Alright, it says here in verse
3, For this is the will of God, even your sanctification. I want
to talk about sanctification tonight. I dealt with it some
last week, I want to deal with it some tonight, and most likely
will again next Wednesday. Because it says here, and I'm
going to deal with God's work in it, and then next week deal
with us and our mortification of our sin, mortification of
our flesh. Because God's people mortify
the flesh. You know, we put on the new man,
put off the old man, the scriptures tell us. And that's what he said
here, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification.
You know, the starting point in all of salvation is God. God's
the starting point of everything. And religion starts with man,
works his way to God. God, the scripture starts with
God. And our need of Him. and what
He makes us to understand about Himself. The starting point in
all salvation is God, God's will, God's purpose. And that's what
He said here, this is the will of God, even your sanctification. Now, beloved, sanctification,
I told you last week, it covers the whole of salvation. There's
one word that would cover salvation. It would be this word, sanctification.
God's purpose, even in the Old Testament, everything He did,
was telling us that he sanctified a people, and I told you that
that word sanctified means to set apart, and did not only set
apart, but treat and regard as one who is holy. Now, God sets
his people apart. He set Abraham apart. He set
Israel apart. Set Jacob apart. Set Isaac apart. Set Rebecca apart to be Isaac's
bride. So you go through the scriptures
and you see God setting people apart. And then he turns around
and he regards them and treats them as they are holy. And that's what it means. And
so his purpose in sending his son was for our sanctification. to set us apart, to make us holy,
and God to treat us that way. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that were under the law. We were under
the curse, under the condemnation. And when Christ came, He delivered
us from that, saved us from that, and sent the Spirit of His Son
into our hearts, and that set us apart, and we cry, our Father,
our Father. and the death of our Lord Jesus
Christ on the cross. That was for our sanctification.
And I'll show you that here in a minute. I mean, everything
that our Lord Jesus Christ did, He gave Himself to sanctify us,
to wash us and cleanse us from our sins. And He'd given us the
Holy Spirit. He gave it to us to sanctify
us and set us apart and to convict us of our sin. So everything
God has done for us, and everything that is done in our salvation
has as its end and object our sanctification. Now, I'll show
you that. Look over in Romans. You keep
first Thessalonians. Look in Romans chapter 8, just a minute. Romans chapter 8. Now, I know
I don't mention sanctification here, but it includes it because
it tells us the whole of salvation here. And you know, He's going to present
to Himself a people holy and blameless and unreprovable who
are at in His sight, unto Him that's able to keep you from
falling and to present you unblameable in God's sight. That's the reason
Christ came, to present us unblameable, to present us holy, to present
us without spot but blemished before God. And look what He
said here in verse 30. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called, and whom he called he justified, and whom
he justified he also glorified." Now that tells me, beloved, that
we're going to have to be as holy as God to be glorified,
to go into glory. And all this is in the past tense.
So from beginning to end, from the time God called us to glory,
Everything that happens in between that, God is saving us, and saving
us, and saving us, and saving us, and saving us out of this
world, saving us from ourselves. And I mean, it's the object in
the end is our sanctification for us to be made holy. Look
at John 17 just a minute. Let me show you a couple of things.
John 17. You don't have to worry about
1 Thessalonians right now. We might get back to that. But
in John 17, Our Lord Jesus Christ here, John 17, 17. He's leaving
His own people. He's leaving them alone. He is
praying for them. And He's praying for God to do
something for them. And this is what He says in verse
17. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. So set them
apart. Make them holy. Treat them holy. Regard them as holy. Set them
apart by your truth. And the truth, beloved, sets
us apart from religion. Truth sets us apart from lies. Truth sets us apart from our
traditions. Truth sets us apart from everything
we ever thought was right, and when truth comes. And then look
what our Lord Jesus Christ said in verse 19. He said, I am for their sakes,
and I love this, for their sakes, for their sakes, I sanctify myself,
that they also may be sanctified through the truth. And what he
said is, Father, I set myself apart to you. I set myself apart
to the death of the cross. I set myself apart to do the
work that you gave me to do. And this is the will that you
sent me to do. And so I do this for their sakes,
that they might be set apart and made holy through my death,
through my work on the cross. And that's what Titus said. He
said, you know that Christ gave Himself, Titus 2.14. You can
look at it when you get home. Christ gave Himself for us to
redeem us and to purify unto Him. Purify. Ain't that what
it says? You know what the word purify
means? Purify unto Himself. And that's what He gave Himself
for us, to purify us unto Himself. Not only that, but a peculiar
people, and that word peculiar means precious. and purchased. And not only that, but these
people would be saviors of good works. And so, sante and sanctification. Sanctification. I mean, this
business of being set apart. That's the end of the whole of
salvation. That's why, Lord, you know, when
we study through 1 Corinthians, and you've heard this quoted
so many times. 1 Corinthians 1.30, that God made Christ unto
us. This is what God did. God made
Christ unto us wisdom, to know the mysteries
of the gospel, to know the mysteries of God's Word, to know the mysteries
of salvation, to know the mysteries of the things of God's precious
gospel. Secondly, He was made unto us righteousness. so that
we could be standing before God in a righteousness not our own.
