Sanctification of the Soul from the World

“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world . . . Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:14, 17). 

Jesus prayed this prayer alone one night in the garden to the Father. He asked God to keep those who believed His Word from the evils of the world. He knew that the world would hate all who believed in Him and in His Word; so, to keep them from that evil He had to sanctify them from the world. The Greek word for sanctify is “hagiazo” meaning, to make holy, purify, or consecrate (mentally and physically). 

The above scripture suggest that the truth will sanctify a soul, and by the Word of God being truth, it serves as the sanctifier. If the Word of God is the core in the process of sanctification, then no deliberate physical acts or deeds can accomplish the task. Only the Word can sanctify a person, mentally, spiritually, and in due course bodily; therefore, the act of sanctification is not entirely a physical process alone, but a spiritual one also. So, how does the Word of God accomplish the act of sanctification without much effort on the part of an individual? Through the process of elimination of all that is not truth but is a lie, and anything that is not ordained or approved of God. 

It was by the Word that God made the world and it is by His Word that the world remains standing. The Word, spoken according to His will is everlasting, yet the world as we know it shall end. All matter of civilization and material possessions will cease to exist, therefore, the Word teaches the believer not to trust in or concentrate on these things, but to concentrate on the things above, (Colossians 3:2). “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Sanctification according to the spoken Word is an eternal process. Once sanctified according to the Word of God, it should last forever and not temporarily. If the believer falls back into the worldly ways of living, it is either by their own choice, or because they are discouraged by the evil influences of the world. Jesus reveals in the parable of the Sower and how many believers fall to the temptations of the world after receiving the Word of truth. 

People do not realize that sanctification is another important area in the spiritual walk with God because it eliminates many worldly illusions that hinder followers of God from completing the walk. The way sanctification and the Word of God work together is first, the follower concentrates on the Word day and night, above all the pleasures of the world. Study of the Word is the beginning of knowing God. A believer becomes familiar with God. No matter how many other channels or devices a believer uses to know God– through church services, bible classes, seminary, audio taped sermons, or correspondence courses–study of the Word vigorously is the only sure way to know God. The more a person reads, the more they learn the will of God. 

In-depth study of the Word not only requires the believer’s undivided attention to get full comprehension of what God is saying, but also, the Word spiritually draws the believer into the actual living applications of its contents: as the believer reads, so will they live. However, before the believer can act on the instruction of God from the Word, the believer must first understand the Word. To get full understanding of the Word there must be no other interest in the life of the believer other than the Word. For example, once God calls a believer into the ministry, but they have previously pledged themselves to a social clique or any other time-consuming activity, the extra-curricular must or should decrease to second, even third priority, which will, at some point become menial in the light of the knowledge of God. Even if the believer has an important position in a well-established company, that too, must subside in the presence of God. In sanctification for the purpose of God, there is nothing that should take precedence over concentrating on, and understanding what God is saying in His Word. 

The Scriptures say that a believer should leave all and follow Christ even if that means leaving family. Other than the immediate family, distant family members, friends, associates, co-workers, or any other social relationships must, or should be, put on hold so the believer can establish a personal relationship with Christ. There is no relationship on this earth, including parental, that will ever offer more to a person’s soul and future than that of a relationship with the Lord. For example, many believers try to maintain positions of status quo in professional careers while trying to serve the Lord. The Bible clearly states that a believer cannot serve both God and mammon. No believer will ever get the full understanding of God and His will for their life if they continue to commit themselves to anything other than God. 

Reading the Word disciplines people to put other priorities as second nature, but as stated earlier, a person must first come to that knowledge before they can truly walk with God. Many people never get pass the sanctification step of the gospel by leaving behind personal associations and relationships they feel are important in advancing them financially and socially in the world. This is because they are never able to realize how much more God can do for them than any physical being or thing in the world can do. The words of the Bible have little effect on people who cannot first take the concept of God seriously. Only when someone can recognize that there is relevance and life in the Word can they begin to see and understand what God requires from them by His Word. 

