Sanctification: The Process - Part 1

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, August 10th. How much do you know about sanctification? If you're a little fuzzy on the details, then today's podcast will help you understand God's sanctifying work. When you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, what did you expect after that happened? Did anybody sit you down and say, here's what you can expect, here's what your responsibility is, and here's how the Christian life works? Or did they say, we're just so happy that you have been saved. We just praise the Lord and just thank Him for that.

Have a good time. In other words, nobody ever instructed you what to expect and how to deal with the expectations. What I want to help you to understand is what to expect, what God's going to be doing the rest of your life as long as you're on this earth, and how He's going to be able to do that. So I want you to turn, if you will, to Second Timothy chapter two, beginning in verse nineteen and read verse nineteen, twenty and twenty-one, and the title of this message is Sanctification, the Process. In Second Timothy chapter two, beginning in verse nineteen, Paul said to Timothy, Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal. The Lord knows those who are His, and everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness. Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself or herself from these things, he or she will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared for every good work. Now what Paul has written to Timothy is this. He says, There are all different kinds of members in the church. There are those who are very honorable and growing in the Lord.

There are those who are not so honorable and not growing. He says, You liken those unto those vessels, he calls them, that are gold and silver, and then those who are not doing so well as wood and hay or stubble. He says, Now if you really want to be a vessel of honor and you want to be used by the Lord, here's what he says. Verse twenty-one, If you will cleanse yourself from these things, those things that are dishonorable, things that don't fit who you are as a child of God, he says, cleanse yourself from these things, you will be a vessel of honor, sanctified, set apart, made holy by God, useful to the master, and prepared for every good work. That is, God uses those who are being progressively sanctified.

What in the world does that mean? Whatever it means is very important in the mind of God and in the Christian life. So what I'd like to do is I'd like for us to begin with talking about the very nature of sanctification itself.

So I want to define a couple of terms. For example, the word sanctification means holy. A person or a thing that has been sanctified is something or someone who has been set apart by God, for God, for sacred holy purposes. Every single one of us who is a believer is one who has been sanctified, set apart by God, for the purposes of God. The word also not only means to be separated, but it also is the same word from which we get our word saint.

A saint is a person who is trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and one in and through whom the Lord Jesus Christ is progressively moving them to be conformed to His likeness in their character, their conversation, and their conduct. So that's what sanctification is all about. But now a lot of people who say, well, I do believe that, but how does that work in our life? And what I want you to see is that it works very, very simply. But I want you to turn to your, first of all, to 1 Peter. Just turn over from 2 Timothy and 1 Timothy to 1 Peter chapter one. And if you'll notice what he says in this passage. And I want you to see this is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Listen to what he says. Chapter one of 1 Peter verse one. He says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, that they've been scattered all over the world that time, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, and who had chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood.

May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. So it is the work of the Holy Spirit in us that brings about this process. And if you'll go back from 1 Timothy, back one more book to 2 Thessalonians. And I want you to notice in 2 Thessalonians and look, if you will, in this second chapter and the thirteenth verse. 2 Thessalonians chapter two verse thirteen.

Here's what he says. He says, But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. Remember we said stage number one, sanctified. That is, we are set apart at that moment. So this is what he is referring to here in this particular passage. And then, of course, you will remember that in Galatians chapter five the Bible speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit that he says, But the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of the Christian, the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, joy, goodness, gentleness, self control. This is what the Spirit of God is doing within us. So what's His work? His work is enabling us, bringing us to the knowledge of the truth and then enabling us to become and to do and to live out what Jesus Christ has lived out and living in within us. And so when you think about His work, somebody says, Well, if it's His work, then I shouldn't have to be concerned about it. And so sometimes people have a very passive attitude about the Christian life.

This is their attitude. Well, I've trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Know I'm going to heaven now. You know, I go to church once in a while and I read the Bible and I pray and I give some sometimes and sometimes I'll talk to somebody about what I believe and so forth. And so they really have a very passive attitude about the Christian life. There's no pursuit of godliness, no pursuit of holiness, no yearning, hungering, thirsting to be like our Lord, not searching the Scriptures to find out what is it that God thinks about the way we're to live in and what are the ways of God. So it's a very passive attitude about the Christian life. And the truth is that's the way it seems by what I can tell and what most pastors I think would say.

Most people have a very passive attitude about it. And yet that's not God's attitude about it at all. We have a personal responsibility when it comes to living a holy life, living a sanctified life. We are sanctified at salvation. We are continually being sanctified, made holy in our progressive daily life. And at the end we are ultimately and finally sanctified. It's this stretch between salvation and death that we have to deal with.

