I'm glad that you mention this because it's interesting to me that some people would find this to be a reason to sit back and take it easy or play it safe. Your comment here has helped me to realize that if this life is not all there is and I have a hope for resurrection, then that is a strong reason to not play it safe. It's acceptable and reasonable to feel free to take risks for the Kingdom of God. That the great commission is not something that I should be afraid to pursue because of retaliation, shame, imprisonment or even pain of death. You are 100% right that the righteous, loving boldness of the Lord is missing in many Churches and many Christians. Including myself. Thank you very much for the comment.

Very relatable. But it reminds me of 2Co 7:10, "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." I like to compare sanctification to a procedure. The goal of the procedure is the completion of the evolution. But you can't complete the evolution without the individual steps in the procedure. So, as opposed to thinking of sanctification as being "so very far away", think that you are in the midst of it. If your sight is on the Lord, even sinning or becoming aware of our sins, is part of God's process to purify us and make us holy.

That's a very interesting thought! It makes a lot of sense to me even though I don't see anything explicit in scripture. But Satan does so love to imitate God.