Christ was made this way. And as you are in Christ Jesus,
God put us in Christ Jesus. And he made him wisdom to us,
made us right. And then the next one is made
Christ unto us sanctification. And he says to them, God put
us in Christ. And so in Christ, that means
we're holy. We're without blame. We're without
blemish. And God treats us and regards
us as holy in Christ. Now, you know whether you're
in Christ or you're not. And if you're in Christ, you're
sanctified. If you're not in Christ, you're
not. You know, that just is mad, Doc. You can't get no simpler
than that. And I'll tell you, we don't come, and here's the
thing, we don't come for forgiveness of our sins and for pardon, and
then go on and start the process of sanctification. And that's
what most people teach. You know, you come to Christ
and you get forgiveness. You come to the cross, you get
forgiveness. You come to the cross and you're saved there. Then you've got to start, just
now, then you start to start the process of sanctification.
Then you've got to start trying to live a holy life. Then you've
got to start trying to be a perfect person. Then you've got to try
to get away with, you know, to put away this sin, that sin,
and another sin. Then you got to try to quit this
habit and that habit, take up this habit and that other habit.
And then change the way you dress, places you go, people you associate
with. And so they make that to be holiness. They make that to be sanctification. But that's all wrong. We come
to Christ, and yes, we come to God. But we come because we feel
the need of our forgiveness. We feel the weight of our sin.
We feel the sinfulness of our sin. And we need salvation. We need deliverance from our
sin. And that's why we come. We don't come and then start
to pray. And the reason we come is because
God is setting us apart to Himself in this business of salvation.
And now, beloved, and we understand this, and God teaches us this,
that after He saves us and calls us by His blessed grace, We realize
that we're not our own. We don't own ourselves anymore.
How come we don't? We're His. You're not your own. You're bought
with a price. And once you've been done that,
we understand the price that's been paid, the redemption that's
accomplished. the sufferings of Christ on your
behalf, to set you apart and to treat you and regard you as
holy. You're not your own. You're born with a price. Therefore,
what are you going to do? Glorify God in your body and
in your spirit. And, oh, beloved, I pray those
who come to God, they turn from idols. And that's what sanctification
is, turning from idols to serve the living God. And
this is, beloved, He sets us apart. And here's the thing about
it. Once He sets us apart, we want to be set apart. And if
you don't want to be set apart, you never have been set apart.
If you've never been made holy, you don't desire to be holy.
If you've never been to Christ for forgiveness of sins, then,
beloved, you're trying to do something to get Him to forgive
you. And what I'm saying is that if He does something for you,
then you turn around and start living to His glory. If he sets
you apart, you say, I want to be set apart. What did Todd say
about cleanse yourself from all filthiness? You know, cleanse
yourself, purify yourself. How do you do that? Well, the
first thing he said was, you won't even think about cleansing
yourself unless you've been cleansed. That's the first thing he said.
Remember that? You won't even think about being cleansed and
cleansing yourself unless you've been cleansed. You won't even think about living
for the glory of God until the glory of God is made real in
your soul. And oh, sanctification, beloved,
it began the very moment that God began His work in us. I mean
the very moment He began to stir our heart and to stir our soul.
The very moment that conviction started gripping us and we became
conscious of our sin, became conscious of our inability, became
conscious of our misconceptions and all the things that we thought
was right and was wrong. And then when the conviction
comes, He gives us the new birth. And God put a new nature in us. And you know this is true. You
know this is true. God put this new nature in us.
Made us a taker of the divine nature and put a new nature in
us. And that nature in us is what makes us want to be separated
from sin. You've not ever had a problem
with sin until God gave you a new nature. And now, now I'll tell you what,
I can thank you or somebody, and they'll feel awful about
it. That becomes sin to me. To be impatient and have to Just
to be impatient and let my temper get the best of me makes me feel
absent. That's sin. Things become sin to you that
never was sin before. You don't have to do anything.
It's what you think, it's what you feel. And how come that is? That's
that new nature in you. Why does that new nature, what
does it do? It separated you, and now you want to be separated.
It made you conscious of your sin, saved you from your sin,
and when it saves you from your sin, you want to be saved from
your sin. Does that make any sense? Huh? Look on Philbert Philippians
2. That's why Paul said, O wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver
me from this body of death?" And what did he say? Thanks be
unto God through Christ Jesus our Lord. In Philippians chapter 2, in
verse 11, look what it says. No, excuse me, verse 12. Philippians
2, 12. As you have always obeyed, not
as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Now watch this.
