333 Words

333 WORDS….

The Bible teaches us we are sanctified and we are being sanctified.

But how can that be? How can we become what we already are?

Well, it’s like a son learning to be a son. It’s like a prince learning to be a prince. In a sense, a son is becoming what he already is. And the prince is likewise becoming what he already is.

Okay, if we are sanctified, how did we get that way?

Everything good in us can be ascribed to Lord Jesus and His Calvary. He did it all. The redeemed are redeemed thoroughly. (“We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.”)

What does it mean to be sanctified?

Sanctified means ‘set apart’. From God’s perspective we have been set apart from the world. We were at enmity with God; now we are embraced.

And sanctified means to be made holy. Holiness is a prerequisite for entry into the presence of God. Holiness is a gift. Our precious Jesus has, figuratively, cloaked us in holiness.

But I don’t feel holy.

We know we are holy because The Word says we are holy. Christianity isn’t about feelings, it’s about truth. What The Word says we are is what we are. There is nothing trustworthy about feelings.

We may not feel like a king or a priest, but we are both. (“Christ…. has made us kings and priests.”) And we don’t always feel like a saint, and we certainly aren’t always saintly, but we became saints the instant we became His, at rebirth.

How is self-sanctification accomplished?

The Holy Spirit within is drawing us into deeper intimacy with Christ, away from that which displeases God. At the same time, the evil one and “the lust of the flesh” are tugging in the opposite direction. It’s a lifetime tug-of-war. If Holy Spirit wins, we win. If He doesn’t, we don’t.

How is sanctification being accomplished in my life?

That’s the subject of the next 333 Words article.