Sanctification - Bible Thought - WISE

Sanctification

Welcome to WISE (Words In Scripture Explored)! The word for today is sanctification.

Cleaning

Next time you are in a supermarket, count how many products there are on the shelves for cleaning! Oodles and oodles of them! Each one of them promising to make whatever is being cleaned, new again! Sometimes cleaning is hard work – particularly getting little boys or puppy dogs to take a bath! Cleaning and being cleansed, is a major part of living the Christian life! This is known as sanctification!

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Sanctification

For as a Christian Disciple, you have been sanctified (Hebrews 10v10); washed clean (1 Corinthians 6v11); and are being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ and conformed to His likeness (2 Corinthians 3v18, Romans 8v28-29). You are to be a living sacrifice, transformed by the renewing of your minds (Romans 12v1-2). This holiness is the pursuit of moral excellence and is by necessity a high standard (1 Thessalonians 4v3)

Transformation

This process of sanctification is where God the Holy Spirit transforms you into the likeness of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 7v18), as the fruit of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”, is produced in your life as a Christian Disciple (Galatians. 5v22-23).

Your status if you are a Christian Disciple

Your condition before God as a Christian Disciple is: ·

• Set apart for God - separated from sin. ·
• The attainment of moral holiness.

In principal,you are a saint, and God has already declared you sanctified ·

• You have been made holy (Hebrews 10v10) ·
• You are washed and sanctified (1 Corinthians 6v11)

Your practice

In practice, and in order to reflect these God given truths, as a growing Christian Disciple in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, you should be ·

• Perfecting holiness, freed from the contamination of sin (2 Corinthians 7v1) ·
• Engaging in a continual process of becoming more like Jesus Christ (Romans 8v29; 2 Corinthians 3v18)
• Transforming your character by the renewal of your mind (Romans 12v1-2)

Life Long

This life-long process of sanctification is maintained by devotion to righteousness (Romans 6v19); with a desire and firm decision to live a life totally submitted to God. This is done by a work of God (1 Thessalonians. 5v23, Philippians 2v13), as you submit to the indwelling Holy Spirit. Sanctification is God’s way of showing He loves you. This sanctification is God showing you His love for you in action. He loves you far too much for you to remain as you are, but initiates and maintains this lifelong transformation into the very image of your Master, Jesus Christ, as you submit to Him. Sanctification can sometimes be a hard process, but the pursuit of righteousness and transformation is worth it, because by allowing yourself to be transformed and sanctified, you are also showing God how much you love Him.

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