#63 Sanctification - Defined & Explained, Part 1

Q: What does the Bible say about sanctification?

The Bible teaches that sanctification is a process initiated by God, setting apart believers for holiness. Sanctification, as outlined in Romans 6-8, is a vital process in the Christian life where believers are progressively set apart for God. It begins at the moment of regeneration and continues throughout a believer's life. The Apostle Paul emphasizes that believers are called to cooperate with the indwelling Holy Spirit for this transformation. The process involves a critical transition from justification, which is once for all, to sanctification, which is gradual and progressive as the believer grows in grace and the knowledge of the Lord.

Q: How do we know sanctification is true?

Sanctification is established in Scripture as a work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. The truth of sanctification is backed by the teachings of Scripture, specifically in Romans chapters 6 to 8. These passages describe not only the necessity of personal holiness but also highlight that it is the work of God Himself in the life of every believer. Both the Father and the Son are said to sanctify, affirming the divine nature of this process. The biblical concept of sanctification confirms that the Holy Spirit is continually at work within believers, empowering them to yield to God's will and live in accordance with His holiness.

Q: Why is sanctification important for Christians?

Sanctification is essential for Christians as it reflects their new identity in Christ and their calling to live holy lives. The significance of sanctification for Christians lies in its role as evidence of genuine faith. Being set apart by God means believers are transformed into Christ's likeness, leading to a life marked by holiness and obedience. Paul writes in Romans 6:2 that believers, being dead to sin, cannot continue in it. This creates a moral imperative to live in a way that glorifies God. Moreover, the progressive nature of sanctification indicates that Christians are continually being conformed to the image of Christ, which is the ultimate goal of the Christian life. Thus, sanctification not only affects the individual believer but also serves as a testimony to the power of the Gospel.

Q: What does it mean to be dead to sin?

Being dead to sin means that believers no longer live under sin's control but are empowered to live for God. To be dead to sin, as articulated by Paul in Romans 6, signifies a profound transformation in the believer’s relationship with sin. This does not imply that believers will never sin again; rather, it establishes that sin no longer has dominion over them. The essence of being dead to sin is rooted in the believer's identification with Christ's death, which frees them from the guilt and penalty of sin. Furthermore, this transformation produces a new desire to live righteously through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, a believer should exhibit a life that reflects their new position in Christ and resist sin's temptations.

Q: What are the stages of sanctification?

Sanctification includes positional, progressive, and ultimate stages, reflecting the believer's journey with God. Sanctification is a multifaceted process comprising three stages: positional, progressive, and ultimate sanctification. Positional sanctification occurs at the moment of salvation when believers are set apart for God through the work of Christ. Progressive sanctification is the ongoing process of spiritual growth and conformity to Christ’s image, facilitated by the Holy Spirit as believers cooperate with God’s grace. Lastly, ultimate sanctification will be realized when Christ returns, restoring the believer's body and fully realizing the perfect holiness intended for them. Understanding these stages helps Christians appreciate their identity and responsibilities in their walk with God.

