Sanctification

People often get confused with salvation or justification and sanctification.  There is nothing we can do to obtain salvation.  Salvation is free, and we are saved by God's grace alone!  Jesus did whatever was needed on the Cross.  Justification happens all at once; sanctification occurs over a lifetime.  A Preacher said the process of sanctification could be compared to an iceberg, which is almost 90% underwater.  As the sun shines on the iceberg, the exposed part melts, moving the lower part upward.  In the same way, we are usually aware of only a tiny part of our sinfulness and need, which is all we can deal with at any time.  However, as the light of God works in our lives, the Holy Spirit brings to mind all that needs cleansing and changing!  

I came across this quote from John Newton, the author of the famous Hymn 'Amazing Grace': 'I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world, but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.'  I can say the same about myself too.  All of us can say we may not be what we ought to be yet, but definitely, we are not what we used to be!  It is because God has been working on us and sanctifying us to be more like Jesus!  The list of Christlike character traits found in Galatians 5:22-23 cannot be achieved in a moment.  As we sit at His feet and read His Word, the light of God shines on us and brings even past sins to our minds so that we can ask God to cleanse us and forgive us.  Sin's power was broken in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Christ came not only to cancel sin's debt but also to break its power.   Sanctification involves transforming the person in the depths of their heart and soul.  People do not immediately become loving, kind, humble, and self-controlled.  As a process, sanctification means becoming more like Jesus over time. 

My friend, we are responsible for working out our sanctification.  We are not passive spectators sitting on the sidelines while God does all the work to win the day.  Instead, we are active players struggling against evil.  May the Lord bless our earnest desire to be holy as we look to Jesus' life as the pattern for our sanctification.

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