In A Word - Sanctified

Sanctification.

Have you ever heard this term mentioned in church? This is another important Bible teaching that is poorly-understood, and even misunderstood by a lot of Christians. There are even a lot of pastors that don't quite have a correct understanding of what it means to be sanctified.

Set Apart

To put it simply, when you sanctify something, you separate it (or "set it apart") from other things for a special purpose or use.

A simple illustration happens every day when you get dressed. When you walked to your closet this morning and pulled out the shirt that you were planning to wear, you sanctified it. That shirt was separated from the others for a specific purpose  - you were going to put it on. This is the most basic meaning of the doctrine of sanctification.

While redemption and justification are legal terms, sanctification is a ceremonial word. Whenever it is used in the Old Testament, it is always referring to being set apart as holy or separated for God's use. For example, the seventh day was separated from the other days of the week.
Genesis 2:3 - "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work..."
God sanctified this one day of the week, setting it apart from the other six. Why? Because it was intended to be a day of rest.

Both the Tabernacle and the Temple were sanctified. Each of these locations were set apart by God fora purpose. God chose these places for the people of Israel to gather together and worship Him.

Of the Tabernacle: "And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory." - Exodus 29:43

Of the Temple: "For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually."

These locations were set apart from everywhere else as places where Heaven and Earth met together.

We HAVE BEEN Sanctified

"But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." - 1 Corinthians 6:11

When someone puts their faith in Jesus, they are sanctified at that moment. We can correctly say that we have been (past tense) sanctified by God. 

"...to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ." - Jude 1

At the time of salvation, God separated us from the world. We're no longer foreigners to the Kingdom of God - now we belong there. We are different than we were before because now we're HIS people. We see this in Hebrews 10:10, "By His will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

In the same way you reached into the closet and pulled out a shirt, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross brought us out of the world and separated us from the other people in it. 1 Peter 2:9 says it this way, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people..."

We Still Must Sanctify Ourselves

If we have been sanctified, then how can Hebrews 10:14 say that we are being sanctified?

"For by one offering, He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."

1 Thessalonians 5:23 also seems to suggest that we're still in the process of being sanctified - "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely..."

So which is it? Were we sanctified when we were saved, or are we still being sanctified?

The answer is...yes to both!

When we were saved, we were sanctified out from the world. (Think of this as pulling a shirt out of your closet.) That was past tense; that was the first step in our sanctification. But there's more to be done!

Now we're called to separate (sanctify) ourselves for God's use. This is sanctification in the ongoing sense. (Think of this as wearing the shirt after you take it out of the closet.) Our job as believers is to find out what God set us apart for and then set ourselves apart for the same thing.

This ongoing process isn't about whether you're going to heaven or not - that was already decided when God separated you from the world. No, the ongoing process of sanctification isn't about salvation, it's about service.

Everything that God does is spiritual. This means that we have to separate ourselves from natural and carnal things if we want to serve Him effectively. This is why 2 Corinthians 6:17 says, "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." Now that He saved us from the world, we're required to separate ourselves from the things of this world.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 gives us a little more insight on this process:

"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work."

How To Set Yourself Apart

Can you see the believer's responsibility in that passage? The individual is required to cleanse himself from sin and the dishonorable things of this world. If you want to serve God, if you're called to work with Him in any way, then you must decide to live a separated life. You must remove yourself from every dishonorable thing. 

Not every dishonorable thing is a sin...it may simply be something that has no eternal value. It may be some silly habit or amusement that monopolizes your time or keeps you away from God's Word. When you separate yourself from those things, you choose to continue your process of sanctification. And as you continue to sanctify yourself, you become more and more useful for the Kingdom of God.

There is one main key to sanctifying yourself - it's the Word of God.

According to John 17:17, it's the only the Word that sanctifies you! "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth." The more you give yourself to the Bible, the faster your sanctification process moves forward. Ephesians 5:26 agrees with this: "...that He might sanctify and cleanse the church with the washing of water by the Word." A life that is devoted to reading, studying, and obeying the Word of God will be a sanctified life. 

So what are you waiting for? God has done all the sanctifying He's going to do...now the process is waiting on you! It's your responsibility to set yourself apart for God's use. You have to read. You have to cut off the worthless things in your life - whether it's "sinful" or not.

God's waiting on you to continue the process that He started.

Let me close this post with a wonderful promise from Joshua 3:5 - "And Joshua said to the people, 'Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.'"

Sanctification sets you up to see God's wonders in your life!