Holiness and Sanctification

Introduction

In previous lessons we have seen the importance of repentance from dead works and of faith. These two elements are the keys to receiving God’s salvation. We have also seen the importance of casting out demons as a key to wholeness in Christ. This lesson builds on these concepts and looks more specifically at the issue of overcoming sin, sanctification and how to live a holy life.

WE ARE JUSTIFIED, FORGIVEN AND ACCEPTED IN CHRIST

The word “justified” (Gk: dikaloo) means to be declared righteous, to be innocent or acquitted by a court of law. In other words, a justified person is not condemned by the judge. It is just as if he did nothing wrong. The Bible says that the believers are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.” (Romans 3:24). That means that God does not condemn us. God sees us as innocent - just as if we had never sinned! Why? Because at the cross, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, took the guilt and condemnation that we deserve for our sins. He paid the price. By trusting in Christ and turning to God, we receive the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice. We are declared by God to be righteous. We are forgiven. “In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace,” (Ephesians 1:7).

As Christians, people who have turned to God, and who trust Christ, not ourselves, for salvation, we already have God’s forgiveness and acceptance. This is wonderful! It means that we do not have to strive in our own power to be good enough for God. We don’t have to be perfect or to achieve some standard of holiness to be able to come into God’s presence and have an audience with Him. The blood of Jesus Christ gives us access to God, so as to be able to know Him, to receive Him and to receive answers to our prayers (Hebrews 10:19,22; Romans 5:1,2).

A person unsure of whether they are forgiven by God will not be sure if they are accepted by God. Forgiveness and acceptance go together. Forgiveness depends on trusting the grace of God enough to confess our sins, turn to God and believe that through Jesus’ sacrifice we are forgiven. It does not depend first of all on living a holy life. Even baby Christians have forgiveness, and it is important for them to know it. “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” (1 John 2:12).

It is not just that God forgives and and only tolerates us. He also accepts us. He loves us. We are now “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Even if we sin and spoil our relationship with God for the moment, God is waiting for us to come back to Him like the Father in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:20). All we have to do is turn back to God, and confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We can then continue our relationship with God. This is how to walk in justification. We must believe that God forgives us when we turn back to Him and confess our sin, and then we must go on confidently. This faith pleases God. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

Our justification is wonderful, and it forms the basis for us to always be able to go on in God. Yet the highest and greatest experiences with God come to those who have made spiritual progress towards maturity beyond this level. God wants to work in us to do His will more consistently (Philippians 2:13,14). He wants to form His character in us (Romans 8:29). This is what happens through sanctification. 

WHAT IS SANCTIFICATION?

Sanctification (Gk: hagiasmos) means literally “making holy”. It also means “consecration” or “setting apart” something for a special holy purpose.

In the Christian life, sanctification has two parts - God’s part and ours. In many things in the Christian life God is playing the major role - and yet we have our part to do also - which is to respond in faith and obedience to what God is saying.

In sanctification, our part is to offer to God our bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) - in fact to consciously offer our whole spirit, soul and body completely to God so that we devote ourselves to forever do His will and not our own. Our sanctification cannot be complete than the sincerity and the understanding with which we make this dedication to God.

God’s part in our sanctification is to actually change us by the operation of His blood, His Word and His Spirit. We are sanctified by God’s grace - his unmerited favour working in our hearts and lives. We have to trust God to work in us. He is the One who produces godly character in us, the fruit of the Spirit and the ability to overcome sin consistently.

Sanctification can also be defined as: “possessing the mind of Christ, and all the mind of Christ.” God wants us to allow our minds to be renewed (Romans 12:2). Our thinking and attitudes must change if we are to grow in God (Ephesians 4:23). Many of our thinking patterns, values and priorities have been shaped by the world system and not by God. We must relearn many things. “We have the mind of Christ” legally (1 Corinthians 2:16). But to actually think Christ’s thoughts and allow Him to rule our behaviour we will need to submit to the work of the Holy Spirit so as to appropriate our inheritance in this area.

Sanctification also relates to emotional healing, or a changed heart. God wants remove all negative attitudes of despair, fear and rejection from us and give us a hopeful, joyful, faith-filled attitude. He wants to remove all bitterness and resentment from us. A person who is hurt or bitter needs to receive God’s grace so he or she can truly forgive those who have caused the hurt, and get free of every root of bitterness. Wrong heart attitudes such as pride, envy, impatience, resentment, rejection, selfishness, rebellion, independence and so on are the fruit of an unsanctified heart. A full sanctification in God will remove these wrong heart attitudes from us. Sometimes the term “inner healing” is used in relation to the sanctification of the emotions and memories in our soul.

