Sanctification

God wants his people to be sanctified.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

God doesn’t want us to be sanctified a little bit. He wants us to be totally sanctified.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Sanctification is the same word as holiness in Greek. To be sanctified means to be holy.

Holy means getting rid of sin. God is holy. The Spirit of God is called the Holy Spirit. The angels around God’s throne shout out “Holy Holy Holy” all the time. 

Holiness is beautiful. We are to worship God in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 96:9). Sin is ugly. Sometimes the world tells us that sin is beautiful, and our flesh believes this lie. But sin is ugly, and we are called to hate it. We need to love what is truly beautiful in the eyes of God and hate what is evil.

Becoming holy means being transformed into the image of Jesus. Jesus is perfect and without sin. He was completely holy and sanctified while he walked the earth in human flesh. We are called to be like him. 

“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15)

“Be as holy as God!” That’s a high standard of holiness.

Becoming sanctified is a process. It’s not going to happen overnight. As long as we are alive on the earth in this flesh, we will be going through this process of sanctification.

The first step toward sanctification is to be born again. Righteousness is a free gift that we receive by grace through faith when we are born again. When we are born again the Holy Spirit comes inside us and enables us to be holy. It is impossible to know true holiness apart from God. Only God’s children can partake of the Father’s holiness.

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (1 Corinthians 7:1)

Whenever we sin, we need to confess our sins. The Bible says if we confess our sins God will forgive us of our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We should not hesitate to confess our sins. If we are repeatedly confessing and repenting of the same sin, we may have some sort of bondage in that area. We need special prayer and possibly counseling in order to break that bondage.

We are sanctified by the word of God. The word of God is the truth (John 17:17). Jesus said the truth will set us free. As we read the word of God, we are cleansed from defilements and our minds are renewed. As we obey the word of God, his word becomes a part of us and creates true holiness deep within us.

Suffering can produce sanctification. As we go through difficulties, God cleanses us from evil. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a hot oven tied up with ropes. The fire burned the ropes off and set them free, but the fire did not harm them. The trial that we go through can be the means of our deliverance from the ropes of sin and Satan.

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1-2).

Jesus suffered in the flesh. He suffered because he was obeying God. As we obey God, we will also suffer because Satan and the world will attack us. When we suffer for obeying God, we are taking up our cross. As we take up our cross and suffer for Jesus, we will be delivered from sin and bondage.

Suffering sanctifies because it shows us that we need God. It improves our relationship with God. It shows us our own weakness and drives us to prayer and reliance on God. Sin can happen when we are lazy. It happens to societies when they become focused on decadence and luxury. Throughout history, some of the most corrupt societies have been the most wealthy.

Sanctification is important for several reasons. 

Sanctification pleases God. It is God’s will. When we are sanctified then we are able to represent God well on the earth. We become vessels unto honor that are fit for the master’s use (2 Timothy 2:21). God want us to be holy people. He doesn’t want us to put him to shame.

Sanctification protects us from Satan. When Satan attacked Jesus, he could find nothing in him to bring him down (John 14:30). This is because Jesus was free from sin and therefore he had full authority over the devil. When we are sanctified, then the devil has less power over us to drag us down.

Sanctification will make us happier. Holiness and happiness go hand in hand. This is because sin brings sorrow. Sin results in death. Sin makes us feel guilt, shame, and fear. It makes us depressed and stressed. Holiness produces life and peace.

Let us pursue sanctification. Let us put away the defilements of the flesh and put off the old person that is corrupt because of lusts. Let us be renewed by the Holy Spirit and put on true holiness that comes from God alone.