1 Peter 1:14-16 (NIV)
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Holiness is God’s standard of living for His people. Unfortunately, holiness has become one of the more misunderstood concepts within the church today. Depending on who you ask and the type of church that you attend, you may have heard that holiness is all about the type of clothing that a person wears. Others believe that holiness is directly tied to the style of music used during worship. While different people may have different definitions of holiness, the definition that is truly important is the definition found in God’s Word.
Dozens of times in the Old Testament, and again in the New Testament, God calls for His people to be holy because He is holy. God’s design for His people is for them to be sinless, set apart people in the same way that He is a sinless God.
The process that God uses to transition His people from sin-stricken to sinless is sanctification. In the same way that holiness is a topic that is at the center of much debate, so is sanctification. There are some who believe that sanctification is an instantaneous act in which God makes someone sinless. Unfortunately, the Bible teaches us that as long as we are in these bodies, we are prone to sin. In Romans 3:23, Paul wrote that we all fall short of God’s glorious standards. That means that sanctification is more of a process than it is a moment in time.
However, God doesn’t want us to stop pursuing holiness even though we sin. He doesn’t give up on us, continuing to mold us into what He wants us to be. The process of becoming sanctified is all about the perfect work of God in our lives. However, we must allow ourselves to be teachable and moldable in His hands.
What does sanctification look like, and how can you pursue it in your own life? Discover more about a very complex topic today. Doing so will allow you to pursue the brand of holiness that God has called each of us to.
Having a Willing Spirit
Romans 6:19 (NIV)
I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.
“Offer yourselves to righteousness.” The command from Paul was relatively straight forward, and it paints a picture of the role that we play in sanctification. While God does the work in sanctification, His commitment to giving His people freewill is still at the heart of it. If you don’t want to be sanctified, God won’t force you. If you don’t want to live holy, God will not force you.
While God loves us, wants what best for us, and has standards for us, He does not force Himself upon us. That’s why Paul wrote that the Roman church should offer themselves as “slaves to righteousness.” The decision to submit to God’s sanctification process is yours alone. It requires you to ask yourself some hard questions. It also means that you invite the Holy Spirit to show you areas in your life where you need to make a change. Finally, it requires you to use the strength God gives you to make those difficult changes. We were all once slaves to sin, but now, we are called to be slaves to righteousness. When we do that, we’re doing our part in the sanctification process.
The Benefits of Sanctification
Leviticus 26:12-13 (NIV)
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your toke and enabled you to walk with your heads held high.
The concept of sanctification is not a New Testament idea. In fact, God called His people to sanctify themselves thousands of years earlier in the Old Testament. The concept came to the forefront after God had supernaturally delivered His people out of Egypt. After He had guided them to freedom, He wanted them to fully commit themselves to Him.
The reward for submitting to this ritual was the presence of God. In the passage that we just read, we find God speaking to Moses, telling him exactly what He would do for those who opted to pursue sanctification. He would walk with them, He would be their God, and they would be His people.
While the method has certainly changed thanks to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the rewards remain the same.
First of all, when we submit ourselves to sanctification, God dwells with us. When He spoke these words to Moses, God dwelt among His people in the form of a cloud during the day and as a pillar of fire during the night. Today, He lives among us through the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. When we pursue holiness, allowing God to make changes within us, we can enjoy the presence of God in our lives.
Secondly, God vowed that He would be their God and they would be His people. On the surface, this seems like a “normal” statement. Of course, He was their God which made them His people. However, this promise goes far beyond a promise to be God. It speaks to the fact that God was vowing that He would serve as their protector and provider. When we submit our lives to His leadership, God promises to do those things for us.
Unlocking Miracles
Joshua 3:5 (NKJV)
And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
Israel was standing at another roadblock. While it wasn’t as big as the Red Sea, the issue was the same. There was a large body of water that stood between them and where God wanted them to go. While there wasn’t an army pursuing them like there was in the Exodus account of the Red Sea crossing, they were still stuck.
Before God could roll the waters back for them, He wanted them to sanctify or cleanse themselves from any sort of sinful behavior. Today, God wants to perform miracles in our lives, but He still wants us to pursue holiness. We cannot live our lives trying to please our fleshly desires and still expect to see God do the miraculous. Instead, we must be in pursuit of holy living through sanctification. When we do that, God can do the things that He wants to do for us.
The process of sanctification requires the work of two parties. God will work in us when we submit ourselves to that work. The results are endless. Today, ask God to cleanse you and sanctify you while you pursue holiness.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I want to be holy because You are holy. I know that I can never achieve that level of holiness on my own. Today, I submit myself to You so You can perform the process of sanctification in me. Show me areas where I miss the mark. Give me the strength to make the hard changes that I need to make. Cleanse me and set me apart for Your service and for Your glory. In Christ’s name, Amen.