Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

John 6:37-38 CSB

Thank you for coming back!

Yesterday, I paused us on the concept of “sanctification” and provided some verses to meditate on for the rest of the day:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23
• John 17:17
• 2 Thessalonians 2:13
• Romans 6:6
• Hebrews 9:14 and 12:10

I’m curious, as you read over those verses, what stood out to you?

As I read them, I couldn’t help but notice two things:

1. Sanctification is God’s work in us.
2. Sanctification requires sacrifice.

Before I go any further, let’s take a look at the word sanctification just to make sure we’re all on the same page.

The word sanctify means to “set apart or declare holy”. The act of sanctification is the process of being se apart of made holy.

We know from verses like 1 Peter 2:9 and John 6:37 that God calls believers to Himself and that He sets them apart as His own possessions, His peculiar people. We also know from those same verses as well as verses like Romans 5:8-10 that God calls us and accepts us just as we are with all of our sin, shame, pride, selfishness, doubt, fear…

BUT

God does not accept us with the intention of leaving us as we are.

I heard it said really well this past weekend at a denominational meeting:

God didn’t pull us out of the muck and set us on a firm foundation just to turn us loose and say, “Now, figure out how to live on your own.”

As I mentioned yesterday, the world may accept us as we are and leave us that way, but God calls us His own and as holy God, He makes His possession, you and me, holy too.

He is not intolerant as the world considers intolerance because the world has made intolerant to mean the same thing as hate.

But the world has a narrow view of what it means to love someone.

You see, God refuses to leave us as we are because God is intolerant of sin and of anything that would keep us from experiencing all He has to give us

Because God LOVES us very, very much, He refuses to leave us as we are. He loves us so much that He wants only what is best for us and He alone knows what is best for us (Isaiah 46:10; Psalm 139:1-2). Our God is perfect, and He is in the business of perfecting His saints.

This is why Holy Spirit gives us counsel as well as correction (John 16:13; Romans 8:26-27).

This is why God gives us His word to learn His ways (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

This is why as believers we experience feelings of conviction when we disobey God’s word or His guidance for our lives (2 Corinthians 7:9-10).

God alone can sanctify us because He alone is holy.

And sanctification requires sacrifice. Jesus laid down His life that we might have life abundant and free (John 10:10; Galatians 5:1), and we must lay down the things of this world and the plans we have for our own lives to fully embrace all that God has for us (Luke 14:33; Matthew 16:24-26).

Brothers and Sisters, as we move through the new names that God has given us – new creation, friend of God, ambassador for Christ, peculiar people, accepted – I can’t help but see a trend and I hope you’re seeing it too.

Our identity in Christ makes us different from the world. Long before we knew we needed God, God had already accepted us and was calling us to Him. We were made new the second we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We became friends of God that day too and ambassadors for Christ. That day, we were made a peculiar people.

But what we do with those names, how good of friends we are to God, how well we represent Christ as His ambassadors, how peculiar we really are – that all comes down to our acceptance of God’s sanctifying work in our lives.

Day by day God is working His sanctifying power in our hearts and minds. Day by day He is inviting us into His word to learn His ways and will better. Day by day He is inviting us into deeper relationship with Him so that we better know His love and love Him more and more.

And how do we love God more?

By allowing Him to sanctify us, by becoming more consistent in obeying His word and keeping His commands. By saying “yes” more quickly to His invitation to grow and change and mature in Christ.

I am reminded of Jesus’s words in John 14:21a:

“The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.”

Siblings in Christ, will you embrace what it means to be called “accepted” by God today? Will you allow Him to do a sanctifying work in you that you may be truly set apart?

I pray you will.

For more on God’s sanctification, check out these older posts:

• https://psalm1072.com/2023/02/16/gods-loving-sanctification/
• https://psalm1072.com/2022/11/23/yahweh-mkaddesh-the-lord-who-sanctifies/

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