Apologetics

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Sanctification has to do with our character and conduct. Sanctification differs from justification in that justification is what God does for us, while sanctification is what God does in us. Justification is a legal term. God declares us justified when we are “born again” so that we may become righteous through sanctification. Justification puts us into a right relationship with God, while sanctification exhibits the fruit of that relationship. Sanctification exhibits a life separated from a sinful world and dedicated unto God.

Two thoughts are prominent in the definition of sanctification: (1) separation from evil, and (2) dedication unto God and His service. The Hebrew root word has two basic meanings. It can mean ’set apart for exclusive use’, ’separated’, ‘regarded as sacred in contrast to profane’, or it can mean ‘brightness’, an idea related to purification.

The noun “sanctification” is found several times in the New Testament. The verb “to sanctify” has at least three meanings:

1. To render or acknowledge to be venerable, or to hallow.

Venerable means to command respect because of great age or impressive dignity. I Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”. Luke 11:2, “And he said unto them, ‘when ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name…’ “.

2. To separate from things profane and dedicate to God, or to consecrate.

Matthew 23:17, “Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold.” John 17:19, “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” 2 Timothy 2:21, “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

3. To purify.

Ephesians 5:26, “that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word”. I Thessalonians 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Hebrews 9:13, “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:”

To broadly define sanctification we may say that sanctification is a separation to God, an imputation of Christ as our holiness, purification from moral evil, and conformation to the image of Christ.

Separation to God presupposes separation from defilement. Usually we have the positive idea of separation or dedication to God. In this sense, the tabernacle and the temple were sanctified with all their furniture and vessels. (Exodus 40:10, Numbers 7:1, II Chronicles 7:16). Other objects such as garments, fields, and people could be sanctified in the sense of being set apart for God’s use. This sanctification could be simply external and ritual, and was not always accompanied by the deeper inner reality.

Imputation of Christ as our holiness accompanies the imputation of Christ as our righteousness. He is made unto us both righteousness and sanctification, (I Corinthians 1:30). Paul says believers “have been sanctified in Christ Jesus”, (I Corinthians 1:2). This holiness is obtained by faith in Christ, (Acts 26:18). The believer is thus reckoned holy as well as righteous, because he is clothed with the holiness of Christ. In this sense, all believers are called “saints”, irrespective of their spiritual attainments.

Purification from moral evil is another form of separation. The priests were asked to sanctify themselves before drawing near to God, and the believer today is asked to separate himself from the ungodly in general, (II Corinthians 6:17), from false teachers and doctrines, (II Timothy 2:21, II John 9), and from his own evil nature, (Romans 6:11; Ephesians 4:25-32; Colossians 3:5-9; I Thessalonians 4:3, 7). It should be noted, however, that some passages treat sanctification as a single act, and in others it is treated as a continuous process; and that in some passages the purification is more of an outward nature, while in others it is essentially inward. In all of these, it is considered as an act of man and not an act of God. God has already set apart to Himself everyone who believes in Christ; now the believer sets himself apart to God for God’s use.

Conformation to the image of Christ is the positive aspect of sanctification, as purification is the negative, and separation and imputation of Christ’s holiness are positional. Paul writes in Romans 8:29, “For whom he foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethern”. John writes in I John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is”.

The extent of sanctification in Christian experience has been disputed. Some see it as a crisis experience subsequent to conversion in which the root of sin in our lives is pulled up or the principle of sin is rubbed out. Others regard it as a process of growth, but even they are divided. Some maintain that perfection at least of loving motives, if not of conduct, is possible after this life. Others suggest that God requires conformity to His law only to the extent that our abilities allow, and hence that ‘perfection’ is possible. Many suggest that full perfection is not possible until Christ returns. In this discussion we will view sanctification as both an act and a process which may be viewed as instantaneous, progressive, and complete.

Instantaneous sanctification is also called “positional” sanctification. By the death of Jesus Christ the sanctification of the believer takes place instantaneously. The Scriptures teach that the very moment a man believes in Christ he is sanctified. In the first sense, the believer is separated from sin and separated unto God. This is clear from the fact that believers are called saints in the New Testament irrespective of their spiritual attainments. Paul says of the Corinthians that they “were sanctified” (I Corinthians 6:11), though he also declared that they were “still fleshly” (I Corinthians 3:3). In Thessalonians, Paul affirms that his readers are already sanctified, (II Thessalonians 2:13), though he also prays for their sanctification, (I Thessalonians 5:23). The believer grows in sanctification, rather than into sanctification. By a simple act of faith in Christ the believer is at once put into a state of sanctification. Every Christian is a sanctified person. He/she stands before God, Christlike, (Romans 8:29). In positional sanctification there is no second work of grace, no progress, and no growth.

