Next Steps: Sanctification

Repentance deals with committed sin.  Long has God made provision to cleanse the sins that man commit against him; His grace and mercy has extended and continues to extend, to those hearts who earnestly seek after atonement for the wrong they have done.  Had Jesus Christ never set foot on this earth, there would still be a way to atone for the sins you commit.  However, as Jesus plainly tells us, God did not intend for us to remain in sin.  He wanted to redeem us from ALL iniquity.  He wanted to bring us back to full fellowship with the Father.  Repentance cannot do this, only the blood of Christ can accomplish this when you are “baptized into His death” thereby resurrected unto knew life, which will be witnessed to your heart by the Holy Ghost.  This Holy Ghost will now show itself to you as an eternal “keeping agent” to ever guide you along the way of holiness contrary to the way of sin and self as long as you so submit to it (more on this next week).  This is sanctification, and sanctification gets rid of that pesky carnal nature that drives you to sin.  There is a cleansing, a purging, and a full eradication of the carnal nature in your life.  It does not take you out of the world but it “keeps you from the evil of the world.”   When you are birthed into the experience of sanctification, all the clubs, bars, and booze suddenly doesn’t disappear, but the desire for the clubs, bars, and booze will disappear (I use this as a harsh example to communicate a point, sin is far more than what you can see).  Your heart changes, therefore, your actions/reactions change.  You go from fighting a two front warfare to a one front warfare (to borrow from Keith Drury).  By this I mean, in times past you had to battle the devil within, and temptation without.  When you’re sanctified, you only have to battle temptation without and you get to do so with the power of Jesus Christ within!  Praise God!  Each day you lean on the Lord, and he wins the battles and he gets the glory!  He is glorified, you are sanctified, and the old man of sin is no more.  It is a beautiful arrangement. 

So, has your path lead you to sanctification?

This post is an excerpt from "Wednesday Weekly", the blog of Patrick Collins. To view this post in it's entirety, click here.