peter 1:13-16
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy.”

Can you remember the day or the moment that you believed in Jesus, when you asked Him to forgive all your sins and give you eternal life? At that very moment, you were declared sanctified – holy and set apart from sin.

King David new of this when we wrote Psalm 103. He said, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (v12).

So, at salvation, we begin with positional sanctification – we become instantaneously holy because our past sins have been “hosed off” – cleansed. God now sees us as holy – set apart from sin.

However, sanctification doesn’t end there. Just because we’ve been “hosed off” doesn’t mean that we’ll never get dirty again. Because of the fact that we are not perfect, the chances of us getting some mud on us again are pretty good.

So what do we do to stay sanctified – set apart?

Titus 2:11-14
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Not only is sanctification positional and instantaneous, it also must be practical and progressive. We have been set apart from the sin of our past, but now we actively take part in staying “set apart” and clean. We have to stay out of the mud!