Reference: John 17:17, Ephesians 5:25-27, and I Thessalonians5:22-23
It seems that many people are confusedabout the truth concerning the doctrine of sanctification. If we were to lookat the nominal churches of today we can find that they have different teachingson this subject, but there is only one truth about the subject revealed in thegospel of Christ. The word sanctify or sanctification means to be cleansed fromones sins committed against Almighty God. Some people believe that they havebeen sanctified at the time they accepted Christ as Saviour. Some believe thatthey are sanctified later on after they have repented of sin confessing beliefon the Lord Jesus. Actually there are two different beliefs on the subject ofsanctification in the nominal churches today but neither teaching is in accordwith how the Bible reveals it. Both of the teachings in todays denominationalchurches teach that the sanctification doctrine is an instant work performed onthe believer at the altar. The only difference between the two teachings is thefact that one belief is that you are sanctified at the time you confess Christreceiving him as Lord and Saviour, and the other being what is called a secondwork of grace. I can go along with the second belief as far as saying thatsanctification is apart from repentance, but to be sanctified is not an instantwork performed on the believer as a second work of grace done instantly at thealtar seeking it as an experience.
When a person truly repents of sin andbegins to call upon the name of the Lord, they will be set free from the powerof sin. When Christ truly comes into the heart of the repented believer theyare given the power of the Holy Ghost in their lives to lead and teach them alltruth revealed in the gospel of Christ. When Christ takes up his abode in theheart and life of the believer, they possess the power to cease from sin, butthey are not or have not been sanctified at this time when Christ came intotheir life. Sanctification is a progressive work that involves the whole manwhich consists of body, soul, and spirit. When Christ comes into a believersheart this purifies the heart causing them to be able to live a different kindof life apart from the natural life they lived before Christ came into theirlife. The purifying of the heart at the coming in of Christ does not renew themind and crucify the lusts and desires of the flesh. The renewing of the mindand the crucifying of the lusts and desires of the flesh is the progressivework performed on the believer through the sanctification of the Spirit and thebelief of the truth. The Spirit in the heart of the true believer received atthe begining of their new way of life leads them into the revealed truth thatwill renew their mind and will crucify the lusts and desires of the flesh.Sanctification is not a tapering off from sin trying to overcome the power ofit because a true believer that has received Christ into their heart hasalready been set free from the power of sin, but they have not been cleansedfrom their sin completely because the mind must be renewed and the deeds anddesires of the flesh must be mortified. The power of the Spirit in the life ofthe believer enables them to cease from sin and the Spirit reveals to them thetruth that will renew the mind and crucify the lusts of their fleshly body.Today's confessing christians of the nominal churches think that the christianlife after they claim to have accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour is a life ofcontinually trying to overcome sin in their life, but this only proves theyhave not been set free from sin's power. This is why the converts of today'schurches still live in open sin not being able to cease from their sins. Theyhave been led to believe that as long as they repent and acknowledge their sinsthen they regain fellowship with God. Every true child of God that Christ trulydwells in their heart, has been set free from sin's power and they must beobedient to the Spirit's leading and abstain from the very appearance of evil.We are told in God's word we must not continue in sin breaking the laws of God.The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:1-2 these words, "Whatshall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?" We are given the power of the Spirit in our hearts to ceasefrom sin and if we fail to allow the Spirit to lead us and to teach us truththen we will fall from grace as so stated in Galatians5:2-4. Here we are told that if webecome circumcised then Christ will profit us exactly nothing. The circumcisionspoken of here is our trying to be justified by the works of the law. Trying tobe justified by the works of the law means that one has failed to continue onin the word of God thinking they have received all that salvation offers them bytheir accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour. Your failing to continue on in theword of truth after you repented from sin will cut you off from God and youwill never come to the knowledge of the truth that the scriptures reveals. Youwill actually fall from grace as Paul states in Galatians5:2-4. The teachings today ofsanctification being an instant work at the altar when one accepts Christ asSaviour, or when one seeks for a second work of grace, branded thesanctification experience, they will fall from grace and Christ will profitthem nothing. Sanctification is a progressive work performed by the Spiritthrough the revelation of truth from the scriptures. Jesus made it very clearby saying, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth... We are cleansed from all sin as we walk inthe light of the truth of the gospel of Christ revealed to us by the HolySpirit. The truth renews our minds making it a spiritual mind, and ourreceiving and obedience to the truth will also crucify the lusts and thedesires of our flesh. Receiving Christ into our hearts does not at the sametime renew our minds and crucify our members of our body. We are told in Romans 12:1-2 that we are topresent our bodies unto God as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable, unto Godwhich IS our reasonable service to do. We are told in II Corinthians 4:16 that,"For which cause we faint not; butthough our outward man (fleshly desires of the body) perish, yet the inward man(our spirit or mind) is renewed day by day." The perishing of our outward man is accomplished by ourobedience to truth and abstaining from evil. The flesh loves the pleasures ofsin, but we must crucify our fleshly desires by loving not the world nor thethings therein. If you love the world the love of the Father is not in you.