The Holy Spirit and Our Sanctification

The Holy Spirit and Our Sanctification

 

Introduction

We Christians like to us the word, “saved.” “I’m saved.” “I have salvation.” My story of salvation began on a warm, August evening when I was a 19-year old engineering student at ISU. Salvation means to be delivered. Rescued. 

What happens at “salvation?” Last week Matt clearly talked about eternal life. Salvation. Finding forgiveness and a right standing with God through Jesus Christ. And only through Jesus Christ. It means gaining entrance into life with God forever. Being delivered from God’s judgment and hell.

So the question I ask is, “Well, then what?” What else happened on that day I believed? Is there any change? Has anything else changed besides my destiny of life after death? Did I gain entrance into a celestial Country Club, and now I can do whatever I want? Is my salvation merely fire insurance? Does eternal life only start after I die? 

Today our topic is a big Bible word: Sanctification. It’s a $10 word. Not one we use in everyday life, but an extremely foundational word in the Bible. God sanctifies us. And at the same time, we are to live sanctified lives.

 

We are in a 7-week series on the Holy Spirit. Today we are examining his role in our sanctification.

Sanctification is an enormous topic, worthy of hours and hours of instruction and discussion. In fact, even though we don’t often use the word, it’s central to the Christian life. Sadly, we can’t spend 6 hours today talking about it. But we’re going to take a shot at it.

 

God’s Will

When it comes to salvation through Jesus, clearly we are saved FROM something. Saved from God’s wrath. Saved from eternity in hell. Delivered from a life enslaved to sin.

But we are also saved TO something.

Colossians 1:13–14 ESV  “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Vs. 13-14 is a great summary of our salvation story and briefly answers the question, "So what really did happen to you the day the Lord saved you?" I was lost and enslaved, so lost that only God could save me. Through his beloved Son, he brought me out of my land of darkness and into his own kingdom, the kingdom of glorious light. 

I have not just been saved from something. I have been saved to something; 

  • from darkness to light; 
  • from hell to heaven; 
  • from destruction to glory; 
  • from death to life; 
  • from hopelessness to hope; 
  • from guilt to peace with God.
  • from condemnation to forgiveness; 
  • from shame to a clear conscience; 

Do you have shame? Christ’s work brings you acceptance from him and a clear conscience.

  • from aloneness to eternal companionship. 
  • from the profane to the holy
  • from enmity into friendship.
  • from distance into nearness.

Hebrews 4 says because of the work of Jesus, we no longer need to run and hide from this Holy God.  Instead, we can now draw near to this Holy God with confidence. 

  • from children of wrath into children of God, adopted by him as sons and daughters.

It starts on the day of our salvation. He regenerates us, makes us brand new, makes us born again. We have been changed more radically than we can imagine. 

1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV  “And such were some of you.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

 

Sanctification Defined

To sanctify means to be holy, consecrated, set apart, sacred, saint. (All words in NT are related.) Separated from the mundane and sinful and secular and PROFANE, AND to righteousness and purity and goodness and for the service of God. 

 

Before Jesus saved me when I was 19-years old, I devoted myself to all sorts of PROFANE things. Profane action. Drunkenness. Profane words. Blaspheming God. Using his Holy Name carelessly. Profane thoughts. Lust. Hatred. 

But Sanctification means to no longer be dedicated to the service of evil or profane things. Instead, be dedicated to the service of God. 

As this verse indicates, there is a difference between justification and sanctification. Justification is a legal declaration, not merely that we are not guilty, but that we are righteous. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is granted to us when we believe in him. We now are in good and glorious standing with God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV  “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Jesus substituted himself for us. The innocent was punished for the guilty. And all who believe in Him are declared righteous. They are JUSTIFIED. Not SELF-justified. But CHRIST-justified.

This justification—this legal declaration of righteousness—leads to our sanctification. We are made and declared sacred. Holy. We are consecrated unto God. We are dedicated to his service. We are made SAINTS, or “holy ones.” Saints!! What a magnificent term. Unfortunately, the title today is most commonly used to signify those who have lived an extraordinary life and performed at least 2 miracles. But the Bible calls any believer in Jesus a “SAINT.” A Holy One. One set apart for the sacred.

The Holy Spirit enters into the believer and makes them HOLY, for he is HOLY. That’s why he’s called the HOLY Spirit. Wherever God dwells becomes a Holy Place.

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Our Holy God enters right inside the believer in Christ, and assures us that we are Justified and Sanctified. We can say this is part of our IDENTITY now as a Christian. We are different. Radically different than we used to be. We look the same on the outside, but on the inside…..even on days when we don’t FEEL like it, we are different. We are holy. Dedicated to the service of a Holy God.

So not only have we been saved FROM hell and judgment and destruction, we have been saved TO something glorious and holy and righteous.

This truth of the HOLY….HOLY Spirit residing in us forever should shape the way we think of ourselves. We are not made for trivial things. We are not made for profane things. We are not made for evil activities and behavior. We are made for the sacred. For the Holy. We are made to bring honor and glory to the Holy One who has saved us and who indwells us.