Before we read the first fourteen
verses once again for our scripture lesson, I want to give a brief
outline of our studies of chapters six through eight. We did this in a greater degree last Sunday
evening But this morning I want to approach it from a little
different point of view. We've already stated that Romans
chapters 6 through 8 are the chapter set aside for
the discussion of the subject of sanctification. There is a
lot of misunderstanding about the great doctrine of sanctification. We will observe some of these
erroneous ideas and theories during our course of study of
this subject. I want to say, first of all,
that sanctification begins with a crisis. Observe what I said. Sanctification begins with a
crisis. Number two, Sanctification grows with sanctification. It grows with a confidence. And number three, sanctification
is completed with a crown. Begins with a crisis, grows with
a confidence, and is completed with a crown. We have already seen that beginning
with the third chapter of Romans, verse 21, through the last verse
of chapter 5, Paul deals with the subject of justification.
We have already spent many weeks in the study of the different
aspects of justification. Now let me sum up in just a few
words what we have already studied. In justification, the Lord Jesus
Christ is put on once for all. In justification, Jesus Christ
is put on once for all. In sanctification, the Lord Jesus
Christ is put on gradually, gradually. in justification once for all,
in sanctification gradually. Now since we're going to be looking
at the old man this morning, in the reading of the first verses
of Romans chapter 6, the old man, according to Paul, is crucified
once. The old man is crucified once
for all in Jesus Christ. This is what we have in the first
fourteen verses of the sixth chapter. That is the principle
thought expressed by Paul in the first fourteen verses. Now, after thinking about that,
let's go to the other side of the picture. in mortification, and that is the other side of
sanctification. Sanctification has two sides.
There is a negative side, but there is also a positive side. We're thinking now about the
positive side of sanctification, and the positive side is mortification. In mortification, the old man
is put off gradually. Now, as we look at the three
chapters of Romans as a whole, we have three outstanding features. First of all, we have the principle
of sanctification in chapter six. We have the practice, I should
say attempted practice, of sanctification in chapter 7. And we have the power of sanctification
in chapter 8. The principle in chapter 6, the
practice in chapter 7, the attempted practice, and the power in chapter
8. In coming to the 8th chapter,
which is Paul's conclusion to his discussion of the subject
of sanctification, in this particular section, we have also three outstanding
features. There are three main divisions
of the 8th chapter. First of all, we have a recognition
of a new position in Jesus Christ. Verses 1 through 4, that's of
chapter 8. Number 2, realization of a new
power beginning with verse 5, and this section takes us through
the 25th verse. realization of a new power, recognition
of a new position, and number two, realization of a new power,
the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. And finally, number three,
acknowledgment of a new privilege in prayer. acknowledgement of a new privilege
in prayer, verses 26 and 27. On the way to church this morning,
we were listening to the radio, and a certain preacher started
praying, and we thought he never would complete his prayer. Evidently,
he thought the Lord was hard of hearing. He just gradually
accelerated not only in speed but in volume as he went along. And it went on and on. After
he completed what one would call his prayer, then he started speaking
to the people in a very low tone of voice. I turned to Juanita
and said, he has things in reverse. I thought that a person is supposed
to talk to the Lord and preach to the people. But he was preaching
to the Lord, and then after he preached to the Lord, he started
talking to the people. It was ridiculous. I said ridiculous,
absolutely ridiculous. Now let us read the first 14
verses of Romans chapter 6, after which we will take only the first
two verses this morning. in our study of this sixth chapter. What shall we say then? Let's pause long enough to make
a comment. Do you observe the question that
Paul raised? This is a statement of transition
between what? Justification of the preceding
chapter and sanctification of chapter six. What shall we say
then? This is a debater's phrase. Paul was a great debater, not
in the sense of public debating today, but he was a great debater. He could raise his own questions
before anyone else had the opportunity of doing so, and then answer
the question that he had previously raised. I said he's making a
transition between justification and sanctification. What the
grace of God has provided for the elect of God that has been
described by Paul, not only in chapters 3, portion of chapter
3, chapters 4 and 5, the same grace that has provided
forgiveness for the people of God does not promote sin in the
life of one who has been forgiven. So the grace that forgives does
not promote sin after the person has been forgiven. What shall
we say then? Now the next question. Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? He was thinking about how he
had closed his discourse on justification. In verse 21 when he said, I'm
talking about verse 21 of chapter 5, that as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so my grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? Now verse 2. God forbid, how shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer therein? This will be as far
as we shall get this morning. Let us continue to read, though,
the first major division of the chapter. Know ye not that so
many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into
his death? Therefore, we are buried with
