​Hey everyone, grab your favorite mug. Let’s talk about something real.

​Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the Christian walk, and it’s struck me how often we talk about salvation as the finish line when it’s really just the starting block. It’s like we get a free pass into a race and then stand there, not realizing the actual journey has just begun.

​This thought came to me about a three-part process every Christian, no matter who they are, is called to walk. I’m calling them the “three altars,” not because it’s a fancy theological term, but because an altar is a place of sacrifice and commitment. This journey is one of progressive surrender, and it’s captured beautifully in three words: Salvation, Sanctification, and Surrender.

​Let’s pour some of this out and dig into what each altar means.

​The First Altar: Salvation (Justification)

​This is the altar we all know. It’s the moment you get it, the profound, life-changing truth that you cannot earn God’s love. The theological principle at work here is justification. You are a sinner, guilty before a holy God, but through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, you are declared “not guilty.” You are made righteous. It’s a gift, pure and simple, and it delivers us from the penalty of sin.

​Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

​I’ve seen this happen in lives all around me. I think about someone like Maria, a single mom with two kids, working herself to the bone. She carried the weight of her past like a physical burden. For her, salvation came at a church-run daycare. She heard that no matter what she had done, God offered her forgiveness and grace as a free gift. She knelt right there and accepted it. That was her one-time, life-altering altar. The burden was gone. The slate was wiped clean.

​The Second Altar: Sanctification

​If salvation is the one-time event, sanctification is the daily, grind-it-out process. This altar is not about escaping the penalty of sin, but escaping its power. This is where the real work, the messy, beautiful, and sometimes painful work, happens. The theological principle is progressive holiness. The same Holy Spirit who saved you now lives in you and works to make you more and more like Jesus.

​1 Thessalonians 4:3: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.“

​This is the refining fire, the process of purification. It’s often where the journey gets tough, and frankly, why many people stop.

​For Maria, this looked like getting up an hour early to pray even when she was exhausted. It was a daily choice to turn to God when she felt angry or overwhelmed. It was her fight to be patient with her kids and to let go of old, unhealthy coping habits. For someone like Alex, a young, single guy with a cynical attitude, this looked different. After his salvation moment, he was still tempted by old habits and selfish desires. His sanctification altar was cutting back on video games to spend time with his family, resisting the temptation to lie to his mom, and choosing prayer instead of anger. This altar is where we practice the daily discipline of denying ourselves and choosing God’s way.

​The Third Altar: Surrender

​This is the one that separates the crowd. If salvation is the starting line and sanctification is the path, surrender is the total yielding of your life to God’s will. It’s where you stop living for yourself and start living for Him. This altar is about giving up the good for the God-ordained great.

​Romans 12:1: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

​This is the biblical principle of “dying to self” and “taking up your cross.” It’s not easy. In the Bible, only one of the ten healed lepers came back to thank Jesus, a powerful example of how rare true surrender is.

​For both Maria and Alex, this altar came in the form of a major life choice. For Maria, it was a job offer that promised financial security but would have pulled her away from her support system and her time with God. For Alex, it was a promotion that would have taken over his life, leaving no time for his family or his faith. In both cases, the logical choice was to take the money and run. But at this altar, they chose to sacrifice their own desires and ambitions for God’s will, knowing that His plan was better than their own.

​This is what I’ve been thinking about lately, and I am so excited to be organizing a Redemption Ceremony: The 3 Altars right here in my church.

​A Final Sip…

​The journey is not about being perfect; it’s about being in the process. We are all on this path. We’ve all stood at the first altar, and we’re all invited to walk the path of the second and third.

​So, where are you on this journey?

​Reflection Question: What is one thing in your life right now; a habit, a desire, or an ambition, that God might be asking you to lay on the altar of surrender?