Honestly, this truth of God making you holy is a Game-Changer. What an indescribable identity and position and calling we have. How could we possibly not be in awe of this, worship God, and walk in a manner worthy of him?

 

But We Have a Dilemma

However…(and I have to throw in this “however”)…However, if you’ve been a Christian for more than a couple of hours, you know that in some ways, you’re still the old you. You still have anger problems. You still say hurtful words. You gossip, argue. You still are bitter and hateful towards some people. You still lust. You’re still lazy and critical. You’re still selfish.

So what’s up with that? If I am regenerated and made holy and righteous in and through Jesus Christ, what’s up with this sin that stills plagues me? The problem is that even though we have a whole new Identity and Calling, we still reside in this broken and cursed world. And we have enemies. We have our flesh warring against our souls (1 Peter 2:11). We have Satan tempting us to sin (Matthew 4). We have the world enticing us with its trappings and lusts. 

This is no surprise to God. He is fully aware of our dilemma. We have a glorious Position and Calling, but we find it difficult to live like it. Essentially, God has given you a whole new calling and position and job description. Now he calls us to act like it. To think like it. To speak like it. This does not come easily or automatically, but it is our clear calling. Peter says it quite simply,

1 Peter 1:16  “Be holy because I am holy.”

Paul says it, too.

2 Corinthians 7:1 ESV  “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

And really, many or most of the commands in the NT are related in one way or another to God’s call for holiness. To love one another is a call to holiness. To serve the Lord is a call to holiness. To reject immoral behavior is a call to holiness. To speak the truth and not lie is a call to holiness.

Now because of the flesh, the devil, and the world, we won’t do this perfectly. And when we don’t, we repent and gratefully rejoice in our justification, that Christ brings us righteousness.

We are now to consciously embrace in our daily experience what has already been accomplished. By faith we are to cling to what has been accomplished for us, and then by faith we walk in a manner worthy of our calling and position. We cannot obtain perfection on earth, for only when we shed these earthly bodies and meet Jesus face to face will we find holiness in all its fullness. But holiness is our pursuit, for Peter tells us the Lord’s own call.

But we cannot do this on our own. We can do this only through the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. He enables us to actually walk in holiness. 

 

The Spirit’s Role in our Daily Sanctification

One challenge for me in recent months has been when I’m tired. Maybe it’s my age, but I’m often tired. And when I’m tired, I’m so tempted to be impatient and irritable. Sharp with my words. Towards my wife. While I’m driving towards all the JERKS out on the road.

The Spirit has been challenging me: Brad, even when you’re exhausted, you can walk in Holiness by my power.

Turn to Galatians 5:16–26. In this passage, the Spirit’s role is quite pronounced. We will see that he is the key to living a victorious, holy life.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

We’ll read in a minute what the Flesh produces in our lives. What FRUIT. What Outcome.

The word “walk” is key. To “walk” in the NT means to live life. We walk by faith and not by sight. We are to walk in love (Eph 5:2). We are to walk in wisdom (Eph 5:15). We are to walk in the light and not in the darkness. (1 John 1:6-7).

Generally, in those passages, there is a contrast: Walk this way, not that way. This “Walking by the Spirit” sounds a bit mystical, but I think we make it more complicate than it needs to be. God is pretty straightforward here. The natural, easy way is to gratify your flesh. To satisfy all the earthly, evil desires that pop into your head.

But the holy way, the way of sanctification, is to live life in stride with God’s Spirit who resides in us. Not in your own strength and wisdom and power, but in the Spirit’s, because if we walk without him, we will walk in the flesh.

 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Yesterday, I was tired and felt some stress and anxiety of life. I had a battle going on. I felt it.

In these verses, we get a picture of this war we are in. We have this humanity that co-exists with this mighty spiritual work that God has done through the Blood of Christ and the Sanctification of the indwelling Spirit. And there is a conflict. The Spirit calls us and leads us to glorious conduct and character. But our flesh leads us the opposite way.

Peter said it this way:

1 Peter 2:11 ESV  "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul."

Back to Galatians. This describes what happens when we don’t walk in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

This ties in well with Matt’s theme last week. Paul is not saying that if we walk this way we will lose our salvation. He is saying if we consistently walk this way, it’s an indication you don’t have eternal life. You have no share in the inheritance of God’s kingdom. This list reveals what we naturally and easily degrade to if we don’t walk by the Spirit’s power.

 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

When we lean on the Holy Spirit….When we rely on the power of God and not our own power…When we call out to the Lord to strengthen us and help us walk in him…THEN this is the fruit that bursts forth out of our lives.

These two lists— the Deeds of the Flesh and the Fruit of the Spirit—are very informative. By the fruit or the outcome of my life, I know whether or not I am relying on the Holy Spirit to help me walk in sanctification. I can’t fake this. These lists are very telling.

 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Being FILLED with the Spirit. We rely upon the Spirit. We surrender to him. We acknowledge his Presence and his Power. We pray for his working on our behalf. We pray for his help to conquer the desires of the flesh. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus told us to pray, “Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil.”

Every day we must have an active recognition of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power.