him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness
of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him. that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he
that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion
over him. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. 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 as those that are alive from the dead, and your members
as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have
dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under
grace. Verse 2 is our text. as we compare some things in
the sixth chapter of Romans with the same principles that are
given us in the Old Testament scriptures. Since we're in the
study of the journeyings of the children of Israel from Egypt
to Canaan, we're going to see how the same principles given
us by the Apostle Paul in the great section of Scripture set
aside to deal with the subject of sanctification, are also found
set forth very plainly in the Old Testament Scriptures. Shall one who has been delivered
from the guilt and condemnation of sin, shall one who has been
forgiven of his sins in Christ Jesus continue in sin that grace
may continue to abound. Put the thought far away from
you is what Paul is literally saying in the first part of verse
2. How shall we that are dead to
sin Every person in this auditorium this morning is either dead to
sin or dead in sin. Now let's let that soak in for
a few moments. I said every person in this auditorium is either
dead to sin or he is dead in sin. Now since we're talking
about being dead to sin, which is characteristic of one who
has been forgiven of his sins as a result of the finished work
of Jesus Christ having been applied to him by the Sovereign Spirit. Death to sin is a great subject. Let's think
about three things. Death to sin is only one aspect of this subject
that we're going to deal with principally this morning. But
there are some things that precede one's being dead to sin. Death in sin is the condition
of every person naturally. I want you to see once again
the importance of prepositions. I've stated it so much in the
past, but I'll emphasize it again. If there is one thing every Christian
ought to be concerned about in the study of the scriptures,
whether he is a Greek student or not, is to learn the many
different Greek prepositions and the meaning of them. There
are some 16 Greek prepositions. Some are used more, of course,
than others. Now, death in sin is the condition
of every person naturally. Number two, death for sin is
our condition judicially. Now let's pause a moment. Think
that through, please. We've been talking about judicial
death, and the sixth chapter of Romans sets forth that principle,
judicial death. For one to say, in commenting
on the expression, death to sin, if he believes that to be dead
to sin means that he has no conflict whatsoever with the old man,
he is only deceiving himself. He is self-deceived. The believer
in Jesus Christ is dead to sin judicially. Judicially. So death for sin is our judicial
condition. I'm talking now about Christians.
That is our judicial condition. Jesus Christ died for us, and
we died with him when he died. That is to be looked upon judicially. Now we come to the point that
we will be dealing with this morning. Death to sin is our condition,
what? In sanctification. That is our
condition in sanctification. One who has died with Christ,
judicially, is obligated to do what? To put off the old man
with his deeds. To mortify the deeds of the body. Let not sin therefore reign in
your mortal bodies. Now we're not studying the sixth
verse. And I want to warn you ahead of time, we'll spend more
than one service, I am sure, in the interpretation of the
sixth verse, that great verse of scripture which is so controversial
among many religionists today. And we'll begin with John Wesley.
And we'll quote Charles Finney and show the heretical views
that both of these men taught in their discussion of the subject
of perfection. Now I want you to go back to
the Old Testament with me. Turn with me first of all, if
you will please, to the 11th chapter of the book of Leviticus. And before we read these verses,
in Leviticus. I want you to turn to the very
first chapter, hold the 11th chapter for a moment, but turn
to the first chapter and read with me the first verse. Some
of you may wonder what the word or the title Leviticus means. Well, the meaning of Leviticus
is given us in three words found in the first verse of Leviticus
chapter 1. Let's see if you can pick them
out as we read. And the Lord called unto Moses,
and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of a congregation,
saying, What three words give to us the
meaning of Leviticus? They are the words the Lord called. Leviticus means the Lord called. The calling of the Lord here
is not the effectual call. Notice what I said, it is not
the effectual call. Without any further explanation,
I'm assuming you understand what I mean by the effectual call.
It is the call of God to his redeemed people to worship. The subject of Leviticus deals
with the subject of worship. Certain laws are given us in
the book of Leviticus to guide one in his worship. So we have
in the first part of a two-part because Leviticus is a two-part
book. One deals with the subject of
worship and the last part deals with the subject of the duty
of the Israelites. With that before us, now turn
to the 11th chapter and read with me verses 44 and 45, after
which you will then go to the 20th chapter. for two other verses
of scripture. For I am the Lord your God, ye
shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy, for I am
holy. Neither shall ye defile yourselves
with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt
to be your God, Ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Please observe the first part
of the 44th verse. I am the Lord your God. Ye shall
therefore sanctify yourselves. Now turn, if you will please,