If a person runs across a passage that suggest they should not sin against his or her neighbor, many would read it and know what it means but do not understand why, or the concept behind it. They will walk away in agreement with the scripture yet if the situation ever arose where they have to refrain from sinning against a neighbor, would they? It would be difficult for some because, though they agree with the Word, they have not yet understood the purpose of the instruction, and to many, personal reputation is more important than any biblical principle. The power of sanctification in a situation such as the above would call for total understanding of what the Scriptures means as well as living what the Scriptures instruct. Nevertheless, to live what the Scriptures instruct, a person must understand them, and as stated earlier, many never get pass understanding what, or even why the Scriptures is relevant. 

Sanctification draws a person’s mind away from what reputation demands and leads them into what the Scriptures demand. Reputation means nothing to God. He has chosen the base and weak things of the world to confound the wise and strong things of the world. The Bible requires the total opposite of what the world requires; therefore, the believer must forsake and give up all things, prestige, and status quo positions of the world if they want to understand God. Television, group activities, close, personal relationships, occupations and careers, sport and games, or anything that stands in the way of getting to know God, must subside. At some point, a believer must ask him or herself, what is important to salvation? What does salvation call for? It does not call for the same things life calls for. Life calls for success, which requires an education, a good job, and a secure family life along with strong social relationships. 

Salvation calls for love: it is the only requirement of God and salvation. Love is the fulfilling of the Law. If the laws and mores’ of society stem from the natural laws of God, and the judicial system supposedly enforce these laws to establish social order, how can society enforce the laws of love? To judge an individual that commits a violent act toward another is one thing, but how does one judge a person who commits an ethical sin? Ethical sins are more difficult to judge, and should be judged using righteous judgment, yet how can a person judge righteously and according to the standards of God if they do not know God? Moreover, how does a person know if someone has ethically violated them, when they do not possess the integrity the Bible instills? Many people do not have a sense of integrity or moral values to judge himself or herself by, or anyone by, because they uphold the standards of the world and not the standards of God. How does a person begin to possess the standards of God? through sanctification of the Word. 

The Word weeds out the false standards of the world and replaces them with the integrity and standards of God. For example, when the Bible suggest that a person should leave behind the family–mother, father, sister, brother–and the world says that the family is the most important institution within society, which will that person believe? It is difficult to believe what the Bible says could be true since the family would seem to be the center point of all humanity. Therefore, many people would rather interpret this scripture in a different way other than what it actually says. What the Bible means when it suggests that a person should leave behind the family means just that. It is reasonable for a person to question this theory when the Bible itself stresses the strength of the family, which in turn is one reason societies stress the family institution. Nevertheless, there is a reason the Bible ask a person to leave the family behind and follow Christ, and that is to establish a relationship with Christ that is stronger than the family. 

In the end, Christ promises a family even stronger than the one left behind and a person must have faith to believe this. Purging the self from the pleasures of this life is a difficult thing to do since many temptations and pleasures are all around us each day. Yet, if a person truly wants to know God they must sacrifice all of the obstacles that hinder them from forming a relationship with Him. The Scriptures never say that after leaving behind all the pleasures of life and the family, that a person would have to live as a hermit in a cave, but the Bible actually promises everything all over again only this time as ordained of God. Furthermore, neither does this mean that after sanctification a person will return to the same old things as before, but after sanctification they would not want to return to any of the old pleasures. They will realize what little value those things hold. Neither does a person have to return to the same family members, but God promises to change even their attitude toward the believer. 

Sanctification helps the believer in many ways. The mind is clear from all sorts of pagan traditions the world has created, for instance, Christmas. The idea of Christmas was at one time based on the birth of Christ, but now it is just another month of the over consumption of goods. Walking in the liberty of sanctification is much better than walking in the stress and confusion of this daily world. Everything begins again after the sanctification process and the believer has a better perspective on life. The time it takes to be totally sanctified depends on the believer and how sincere they are about letting go of the things and people of this world, nevertheless, once truly sanctified, the believer is sanctified forever.