Santification and holiness also means the development of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and other qualities of godly character. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:23,24). The most important of all here is love. In fact, growth in God means growth in love, for God is love (1 John 4:8). Love is the greatest and most important quality that a Christian can have (1 Corinthians 13:13). A definition of Christian love is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

Comparing our lives with this description of love can give us an idea of how far we have really progressed in sanctification as God defines it.

It is worth mentioning that the truly sanctified or holy person has the fruit of joy. To think that gloominess and sadness is a mark of holiness is to be deceived. The Bible calls us to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16).

Sanctification produces other qualities of godly character such as courage, endurance, truthfulness, honesty and many others. Sanctification is rooted in humilty - the correct view of God and oneself which leads one to hear correction from God and others, to put down selfish desires, and to obey God from the heart. The more truly humble a person is, the more God’s grace will work in his or her life to produce all the other elements of godly character.

Sanctification means overcoming sin. As God comes in and fills the life, darkness and deception and evil desire is rooted out and cast out. The process of sanctification will change our motives, our thinking, our speaking, our behaviour and our actions. The old nature will be crucified (Galatians 5:24) and what it produces will be stopped. But most of all God will manifest Himself through a sanctified life.

A sanctified person will be like God in His character and personality.

Sanctification is an ongoing work in the life of the Christian. There may be moments of special consecration and powerful change worked by God, but a Christian could easily deceive himself if he considers he has “arrived” already as far as sanctification is concerned. We should always be diligent to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10). The salvation of the soul - the mind, will and emotions, is usually never quite completely wrought in any Christian before he or she dies. But it is important that we receive as much of this work of sanctification in this life as possible. To oppose or resist this process is to choose sin and rebellion against God. 

WE CANNOT ACHIEVE SANCTIFICATION BY SELF-EFFORT

Many Christians make a mistake, trusting in their own power to make them holy for God. It doesn’t matter how many promises you make to God or to yourself - if you are still trusting your own power you will not stop sinning. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). It is not just a matter of deciding, “That’s it! From now on I sin no more.” Of course you must desire to stop sinning or you will not stop sinning. The person who doesn’t want to stop sinning is not saved, because there is no longer repentance in their life! But just deciding to stop sinning doesn’t guarantee sucess.

The key to overcoming sin is not trying harder. It is not imposing rigid and harsh treatment of the body on oneself (Colossians 2:21-23). Isolating oneself from the world is not God’s plan for holiness. Jesus told us to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13,14). We must go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15) - not run away from the world. We must love the people as God does. Self-isolation is not the key. Indeed, the Bible says “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.” (Proverbs 18:1).

Criticising oneself or condemning oneself does not produce holiness, although it is important to judge ourselves at times (1 Corinthians 11:31). “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1). If we know we have sinned, we should confess it, repent of it and look to God - not meditate on our sinfulness. If we don’t know where we have sinned, then we should humble ourselves and ask God to make things clearer to us. We should resist Satan’s condemnation and accusations.

Trying to keep the laws of God does not make us holy. It will either condemn us - if we feel we have failed to keep the law - or it will make us self-righteous - “God I thank you that I am not like other men.” (Luke 18:11). Pride in what we have done through our own power is sin (1 John 2:16).

Worse than trying to be holy through keeping God’s laws in our power is trying to be holy be keeping man-made rules which have been added to the commandments of God. Such rules are typically special rules for how to eat and dress - or rules about how to have church services. When we focus our energy on keeping man-made rules we are far from God (Matthew 15:8,9). We become like the Pharisees, who were very proud of their efforts to keep the traditions of their elders. None of this will lead to the holiness of heart and life which God desires. God wants mercy, not sacrifice. The Scripture verses found in Matthew 15:11, Hebrews 13:9, Romans 14:17 and 1 Timothy 4:3-5 should make it clear to us that rules about food are not the key to sanctification. Rather, they can become an obsessive distraction.

As we have seen is lesson 4, the law was designed to show us our sinfulness (Romans 7:7). The law can show us our need for forgiveness and sanctification, but in itself it never produces what we need for salvation. What we need for forgiveness and sanctification was provided for only at the cross of Christ.