to the 20th chapter of Leviticus and Read with me verses 7 and
8, and then we'll turn to the last
part of the chapter and read two additional verses. Now let's look at these two verses
for a moment. We have in verse 8 the statement
of God sanctifying the Israelites. It is because of that fact that
the Israelites were to sanctify themselves. Thus we have positional
sanctification in verse 8 And we have progressive sanctification
in verse 7, which is the duty of the Israelites. Now let's
compare that with a New Testament passage before we read verses
25 and 26 of the 20th chapter of Exodus. In 1 Corinthians chapter
1 and verse 2, the Apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthian
church, makes reference to the fact that the Lord had sanctified
the Corinthian believers. In other words, they had been
positionally sanctified. Their positional sanctification
was by virtue of the fact that Jesus Christ had died once in
the end of the age, Hebrews 10, 10, and 14, and by the once-offered
Christ, all believers have been positionally sanctified once
for all. So what Paul is talking about
in 1 Corinthians 1-2 is positional sanctification. He makes another
reference to their position of sanctification in the 6th chapter
in verse 11. He says you are justified, you
are sanctified. You are sanctified, you are positionally
sanctified. Now, in the 2nd epistle that
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, chapter 7 verse 1, the
Corinthians were admonished, get this now, to cleanse themselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit, perfecting holiness
in the fear of God. What do we have? We have positional
sanctification, we have progressive sanctification. Progressive sanctification
is the duty of the believer. It is a grace and a duty. Follow me now. Now positional
sanctification is a grace but not a duty. I want to stop there. I want that to soak in for a little
bit. Positional sanctification is a grace but it is not a duty. You have no part with God in
your position or sanctification. Salvation is of God. But when it comes to progressive
sanctification, progressive sanctification is both a grace and a duty. Whereas position or sanctification
is only a grace but not a duty. Now this is very important and I do not want us to miss
the significance of this. Now turn to the 25th and 26th
verses of the 20th chapter of Leviticus. Ye shall therefore put difference
between clean beasts and unclean. Now this was the duty of the
Israelites. Just like the duty of Christians
today is to put off the old man with his deeds, put on the new
man, cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and
of the mind, perfecting holiness in the spirit of God. That's
our duty, as well as being a grace. Ye shall therefore put difference
between clean beast and unclean. Now that was their responsibility.
It is your responsibility and mine, beloved, to know the things
that God approves of and the things which he does not approve
of. And we cannot know unless we're
students of the Scriptures. And I find in this generation
very few informed Christians, I'm sorry to say. Now look at
the latter part of verse 25. And between unclean fowls and
clean. And ye shall not make your souls
abominable by beast or by fowl or by any manner of living thing
that creepeth on the ground which I have separated from you as
unclean. I do not have time this morning
to go back and give an interpretation of the entire 11th chapter of
Leviticus. which deals with the clean animals and the unclean
animals. Clean birds and unclean birds. But the principles are
set forth, but I do not have time to elaborate on them. Now
verse 26, And ye shall be holy unto me, for I the Lord am holy. and have severed you from other
people that ye should be mine. What does that mean? Here's what
it meant to the Israelites. The Lord had separated the Israelites
from all the other nations that they might be a peculiar people
unto him. The Lord has separated you and
me. He has separated all who are
truly born of the Spirit of God unto himself from unsaved people
that we might be a peculiar people unto him. So the same principle that is
given us in the Old Testament Scriptures is also found in the
New Testament. The holiness of God's people
is not a moral quality which arises from their own actions
and achievements. It is rooted in the sanctifying
action of the holy God when we were presumptionally sanctified
by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Since Israel was a chosen and
sanctified people by the sovereign God, Therefore the Israelites
themselves had no other task than to live as the people of
God. Beloved, since you and I have
been separated from people who are dead in sin, and now by grace
we are dead to sin, because Jesus Christ has died for us, Our responsibility
is to live as a redeemed people before the Lord. There's no place in the Christian
life for antinomianism, which is a creeping paralysis,
winding its way into many assemblies today. The sanctification initiated
by God has self-evident consequences. Now I don't want to spend the
time this morning discussing that. That's another message.
And I'll deal with that from a chapter found in the book of
Deuteronomy. But that is a subsequent lesson
which we will be dealing with at a later time. With a view
to the immorality threatening christened them today. The Apostle
Paul asked whether Christians should not know that their bodies
are members of Jesus Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit of
God. 1 Corinthians 6, 15, 19, and
20. involves separation from sin
as well as unto God. It is true that we're separated
unto God, but it is also true we are separated from sin. The one logically follows the
other, just as faith follows ordination. Did you notice what
I said? I'm giving you the order presented
in the Bible. faith follows ordination. Ordination,
beloved, does not follow one's faith. Most religionists today
have the order in reverse. They would make the ordination
