Gifted with Sanctification

Maybe you didn't ask for this, but your prayer to be saved has now enrolled you in a life-long process of being "sanctified." Yes, that is a $5.00 church word if ever there was one, but it means something you won't want to miss. It means that we are being washed clean. We are being cleansed of wrong thoughts, mistaken beliefs, sinful practices—all kinds of things that get in the way of the peace-filled, grace-full way of life set before us.

And such were some of you [sinful]. 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

All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.

You May Need a Good Scrubbing

In seeking to be saved, we began by turning from sin to God. God saves us by forgiving us and justifying us. Usually some of our former sinful ways are taken from us. He even starts making us "holy as He is holy" by putting His Holy Spirit within us, united to us. This is just the beginning. By these means we are reborn as "new creations." However, just because a sudden conversion may make you feel like an entirely new person, doesn't mean that you are even remotely free of sinful ways, wrong beliefs, or false understandings. That will require a lot of scrubbing!

Sanctification saves us from sin; it is the necessary sequel to justification. The forgiveness we receive through being justified by faith saves us from the penalty of sin—from the punishment our sins deserved. We don't have to experience hell after we die! God's work in sanctifying us goes even further. Through sanctification God works to free us from the power of sin—so that we don't have to experience being controlled by hell while we live.

Time, Truth and Holy Spirit

This process takes time, our hearty cooperation and two things: the Holy Spirit and belief in the truth.[1] God's part in this comes through the Holy Spirit; our part comes through our belief in the truth. What holds us in the power of sin is essentially a deception.[2] The enemy is a past master at making the right thing seem wrong and the wrong thing seem right—and then convincing us that his thoughts in us are actually our own.[3] Only truth can break the grip of spiritual darkness. That's why Jesus stressed the need to intimately know the truth:

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-33

God's Part and Ours

The Holy Spirit has been sent to us to reveal the truth.[4] Only He can do this. Only God can "turn on the lights" for anyone trapped in the darkness of a sin pattern they cannot even see to break.[5] But there is so much we can do to cooperate with the Holy Spirit: We can seek to maintain a teachable attitude (open to correction) and we can seek the Lord "where He can be found."[6] It is well known that the Lord loves to hang out with us through the "Big Five" Connecters: Bible study, prayer, worship, fellowship and service. Through these activities He is able to lead us into greater revelations of truths which ultimately can liberate us.

It is our job to believe the truths which the Holy Spirit reveals. It is of little practical value, for instance, for me to believe in my head that God loves me, if in my heart I'm convinced He doesn't; or to memorize the scripture that God "works all things for good," but to go on believing in my heart that I'll never get over past hurts and disasters.[7] No, truth was NEVER intended to be a mere thing of the mind. It only has fulfilled its true purpose of liberation and transformation when we believe it from the heart.[8] That's when the lasting change arrives!

Try "Seeing Double" Next

Seeing Double  Many things in the spiritual life come in matched pairs, or mis-matched pairs if you count the ones that are on opposite sides like the new you and the old you, or the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Sometimes it can make your eyes cross and your head swim, but we’ve laid them out in a way that should help you steer clear of confusion.

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Sanctification Scriptures

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. John 17:17-19

He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30

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

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. Hebrews 2:11

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Hebrews 10:14

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Hebrews 13:12