Sanctification

Be Holy. It is something Christians mention in passing quite often but is it something that we really give serious consideration? Peter called for all Christians to be holy because God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Do we even know what it means to be holy though? Is this something that the Christian can hope to attain or was Peter setting a standard too high for anyone to realistically reach?

The easy answer is that, yes, we can become holy while here on earth. God is not in the habit of calling people to do something that he will not give them the to power to achieve. If God calls us to be holy, it is only because he has given us the strength to do so.

In generic terms being holy means to be set apart, to be like God. In practical terms it is the process of receiving the grace and power from God to achieve a complete and mature love for God and for our neighbor, as well as the strength to complete a life of good works. Holiness is the Spirit-given ability to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, our neighbor as ourselves, the power to overcome willful sin in our lives, and the faculty to obey God.

We become holy through a process of sanctification, which is the act of the Holy Spirit cleansing us and empowering us to be holy. Sanctification begins at justification and continues throughout our lives in varying stages until we are glorified at the resurrection of believers. Sanctification is reached by the work, at the choosing, and in the time of God but will not precede our consecration, which is the complete surrender of every aspect of our lives.

In order to better understand the position being taken here, however, we will look at this process in greater detail throughout the better part of this paper.

The Process of Salvation

Before justification comes to any of us, we could all be described as slaves to sin. Paul drove home this point when he wrote, “Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted (Romans 6:16-17).” We are stuck in a state of slavery to sin from which we cannot escape. It is only through the grace of God that we have the ability to become free from this servitude to sin and Satan and become slaves to righteousness.

John Wesley called this pre-justification grace of God, prevenient grace. We are given a certain amount of light that penetrates the darkness of our sin-blinded minds (2 Corinthians 4:4). Without this work of the Holy Spirit we are unable to turn to God. Satan blinds our mind due to sin, which causes us to think wrongly about God, the world, and ourselves. This wrong thinking further blinds our mind, and the vicious cycle of wrong-thinking and spiritual blindness continues. Paul describes the light that is given to those who have not yet turned to Christ in the book of Romans. Chapter 1 describes the light of creation that is given to all men as a means to begin to know God. Chapter 2 expresses the second light we are given, which is that of conscious. Once we have responded to those lights and through the work of the Holy Spirit we are enabled to see the third light, which is Jesus Christ. The two items that are absolutely necessary for us to be able to put this prevenient grace to use and accept the gift of justification are the work of the Holy Spirit and our willingness to recognize that we are sinful to the core and unable to save ourselves.

Following the stage of prevenient grace we go through a period of discovery of Christ. This is where we begin to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and begin to estimate the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ and a believer in His church. This stage may last a long time for some as they search the truths of the Scriptures and the recesses of their own heart. For others, this may be a relatively short period. Although God continues to enlighten us through the work of the Spirit during this stage, the responsibility of responding to God’s grace is ours. It would not be biblically correct to say that we can estimate this cost and choose justification whenever we desire. The call to justification is solely up to God, but once we receive that call the responsibility of responding rests with us.

Immediately following this stage is repentance. To be more precise, this process often begins during the discovery period, but it is worthy mentioning as a separate process. This is the process of recognizing our sinfulness before God and turning from our sins to Him as our savior. The Greek term metanoeo or “repent” which is used in the New Testament literally means to change one’s mind. In the mind of the first century hearer or reader, however, the word carried more implications than the way we view it today. Today we understand the word “repent” to mean to stop sinning and turn the other way, so to speak. In the first century, though, this word was often used in a political sense more so than a religious sense. It conveyed the concept of completely dropping one’s agenda and adopting a new agenda. Repentance for the original hearers, then, meant to completely drop the purpose and agenda of their old lives and adopt the new agenda that Christ was giving to them.

The next step would be that of justification. Through the process of baptism and the moment of our justification several things happen to the new believer. We receive the gift of eternal life (John 3:16), we die to sin and are freed from it’s control (Romans 6:3-4) (this could also be described as initial sanctification), we have a new access to God (Hebrews 10:22), our sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38), we receive the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), we move from living under and being judged by the law to grace (Romans 6:14), we become the adopted children of God (Ephesians 1:5-6), we become co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17), and we become a member of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

As we settle into life as a Christian we begin to realize, after a while that we have not gained the kind of victory over sin that we may have hoped. Often the ideals that we had at our justification begin to fade and far too many begin to compromise with sin during this stage. Others, however, become restless with our failure to be obedient and to love God with all of heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. This accompanies a growing realization that we have not completely surrendered every area of our life over to God.

Paul described this period in the life of a Christian in Romans 6-8, as he illustrates the differences between walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit. Paul argues that the Christian died to their sins during baptism (6:2-4) and should, therefore, no longer partake in a life of sin. That is so often not the experience for most Christians of our day and age, however. Paul describes a life in chapter 7 that is much more familiar to most Christians. In verses 14-24, he talks about the person that is unable to overcome sin in their life. This is the man or woman that desires to do good but does not carry it out. Paul is not describing his own status here, but rather, is describing the life of one who is walking according to the flesh rather than walking according to the Spirit. Philippians 3:15, verifies this as Paul counts himself among those who have become perfected in Christ.

