SANCTIFICATION AND CONTRADICTORY BEHAVIOURS
Salvation is a work of God that begins when a person is born again and continues till we are made into the full image of Christ. Sanctification, therefore, is the next level after we are saved. It is the process of spiritual growth.
Sanctification is the process by which we apply our salvation to a lifestyle that becomes more Christlike. It's a continuous process of changing beliefs and attitudes until we become like Jesus.
In sanctification, you are supposed to be changing for the better every day. Paul speaking to the Philippians, challenged them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12-13)
This statement means that sanctification is not a gift, you have to work it out. You know those things you're doing that are not godly, those filthy jokes, abusive languages and the likes decide to stop them. If you're weak, ask the Holy Spirit to help you, the Lord sent Him to help you.
What is sanctification?
Sanctification is the pathway to holiness and letting Christ live His life through you. It takes your determination and the help of the Holy Spirit to achieve. Tell yourself the truth, that God demands holiness and you are able to live holy by His grace. Apostle Paul says, “God works in us to will and does of his good pleasure.” He gives us the very desire to grow in Christ and He works in us to do it.
This spirit of God changes your thinking and imagination for the better. You will begin to see things as they are in the spirit, and from that moment, you will hate all forms of deceit and lies. Many believers decide never to tell lies anymore.
Deception must be far from you if it is the Holy Spirit that is leading because He is holy and cannot live in a filthy or dirty body. Believe me, if you allow the Holy Spirit to be your Lord, you will be a man of your word to your wife/husband, friends and business partners. Sanctification makes a good Christian and husband out of you.
Imagine that you are a born again husband and you have a side-chick in your office, then you are not converted, neither are you sanctified. Sanctification occurs as we follow Jesus in discipleship through the Word and obedience to His voice. And as we proceed, we begin to understand what the love of God means and how to show it to people.
Sanctification is leading a life that brings glory to His name, in our conversation, dressing and thoughts and actions. In choosing friends and even what to do and where to work. It requires a lot of personal consecration and self-denial. You will deliberately deny yourself some pleasures and seek close intimacy with the Lord and desire to live in His presence.
Sanctification is a life-long process of spiritual, emotional and physical transformation. You are constantly changing from what is not pleasing to God to those things that bring glory to His name. Your decision and choices make people around you know who is in control of your life, Jesus or worldliness.
Requirements for Sanctification
For your sanctification to be evident, you must allow God to work in you and through you. You should live by the word of God and make it your lifestyle.
1. Seek to know God and His grace
2. Study and meditate on the word of God each day, and pray to God.
3. Let the Holy Spirit dwell in you and live in obedience to the Word of God.
4. Live a disciplined, humble and honest life.
5. Fear the Lord and desire to bring honour to His holy name
6. Live a patient and forgiving life.
Dangers of lack of Sanctification
Believers should know that unsanctified Christians are discouraging many people around them with their behaviours. We are called to be holy and different and that call has not been altered. In the church itself, when people struggling to live holy sees their leaders falling into avoidable sin due to indiscipline, they simply relax and say maybe that's how to live the Christian life, but that's not true because God cannot compromise His holiness.
Lack of sanctification discourages people around you in their pursuit of holy living. People who say it does not matter what the bible says are very dangerous in preventing holiness. Imagine a Pastor's wife wearing a tight dress from head to toe, saying after all her dressing covered her body, yet she knows that by dressing in that way, she is promoting sexual appeal. She wants people to see her shape and lust after her, Is she sanctified? NO!
Many people have decided they will not go to church because the Christians they have known are not better individuals in any way. They have discovered lies in their mouth, and some of them talk and walk in the same way as unbelievers.
Personal Liberty
Sanctification is living a morally upright lifestyle that encourages others to get closer to God. It is living a life that put the flesh under control in the choices we make. in order to glorify the Lord. The opposite is true also.
Dressing like this shows the lady is not sanctified at all. Christians keep their flesh under control. Dresses that reveal the shape of a woman are not modest dressings, they are dressings looking for public attention. They can also be described as sex-appeal dresses and the lady dressing that way knows what she is doing.
She may care less about the effect of her dressing on men, young girls and boys, but she knows she is polluting the environment with sex appeal. That is easy when a person is not under the control of the Holy Spirit of God. Born-again sisters should avoid dresses that are modest.
In Marriage
Your lifestyle and the things you do are expected to showcase our spiritual progress in life, crossing from darkness to light in our conversation, appearance and actions. Sanctification is easy when we have yielded our dreams and earthly goal under the will of God for our individual lives.
Love your spouse and be happy with God's blessing always. Even when you're unhappy, don't keep malice and let go of bitterness. Commit every matter to God in prayer and trust Him to resolve them as it pleases Him. Stop trying to help yourself all the time.
No matter the argument, don't allow it to get into a fight, whether in marriage or friendship. Christ never fought anyone, and the bible says His voice was never heard in the street.
If a person is born again, and yet cannot control his/her appetite, he can hardly control his body and the flesh. Such a person will fall into trouble, one after another. He/she will discover their actions will conflict with their words because of internal weakness.
Paul says he worked harder than everybody else but not him, the grace of God within him. The reality is that God’s grace works in each one of us to grow spiritually when we yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We must work with God in the process of sanctification, and allow Him to empower us to accomplish His will for our lives.
Be patient!
Sanctification is never by power or might, but by the Spirit of the Lord. That is why every believer should not trust in his or her ability, instead, depend on the Holy Spirit for help, and ask for mercy and grace. It is the Lord that gives the new spirit and nature of God to enable us to desire and pursue holy living.
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