Sanctification: A Forgotten Christian Doctrine
Present-day Christianity is already enjoying God, and this post is not written to dispel Christianity, we are living in the Apostolic end-time days and that’s a truth, revival is coming to the earth and it’s sure going to be huge, a lot of revivals has sprung up in the past and died, the book God’s General did justice to that.
Immediately you get born again these days, and you become tongue-speaking in the next minutes, a record of this is in the Bible, and many abound in the Christian faith of those who gave their lives to Christ and immediately start speaking in tongues. Should we forbid them from doing so? No.
But the foundation of a Christian must be solid enough to withstand in the days of troubles, in the face of temptation and make him totally devoid of self and one with God, and that’s where sanctification comes in.
What is Sanctification?
“Sanctification literally means “to set apart for special use or purpose”, to make holy or sacred. Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. “made holy”, as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God” (Wikipedia) Sanctification also involves crucifying the flash and everything that holds us back from God. Being sanctified is the crucifixion of the flesh, death to the things of the world, Christ showed forth this when he answered the tempter (the devil) on the three count charges to bow to him, turn stone into bread, fall from a high cliff, if Christ hasn’t put the flesh under, he might have succumbed to the Devil’s plight and down the drain goes our salvation plan. Because this has happened to God’s servant before, who flops and was deprived of God’s master plan because they sinned against him, Adam, Moses, and Samson were typical examples of these.
There are over 30 Scriptures in the bible that talk about Sanctification, the need to be sanctified, which means one with God in heart and mind. How can a Christian be sanctified, keep being sanctified till the end of time since it’s not a once and for all thing: it’s a victory over the flesh that must be kept at eternal vigilance. As Christ has said it in the bible “Sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth” John 17:17. Is sanctification the same as Salvation? No, Sanctification comes after salvation, sanctification before Salvation can he termed a godly living, a just living, a pharisee or Sadduces kind of life, devoid of the life of Christ but showcasing outward holiness.
From the old testament time, when the temple plan was revealed to Moses, before entering the Holies of Holies, you have to clean yourself first, this is the old testament version of sanctification, David spoke of it when he said
3 “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. Psa 24:3–4.
Many questions are being asked by believers, if sanctification is necessary for salvation, as Christians, we must endeavor to make our election sure in Christ.
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 2 Pet 1:10.
We can term sanctification as one of the surest ways to live a holy and righteous life, for in this is the mouth bridled, the body put under and one’s life isn’t precious to him/her anymore but to live for God which is gain.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. Philippians 1:21
Who sanctifies us? Christ, he is the one who has become a sanctifying lamb, the one able to receive and open the end time scroll, the Lion and the lamb that was slain for all human race, his blood sanctify through washing by water and blood of Christ. Christians obtain sanctification by praying for it and receiving answers to their prayers with faith, Sanctification state is held intact by consistently depriving the flesh of its sinful nature and looking up to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
What’s God’s Role in Sanctification
God is the one who sanctifies through Jesus and His Word, his ability to keep us from evil and keep our spirit, soul and body holy and acceptable unto him in holiness belongs to God, He is the one who can do this. Does salvation comes before Sanctification?, Yes, one must be saved before he is sanctified, then what’s the difference between sanctification and Salvation, Salvation is the acceptance of Jesus into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, while sanctification is you yielding your entire self, spirit, soul and Body to Christ, as a sacrifice, devoid of any worldly obstruction or distraction. The total giving way of one’s self unto God, sold out to Him, is sanctification.
Keeping The Holy Faith
Despite Sanctification looking like a forgotten Christian doctrine, some conservative churches still preach it, hammer on it and make sure believers are sanctified before taking on any work in God’s house, for this is necessary so that a believer won’t be cast away at the end of the day.
We can make a demand on God for sanctification through Jesus Christ, and he will surely give us faith in Him. Followed by the consistent renewal of the mind, and constant checking up on oneself. There is no 3 way to get sanctified or many ways to do this, it is by seeking the face of God in the place of prayer till the flesh is crucified.
