To be sanctified means to be set apart for the purpose for which God created us.
I was thinking about that person (Psalms 1:1) who walks in the counsel of the ungodly, stands in the path where sinners walk and sits down to relax where scorners and mockers gather. For the first time it brought a new insight about a deceptive possibility. If I live an unholy life or choose to disobey God in any instance - - - am I not scorning God’s will and mocking holiness? This concept deserves serious thought. Sin increases in our world every day. We talk about it and are troubled by it. Dr. Charles Stanley said something very insightful and I completely agree with him. “Sin will increase wherever there are no restraints. Some Christians are so weak and wishy-washy that there is little power of purity to restrain evil”.
We need to constantly remember and determinedly obey (1 John 3:23). Everyone who has this hope within him purifies himself just as He is pure.
If by our sovereign choices, we scorn God’s will and mock holiness we will certainly add nothing to the restraining power of purity. Instead we will be a big help to Satan in his expanding program of vile sin. All sin is independence of God and therefore rebellion against God.
Is this what we want to take with us to (2 Corinthians 5:10) the Judgment Seat of Christ? When Jesus looked at Peter (Luke 22:61) Peter went out and wept bitterly and those tears were the start of a new beginning. When Jesus looks at us when we appear before His Judgment Seat, it will be too late for tears, they will avail nothing no matter how bitter because there will be no more time. Why shed useless tears of deep regret then when we can make choices now which will bring rejoicing and gratitude when we meet the Judge (John 5:22) of all the earth. When we are born again, we become new persons, we are not who we used to be. We will still have the sin principle within us until the Divine Image is completely restored when we see Jesus and we still have our free will. We never have to sin because we have eternal resurrection Life of incarnate Deity. You cannot separate (Colossians 3:1-5) purity from holiness and cannot separate purity and power. Jesus lives in us to live His Life through the power of the Holy Spirit Who is (1 John 3:24, 1 Thessalonians 4:8) the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Our choices and motives are supremely important. It really shook me to realize that by a hasty choice in a fleeting moment I can scorn God’s will and mock holiness in outright defiance. Have we forgotten the meaning and purpose of the cross? Do our choices reveal that we count the COST of the Cross to be of less value to us than the indulgence of our selfish desires?
To be sanctified means to be set apart for the purpose for which God created us. You sanctify a chair when you sit on it because it was created for that purpose. If we are not set apart for God’s purpose in creating us, which is to glorify Him by our obedience, what are we accomplishing? What purpose do we serve in our desperately needy world?
We need to have our lives blown up with dynamite and the dynamite is obedience to the Holy Spirit. So many temporary things in our lives will be blown up if we obey the Lord for the goal of eternal treasures. Several years ago a missionary, later martyred, said – “he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose”. Sadly – sadly – many Christians are reversing this glorious principle, but they cannot change its life-altering truth