“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
(1 Corinthians 6:11)
Converted sinners – once children of darkness – answered the call of Christ by the power of the Spirit and the Word and are converted to the kingdom of light. The moment we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation through the power of the Spirit, we become a child of the King.
This spiritual transformation brings us out of the state of condemnation in which we are all born and adopts us into God’s family. Our heavenly inheritance is all of grace, for it is God’s act to justify a sinner. It is done freely by Jesus Christ; we can do nothing at all, nothing whatsoever, to procure or merit it. This unspeakable privilege flows freely from God’s grace and favor to us as undeserving creatures.
Yet, as a child of God, you answered the call while others you know may not have. He called and you answered. He sent forth the Gospel and you believed.
Though answering the call of God is only possible through the power of His Spirit and by His grace, God requires that His people, in an act of faith that He instills in them by the Spirit, believe everything He says in His Word about His work for them.
Justification of a sinner before God is of free grace through faith in Christ alone, but justification and sanctification are inseparable. It is a grave error to believe you can be saved but not sanctified… to believe in God, but then never really change.
If you are a child of God’s kingdom, your spiritual transformation demonstrates ongoing evidence of your conversion in your day-to-day life. Not only that, having been bestowed such privileges for time and eternity (2 Pet. 1:10), as heirs to the kingdom we should be continually seeking to understand all that God has for us to know and to do in our new state.
Thomas Boston rightly said, “Bless God for Christ and the gospel. Bless Him for His holy and powerful Spirit. Admire and adore His rich grace, bestowed on worthless worms through Christ, (1 John 3:1).” Children of the King and heirs to the kingdom ought to walk worthy of our calling and suitable to its privileges, that is, humbly, holily, heavenly, contentedly, patiently, and cheerfully, in hopes of the glory that is to be revealed.
We are redeemed by the meritorious work of Christ which discharges our guilt and declares us righteous before God. But at the same time, we must continue to respond to the call and will of God found in the Word of God which ensures our sanctification to holiness.
In summary, if you wish to answer the call of the gospel, repentance is required. Repentance is your response to God’s gospel call. Repentance is necessary to remove the wrath and judgments of God and to “answer the call of the gospel.”
Have you come to Him repentant, so that you might be redeemed? Have you answered the call of God?
- Lord, what a powerful calling this is that I have been given! My understanding has been enlightened to receive the truths revealed to me in Your Word. I see things now in a new and different light. I behold a greater beauty, excellency, and glory in divine things than I ever did before.
- Lord, You convinced me of my sin and misery, and then Your Spirit moved me, and my soul saw the glory of Christ and the greatness of His love, and He is now precious to me.
- I am so thankful that You, through Christ, enabled me to believe, by the Spirit of God exciting that wonderful principle of grace which You implanted in me. I have received Christ on His terms. My affections now, Lord all center in Him and I desire to seek all spiritual blessings from Him alone.
- Lord, thank You for beginning Your work of grace in me that is now being carried on through this process of my continued sanctification.
Further References for 1 Cor. 6:11
Eph. 5:26; Acts 22:16; Rom. 5:1; Gal. 2:16; Titus 3:3