And so we do have a responsibility. While it is the work of the Holy Spirit to affect these things in our life, it's our responsibility to deal with them. So let me just give you a few passages of Scripture, for example. Back to 2 Timothy chapter two for a moment. You'll notice what he said in the twenty-first verse. He said, Therefore if anyone cleanses himself, not if the Holy Spirit cleanses you, but if you cleanse yourself. Now what does that mean?

Well, let me put it this way. That does not mean that I can do anything to wipe away the sin. In other words, the forgiveness always has to be the work of God.

The conviction has to be the work of God. But you and I have the responsibility of dealing with sin. That is, to abstain from it means we hold ourself from it. To cleanse means we walk away from it. We confess it. We repent of it. So we do have a responsibility in this sanctifying process.

And so we can see what he says there. Then I want you to notice also another verse or two here when we think in terms of exactly what does it mean for the process to be going on in our life. He says, for example, look in 2 Corinthians chapter seven for a moment. 2 Corinthians chapter seven and this very first verse will certainly say to us that we have a responsibility.

And here's what he says. Therefore, having these promises, the ones he's just mentioned, Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now that verse is loaded with truth. Look at that. He says, therefore, having these promises, we have the promise of forgiveness and God answers prayer.

There are lots of promises, he says. Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves. That is, continually walk away from it.

Lay it down. Repent of it. And that is a complete break, listen, with those things that defile our flesh, our body and our spirit. I want you to turn, if you will, to 1 Thessalonians back past Timothy now. 1 Thessalonians chapter four. And here's a good example of the things that people have to deal with. And oftentimes, people will rationalize their sin and excuse their sin. So after all, you can't be perfect.

Oh, I have this need, that need or the other. And I want you to look in 1 Thessalonians chapter four and look at these verses, beginning in verse one. Here's what he said. Paul said, Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the name of the Lord Jesus that you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk, that you excel still more. He says, you've learned these things from us and you're making progress in your spiritual walk.

That is, the sanctifying process is working in you. And he says, I want to challenge you to excel even more. Then he says, for you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. Now, before you look at the next verse, here's why I want you to remember. That Paul's society, listen, the age in which he lived, his environment was filled with sexual immorality, because so many of the religions of their day practiced it as a part of their worship, paid prostitutes and all the rest.

So everywhere he went, he was confronted with this. So beginning in verse three, here's what he says. He says, now for this is the will of God.

What's that? Your sanctification. You're becoming a holy person. Your lifestyle being holy.

You live a godly life. That is, that you abstain, hold yourself from sexual immorality. That is, that he says, that each one of you know how to possess his own vessel or his body in sanctification, that is, in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who don't know God. He said, and the people around you living in all kinds of sexual immorality, he said, because they don't know God. He says, that's the reason they're doing it, but no, not for the believer.

Listen, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who don't know God, and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger of all those who do these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. Now watch this, for God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. That is, he says, God hasn't called you to live immorally, but holy. He hasn't called you to live wickedly, but holy. He hasn't called you to live in disobedience, but holy. And then he says, so he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives his Holy Spirit to you. That is, when you and I come to a passage of Scripture, when we come to a biblical principle, when we begin to understand the truth about something, and then we deliberately defy God, it isn't defying somebody.

He says, you're not rejecting a man, but the God who gives his Holy Spirit to you to convict you, enlighten you, help you to understand the truth, and to convict you and enable you to do what is right, you're rejecting the very God who gives you the Spirit. So it's very evident in these passages, the Christian life isn't some passive, you know, I've been saved, now that's it. But it is a life of diligence, of seeking to know the will of God, the Word of God and to walk in His way, because sanctification is not a choice.

Sanctification is the will and the purpose and the plan of God, that no matter where we are coming from in life, having trusted Him as our Savior, to walk holy before Him, to walk in a godly fashion before Him, to demonstrate this in character, conversation, and conduct the very life of the Lord Jesus, as He enables us to do so. As somebody says, oh, but some people know more than others, and some this, and some grew up in a Christian home, I'm coming to that. But what I want you to see, it is not a passive attitude or passive spirit at all. But you see that all of us have a personal responsibility in the whole issue.

Now, it involves two areas of our life, our inner life and our outer life. Just think about how He's had to change our thinking, how He's had to change our attitudes. Think about how many habits that He's changed in your life and the way you used to think about yourself, the way you thought about God, the way you think about people. For example, so many people think God is this awesome judge, and He seemingly despises everybody, and if you can just get by that, maybe you'll get to heaven.

He's a wonderful, loving God. Or they think, for example, this is right, this is right, and there's nothing wrong with this. And oftentimes, people indulging in sin and disobedience, they say, well, my parents did it, and what's wrong with it?

