A radical change
The Bible makes it clear that sanctification is extremely important for a Christian’s growth and development. God wants us to take part in sanctification as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: “… God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And we read in Hebrews 12:14: “Pursue peace with all people, and sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord.”
But what exactly is sanctification?
Sanctification is another word for “to be made holy”, and we certainly don’t become holy overnight. A lot has to happen for us to change from being the way we are by nature into being holy as He is holy. (1 Peter 1:15-16.) A radical change is needed, and this is a lifelong process. This process is called sanctification.
Overcoming conscious sin
Our Christian life begins when we get peace with God. If we truly repent of the sins we have done in the past, God forgives us for Jesus’ sake. This is a wonderful experience, but we’ll soon discover that we are still tempted to sin and that we must fight to overcome it. By the power of the Holy Spirit and by being faithful in this battle, we can come to a life where we overcome all conscious sin—the thoughts, and actions that we know are wrong.
We read in Romans 6:22: “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” We can be set free from sinning, we can stop sinning!
Overcoming unconscious sin
But as we give ourselves to serve God, we discover something else! Although we have been set free from sin—free from consciously sinning—we still have sin in our human nature, as the apostle John clearly points out in 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Our human nature is full of a tendency to sin, and we are unaware of these sins until we suddenly see we are tempted to it or when God’s Spirit shows us. There is a great difference between consciously doing sin and having sin in our nature.
Fruit grows from a seed. And for “fruit to holiness” to grow, we must “sow” our own life—our own will. “I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains.” John 12:24 (GNT). The apostle Paul says in Galatians 2:20 (NIV): “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Do we hate our own “I”—our own life, our own will? If so, then we are willing to sow it so that it dies and new life can grow.
So, overcoming sin has to do with overcoming the sinful desires in our human nature that we see when we are tempted. But a disciple’s sanctification doesn’t stop there.
It happens that we have said or done something with the best intentions, but afterwards the Spirit shows us that it was wrong. This is because of the “sin that holds on to us so tightly,” as we read in Hebrews 12:1. We also have to admit this sin and put it to death – I need to judge and reject it with my conscious mind - so that “fruit to holiness” can grow.
Read also: What should I do when I did something bad without knowing it?
Sin that “follows along”
It’s written in Psalm 119:105 (NLT), “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” In the light of God’s Word, and through the working of the Holy Spirit we see the sin in our nature that followed along with the good that we wanted to do. A harsh tone, unmerciful words, or a thoughtless comment came out of our mouths just when we wanted to show kindness or help someone. We did what we hated (Romans 7:15), but we did not see it until after it was done. These are the things that Paul calls the “deeds of the body” in Romans 8:13.
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. When we walk in the light, we agree with God’s judgment over our sin and are obedient to put to death what God shows us, and sin is little by little cleansed out. (Romans 8:13.) Then the fruit of the Spirit can grow so that we are changed to be more and more like Christ! This is a wonderful and realistic hope for every Christian who longs to change.
Read also: We can be changed completely!
A new nature: The fruit of the Spirit
Our human nature with all its evil tendencies is far from godly! But the hope that the gospel gives us is clear: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV).
God longs to help us forward on this way of sanctification. Our part is to want it, to admit our need for it, and to become obedient to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, in faith that “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6 (NLT).
