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| Yogi Berra: famous malapropisms |
Words matter. Especially if you get important ones mixed up.
Years ago I was looking for a substitute preacher when I
went on vacation. Our denominational headquarters recommended a retired pastor
whose first name was “Denver.”
But somehow I got it into my head that his name was “Dallas.” My excuse: they’re both cities, and
I am perhaps oversensitive that Dallas
humiliated Denver
in the Super Bowl. (Lame, I admit, especially considering that was 34 years
ago.)
So I called the poor man “Dallas” for years, and though he
tried valiantly to correct me, I couldn’t get it right. He ended up just answering
to “Dallas”
when he was around me. Bless him.
Or another famous (to my wife and me) mix-up happened when
one of the guys in our church sang a solo during the worship service. He was
kind of a crooner, had a nice baritone, and he was singing about how Christ
came to earth to save us. I can’t remember the song, but I do remember him
belting out this lyric.
Oh, what condensation, oh, what love divine!
Go ahead, read it again. He sang condensation, like when your dog fogs up the inside of the car
window. I’m pretty sure what he meant was condescension,
like when the King of the Universe steps off His throne and comes to earth as a
man.
The other thing I remember about that song was how I tried
to avoid eye contact with my wife so I wouldn’t crack up.
So it’s understandable that we sometimes mix up justification and sanctification. But for anyone who loves, admires, and follows
Jesus, it’s really important to understand the difference.
Justification is God’s legal
declaration that you are righteous in His sight because you have faith in
Christ’s death on the cross. Justification is God’s action alone—we don’t and
can’t cooperate with Him. It is immediate, complete, and permanent.
Sanctification is the process
you undergo to become more like Jesus once you’re justified. It is growth in
grace and knowledge of the truth. We do cooperate with God as we obey Him and
respond to His grace. It is ongoing, and will be completed only when we get to
heaven.
More than a declaration of “not guilty,” justification is
God's pronouncement that we are righteous—with Christ’s righteousness counted as
ours. It is “the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Rom. 3:22, ESV). Then we
enter the lifelong process of growing to be more like the One we love the most.
What a Savior! Words help, but they really don’t do Him
justice.