Nobody's ever showed me in the Scripture. So what I'm saying is simply this. He begins His work primarily on the inside changing our thinking, our viewpoint, our convictions in the habits of our life. And then what happens? Outwardly, we begin to demonstrate that. Our conduct, our behavior begins to change.

Why? Because He began to work on our mind. He began to work in our spirit. He began to work in our soul. We don't always express everything we feel. We don't have to have everything we think we have to have in life.

And so what happens? When we come to a place in our life that we can lay down a bad habit, we're making progress. That is, we are being sanctified. We are moving ahead in our Christian walk.

When we lay down some of our conversation, lay down some habits, for example, that's been there for years and years and years, you lay them down, you're making progress. That's what the Christian life is all about, perfecting us, cleansing us, sanctifying us, making us holy, making us like the Lord Jesus Christ. So it works outwardly, and it also works inwardly.

But not only that, I want you to remember something else. And that is, it works in every single aspect of our life. And I want to bring you some verses here. First of all, the sanctification process works on our intellect, the way we think. And what will happen is you will no longer think like the world thinks when the sanctifying process begins in your life unless you choose to hold on to the world's philosophy of life. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you're going to die. That's not God's way.

That's not God's will. And He says we're to grow in our knowledge and our understanding of the Lord. That is, our intellect, the way we think will change. Now, when the way you think changes, what else is going to change?

Your what? Your behavior is going to change, your conduct. Because we said spirit, soul, that is mind, will, and emotion. And the way we begin to think, the way we begin to feel, the way we begin to listen to our conscience, the way we begin to do these things, our conduct, our behavior is going to change absolutely. For example, not on that, but our emotions are going to change.

The way we feel about things. That is, instead of having a passion for those things that will destroy us, we will have a passion for those things that will lift us up, build us up, strengthen us, encourage us. We'll have a passion for God.

That is a deep, abiding, hungering, thirsting, earning love for Him. That is, when our intellect changes, our emotions change, and what's going to happen? Our spirit's going to change. That is, the Spirit of God who governs our life, when we choose to allow Him to do so, is going to govern us in such a fashion that every aspect, our body's going to change. What we do with our body, we just read a few moments ago in First Thessalonians chapter four, we are to abstain from any form of immorality whatsoever. So our bodies, he says, are the temples of the Holy Spirit. That is, we're going to be able to do, we're going to be able to function properly, we're going to be disciplined in those aspects so that body, soul, spirit, that is our mind, our will, our emotion, our conscience, our consciousness, the way we see ourselves is the way God sees us, our conscience, stricken, smitten by sin. Every aspect of our life is going to change.

Because we are now in the progressive stage of being conformed to the likeness of Jesus. So what you have to ask is this, as you look at your life from the moment you've trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, have you made progress? Are you making progress in your walk with God?

Could you honestly and truly say, yes, I can look back and see some habits I laid down. Can you say that? Can you say that in your life, thank you, dear Lord, you can leave me stuck, stuck over here. And this is where many people are who are believers. They're stuck.

They are stuck and entrenched. Listen, they're mired up in bad habits, mired up in sin, mired up in all kinds of thought patterns, rationalizing away their sin, and they just feel stuck. And this is why they will say to us sometime, the Christian life doesn't work.

Man, I've tried that. I don't know what you tried, but listen, if you don't understand that the Holy Spirit will enable you and that it's the will and purpose and plan of God, His great awesome plan for your life is that you are continually progressing in your Christian life. If you don't understand that and you get stuck back here, you'll stay stuck and you know what will happen? You'll come to the end of your life and say, you know what the truth is? I'm disappointed in the Christian life. I thought there's going to be joy and peace and happiness and contentment, even in as difficult as in hardships and trials. And I've had all of those things and I still don't have any peace and joy and happiness and contentment. You know why?

Because you weren't growing. Listen, this is not an option, my friend. It is the absolute will of God. He says this is the will of God, your sanctification, your progressing in a life of holiness. And therefore, He mentions just one thing, abstain from all kinds of sexual immorality. The truth is abstain from anything and everything that keeps us from being the godly person God wants us to be. And so therefore, our life is a life of walking in the Spirit, by the Spirit abstaining from sin, rejecting sin, confessing sin, repenting of sin, and listen, doing what? And the Spirit of God conforming us to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ so that when somebody meets you, listen, is it not true? Should it not be true? When anyone meets you and me, they should meet Christ within us. He's living on the inside of us. Should it not be in our countless?

Should it not be in our conduct and our behavior and our conversation that there's something about us that's different in the way the world operates, the way they think? Absolutely. Thank you for listening to Sanctification, The Process. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.