Romans 7:14-24 describes a man who is trying to overcome sin and be sanctified through his own will-power. Paul describes it as follows: “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practise; but what I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7:15). He goes on to say, “For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practise.” (Romans 7:18,19).

Note the accent on personal will. That the phrase “I will” is so often repeated here is not an accident. Despite the good resolutions and willingness, the power of sin is still ruling. It requires something more. Some have suggested that Paul here is talking about himself before he was saved. In any case it is clear that the man of Romans 7 is sincere - but he is bound by a power of sin he can’t control. He would like to do what is right. Paul says here, “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man” (vs 22). He is not indifferent to the law of God. But here he is trying to overcome sin by the power of self, armed with the knowledge of the law. This kind of attempt is doomed to failure in anyone’s life. In our flesh dwells no good thing. It takes a life lived in Christ, in His power, in His grace to overcome sin.

It is clear therefore that sanctification requires more than simply an act of the will. Our wills are involved however, as we will see - but not directly in efforts to keep the law. Our wills must be used to keep our focus on Jesus. Our wills must surrender to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Keeping focussed on Jesus will enable the Spirit to transform us (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The normal way to keep focussed on Jesus is to focus on His Word. Sanctification is part of our salvation which we must receive. Like justification, sanctification is by faith in Jesus (Acts 26:18). “Whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). Therefore we can see that faith is the key to sanctification, through which all the other gifts and means by which we receive God’s grace are received and made effective. 

SANCTIFICATION IS BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS

“Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace.” (Hebrews 10:29).

The Scripture teaches us that the blood of the Jesus sanctifies us. Not only does it justify us or make us right with God - it also sanctifies us. It changes us.

The first step for any person coming to God is to believe in the power of the blood of Jesus. This blood represents the payment for our sin. It takes sin away. We must believe that through the blood of Jesus we are forgiven. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Knowing we are forgiven and free from guilt, we can serve God with a clear conscience and without fear (Hebrews 9:14). We can go forward in our walk with God.

But the blood means more than forgiveness. It involves sanctification. It is the blood of the covenant. A real Christian is in blood covenant relationship with God. It is time we realised what this means. Blood covenants, still practised today in some parts of the world - are the most serious types of agreements between two men. Their blood is actually mixed. Being in blood covenant with someone means “All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine.” We must realise that this is our relationship to God. All that we have is His (1 Corinthians 6:19), and yet all that He has is ours in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:21; Romans 8:17; Romans 8:32; Matthew 7:7). The way this works in practice is detailed in the New Testament or New Covenant. This is another reason why it is important to study the New Testament. It is your contract with God.

When we realise that the blood of Jesus means that God has bought us and all that we have and are belongs to him - this has a powerful affect on our lives if we truly believe. We realise that we are no longer our own to go off and do whatever we choose. We must now listen to God. The knowledge of this blood covenant can change us. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF A TOTAL CONSECRATION

The knowledge of the blood covenant we are in as Christians calls for a conscious acknowledgement, consecration and dedication of ourselves to God. Paul writes, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1).

We are called to consciously dedicate our bodies completely to God. This is something we must do. It must be a faith response towards God. It means that we are totally available for whatever God wants us to do. It means that our eyes, our ears, our hands, our feet, our mouth and our brains are given willingly over to God’s purposes. It means that our sexuality is given over to God’s control. It means that our eating will be for the glory of God only (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The truth is that our body, soul and spirit form a unity and are linked together in many important ways. Dedicating the body to God completely will affect also the mind, the will and the emotions. God will transform us in every way - in our thinking, in our behaviour, in our words, in our actions - if He truly has the keys to our lives which we have voluntarily given back to Him. The renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2) can only truly take place in the life of someone who has dedicated and offered his or her body to God.

God is interested in the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Much of our thinking may still be influenced by Satan through the worldly values which we have received in the past. There are so many worldly principles which must be abandoned if we are going to think with the mind of Christ. It would be the subject of many books to list and discuss them all. But the basic principles on which we must base our new thinking are as follows:

a. God’s Word must be loved and sought daily. It is the final authority and the voice of truth for my life. God’s Word can be trusted. It should be acted upon.

b. I am now a child of love and am to walk in love. Every departure from the principle of love is a betrayal of God.

c. God is a good Father to me. He already loves me and accepts me in Christ, and I can safely depend on Him to meet all my needs, spiritually, emotionally, financially and in every area (Philippians 4:13). I can find total fulfilment in my relationship with God and in doing His will.

d. All voices which promise help or happiness through philosophies or ways contrary to the principles of God’s Word have their roots in the evil one and lead to death if followed.

e. Everything which does not glorify God or meet people’s real needs is worthless and a waste of time.

f. Money, worldly influence, education and talents are not to be trusted in, but to be used for the glory of God.

g. Every good thing I have or am is because of God’s grace, goodness, love and power. All thought or action independent of God is rooted in pride and will only hinder the flow of God’s blessings.

h. Jesus Christ is the centre of my life in every area.

