Holiness and Sanctification

One of the most important aspects of any Christian’s life is the process of Sanctification, which William F. Lacy defines as “the ongoing work of God in the life of a believer; a supernatural work God does in a believer in which he or she becomes more and more Christ-like in character and conduct.”  To be Christ-like may seem to be an impossible task on a human level, but as Lacy says above, it’s a super-natural work God does in each and every believer.  It’s also important to emphasize that sanctification is a process.  It’s easy to get discouraged when we inevitably fall short, and as long as we are on this earth we will never be “there,” but the important thing is that we open our hearts to God and let him sanctify us and renew us (Romans 12:2).

God desires to have a relationship with every believer, but God’s nature is holy, and human nature is sinful.  Holiness is “purity that comes from separation from evil and dedication to God; conformity to divine nature” (Johnny Ford).  To have a relationship with us, God must make us holy as he is.  1 Peter 15-16 says “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”  And in Hebrews 12:14b “…without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

God wants us to be holy like he is, and sanctification is that process to separate us from evil, and be transformed in to a being God can relate to.  God is the only being that can sanctify us, but we have to do our part too.  Paul writes that God will do his part: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).  And in Corinthians Paul shows that we must also do our part: “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).  As Christians we should strive daily to have a closer and more intimate relationship with our Lord. We should not be afraid of changes in our life he is calling us to make, but welcome them since they draw us closer and closer to him.