Sermon Tone Analysis

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Christmas Day Service at 11 AM

Sanctification

We believe that believers have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.

In more than one place, Paul very clearly and succinctly declares the truth that Christians are have been sanctified!

Therefore, we should understand What we believe about sanctification!

What is Sanctification?

To wrap up all that I said last week in answer to that question, allow me to share with you the writings of William Evans in his book, The Great Doctrines of the Bible:

If Regeneration has to do with our nature, Justification with our standing, and Adoption with our position, then...

Sanctification has to do with our character and conduct.

In Justification we are declared righteous in order that, in Sanctification, we may become righteous.

Justification is what God does for us, while Sanctification is what God does in us.

Justification puts us into a right relationship with God, while Sanctification exhibits the fruit of that relationship—a life separated from a sinful world and dedicated unto God.

Evans, William.

The Great Doctrines of the Bible (p.

105).

Kindle Edition.

God was concerned with Israel’s sanctification.

God is concerned with our sanctification!

God was concerned with Israel’s holiness.

God is concerned with our holiness!

Sanctification and holiness go hand in hand.

Why was/is God so concerned with their/our sanctification?

I believe that there are two answers to that question:

#1.

Because God is holy!

#2 Because we belong to God!

Paul wrote:

Because we do belong to God, our lives should reflect the holiness of God.

And that concerns our sanctification.

What has God set us apart for (or to)?

We have been set apart to glorify God.

Are we daily living in a way that glorifies God?

We have been set apart to please God.

Are we daily - moment by moment - living in a way that pleases God?

We have been set apart to serve God.

This is clearly seen in the Old Testament when, in Numbers chapters 7 and 8 (and in other places) we see that the Tabernacle, all of its furnishings and the tribe of Levi had been specifically set apart by God to serve God.

Every Christian has been set apart to serve God.

Allow Charles Spurgeon to shed some “light” on this passage:

Purge himself:

Notice, however that they are cleansed, for the Lord will not use filthy vessels be they what they may.

He will only use those that are clean, and He would have His true people purged, not only from gross sin, but from doctrinal error and from association with the perverse minded.

Sanctified:

Notice that these gold and silver vessels are reserved as well as cleansed.

They are made “useful to the Master.”

the Lord takes His people to be His peculiar treasure, vessels for His personal use.

Prepared unto every good work:

Oh, for a holy character and holy communion with God! Then we shall be golden vessels fit for the Master’s use, and so, according to the text, we shall be ready for every good work, ready for the work when it comes, and ready at the work when it has come, because completely consecrated to God and subject to His hand.

It’s “interesting,” then, that Paul follows these verses with:

We will touch on this later but there is an aspect of sanctification which requires our active participation!

Young people, that’s why, considering this matter of sanctification, you should not simply think, “What do I want to do with my life,” but you should instead ask:

“What does God want me to do with the life He has given me?!”

Those verses will come back into view as we continue our look at the truth of Sanctification.

We believe that believers have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.

Then...

We believe that sanctification is a divine and progressive work of the Holy Spirit whereby

God, upon the ground of the finished work of Christ on the cross, His present intercessory ministry, and His divine Word, sets the believer apart and

works out in and through him, by means of a submissive will,

that which is well pleasing to Himself through Jesus Christ.

We have already established the fact that sanctification is based upon the character of God and the finished work of Christ upon the cross.

And, we’ve already touched upon the fact that we have been sanctified - set apart - that we might serve Him and please Him.

Now, it’s important for us to consider the truth that sanctification is a divine and progressive work of the Holy Spirit.

Sanctification is a progressive work.

While that statement may seem to be purely academic it is a statement which should excite us and give us hope!

There really ought to be a sign upon my heart

Don't judge him yet, there's an unfinished part

But I'll be better just according to His plan

Fashioned by the Master's loving hands

He's still working on me

To make me what I need to be

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars

How loving and patient He must be

'Cause He's still workin' on me

For the Christians, sanctification includes three aspects or “steps.”

Every Bible teacher and preacher presents this truth in a slightly different way.

Charles Ryrie

Positional or Definitive Sanctification

Present Experiential or Progressive Sanctification

Ultimate Sanctification

Williams Evans

Instantaneous Sanctification

Progressive Sanctification

Complete and Final Sanctification

Because of our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ you have been - already - sanctified.

You have been set apart from evil, to God, for His service.

When we pass from this life to the next we will experience ultimate, complete, final sanctification.

As one writer states, that we will attain this final sanctification in Heaven when we shall be completely and eternally set apart to our God.

In between those two “extremes” we are right now experiencing what most Bible teachers call progressive sanctification.

Some might speak of our growth in Christ.

There are many passages of Scripture which speak to this journey that we are on; a journey to become more like Christ.

An illustration may help (although any earthly illustration will, in some ways, fall short)

When a person purchases a house - a “fixer upper” - it is instantaneous.

Once they have placed their signature upon the sales papers and the payment has been made, the house is set apart to and for the new owners.

Then begins a long process of renovation of tearing down walls, installing new flooring and cabinets, enlarging the bathroom, painting the exterior, etc.

Finally, the home is finished - it is complete - and the new owners can finally move in and begin enjoying their dream home.

It’s this process - progressive sanctification - that we are most concerned with right now.

What’s involved in this process?

God, upon the ground of the finished work of Christ on the cross, His present intercessory ministry, and His divine Word, sets the believer apart and

works out in and through him, by means of a submissive will,

that which is well pleasing to Himself through Jesus Christ.

Another way of asking that question: