Sanctification

. . . Christ Jesus, who has become for us . . . our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Sanctification…

It’s one of those Christian words that gets tossed around that most of us don’t understand, and non Christians are put off because it isn’t understandable and it gets used because it makes us sound smart, or holy…

Think of being a Christian as two steps:

Salvation and Sanctification.

1. SALVATION is when you are saved and brought into the kingdom of Christianity. It is the act of putting your faith in Jesus Christ and believing He died on the cross for your sins. That is a simple step and once it’s done, if done with a sincere heart, completes your salvation, and you are joined with Christ into the Kingdom by allowing his death to separate you from the penalty of sin.

2. SANCTIFICATION is where you get cleaned up with the goal to become more like who you were created to be, which is a follower of Christ. The generic meaning of sanctification is “the state of proper functioning.” To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is “sanctified” when used to write. Eyeglasses are “sanctified” when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God’s design and purpose.

While Salvation is a very short process – the result of a decision that instantly changes you, Sanctification is a life long process and one that we never truly complete due to the sin nature in our bodies and in the world, which prevents us this side of heaven from reaching perfection.

But every day we should strive to be better than the day before. A little more like Christ, and more like what we were created to be.

– Salvation is when we are/were justified and separated from the PENALTY of sin. (In the past)
– Sanctification is where we are separated from the POWER of sin. (In the present)
– There is actually a third stage to all of this, which is when we are called home. After death we have Glorification which is where we are separated from the PRESENSCE of sin. (In the future)