Paul argues that the Christian that is walking in the Spirit will have power over sin (Romans 8:1-4, 9-11). It is only those Christians that choose to walk in the flesh and have not completely surrendered their life to Christ that will struggle with sin (Romans 8:5-5). This is not to be the normal state of the Christian even if it is the most common. It is really the act of the Christian attempting to resurrect the man that they crucified during baptism (Romans 6:2-4).

Once a realization has been made by the believer that God does expect us to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16), we are called to a level of consecration. This is the process of maturing to the point of perfection (Hebrews 6:1), because without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Consecration can be described as a continued process of repentance by the believer. It is the complete surrender of every area of our life over to God. We finally realize that any victories that we may gain over sin and any ability to obey God fully and be perfected in love do not come from our own ability. We must completely surrender everything over to God so that he can grant us grace. It is this continuing work of grace that will eventually allow the believer to taste sanctification.

It would not, in my opinion, be correct to call the sanctification that follows consecration a second work of grace. It is a process that progresses from the moment of our justification and continues through our final glorification at the resurrection of the believers. The process of sanctification, based on the reports of those over the centuries who have experienced it, seems to happen in many different ways. For some it is a relatively quick process, for others it is a long and often painful process.

The Bible makes clear that sanctification is the expectation for all Christians but it does not ever lay out a clear formula or process of how it will be accomplished. I believe that is because sanctification can be compared to a war. Each battle and war is different based on the many variables that come with each incident. For some, the process is quick and almost instantaneous, so it feels like a clear, second work of grace. For others it was a longer process that happened after much prayer and struggle. This makes it appear more like an arbitrary process that could happen at any moment. For many, sanctification may not happen until shortly before death. This might lead some to believe that it does not happen until then.

Ultimately, sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit in the believer that begins at justification and continues throughout life. At some point the Spirit will work in accordance with our consecration and we will experience the watershed moment of being perfected in Christ, or what has been termed “entire sanctification.” This is the moment when God gives us the power to overcome and hate sin. We finally are given the grace to obey God and to truly love him with all of heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. God would not call us to a standard that He would not give us the ability to overcome.

When describing the proclivity to sin that humans have, Paul used the term “flesh.” I believe that he was demonstrating the point that our proneness to sin is in some way connected with our mortal, pre-resurrection bodies. The point here is that although God will allow us to drive sin from the borders of our heart, it does not seem likely that we will ever reach the point where the ability to sin is completely eradicated. This seems no more likely to happen for us while in this lifetime than the likelihood of us living in this lifetime without our flesh bodies. It is the same concept we see in the Old Testament where the Israelites had the ability through the power of God to drive their enemies out of their land, but they were never called to completely eradicate them all from the face of the earth. They were only to eradicate enemies who refused to leave the land God had given them.

A Picture of Sanctification

To gain a clearer picture of this sometimes not-so-clear process of sanctification, we need look no further than the Old Testament. I believe that in the pages of the Old Testament we find a perfect antitype and picture of the process of justification and sanctification. For Israel it was a physical process of surrender to God and the overcoming of their enemies. For us today, it is a spiritual process, but one that still bears many parallels to our Old Covenant counterparts.

The journey of the Exodus began for the Israelites in Egypt. Some scholars have argued that the entire book of Genesis is really little more than a brief overlook at the history of the world that was written as background information for the Exodus story of the nation of Israel. By the time of Moses, Israel is in slavery in Egypt with little hope of freedom. They seem largely unaware of their promise as the children of God and have no apparent ambition to free themselves from this land of slavery. This is the same state in which humans find themselves before justification (Romans 6:20).

It is at this point that the Israelites are freed from the land of slavery due to the miraculous activity of God. The Israelites are finally freed on the night of the Passover, as the blood of the lamb protects them from death. Comparably, it is the death of Jesus that frees the whole world from the slavery of sin (Romans 8:3-4). Interestingly, it was not the death of Jesus on the Cross that gives salvation to each human. It is the act that made salvation possible but it did not accomplish it in individual lives. Although the Passover freed the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, they still had a ways to go before they possessed the land that had been promised to them.

Even though through the Passover the work of freeing Israel from slavery had been done, they had still not separated from sin in their hearts, as is evidenced by their turning to the worship of the golden calf in the wilderness (Exodus 32). The situation for us is no different. Jesus has died on the Cross making salvation possible but most humans have not yet possessed that gift. Those who have not possessed salvation still love their sin and constantly return to it (Ephesians 2:1-5).

Due to their lack of a humble response and lack of understanding, the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness learning what it meant to follow God. In the same way, those who wish to be disciples of Jesus Christ must learn and be taught what it means to follow Him (Matthew 28:18-20).

