Q. 35. What is sanctification?
A. Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness.
“But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” (2 Thess. 2:13)
“I remember a classmate of mine, a Lebanese Presbyterian, who threw a theological temper tantrum during his first semester in seminary. ‘All you Americans care about is justification!’ he howled. ‘You love sinning and being forgiven, sinning and being forgiven, but no one seems to want off that hamster wheel. Have you ever heard of sanctification? Is anyone interested in learning to sin a little less?’” - Barbara Brown Taylor, book “Speaking of Sin”
We are all broken in some way, both sinful and sinned against. Because none of us has escaped the results of sin, we suffer spiritual and emotional damage. We won't let others love us. We can't say no. We don't know how to connect with people. We're unable to be firm in our convictions. We need help to be disciplined, to accept our weaknesses, to stand against those who would abuse us. The broken, damaged, immature parts of our character need to be fixed.
And doing this repair, many wrongly believe, is God acting alone, by himself, unaided by anyone or anything. All we really need, they insist, is to do what the Bible says. Yet the Bible says over and over again that we should find people to help us return to spiritual and emotional health. Faith must grow. Faith is linked with love and hope. Faith is one of the “fruits of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23), bestowed by God as a gift. Our spiritual formation as a disciple is about growth in faith and faith is growth in holiness, called “sanctification” in the New Testament.
The act of healing our brokenness and the process of our recovery is the work of sanctification. God is always striving toward redeeming those lost parts of our souls that are injured and broken by sin. God’s ongoing activity in our lives is bringing those parts into the light of his grace and truth.
Jesus bears witness in his own person and in the mighty works which he performed that God's deliverance has truly come to those who accept him as Savior of Israel and Redeemer of humankind. Jesus did not leave us alone, but left us the Holy Spirit as our guide, advocate and counselor to strengthen us in holiness and service. The Holy Spirit not only purifies our hearts and minds, but transforms our lives through God’s saving love and mercy. Our necessary task is allowing the light of God's truth and love to shine in our heart and mind?
Holiness, the Spirit-filled life, is a life of good works done in Jesus' name with the intent to bring honor to him. Within the Word of God we see the witness of those who believe and are filled with the Spirit are to make a difference in their world. If, somehow, Christians are not having a positive influence in our homes, schools, communities, workplaces, government and local congregations - wherever we come into contact with the world - then there at least must be the suspicion that our claim to Christianity is self-deception at best, or an outright lie at worst. Holiness is a verb. The Spirit-filled life is not a philosophical belief as much as a lifestyle.
Sanctification is about developing a character-transforming life. The process of sanctification does not leave us where we are but changes us, as we progress from faith to faith (that is, from the faith we now have leading us to the faith we have yet to receive) and from strength to strength and from glory to glory.
The most important, the most real, the most lasting work of sanctification is accomplished in the depths of our hearts. This work is frequently solitary and interior, but also is accomplished in the midst of a loving, caring community of the faithful capable of challenging us in our formation as disciples. This transformation is not always visible to us or others, then one day you have what I call the “Ah-ha” moment, when all your striving after the Kingdom of God achieves clarity. This moment of clarity drives us to seek after new areas of our faith and then places us once again into activities known only to God. It is the work of heart purity, soul conversion, and life formation.
Sheldon Vanauken in A Severe Mercy writes: “The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians - when they are somber and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.” Sanctification aids us in becoming the disciples and witnesses to Christ that brings joy, love and grace to a troubled, broken world.
In her book If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn’t Be Hard: And Other Reassuring Truths, Sheri L. Dew writes, “If you’re serious about sanctification, you can expect to experience heart-wrenching moments that try your faith, your endurance and your patience.”
Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning Psalm: 55
Evening Psalm: 8, 56
Jeremiah 16:1-21
Romans 7:1-12
John 6:1-15
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