Sanctification - Day Six

¹²Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13

Sanctification is both a work of God and a work of his people.

That's right, sister. We are part of this project. We are required to be active in sanctification. Just because we've accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior does not give us the right to sit back and watch the show. We are part of the show!

So, what do we do? What's our role?

In order to accomplish God's will in sanctification, believers must:

1) Participate in the Spirit's sanctifying by ceasing to do evil.

¹What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Romans 6:1-2

We can conclude that the essence of sin is selfishness. WHAT??? We are constantly grasping for things of pleasures for ourselves, regardless of the welfare of others and the commands of God, which leads to cruelty to others and to rebellion against God and His law. Ultimately sin becomes the refusal to be subject to God and His Word.

Sin is a moral corruption in humans that opposes all better human intentions. It causes us both to commit unrighteousness with delight and to take pleasure in the evil actions of others. Sin enslaves and corrupts and is rooted in human desire.

So how do we cease to do evil? Because sin was brought into the human race through Adam and Eve it affects everyone and results in divine judgment, brings physical and spiritual death, and can ONLY be eliminated as a power by faith in Christ and His redemptive work!

Look at these scriptures for some encouragement:

Romans 5:8-11 ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! ¹⁰For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Galatians 3:13 ¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

Ephesians 4:20-24 ²⁰You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. ²¹Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

1 John 1:9 ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Ah, we serve such a faithful God!

2) Purify themselves "from everything that contaminates body and spirit."

¹Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1

Paul makes it abundantly clear that one cannot claim God's gracious promises without a life of separation and holiness. This explains why some have lost their Christian joy, divine protection, answer to prayers, and the sense of God's fatherly presence. To compromise with the world is to lose God's presence and promises.

¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Romans 6:12

Because sin has been dethroned, you must continually resist its effort to regain control. Since sin attempts to reign primarily through the desires of the body, these desires must be resisted by those with faith in Christ. We can do so by denying the evil desires of the body, refusing to place any part of our body at the disposal of sin, and presenting our bodies and our whole personalities as slaves to God and righteousness.

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. Galatians 5:16-25 (click here to read the rest)

The spiritual conflict within believers involves the whole person; the struggle is whether they will surrender to the sinful nature's inclinations and again submit to sin's control, or whether they will yield to the Spirit's demands and continue under Christ's dominion. The battlefield is within Christians themselves, and the conflict must continue throughout their earthly lives if they are to eventually reign with Christ.

3) Keep themselves from being polluted by the world.

²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27

James outlines that we are to keep ourselves holy before God. He says that love for others must be accompanied by a love for God expressed in separation from the world's sinful ways. Love for others must be accompanied by holiness before God or it is not Christian love.

Hmm, tricky. I do my best, but I know that I am definitely not showing love this way to everyone.

¹³Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

¹⁹I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
Romans 6:13-14, 19

This is pretty self-explanatory! We need to make sure that sin is not our master. We can do this by keeping ourselves pure. We know what we should and should not involve ourselves in, and yet, we get ourselves in big messes! Listen to your heart. Read your Bible. Pray. The Holy Spirit that dwells in your heart will reveal God's truth to you. Pay attention to him!

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1-2

We as believers must possess a single-minded passion to please God in love, devotion, praise and holiness, and to offer their bodies for His service.

Our greatest desire should be to live lives of holiness and to be accepted by God. This requires separating ourselves from the world and drawing nearer to God. We must live for God, worship Him, obey Him, take His side against sin and for righteousness, resist and hate evil, perform works of kindness for others, imitate Christ, follow Him, serve Him, live by the Spirit and be filled with the Spirit.

We must offer our bodies to God as dead to sin and as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Remember, our present world system is evil and under Satan's rule. We must despise what is evil, love what is righteous, and refuse to yield to the various types of worldliness surrounding the church, such as greed, selfishness, expediency, humanistic thinking, political maneuvering for power, envy, hatred, revenge, impurity, filthy language, ungodly entertainment, tempting and immodest attire, immorality, drugs, alcohol and worldly companions.

It is critical that we have our minds conformed to God's way of thinking by reading and meditating on His Word. We must have our plans and ambitions determined by heavenly and eternal truths, not by this evil, temporal and transient age. (Note from The Full Life Study Bible)

¹⁴Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Romans 13:14

We must be so united and identified with Christ that we imitate His life as our pattern for living, adopt His principles, obey His commands, and become like Him. This calls for a complete rejection of immorality and the acts of the sinful nature.

⁸Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:8

God promises to come near to all who turn from sin, purify their hearts and call on Him in true repentance. God's nearness will bring His presence, grace, blessings, and love.


We've got a lot of work to do, but it is completely attainable! We can accomplish God's will in sanctification. But, again, I must insist that you read the Lord's Word. His Truth is embedded throughout, and He wants you to know His will. Please remain faithful in reading your Bible.