Holiness and Sanctification

STUDY INDEX

Page 1 Introduction; Holiness and Sanctification Defined

Page 2 Sanctification in the Old Testament

Page 3 How Sanctification is Achieved

Page 4 Is Sanctification a Process?; Spiritual Separation

Page 5 Conclusion; Weep Between the Porch and the Altar

Page 6 Conclusion Continued

Introduction

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14).

"Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:16).

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Thank you for joining us as we begin a new study on Holiness and Sanctification. We feel that the subject of holiness so desperately needs to be heard by the church, and that we should renew our commitment to follow God's command to be separated from the world. Please get your Bibles and join us as we begin our study...

Let's begin our study by first defining the meanings of sanctification and holiness.

Sanctification: from the Greek word "hagiazo", it means to be holy, to be separated from profane things and be dedicated unto God, to cleanse externally and to purify internally, to renew, or to be free from guilt of sin. The term is used of a believer or group of believers, but is also used of things such as the vessels in the temple.

Holiness: from the Greek word "hosiotes" (there are several Greek words which are rendered as "holiness" in the New Testament). it exhibits the qualities of godliness, sanctification, moral purity, consecration, piety and fidelity.

The term sanctification, as defined above, means to be holy, to be consecrated, or to be separated from the world and from sin in order to be in close fellowship and communion with God. In addition to the many scriptures which used the term "sanctify" or one of its forms, the very heart of sanctification is expressed in many other passages. For instance:

(1) "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37).

(2) "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men..... to the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God." (1 Thessalonians 3:12,13).

(3) "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1).

(4) "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:9-11 ASV).

(5) "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?..... Our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin..... Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof, neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God..... What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid..... Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness..... For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness." (see Romans chapter 6).

(6) "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight." (1 John 3:22).

(7) "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17).

(8) For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness..... Yet hath he now reconciled...to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel..... As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith." (Colossians 1:9-11,21-23; 2:6-7).

(9) "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2).

(10) "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?..... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14,17)

These passages describe the Holy Spirit's operation through salvation in Christ in delivering us from the power and dominion of sin, separating us from the evils of this world, renewing our nature and molding us into the image of Christ as we grow in the faith, producing in us the fruits of the Spirit, and enabling us to live a life of victory and holiness in dedication of God.

Though we, in this world, will never be free from temptation and the possibility to commit sin, God has provided with every temptation a way to escape (1 Corinthians 10:13), and has thus made it possible for us not to sin. The apostle John tells us, "My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1; see also 1 John 3:1-9).

Matthew Henry writes in his commentary, "The sons of God know that their Lord is of purer eyes than to allow any thing unholy and impure to dwell with him. It is the hope of hypocrites, not of the sons of God, that makes allowance for gratifying impure desires and lusts. May we be followers of him as his dear children, thus show our sense of his unspeakable mercy, and express that obedient, grateful, humble mind which becomes us. Sin is the rejecting the Divine law. In him, that is, in Christ, was no sin. All the sinless weaknesses that were consequences of the fall, he took; that is, all those infirmities of mind or body which subject man to suffering, and expose him to temptation. But our moral infirmities, our proneness to sin, he had not. He that abides in Christ, continues not in the practice of sin. Renouncing sin is the great proof of spiritual union with, continuance in, and saving knowledge of the Lord Christ.

"Beware of self-deceit. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, and to be a follower of Christ, shows an interest by faith in his obedience and sufferings. But a man cannot act like the devil, and at the same time be a disciple of Christ Jesus. Let us not serve or indulge what the Son of God came to destroy. To be born of God is to be inwardly renewed by the power of the Spirit of God. Renewing grace is an abiding principle. Religion is not an art, a matter of dexterity and skill, but a new nature. And the regenerate person cannot sin as he did before he was born of God, and as others do who are not born again. There is that light in his mind, which shows him the evil and malignity of sin. There is that bias upon his heart, which disposes him to loathe and hate sin. There is the spiritual principle that opposes sinful acts. And there is repentance for sin, if committed. It goes against him to sin with forethought. The children of God and the children of the devil have their distinct characters. The seed of the serpent are known by neglect of religion, and by their hating real Christians. He only is righteous before God, as a justified believer, who is taught and disposed to righteousness by the Holy Spirit. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. May all professors of the gospel lay these truths to heart, and try themselves by them."

. copyright