of God dependent upon a person's faith. You hear that all the
time when you turn the radio on. But according to Acts 13
in verse 48, Faith follows ordination. All who were ordained to eternal
life believe. That's the Bible order and you
can't get away from it. Now what are we talking about?
We're talking about the logical order. So faith follows ordination. Holiness follows divine election. In Ephesians 1 and verse 4, it
is true that the Lord has chosen us in Jesus Christ before the
foundation of the world, but don't forget the last part of
the text. And such election is unto the
holiness of life. That's what it says. So the holiness
of life follows divine election. Well, let's go a step further.
Sanctification follows justification. There are some who believe that
Justification follows sanctification, but that is not scriptural. That's
heresy. That's a deadly error. Sanctification follows justification,
not justification sanctification. Just as conversion follows regeneration,
and not regeneration conversion. Our love for the Lord follows
his love first of all for us. And I'll climax it by saying that works, good works, follow
faith. Ephesians 2 and verse 10. So
positional sanctification is the birth of the soul. Progressive sanctification is
the education, training, and discipline of the soul. I want to use an illustration
which I think is appropriate. We have said that the Israelites
are to be viewed as being first of all in Egypt, number two in
the wilderness, and number three in the land of Canaan. Now let's
go to the New Testament and see if we can find an analogy of
this. I believe we can in the person
of Lazarus. In the 11th chapter of the Gospel
according to John. Someone has made this statement
and I think it's good. Egypt is illustrated by Lazarus
in the grave. It took the power of God to bring
Lazarus from the dead. It took the power of God to bring
the Israelites out of Egypt, and Egypt is a symbol of the
world. So Egypt is illustrated by Lazarus
in the grave. Now I'm not going to take the
time this morning to turn to the 11th chapter of the Gospel
of John. I'm assuming that you are well acquainted enough with
the portion of Scripture which I am quoting without having to
do that. You remember after Lazarus came
forth, the records state that he came forth bound in grave
clothes. You remember that statement?
All right, so Egypt is illustrated by Lazarus in the grave. The
wilderness is illustrated by Lazarus in the grave clothes. Lazarus in the grave clothes.
The grave clothes must be laid aside. Beloved, there are some
things that are to be laid aside by you and me. Finally, we have Lazarus free of the grave clothes. So
Canaan illustrates Lazarus free from the grave clothes. In other
words, he's enjoying victory. Now there is a certain sense
in which Canaan does illustrate victory. We never have complete
victory in this life. I've already stated that the
unusual thing about the experience of the Christian today, he is
in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in Canaan all at the same
time. You and I are in the world, but
we're not of it. We are now on our pilgrimage
journey in the wilderness, and we are enjoying to some extent through Christ Jesus. Now that's
a long introduction, I admit, but it's necessary. Now let's
look at the text. How can the person who is dead
to sin live any longer therein? What does it mean to live any
longer therein? You see, the unsaved person is
dead in sin, The same person is dead to sin. Dead to sin. Now you and I are dead to sin
as believers in Jesus Christ. And being dead to sin, we are
to act accordingly. What do you think the Apostle
Paul meant when he wrote to Timothy? In 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse
19. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure. The foundation
of God stood sure in Paul's day. Even though there was false teaching,
there was immorality, there was apostasy to some extent. He had
just described Hymenaeus and Philetus in the two preceding
verses. who had made shipwreck of the
faith, nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure. In the
midst of all the apostasy today, in the midst of all immorality
that exists today, the foundation of God stands sure. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth
them that are his. He knows each one of his own. You say, oh, that's wonderful.
Yes, it is. But the last part of that verse
once again reveals our duty. And let the person who names
the name of Jesus Christ depart from iniquity. That's evidence of the Lord knowing
us. How in the world can a person
know that the Lord knows an individual unless that individual is seen
departing from iniquity? He can't know it. No way of knowing
it. Now we come to the subject of
sanctification proper. There are three things I'd like
to deal with this morning. I can only start And I will probably
have to complete the message tonight. First of all, I want
to define sanctification. Sanctification is defined, that
will be our first point. Number two, the agent of sanctification
is God. And the third point which we
will deal with today, in dealing with sanctification proper, Sanctification
includes the whole man. Now let's look at this again.
Sanctification is defined, that's number one. And number two, the agent of
sanctification is God. And number three, sanctification
includes the whole man. Now let me illustrate them briefly
before we begin our exposition of these three points. These
are major points. And I'm asking you, I'm begging
you to take some notes. It is important that you do so.
You can't retain all these things. It's absolutely impossible to
do so. Sanctification is defined after
regeneration by the Holy Spirit, John 3 verse 8. The Holy Spirit
continues his work in the believer. If this is understood in the
biblical sense, people will not be making the mistake that is
being made today in talking about a second work of grace which
they call baptism in the Spirit or baptism by the Spirit. And I'll go so far as to say
