A Sanctified Life
Ephesians 4:17-24 New International Version (NIV)
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
What is Sanctification?
In order to first understand sanctification, we need to remember the process by which we were saved:
1) We heard the word
2) We believed in the word
3) We repented our sins
4) We confessed that Jesus Christ died for our sins and thus saved us /
Gave us remission (complete cleansing) of our sins
5) Then we were baptized
So what happens afterwards?
Sanctification is the continued process of living our lives where we have submitted ALL of ourselves to our father God, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, in all his holiness.
We do this to evidence that we belong to God and every facet and character of our lives shows this truth.
We have been justified in our holiness by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and by this we have been given the opportunity to live a sanctified life. The justification is the root and the sanctification is the fruit.
By being fruitful, we evidence:
1) that we have moved from darkness to light
2) we have confessed our sins and asked forgiveness
3) that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ
4) that the righteous man will do what is right and holy
There is a need to evidence these things so that we keep ourselves honest in both Quality and Quantity of Sanctification.
1) Quality of Sanctification is to continue to live your life justified by the fact that
Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God
2) Quantity of Sanctification is to continue to live your life bearing as much fruit
as possible to evidence that our character is following the example set forth
by our Lord Jesus Christ
Once we fully commit ourselves to this, the following are the ways in which we must set the blueprint for living our lives in this world, for the duration God has blessed us with:
1) Completely abandon the old self
2) Shatter the hardened heart
3) Shine light upon the dark heart of our past
4) No longer be content to live a desensitized life
5) Admit that apart from God, our lives are an empty shell
Once we commit to this blueprint, we can then:
1) Change our fundamental thought
2) We can take accountability for our new life by putting on the robes of
righteousness and holiness
3) Allow God to build us up and mold us in accordance with His Will
Living a sanctified life takes commitment and dedication to admitting that our salvation doesn't come in a passive way but rather we must push ourselves to feel the obligation to be fruitful all the while maintaining the virtues demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God:
1) Faith
2) Moral excellence (goodness)
3) Knowledge of the Word
4) Temperance (self-control)
5) Patience (perseverance)
6) Godliness
7) Brotherly Kindness
8) Love
