Sanctification; Today believers enjoy sanctification through the redemption we received in Christ. We have been Set Apart as belonging to God allowing us the freedom to serve Him.
Now that we have been saved, we are no longer associated with the world but are associated with God. In His infinite love and grace, He set us apart as belonging to Him. Because of God’s love and Christ’s actions on the cross of Calvary we have been made precious to God.
A Bright Future
His desire to restore fellowship with His creation was His motivation for saving lost sinners. Once we have placed our faith in Christ our relationship with Him is reestablished. No longer are we tied to sin but by Christ we have been given a bright future. This future has us being claimed as God’s own and He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
—Ephesians 1:3 NKJV “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
Sanctification Should Make us Thankful
This should cause the believer to reflect in humility and gratitude. As lost sinners we were without hope. We were wretched creatures who could not have fellowship with a holy God. Sin was are death warrant and we deserved to be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
It was impossible for us to regain a relationship with God. There was absolutely nothing we could do to change our circumstances. Thankfully, God had a plan to set us apart for Himself. It is only by God’s mercy and grace that God restored our relationship with Him.
—2 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,”
Sanctification by Faith in Christ
Once we realize our lost condition and look to Christ for our salvation, the Holy Spirit leads us to faith in Christ allowing us to have fellowship with God. The joy this new relationship gives us creates in us a desire to share the good news to others that are in the lost condition.
God in love claimed us as His own. This was made possible by the sacrifice offered by Christ. On the basis of His shed blood, the believer is declared righteous and our relationship with God can be restored now that the sin barrier has been destroyed. Christ’s obedience on the cross made it possible for us to be redeemed. All who believe can share the joy of having a relationship with God.
—Hebrews 10:10 NKJV “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Sanctification Motivation to Share the Gospel
Now that you have been sanctified to God, I hope God’s love motivates you to make the most of this new relationship. This wonderful transformation from being lost to be given life in Christ should create in you a desire to share the good news of God’s love to the world.
Hopefully, your everyday life will begin to reflect this change and the new position you have in Christ. Having been set apart as belonging to God, He wants you to serve Him, so He can use you to reach out to lost sinners who desperately need the life line of Christ.
—Ephesians 2:10 NKJV “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
—Acts 20:32 NKJV ““So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
—Hebrews 10:14 NKJV “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”