Sanctified: to make holy - to set apart - to consecrate - to free from sin, purify
So living a God-honoring life is not only awesome but necessary right? Why do we do it? For Jesus or for us? Is it mandatory? Do we work at it? Does it just happen amidst salvation?
'To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy...' 1 Cor. 1:2
As disciples we are sanctified and yet being sanctified right? How would you explain Sanctification? How a believer should go about it and why they should, if they should or is it fully up to the Spirit to work out our spiritual transformation and growth with or without our knowledge and work?
If God alone 'brings forth a new creation through the Spirit' (Gal. 6:15) - then does it matter if I 'work out my salvation' personally with perseverance, a clear mind and self-control.
Below are a few very brief descriptions of several prominent paths to defining sanctification in the Christian realm today. Though only a scratch at the surface of these views we none-the-less catch the idea that Biblical truths are not always so easy to place in a neat little box. Yet truth still remains.
1) the Lutheran View: Sanctification is learning to live by faith that one is justified because of Gods free gift in Jesus Christ.
2) the Reformed View: Sanctification is definitive (final) and also progressive (ongoing).
3) the Keswick View: Sanctification is a blessing, liberty and rest for those who have life in Christ – no longer any wrestling w/sin, a cease from striving.
4) the Wesleyan View: Sanctification is a matter of heart and right relationship, not a set of rules – entire sanctification, that is, completely cleansed from inbred sin.
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'May the God of peace sanctify you entirely...' (1 Thess. 5:23). Entirely here and now or eternally someday?
Wrestle. Pray. Study. Ask. 'Hold unswervingly to the hope [you] profess for He who promised is faithful' (Heb. 10:23). Regardless of where you sit in your understanding of what it means to 'be Holy as [He] is Holy' you and I are called to Love God and Love People.
Loving God is an awesome honor. Loving His people is equally so. I know that I can only do either because He has revealed Himself and His purpose and is currently working in my heart and soul to do both. If He is currently working then I must be changing for the better - is this sanctification? If I was sanctified by the Spirit once and for all then no growth is necessary and therefore no work is to be within me right? What is the role of sanctification? As this settles I think I'll continue to:
Focus on Jesus.
Talk to the Father.
Rely on the Spirit.
Rest in the word.
Grow in knowledge.
Mature in understanding.
Hope to live an eternally holy life.
Be Sanctified.
Many thoughts stem from the book - Across the Spectrum, Gregory A. Boyd & Paul R. Eddy