When the time had come and God had called the Israelites into the land of Canaan, they were thwarted the evil report of 10 of the 12 spies that were sent. They saw possession of the land as an impossible task and began to value their life in Egypt more than the call to possess the Holy Land. This phenomenon can be paralleled by Jesus’ words that only a comparable few will find the narrow road that leads to salvation (Matthew 7:13).

Finally, as they are being called once again to enter the land of Canaan, it is preceded by a call to obey God’s law (Deuteronomy 4:1). Jesus gave a similar call to his would-be followers when he said only those who hold to his teachings can be his disciples (John 8:31).

Before they even attempt to enter the land, God tells the Israelites that He has already handed the most powerful enemies over to them. God will do all the work of defeating the enemies that are far too strong for them to handle on their own (Deuteronomy 7:1-11; 9:5-6). This is reminiscent of Paul’s words to believers that we are saved by God’s grace and not our own works (Ephesians 2:8-10). It is only through the work of God that we can overcome sin. Sin is far too strong for us to overcome on our power.

In the opening verses of Joshua, the Israelites are reminded that since the days of Abraham the land has already been theirs. The victory was theirs before they were even born. All they had to do is surrender to God’s power and go possess the land (Joshua 1:2-5). In the same way, our freedom from and victory over sin was already accomplished before our birth. Salvation is ours if we accept if by faith (Romans 10:8-13).

Immediately after the Israelites crossed the Jordan and were preparing to take possession of the promised land, they were circumcised to fulfill their end of the covenant that Abraham had made (Joshua 5:2-3). In the book of Colossians Paul says that the baptism of the believers is circumcision of the heart and is a direct parallel to the circumcision of the Israelites. Just as they were called to accept God’s covenant and promises through the act of circumcision, we are called to accept God’s salvation through the circumcision of the heart, which is baptism.

Immediately after entering the land of Canaan, God gives Israel one of their biggest and most decisive victories over the most obvious and powerful enemy in Canaan (Joshua 6:20). In the same way, we receive initial sanctification and the victory over many of the sins in our lives shortly after justification (Romans 6:2-6).

Even though the Israelites had entered the land that God promised to them and had already tasted victory, they are defeated in the battle with Ai (Joshua 7:1-4). The reason that they suffer defeat so soon is that there was sin in the camp. Achan had disobeyed God’s clear instructions and as a result, the entire country faced defeat at the hands of their enemies. When we choose to walk in the flesh as Christians and hold back areas of our life from God, He will allow us to be defeated by sin (Romans 8:5-8).

When Israel extricated the sin from among them they were allowed to have victory over Ai (Joshua 7:24-8:1). This is analogous to walking in the Spirit, being obedient to God, and being given victory over sin (Romans 8:1-4).

The Israelites now had a clear principle set before them. Victory or defeat depended solely on their obedience to God. It had nothing to do with their prowess, or lack thereof, in battle. In a similar manner, whether we walk in the flesh or walk in the Spirit depends on our obedience. If the Israelites obeyed, God would drive all of their enemies from the land (Joshua 23:6-13). If we obey, God will give us sanctification and drive sin from our lives (Philippians 1:6).

Sadly, the Israelites did not remain obedient to God. They were to keep God first and consistently surrender to His will as they encountered one enemy stronghold after another. Their failure to do so led to the pronouncement that their enemies would remain in the land to be a constant thorn to them (Judges 2:1-4). Not coincidentally, sin will be allowed to remain in our lives if we do not surrender or consecrate every part of our life over to God.

Complete victory over their enemies in the land of Canaan was there for the Israelites if they had totally surrendered their will to God and obeyed Him. They did not and so the enemies remained. It is important to note that they were allowed to stay in the land for a long time even though they had not obeyed. The land was still theirs; they just had to deal with their enemies and the negative consequences of them being constantly present.

Even if they had completely obeyed and driven out their enemies by the power of God, they were under prohibition from attempting to pursue them outside of the confines of the land of Canaan. I believe that this demonstrates that we can gain a power over sin and defeat in our lives, but there is always a potential for it to creep back in if we drop our defenses. While we are in the corruptible flesh, we will always deal with the possibility of sin, even if God gives us the grace to defeat and overcome it. It is always dependant on the grace of God. He will never get us to a point in which we don’t need Him because our sin natures have been completely eradicated.
We would be remiss if we missed the point that it was God’s will for Israel to obey and completely defeat the enemies in the land of Canaan. He allowed them, however, to live in Canaan while making poor choices and continuing to struggle with those enemies. It was not until long after they had completely rejected God that he gave them their certificate of divorce (Jeremiah 3:8). God wants us to have victory over sin and to be perfect and complete (Matthew 5:48), but just as the Israelites, He will allow us to struggle with sin if we don’t completely consecrate our lives to Him.