that too is heresy. It is a misunderstanding and
a misapplication of scripture. The Holy Spirit never leaves
the believer. When the Holy Spirit imparts
the finished work of Jesus Christ in the heart of the believer,
in regeneration, after having imparted the work, he never leaves
the believer, but he continues his work in the believer, and
that work is a sanctifying work. Now you may ask the question,
well, I thought you said that the believer is to sanctify himself. That's true. and we'll deal with
that. In other words, the believer
is to cooperate with the indwelling Holy Spirit in his sanctification. There are no degrees in justification. Follow me now. Every believer,
whether his faith is strong or is justified before God and there
are no degrees in justification. The weak believer is as justified
before God as the strong believer. However, there are degrees in
sanctification. A person's degree of sanctification
is dependent upon what? his growth in grace and knowledge
of the Lord. There are no degrees in justification,
there are degrees in sanctification. There are no degrees in positional
sanctification, but there are degrees in what? Progressive
sanctification. Now when it comes to the agent
of sanctification, we know that the agent of sanctification is
God. So the eternally sanctified God
sanctifies. Now this may be a little confusing
to you at the beginning, but we're told that the Father sanctifies
us. We're also told that the Son
sanctifies us. And we're also told that the
Holy Spirit sanctifies us. Well, let's look at this for
a moment. In 1 Thessalonians 5.23, Paul said in writing to
the church at Thessalonica, and the very God of peace sanctify
you wholly. Now we'll deal with that in the
last part of that statement in our third point. In Ephesians
5 and verse 26, as the Lord Jesus Christ had been describing the
church being, of course, the body of Christ, here's what he
says in verse 26, that he might sanctify, that is the church,
and cleanse it with the washing of the water of the Word. Paul,
in writing to the Roman believers in the 15th chapter of Romans
and verse 16, makes this statement concerning the Holy Spirit who
sanctifies. Being sanctified, he said, by
the Holy Spirit. Now let's note something here. Though sanctification is the
work of the triune God, it is ascribed more particularly to
the Holy Spirit in our study of progressive sanctification.
So keep that in mind. And finally, as we're just summing
up what we will be discussing, sanctification includes the whole
man. Now you will read in some commentaries
where the word entire has been substituted for the word holy,
for the adverb holy. There isn't anything wrong with
it. What the person is talking about in commentaries that have
been written by men who are sound in the faith, they're talking
about sanctification applying to the whole man. body, soul,
and spirit, and that is the statement that Paul makes, and here's what
he says, the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, 1 Thessalonians
5.23, and I pray God your whole spirit, notice the order here,
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Now there is ultimate sanctification.
So you see, sanctification itself is threefold. There is positional,
number two, there is progressive, and then number three, there
is ultimate. So we have been sanctified positionally. We are
now being sanctified progressively. And the time will come when we
shall be sanctified, when we shall see the Lord Jesus Christ
as he is. Now there are differences of
opinion as to when this ultimate sanctification takes place. Some say it takes place when
the believer dies. To be absent from the body is
to be present with the Lord. And such a verse as that found
in Hebrews 12, 23, the spirits of just men made perfect. Now I think we can describe that
where that you'll understand when ultimate sanctification
really takes place. May I hasten to say that ultimate
sanctification does not take place upon the death of the believer
even though his spirit is made perfect in the presence of Jesus
Christ. 1 Thessalonians 3.13 proves my
point. ultimate sanctification will
not take place until what? Until the redemption of the body,
which will take place when? When Jesus Christ comes for us. That is, the resurrection. And
blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.
So connect the preposition with in 1 Thessalonians 3.13 with
a preposition with in the fourth chapter of 1 Thessalonians and
verse 14 and you have the answer. So ultimate sanctification or
absolute perfection will not take place until the redemption
of the body which takes place when Jesus Christ comes for us. The spirit will be perfected
in the presence of Christ. But the body will not be perfected
until the resurrection morning, at which time the body will be
resurrected and there will be ultimate perfection or absolute
perfection on the part of the believer before the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, this may seem like time
maybe not well spent, but I think it is. And unless you take some
notes on this, We have about ten minutes of our usual hour
that we spend lecturing to you on Sunday mornings and Sunday
evenings. I'd like to go into the Greek noun, the Greek verb,
and the Greek adjectives, or the nouns, the verbs, and the
adjectives. I'd like to give you the meaning.
We're talking about sanctification, and this is the best way I know
to define sanctification. And I haven't really gotten to
the main point. Sanctification is defined. So
these are introductory things, really, that I want to give.
Let's look first of all at the Greek noun. The Greek noun, sanctification. The Greek noun, it is necessary.
I can give it to you in the Greek, but we have very few persons
in our church family who even know the Greek alphabet, and
we have two or three who know something about the Greek language.
So the Greek noun, sanctification, is used in the sense of separation,
