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Views on Sanctification

What I am attempting to do is a tricky thing.

The easy part is talking about sanctification and holiness.
The tricky part is harder to explain.
The subjects at hand are biblical and relevant.

The problem is, does anybody understand them?
If I used those two terms openly, sanctification and holiness, will anyone know what I mean?

And, if people do have some grasp on the terminology, there is such a varied landscape on the subject of sanctification that it is difficult terrain to cover without rolling over some landmines theologically and philosophically.

People from different denominations have different views and feelings about what sanctification is all about.
Does God the whole work all at once or does it happen in a more progressive, gradual manner?
Is sanctification more about living a holy life or is it about the obtaining of spiritual gifts?
Am I truly empowered to go forth and do things in the name of Jesus or is this more about focusing on my own spiritual 'whiteness' i.e. - keeping my own garments spotless and clean for the coming of the Lord?

Views will vary depending on where you were raised and what kind of preaching you have sat under.
Many people from holiness backgrounds will tell you one thing.
People from more liberal Methodist backgrounds, another. (If they can tell you anything at all.)
And still, folks in a Pentecostal/Apostolic setting will show you another.

There are Christians who have never familiarized themselves with the terminology and have only read it a handful of times through out the Bible.

And, they probably live a holier life than you or I.

This subject is not for the know it all.
If that's how you approach it, you probably have something that needs sanctified.

This subject is not for the wielder of Twenty-Five dollar terms, although, the word itself might look like it is one.

This subject is not to be watered down and turned into some simple 'you just need faith' talk.

This subject is for those who seek to deepen their walk with God and find faith that will last.
This is for those who realize that the Christian life is more than simply believing that Jesus exists.

That's just where it begins.

Next comes the process of being separated from all things we hold dear.
God wishes for us to make Him first in our lives.
All other things come second.

"This is the will of God", Paul would write to the Thessalonians, "your sanctification."

This is what He wants.
For His people to be set apart, made holy, made to live a life centered on Himself.

Are you up to the task?

There is more to it than just deciding what is sin and what is not.
Peoples have been debating that for ages.
There is much more to this than a legalistic slogan of what exactly God has done.
"The law brings death", Paul would say to the Romans.

The task is to knowing Him.
To know Him in the leaving behind of things.
To know Him in the unlearning of things. (Oswald Chambers)

"Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you..."

The disciples dropped their nets and oars, left their tax collecting booths and their loved ones behind to follow.
They had no idea what they were getting themselves into, but they came.

Where are you at on this journey?
Do you know what you are getting yourself into?

Maybe you think you do.
Maybe you have no idea.

But, you are here.
The Lord beckons you to come further.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.- Robert Frost


Join me if you will.

Jeremy