So we invite the Spirit to fill us with himself. We can be full of all sorts of things: Full of self. Full of rage. Full of hot air. Full of alcohol and drugs. Full of boredom and restlessness.

We surrender our will to the will of the Spirit.

Being filled with the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18–19 ESV "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,"

 

The Spirit is Active in Us

So what does the Spirit actually do to help us walk in holiness? What is his role?

 

  • He is our Helper. 

Dave looked at this 2 weeks ago.

John 14:26 ESV "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

Whenever we need help, the Holy Spirit is right there. What a Friend and Comforter and Encourager and Helper he is. Will we ask for help? He is ever near to us!!

 

  • He is Loyal.

He is the steady influence we need, never leaving us.

In the OT era, not all believers had the Holy Spirit. And even those who did could lose him. That’s why David prayed in Psalm 51.

Psalm 51:11 ESV "Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me."

Today, the New Covenant is an eternal covenant. The blood of Christ is so cleansing that our forgiveness and righteousness is complete. We are in good standing with God. He sets his Spirit inside us, and he will never leave us nor forsake us.

Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."

In times of stress and temptation and weakness, what comfort and assurance he will give us.

 

  • He empowers and strengthens us.   

Acts 1:8 ESV  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you….”

Only through the Spirit can we find power to walk in holiness and overcome our own weaknesses and temptations.

 

  • He convicts us of sin.

John 16:8 ESV  “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…”

Sin is always destructive to our hearts. Sin grieves the God who loves us dearly. But he convicts us. He awakens us to our folly. And when he does, he is so gentle with us.

A couple of weeks ago, the Spirit convicted me of having a harsh tone to my recent words towards my wife. So I repented, called up my friend Dan for prayer, and apologized to my wife. The Spirit convicted me. But when he does this, he is gentle.

In contrast, Satan is called the Accuser of the Brethren, and when he points out sin, he is brutal. He wants to choke us with guilt and shame. But the Spirit leads us to freedom and repentance.

 

God’s Role and Ours

With this call to Holiness, as believers we can think it’s all up to us. We become self-reliant. And we lack power.

But honestly, sometimes we might even think it’s the opposite. That it’s all up to God and we need to do nothing. Just sit back and wait for some Holy Feeling to come over us. 

So is it up to me, or is it up to God? It’s not Either-Or. It’s Both-And. We trust God and we act.

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV  "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

First, note that this is connected to the first part of the verse, as you have always obeyed. Paul is talking about our obedience in vs. 12. But second, note what he is not saying: He is not saying, "Work for your salvation." No, Paul's constant message is that we are saved apart from works and by grace through faith in Christ. 

Paul's focus here is on our general conduct as disciples, our sanctification. He is saying now that you are saved, live out that life with fear and trembling. Don't walk frivolously or carelessly before God, but fear him, for he is working in your life that you might live for his pleasure (vs. 13). Obey. Worship. Pray. Fellowship. Repent. Work. Give. Sing. Serve. Teach. All these things lead us to a greater sanctification. WHY do this?  For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Paul has absolutely no conflict at all between God’s role in our sanctification and our role. We trust the Lord, rest in him, and walk in him. And at the same time, we apply our heart and mind and strength to follow him.

God’s role and our role is not necessarily equal, nor do we both work in the same way. But we do cooperate with God in ways that are appropriate to our status as God’s creatures. Again, we TRUST and we OBEY at the same time. Like the old hymn that wisely says, ‘Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.’

One author said this:

“It is important that we continue to grow both in our passive trust in God to sanctify us and in our active striving for holiness and greater obedience in our lives. If we neglect active striving to obey God, we become passive, lazy Christians. If we neglect the passive role of trusting God and yielding to him, we become proud and overly confident in ourselves. In either case, our sanctification will be greatly deficient.” (Wayne Grudem)

 

Summary and Action Steps

Let’s summarize what believers in Jesus should think and do. And let me give you some action steps.

Know and believe that the blood of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit justifies and sanctifies you.

1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV  “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

This is solely the work of God, not something we do or gain on our own. We merely trust in his work. We all try the route of self-justification from time-to-time, but we have to repent of such thinking. Any thought of self-justification is absolutely a LIE.

The Holy Spirit resides in mankind, making them holy by his presence and by the work of Christ. This is an astonishing and awesome truth! This fact alone should change the way we think of God and ourselves. Look at yourself: This Holy God lives in you!

 I read an enjoyable book recently written by an astro-physicist. His name is Mike Brown, and as a college professor and researcher, he searches our solar system for more planets. In 2005 he discovered a “planet” beyond Pluto, but similar size to Pluto (This led to Pluto’s “demotion” as a planet.) Anyway, I was intrigued by his passion to discover. He is driven to discover unknown objects in our vast and amazing solar system.

What if we had a similar drive to discover more about God and his work in us through his Spirit? 

In light of what God has done in and for you, live a holy life by the power of the Spirit.

How could we live any other way? We are now under a new covenant with God, and we should live according to it. 

1 Peter 1:15-16 ESV “…but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

Galatians 5:16 ESV “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

And here is a great summary verse:

2 Corinthians 7:1 ESV  "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."