GOD'S MASTER PLAN: SANCTIFICATION

 

GOD’S MASTER PLAN: SANCTIFICATION

Prov. 19:21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. NLT

To sanctify is to make clean, to get rid of impurities, to set aside for greater use. Sanctification used to be the message of the church. The church preached and taught that people needed to not just talk about being saved, but they needed to live like they were. They were taught that one needed to fully surrender their lives to the Lord and strive to not sin against Him. They were taught that a person who was right with God lived a life in separation from sin. Some churches were very legalistic about it and defined in detail what a sanctified person did and wore. Others were more gracious and did not try to dictate what holiness was in details. Most of today’s churches emphasis God’s love at the expense of His holiness and demands for us to be holy.

Sanctification is separating ourselves from that which is unholy in our lives. It involves the people we hang with, places we go, pleasures we seek, pursuits we live by, power we seek, etc. II Cor. 6:14-18 It is taking seriously the command of God to live a holy life. I Pet. 1:13-16

Sanctification is surrendering our wills to the will of God’s Spirit within us. It is moving from Romans 7 to Romans 8. It is a commitment to be like Jesus in character who is our righteousness and holiness before God. I Cor. 1:30. It is letting Jesus be Lord of one’s life. It is striving to be and do what God wants for us above all else.

Sanctification is submitting to the authority of God over our lives. It is letting go of what we want and doing what God wants, going where He wants us to go and doing what He wants us to do there.

Sanctification is not living a perfect life. It does not mean that we no longer struggle with sin and never fall into it. It is not living on a much higher plane than anyone else free from temptations. It is not a purified mind that never has unholy thoughts. It is not a life that never loses control of one’s emotions or never says mean things. No one will live a perfect life on earth free from temptations and sin.

Sanctification is a process whereby one gets more able to live in victory instead of spiritual defeat. It is growing in maturity of faith. It is becoming more able to resist Satan. It is striving to please God by living submissively to God’s Word. It is letting God influence every area of our lives. It is striving to be the kind of person that reflects Christ in a positive light in the world. Gal. 5:22-23; I Cor. 13:$-8a, etc.