Now, he tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and
trembling. Fear of yourself, fear of God, fear of your sin,
fear of your inability. fear of flesh, and trembling,
because you know and understand that you cannot do anything to
save yourself. But now watch what he's saying.
So you work it out, for it is God which worketh in you, both
to will and to do of his good pleasure." Now, you know, he's just telling us,
while God's worked in you, you work out. While God's done for
you, You acknowledge that. Sanctification is God working
in us both to will... Where do you get the will to
be here? Where do you get the will to read a Bible? Where do
you get the will to pray? Where do you get the will to
do something for somebody without a selfish reason for it? Without
wanting anything for it? Without even wanting recognition
for it? Where do you get the will to do that? Where do you
get the will to come to Christ? Where do you get the will? God gave it to you. What do you
get done? To do the things and do the things. It's God that works in you. He
works these things in you. And you cannot work out why God
ain't never worked in you. You can't do it. And oh, beloved,
that's why he says, you know, Paul said, I pray God sanctify
you. Holy, holy, W-H-O-L-L-Y. both body, soul, and spirit at
the coming of Christ. Look at Hebrews 13 with me just
a moment. I'm talking about God's work
in us, and we'll deal with something else next week about it. But
in Hebrews 13, look what it says here, talking about God working
in us. In all, you couldn't work out
your own salvation without God working it in you. How would
you work out salvation if God didn't first work it in you? What that means is salvation
is in you, it's going to come out. Why? Because God worked
it in you. And here in Hebrews 13 and verse
20, look what it says. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting coming. Now
watch it. Make you perfect. What do you reckon perfect means? People say, I didn't know nobody
was perfect. I said, we are. And He's working,
He's doing that to make us that way. Make you perfect in every
good work to do His will. Well, how in the world is that
going to happen? Working in you, that's how it's going to happen.
That which is well-pleasing in His sight, if you go come out
to please Him, He's got to work it in you to do it. Through Jesus
Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Now that's... Make you perfect in every good
work you do. How are you going to do that?
Because He's going to work it in you to be that way. Sure, you know, you're perfect
now, just imagine what it's going to be. when you have this new
body. And let me give you quickly two
means, two means that God the Holy Spirit uses to sanctify
us. Two means He uses to set us apart. There's more, but I
dealt with some of those last week. I'll deal with two tonight.
Let me give you two means the Holy Spirit uses to separate
us and set us apart and make us holy people. You know, God
says, be ye holy as I am holy. Now, how are you going to be
as holy as God's holy? if God don't set you apart and
declare you and regard you as being holy. Do you reckon the
tabernacle and the material that went in the tabernacle was holy? They took those baggage skins
and sewed them together. They went out and cut some lumber
and made them all a certain size. Then they covered them with gold
on the inside, and a bunch of people took a bunch of and they
started making this beautiful thing to put inside of it. A man took a fellow that was
real good at metalwork and things like that. He made this menorah. He made this seven-pronged candlestick
made out of metal, and it's shaped like almonds, and then little
leaves off of it. A man made that. And you know what? The next day
they took olive oil and they squeezed olive oil and they put
olive oil in there and said, don't touch it. Do you reckon
they were holy? Man made them. Man put it together. Man took it down, carried it
so far. Man put it back together, set
it back up again. But every single one of them
was holy. What made them holy? God said they're mine. God said
they're mine. And if you didn't treat them
as if they were God's, and they belonged to Him, and they were
holy, then He'd regard you as unholy and treat you as unholy.
And so the only reason anybody's holy is God said, I made them
that way. And how in the world are we going
to be made perfect since we're men? God said, I'll make you
perfect. And, oh, beloved, let me give you two things the Holy
Spirit uses to sanctify us. First of all, He uses the Word
of God. He said, remember when our Lord prayed, and I showed
it to you a minute ago? Sanctify them through thy truth. And then
He says, thy Word is truth. Do you remember the first time
you ever heard the truth? Most of us, the first time we
ever heard it. It really, really troubled us.
It really troubled us. You know why it troubled us?
Because we had believed a lie so long. And it troubled us. And we began
to wonder, is this true? Is that so? Is he telling the
truth? And that truth starts working
in our hearts and in our minds. And it brings the doctrines.
The doctrines come through the Word of God. Its precepts come
through the Word of God. Its commands come through. And
as we hear them in our ear, and receive them into the heart,
they work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. And
that's why the Scriptures tells us, look in John 15 through with
me just a moment. That's why the Scriptures tells
us, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? How's a
young man going to cleanse his way? How's he going to have his
way cleansed? He's got to go through this world.
