Sanctification

Last night I woke up and was thinking about sanctification. I feel that the Lord was showing me many things about it, because I had many thoughts, and felt that He wanted me to write them down when I was awake today. This is not as organized as I would like to have it, but I am just putting down thoughts as they come to me. But this is something, which I did awake with in my heart and did feel burdened to share.

According to AmericanCatholic.org, this is the criterion for becoming a saint:

There are three steps necessary for a person to become a saint. First, the person must be named Venerable, which means he or she exhibited heroic virtues in life. Before moving on to beatification, the person must have a miracle attributed to him or her. Once such a miracle is confirmed, the person is known as Blessed. For the final step before canonization, the individual must have yet another miracle attributed to his or her intercession—unless he or she was a martyr for the faith. Only then is a person canonized and added to the list of saints.#

So in the Catholic Church, a person must have done some type of heroic deed and have performed several (at least two) miracles to be considered a saint.

The Protestant Churches say that there is a process, which is called sanctification. According to the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry:

Sanctification, on the other hand, involves the work of the person.  But it is still God working in the believer to produce more of a godly character and life in the person who has already been justified (Phil. 2:13).  Sanctification is not instantaneous because it is not the work of God alone.#

So according to Protestant theology, the person is involved in sanctification and it is a lengthy, ongoing process.

But God/YHWH woke me last night and showed me that neither one are correct.

According to the Greek lexicon, the word sanctify is hagiazō and it means:

1) to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow
2) to separate from profane things and dedicate to God
a) consecrate things to God
b) dedicate people to God
3) to purify
a) to cleanse externally
b) to purify by expiation: free from the guilt of sin
c) to purify internally by renewing of the soul
Hebrews 13:12 says, “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 5:26-27 says, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

So it is Yeshua or Christ, which sanctifies us wholly. Hebrews 10:10 says, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Hagiazō comes from the Greek root word hagios, which means most holy or saint.

Philippians 4:21 says that everyone who is in Messiah is a saint, “Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.”

Ephesians 4:11-12 say, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” So there is a reference here to perfecting the saints, but perfecting here is actually the Greek word katartismos and doesn’t really mean perfecting, but actually means equipping, so this is saying that God gave different people different jobs to do and he equipped them to carry out their ministries. It has nothing to do with being sanctified in a life long process.

When one accepts Yeshua as his or her Savior, he or she is immediately sanctified through the cleansing of His blood. There is no process to it. Sanctification theology is an excuse to keep on sinning. It is saying that through God, we work to stop sinning, but it is done in a process, because we cannot do it all at once.

But what does the Bible say about this?

Hebrews 2:147-18: Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.   Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
John 8:36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Romans 6:18: Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Romans 6:22: But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Galatians 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

So, we do not have an excuse to sin after we are saved. Yeshua came to set us free, free from the bondage of all sins, and has replaced our sins with holiness, which is sanctification. We are now free and not to be entangled again in the bondage of sin. We are to flee from it, flee from the devil and resist him and he will flee also from us.

1 Corinthians 10:11-14 tells us, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

So YHWH does not let us be tempted by more than we are able to flee from. There is nothing, no temptation, ever laid on our hearts that is too much for us to handle that we must succumb to it. Nothing!

Many, I think, confuse the word sanctification with the word justification. The Greek word for justification is dikaiōsis and means:

1) the act of God declaring men free from guilt and acceptable to him
2) abjuring to be righteous, justification
So justification is the YHWH declaring that men are free from past sins and now acceptable to Him, but sanctification is Yeshua actually cleansing us and separating us from profane things in the present and future. They go together hand in hand, but when we are born again we are justified in that our past sins are forgiven, but through the cleansing in the blood of Yeshua, we are separated from sin from now on and are considered to be a saint. There is no heroic act or miracle entailed, nor is there a lengthy, drawn out process. What Yeshua did is done, and if you have the Holy Spirit in you, then you are justified and sanctified.

© 2010 Kimberly Padilla, A.A Religion