separation from that which is impure. I'll give you some references
where the Greek word is used, and if you have a Greek lexicon
or a Greek interlinear, you can check this out for yourself.
It speaks of man's relationship with God. Therefore, man is set
apart for God. Set apart for God. Here are some
of the references. In fact, this particular Greek
noun is used ten times in the New Testament. Romans 6, 19 and
22, 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30, 1 Thessalonians 4, 3, 4, and 7, chapter 4, verses 3, 4,
and 7, 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13, 1 Timothy 2, verse 15, Hebrews
12, verse 14, and 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 2. So the Greek noun
agiosmos, sanctification, means to set apart. Set apart for whom? For the Lord, for the one true
and living God. Now let's look at the Greek verb.
The Greek verb is used several different ways in the scriptures.
In fact, I'm going to give you seven this morning, and then
after I've given you these things, I can, I think, wrap it up with
two or three applications, and then we'll give the main part
of the message tonight. So I took the morning service
to introduce it. Tonight I'll preach on it. The Greek verb sanctify comes
from the word, the Greek word, hagiadzo. The first was hagiasmus,
now we have hagiadzo, means sanctify. And it is a derivative of the
word hagios, hagios, which expresses the idea once again of separation. And what does the verb mean?
It means to place, now this is important, to place in a relation
to God which answers to the holy character of God himself. That's
a tremendous statement. Listen to that a moment. Do you
believe in sanctification? Do you believe in the scriptures
you do? What does it mean? It means to place in a relation
to God which answers to the holy character of God. Now let me
explain that a little bit. You know, the Greek language
that we study and students who study theology, It is known as
the Koine Greek. And it, of course, is very similar
to the Classical Greek. If one were to study Greek out
at the University of Houston, he could not study Koine Greek.
He'd be studying the Classical Greek. Now, the Greeks were pagans. And when they came to that word
hagios, hagios, what did they think about it? Well, they believed
that hagios meant to separate one onto the gods, plural. And for a person to be separated
onto the gods, certainly that denotes heresy, doesn't it? There's
only one true and living God. They also had their temples of
worship. And for a person to be set apart
onto the gods, simply meant that they were set
apart to do or to perform evil deeds. Did you know even in the
Greek temples they had prostitutes that lived there? And they were
set apart, but they were set apart for what kind of a purpose?
For an evil purpose. So hagyos, as far as the Greek
pagans were concerned, meant to set apart unto the gods, plural,
but to the Christian. The Christian word hagios means
what? Set apart unto the true and living
God. Set apart in relation to God
in such a manner that the person will recognize the holiness of
God, and he wants his life to conform to the holy character
of his God. Now, there are seven different
ways in which the Greek verb hagiazo is used. Will you take these down? Seven
different ways. It is used first of all in a
mental sense. Mental sense. First Peter chapter
3 verse 15. Peter said in his first epistle,
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Now what does that mean? For a person to sanctify the
Lord in his heart, he is to sanctify the Lord in his mind, in his
mentality. Think upon the things of the
Lord. Think upon the Lord. Consider Christ. That's the meaning. Consider Christ. Isn't that where
sanctification begins? Sanctification does not begin
within. It does not begin subjectively. I'm talking about progressive
sanctification on the part of the believer. It begins objectively
as he considers Christ. Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1
and 2. Consider Him. Unless a person considers the
Lord Jesus Christ, he isn't going to consider himself and how far
short he is measuring up. to the Lord Jesus, the captain
of his salvation. So, number one, it is used in
a mental sense, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Number
two, it is used in the sense of setting apart for a certain
office. We're told in John 10 and verse
36 that the Father sanctified the Son. What does that mean? God the Father set apart his
only begotten Son for a particular office. And Jesus Christ came
into the world to fulfill that office. We have the same thing
given us in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 21. Paul's admonition
to Timothy. And his admonition to Timothy
is his admonition to all of God's men. And what is it? Here it is. If we shall purge
ourselves from these things, and you'll have to go back to
the preceding verses to find out what he's talking about.
These things. He goes on to say, if one will
purge himself from these defiling influences that he has been talking
about, he will be sanctified. There is the verb. Hagiadzo. He will be sanctified. And what
else does he say? And meet, which means fit or
suitable for the master's use. So it's used in the sense of
setting apart for a certain office. Number three, the verb is used
in the sense of the subjective work of the Holy Spirit in the
hearts of the elect. First Corinthians 1.2, and 1
Corinthians 6 verse 11. I've already referred to these
so I will not repeat. Number four, it is used in the sense
of an unsaved mate sanctifying or being sanctified by the saved
mate. 1 Corinthians 7, 11. You remember what Paul says beginning
with the 11th verse of 1 Corinthians 7 through the 14th verse? The
unbeliever is sanctified by the believer. In other words, here
are two people. They're married. After their
marriage, maybe one was saved by the grace of God. That left
one of the mates an unsaved person. Well, the question came up, what