He's got to work in this world. He's got to make a living in
this world. How will a young man cleanse his way? By taking
heed thereto according to your word. And here in John 15 and 3, look
what our Lord Jesus Christ said here. Now, now ye are cleaned
through the word which I have spoken unto you. I spoke a word to you, and the
word that I spoke to you made you clean. He spoke a word and
made us clean. That word clean means holy, sanctified,
set apart. And oh, beloved, that's why James
says, See, you have purified your souls in obeying the truth
through sanctification of the Spirit. God who has saved us
and called us. The Scripture says, Beloved,
we are bound always to thank God for you, because God has
from the beginning chosen you to salvation, listen, through
sanctification of the Spirit. And what else does it say? Belief
of the truth. Thank God that He brought the
truth to them. Oh, I bless His Holy Name. How
important is the truth? Well, our Lord said it's the
truth that sanctifies us. It's the Word that cleanses us.
And it's the truth that sanctifies us. And you can look, Psalm 119
is almost exclusively about the Word of God and what it does.
And David says, you know, thy Word is a lamp under my feet,
a light under my path. And that's what it does. It guides
us through this world. And the more we learn, And the
more we believe the truth, the more we're separated by it. It's like that now. When you
first started believing, look how different you are now than
when you first started. And I know this, when men have
an error in judgment as to the truth, it won't be long before
they'll err in practice. And that's why Paul said, hold
fast the form of sound words. And here's the second thing.
Not only the Word of God that He uses to sanctify us. Sanctify
them through Thy Word. Thy Word is true. And then He
sanctifies us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen. It is His blood and the water
which flowed from His side that the Spirit uses and washes us
from the blackness of our sin. I mean, that's His blood and
water. Look, I'll show you that in Ephesians. I can show you
that in Ephesians. And the blood and water which
came from our Savior's side washes us from the blackness
of our sin. And look what he said here in
Ephesians 5.25. Love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church. Now listen, He loved the church,
gave Himself for it. Why did He give Himself for it?
That He might sanctify it and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the Word. That He might present it unto
Himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any
such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. My word. That's what He gave
Himself for us. That's what He went to the cross. That's what He went for. And
oh, let me show you two or three things in Hebrews right quick,
and then I'll wind this up. Hebrews chapter 13. Again, let's
look over there. You know, the Holy Spirit washes
us in that fountain filled with blood. You know, Zechariah says
there is a fountain open. A fountain opened for uncleanness. And that fountain opened is the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit washes us
in that fountain filled with blood. And beloved, listen, here
in Hebrews 13, 12, look what it says, Wherefore Jesus also,
that He might sanctify the people with what? His own blood suffered
without the gate. You know He washed us with His
own blood, sanctified us with His blood. He didn't use the
law. The law don't sanctify us. He didn't use morality. Morality
don't sanctify us. The blood of Christ sanctifies
us. Hebrews 9.14, look at this. There is such power. There is
such power in the blood. of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
it satisfies God and the conscience at the same time. And because
of such power in that blood, it works death to sin as it's
applied to a soul, as it's applied to a conscience. And it works
death to sin, and lust within and corruptness starts to die. Look what he said here in verse
12. Hebrews 9.12, neither by the
blood of goats and calves, that's what they went into the holy
place with in the tabernacle, but by his own blood he entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies
just to the purifying of the flesh, makes the flesh acceptable,
the person acceptable for another time, How much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God? Oh, sanctified by the blood. Hebrews 10.14, this is one of
our favorite things of all that we look at. We have quoted this so many times. Verse 9, Then he said, Lo, I
come to do thy will, O God. He takes away the first will,
the first testament, the first Adam, the first covenant, that
he may establish the second. And this will that he came to
do, by the witch will, we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once. Oh, sanctified by God the Father,
in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Now God works in us to make us
more devoted, more zealous, more earnest, more loving, more tender,
more understanding, more patient. And He works in us to magnify
our Master and His death on the cross in our life. Not with just
our lips. But with our very lives. Now,
back in 1 Thessalonians 4, just a second, just a minute. Back in 1 Thessalonians 4, verses
1 through 3, what the apostle says here. He's talking about our hearts
being established in holiness before God at the coming of Christ. Furthermore, then we beseech
you, brethren, and exhort you, By the Lord Jesus, by Christ
Himself, we beseech you, we request you, that as you have received
of us how you ought to walk and please God, we taught you. We
taught you how you ought to walk, how you ought to live in this
world, to please God so that you would abound more and more.
And not only that, but we taught you and gave you the commandments
and showed you how to do it. We gave you by the Lord Jesus
Christ. And this is one of the things that we taught you, for
this is the will of God, even your sanctification. So you trust
Christ, look to Christ, live in Christ, and we do it to the
glory of God the Father, to honor our Master, to honor Him.