A total dedication to God implies a dedication to constant Spirit-led prayer. The Bible exhorts us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), to “continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2), to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). In the lesson “Prayer - Intimacy with God” we see in more detail what God really wants here.

This kind of prayer is only possible by the power and working of the Holy Spirit. We should aim for it, depending on the Holy Spirit, the power of the cross and every other revelation God gives us, especially through His Word the Bible. We cannot achieve it simply through self-effort. But we can and should ask God to work in us to produce this kind of prayer life.

What does this total consecration mean in practise? Firstly it means being willing to be willing to worship and obey God always and live for Him in everything. It does not mean punishing oneself or inflicting oneself with duties we imagine God might be pleased with. God far prefers wholehearted obedience to man-inspired sacrifices (1 Samuel 15:22).

Secondly this consecration means self denial and taking up the cross daily. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). We cannot be totally consecrated to God without “coming after Jesus” and Jesus tells us what will be necessary.

a. We must deny ourself. This means saying no to the demands of self. It means saying no to selfish desires, the easiness and comfort that our flesh wants for itself, the “right” to indulge the sinful nature and to violate God’s law of love. It means saying no to pleasures which don’t come from God and don’t lead us to God.

b. We must take up our cross daily. Every day we will have opportunity to die to ourself. Paul said, “I die daily.” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Taking up the cross means surrendering to God’s will when it is different to our own will, even when the path of God’s will means passing through pain and suffering. However, we know that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:31). The more we consent to be united with Jesus in the likeness of his death, the more we will share in his resurrection power (Romans 6:5). That is true even in this life.

c. We must follow Him. This means seeking to be in His presence always through prayer, modelling our lives on His life, identifying ourself with His nature and His purposes, and gladly obeying His commands. 

RECKONING OURSELVES DEAD TO SIN BUT ALIVE TO GOD

“What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptised into His death? ... Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin ... Likewise you also, reckon yourself to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. ... For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:1-3,6,11,14)

This passage contains many important revelations and some important instructions. The truth is, Jesus has already paid for our total deliverance on the cross. We belong 100% to Him. Let us believe that.

The sinful nature which still resists God has been legally dealt with. God has no program for this sinful nature except crucifixion. He does not want to educate it, to heal it, to accept it or to love it. It must be killed. It has been killed, legally, at the cross. Our old man was crucified with him.

Faith takes the Word of God and accepts it, even when the reason can’t fully grasp it. It is a revelation of major importance for our sanctification that Jesus has already provided the execution of our sinful nature. All we need to do is to consider it so. Reckon yourself to be dead indeed to sin.

What you think about yourself in relation to this determines the way you will be. Romans 6 is about overcoming sin and living for God through identifcation with Christ.

If I believe that through the cross I am dead to sin, that I am now a child of God, a child of love and that old things have passed away then all this will be increasingly manifested in my life.

If I don’t believe these things - if I look to my own reasoning, based on my past experiences and on Satan’s doubts, then I will fall into line with what I am believing about myself. God says that in Christ I have power over the evil one (1 John 4:4) and over temptation (1 Cor 10:13). If I believe that I have no power left to resist Satan or temptation, disregarding God’s word and looking to the negative things I feel or think, then I will fall into sin.

Let the thought that you are dead to sin grow in your mind and your thinking. All those temptations that come - think of them as coming to a dead man who cannot respond. You are in Christ and through faith in Him His resurrection power is keeping you safe (1 Peter 1:5).

We act according to what we think. If you think you are dead to sin you will act like you are dead to sin. It takes faith in God’s Word. We must consider that God’s word changes us NOW!

MEDITATION ON THE WORD AS A KEY TO OVERCOMING

The Word of God is a major key to our sanctification. We should not underestimate the power of God’s Word to sanctify us. Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17). To work in our lives, the Word should be heard often by us.

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