should the believer do? He should remain with the unbeliever. He should never depart from the
unbeliever. Why? Because by the life of the
believer, the unbeliever is sanctified. Now such sanctification, beloved,
does not mean that the person is saved, but he is simply set
apart by the moral influence of the saved person in that home.
So you can see that it is not used in the sense of saving or
sanctifying or consecrating work. Number five, it is used in the
sense of Christ's finished work on the cross. Hebrews 10.10. Number six, it is used in the
sense of the believer's separation from the world, John chapter
17 and verse 17. And finally, it is used in the
sense of food that has been set apart by prayer and thanksgiving,
1 Timothy chapter 4 verses 4 and 5. Now there are several adjectives,
I'm not going to give you the adjectives, but there are several
adjectives, Greek adjectives, that are used and they mean sacred,
holy, clean, chaste, and so forth. Now let me sum up all the adjectives
in this manner. Hadios is used as a name for
the believer, Romans 1 verse 7. The word saint in your King
James Version is the translation of that Greek word. And what
does it mean? It means one who is holy under
the Lord, one who has been sanctified under the Lord, one who has been
cleansed before God, one who is pure in the sight
of God, because he stands in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
He stands, therefore, in the righteousness of Christ, which
has been imputed, and not in his own righteousness, which
is nothing but a filthy rag. So the saint has a holy standing
before God, 1 Corinthians 1.30. And with this holy standing comes
a responsibility on the part of the believer. He is to live
a holy life for God. So God has chosen us unto holiness
of life. I'd like to make this distinction
in closing. I stated at the beginning this
morning That regeneration begins with a crisis. It does. It begins with a crisis of disease. What is the disease? The disease
is depravity. Every person coming into this
world is totally depraved. The heart is deceitful above
all things, desperately wicked. Who can know it? There is none that seeketh after
God. Why? Because he loves not the
things of the Lord. He hates the things of the Lord. John 3 verses 19 and 20. This
is because of his depraved condition. So regeneration begins with a
crisis. A crisis of disease. Now how
do we explain sanctification? I like this. I read this just
yesterday and I thought it summed up in just a few words what it would take several paragraphs
and even chapters to present. Sanctification is the progress
of convalescence. I like that. Sanctification is
the progress of convalescence. Now what is regeneration? Regeneration
begins with a crisis, the crisis of a disease, and the disease
is depravity. Now sanctification is the progress
of convalescence. The degree of convalescence varies
in different Christians. I said the degree of convalescence
varies in different Christians. So death in sin is our natural
condition. Death for sin is our judicial
condition. Death to sin is our sanctified
condition. We have been positionally sanctified
Regeneration began with a crisis of disease and progressive sanctification
is what? It is a progress of convalescence. How are you doing? That's the
question. How are you doing? How are you convalescing? We'll
continue our study tonight. We'll have more to say about
the definition of sanctification, the agent of sanctification,
and sanctification includes the whole man, spirit, soul, and
body. I think I need to, I think I
need to throw this in now, for fear that some of you might not
be back tonight. When you look at the opening statements that
Paul makes, that Paul has made for us in the sixth chapter of
Romans, I think we can conclude like
this. Sin begins, first of all, in
a spiritual way. And then it reaches the mental
faculties and finally it passes into the body. Is this Bible? You remember the illustration
that I've used before that Dr. Barnhouse has used so many times
and I can't improve upon it? He likens every person to a three-story
building. The top story to the spirit of
man, the highest part of man. The second story to the soul
or the seat of affections. And then the bottom story to
the body. He said when man fell, he fell
first of all, the top story fell into the second story, and the
whole business, he said, fell into the basement. And that's
right. Exactly right. So as sin begins,
first of all spiritually, then it reaches the mental part,
and finally the physical part. The conquest of sin begins first
of all spiritually, then it reaches the middle part of man, and wouldn't
it be correct to say that it also goes through and affects
the body of man? Let not sin therefore reign in
your mortal bodies. So just as in the fall of man,
sin went from the higher part of man the spirit, to the next
part of man, the soul, and finally to the body. And this is described
vividly by Paul in Romans 1. So in the conquest of sin, it
begins with a higher part of man, it reaches the mental faculties
of man, and passes through and affects the whole body of man. Beloved, if that's not what the
Bible teaches, I'll close this book and never open it again.
Yes, sanctification includes the whole man.

#63 Sanctification - Defined & Explained, Part 1

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about sanctification?

How do we know sanctification is true?

Why is sanctification important for Christians?

What does it mean to be dead to sin?

What are the stages of sanctification?

Sermon Transcript

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#63 Sanctification - Defined & Explained, Part 1

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about sanctification?

How do we know sanctification is true?

Why is sanctification important for Christians?

What does it mean to be dead to sin?

What are the stages of sanctification?

Sermon Transcript

About W.E. Best

Comments

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