As I shared several weeks ago, one of the most direct things Jesus ever says about the word of God is that it is the truth that sanctifies those who follow Him.
What does it mean to be sanctified? The dictionary definition of the word 'sanctify' is "to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use" or "to free from sin".
How can we be set apart or free from sin even more than we already have? Well, in reality, the moment we choose to surrender our lives to Jesus as Savior or Lord, that is the moment we are set apart and freed from sin. The Gospel Coalition wrote a piece on the different types of sanctification and refer to "salvation moments" as positional or definitive sanctification because it is in that moment that we are set apart as God's children.
Many of us can remember the feeling of being "free" in light of God's abundant grace and the hope we have in Jesus. It makes you want to shout and dance and jump for joy! It makes you want to cry out at the top of your lungs that God is great. Most importantly, it makes you desire to live a life that is pleasing and obedient to God--something that none of us are able to do apart from Christ. And with that desire also comes the desire to be rid of sin forever.
However, that does not mean we will change overnight. As we can see in all of the epistles and writings of the New Testament, the early church was still flawed. They had been made new in Christ, but as Paul says in Romans, they still struggled to do the things they wanted to do and did the things they did not want to do (Romans 7:15-20). In fact, just look at Jesus' letters to each of the seven churches in Revelation! It is pretty eye-opening to the sins those churches struggled with the most. All of us can attest to the fact that we are by no means perfect just because of our salvation. Some may ask, "Well what's the point of becoming a Christian if you don't change-- if you are still not perfect?"
I think this is where people have mistaken the point of following Jesus. Jesus never said, "Follow me so you can be perfect." The point was never about making ourselves perfect. The point is to know and love God because He is perfect. He is worthy of our praise. He has loved us even while we were His enemies (Romans 5:8). Who else do you know who has done that for you?
. . .
Nobody!
Jesus is the only one who would ever die for an entire world, that He made, which completely hates Him, ignores Him, disobeys Him, slanders Him, denies Him...well, you get the point. I don't know about you, but no one else is ever going to love me like that ever again. No one else is going to fill that deep, insatiable desire to be seen and known completely except by the God who loved me and gave His son for me. For that reason, I follow Him.
The second thing that people who ask this question do not understand is that those who trust in Jesus do change! And that is where progressive sanctification comes in. Though we have been set apart as God's children, we are not perfect as we have already established. However, because of that desire we talked about to live a life pleasing to God, the Holy Spirit inside of us lovingly convicts us to remove those things which are not pleasing to Him. Even when we do sin, we do not desire to stay in sin. And if we do, we recognize that this is not a good thing and are hopefully seeking the Lord as well as our fellow believers for help in renewing our minds to hold different desires (Romans 12:1). Can we say that we felt that way before becoming a believer? Most likely with 100% accuracy, all those who have made a genuine commitment to Christ can answer with a resounding 'no'. We did not want to give up sin before Christ. But, now by His grace, we do, and with that desire, He begins to change us from the inside out so that the world might see His wonders.
As Paul says in 2 Timothy 2: 20-22.
"Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."
It is important to notice that Paul is exhorting believers here to flee sin. Like I said, it's not something that changes overnight. Sin is something we will fight until the day we go to be with the Lord where we will be ultimately and completely sanctified--without sin for the rest of eternity. Yet, through the power of the Holy Spirit, He continues to sanctify us until that day, meaning He continues to mature our faith, remove sin, produce fruit, and increase our love for God. In this way, we become "honorable" vessels that are ready for God to use to increase His Kingdom and bring Him glory--and we get to be a part of it!
Now isn't that something you want to be a part of forever?
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