Progressive sanctification continues throughout life. On the basis of what the believer has done at conversion, he is admonished to do the same actually in his own experience. As believers, we are being transformed from one degree of character or glory to another. It is because sanctification is progressive, that we are exhorted to “to increase and abound”, (I Thessalonians 3:12), and to “abound more and more” in the graces of the Christian life. When the believer is wholly dedicated to God, progress in sanctification is assured. Then the Holy Spirit will put to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13), work in him obedience to the Word (I Peter 1:22), produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and use him in God’s service. Then he will “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18), “increase and abound in love” (I Thessalonians 3:12), and cleanse himself “from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:11-16). God’s gift of pastors and teachers to the church is for the purpose of perfecting the saints in the likeness of Christ until, at last, they attain unto the fullness of the divine standard, even Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-15).

Complete and final sanctification awaits the return of Christ. No matter how much progress we may have made in the life of holiness, entire conformity to Christ will only be realized when “the perfect” comes and “the partial will be done away” (I Corinthians 13:10). We have been saved from the guilt and the penalty of sin, we are being saved from the power of sin, and we will ultimately be saved from the very presence of sin. Our salvation from the presence of sin will take place when we shall see the Lord, either at death, or at His coming. The body of the believer will then be glorified, and become a perfect instrument of obedience to God.

The agencies and means of sanctification are both divine and human: Both God and man contributing and cooperating towards this desired end. It is not, however, God the Father only, but the triune God that has a part in the work.

God the Father sanctifies the believer in that He reckons the holiness of Christ to him (I Corinthians 1:30), works in him that which is well-pleasing in His sight (Hebrews 13:21), and disciplines him (Hebrews 12:9; I Peter 4:17; 5:10). We cannot purify ourselves, but we can yield to God and then the purity will come.

Jesus Christ the Son sanctifies the believer by laying down His life for him (Hebrews 10:10; 13:12), and by producing holiness in him by the Spirit (Romans 8:13; Hebrews 2:11). The death of Jesus Christ separates the believer from sin and the world, and sets him apart as redeemed and dedicated to the the service of God.

The Holy Spirit sanctifies the believer in that He frees him from the carnal nature (Romans 8:2), strives against the manifestation of it (Galatians 5:17), puts to death the old nature as the believer yields it to Him for crucifixion (Romans 8:13), and produces the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The Holy Spirit seals, attests, and confirms the work of grace in the soul by producing the fruits of righteousness therein. He is called the Holy Spirit, not only because He is absolutely holy, but also because He produces that quality of soul-character in the believer.

Man, in himself, can do nothing to achieve sanctification. Even in the believer, God must take the initiative. Paul says, “It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure”, Phillippians 2:13. There are definite means, however, that man may employ in his sanctification. Here, as elsewhere, faith in Christ is the first step for man to take. He who believes in Christ is sanctified positionally, for Christ is at that moment made unto his sanctification (I Corinthians 1:30). Next must come the pursuit of holiness. This pursuit of holiness should lead one to study the Scriptures, for they disclose the state of the heart and point out the remedy for failure (John 17:17, 19; Ephesians 5:26; I Timothy 4:5; James 1:25). The definite surrender of the life to God constitutes the supreme condition of practical sanctification (Romans 6:13, 19-21; II Timothy 2:21). Since God must make man holy, man must yield himself to God that He may accomplish this work in him.

Christ prayed that God will guard us while we live in the world’s hostile environment (John 17: 11-19). His prayer was not that God would take us out of the world, but that God would protect us from the evil one. Christ asked that we be sanctified by God’s truth; that we will be set apart to a holy way of life, and then “sent into the world”. We are to not only witness to, but we are to personally experience Christ’s joy as we become more and more like Him. We have Jesus’ added promise that He consecrates Himself to aid our growth in godliness. The prospect of complete conformation to the image of Christ should compel us to put away now all unholy things from our lives.

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