If the Bible is the revelation of God’s will, and we know this is true, then we’d better take heed to what it says. In Hebrews 12:14, the Bible says “Without (holiness) no man shall see the Lord.” And here in I Thessalonians, we are told that sanctification is the will of God for all His saints. “God has not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness.” If this is the will, calling and command of God we had better try to understand what that is. And not just in some sort of theological or intellectual way – but practically.
Let’s make our devotion for this evening consider the doctrine of sanctification. Simply put, sanctification is the consecration of something, setting it apart for special use. Sanctification is one of a couple of divine processes whereby we are made holy. In the context of this scripture, it is the saintifying of a sinner for the service of the holy God. And as Hebrews says, without it no man shall see the Lord, except in judgment. But it’s not that sanctification in and of itself saves from sin – that is work of justification and other things. Perhaps we can illustrate it with the work of the star of our solar system – the sun. The heat we find in the sun is not the cause of the light that it sheds upon us. The heat and the light are products of the same processes. Just as justification and sanctification are products of the same grace of the Lord.
There is a sense in which every saved sinner is sanctified in salvation. Each saved person is separated unto the Lord and reserved unto the day redemption. Because they possess that soteriological sanctification – then they have the opportunity and responsibility to grow in sanctification of a second kind. It is this second sanctification to which Paul refers here. It is an outward, physical, demonstrable sanctification – separation unto the Lord in midst of the world. What do we learn about that sanctification from this text?
First we learn that it is the WILL OF THE FATHER – verse 3.
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” In every age it has been the will of God that His people be holy – sanctified – separated unto Him. He showed Adam and Able how sacrifice so that they would be holy and sanctified. He command it of Abraham, and later Moses passed that message on to the nation of Israel. The prophets preached it, Christ Jesus taught it, and now Paul repeats it. Peter quoted the Old Testament when he declared, “God has said, Be ye holy for I am holy.” Ephesians 1:4 declares that we’ve been chosen before the foundation of world to be holy. This is part of the Lord’s preparation of us for eternity with Him. J.C. Ryle said: “When the eagle is happy in an iron cage, when a sheep is happy in the water, when an owl is happy in the blaze of the noonday sun, when a fish is happy on the dry land – then, and not until then, will I admit that the unsanctified man could be happy in heaven.” A SINNER in Heaven would be like the rich man in Hell – thirsting for sin. Heaven will not be like Noah’s ark – filled with clean and unclean animals.
It is the will of the Father that we be holy – How much do we know of the will of God? So much of the will of God is a spiritual guessing game. Do you know if it is God’s will that you live to be a hundred years old? Can you be sure that it is God’s will that you live in this valley all your life? We can’t be sure if it is God’s will that we live in good health until the day we die. There are thousands of things which are God’s will for us, but we won’t know that will until we are meant to know it. But one of the things we do know, without a doubt, is that it the Lord’s will includes your sanctification. That was not for the people of Thessalonica alone. The Bible is so full of this perfume that not even blind man can hide from it.
We don’t have to know why God wills it. All we need to know is that He does, and that should be sufficient for us. God commands it, so write it out and tie it to your wrist like the Jewish phylactery. What was Eli’s instruction to young Samuel? “When the Lord calls your name say, “Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.” If the Saviour commands anything, we should be willing to hear it and to obey.
There are some people who think that sanctification means nothing but RESTRICTION. It means – I can’t smoke, drink booze, look at porn, gamble or dance with another person’s souse. They picture sanctification as a ten foot chainlink fence around lives. No sir, the person who is truly saved will covet this sanctification unless his own flesh overcomes him. It is the will of the Lord, but is something which He plants in the hearts of His saints. It isn’t a law policed by armies of men and angels; it a law of the heart policed by the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:12-13 – “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Romans 12:1-2 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The true child of God isn’t chained into sanctification – rather his will is changed to yearn for it.
Nevertheless this sanctification is the command of Christ – verse 2.
“For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.” Reading church history, we see this illustrated over and over again. The Waldensian Baptists for example, made the will of God their law. When the laws of man clashed with the laws of God, those people retreated into the mountains so that they could live their lives of spiritual and personal sanctification. Remember that the word “sanctification” means “separation.” And for those people, the word had no encouragement for armed conflict. The so-called “anabaptists” of Munster, however, were not true saints – their separation unto God didn’t extend to separation from hatred and bloodshed against their Protestant enemies. Part of Christ’s commanded sanctification was “Peter, put away your sword.” And that is what he did, later suffering persecution, because he walked in the ways of Christ.
Someone might say that he is not surprised that the God of the Old Testament demands sanctification. Most people look at the God of the first Testament as God the Father. To them He is the God of the Ten Commandments, the Book of Leviticus, and Judges. To these people sanctification is an Old Testament principle. No sir, it is a Biblical principle – it is the will of the Son of God who died to deliver us from sin. “Awake unto righteousness and sin not.”
I read a sermon by prominent Baptist nincompoop denouncing what he called “Lordship salvation.” His message is hardly worth condemnation let alone praise, but he did make one interesting observation. He quoted II Corinthians 5:17 – “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” And then he pointed to Judas, whom he said believed in “Mastership salvation.” At the last supper, after Christ said that one of them would betray him, Judas said, “Master, is it I.” With that statement the preacher went on to condemn “Lordship,” or “Mastership salvation.” Using the same logic, I’ll remind you that Paul believed in “Lordship salvation” which he proved when he said, “Lord, what would thou have me do?” Paul’s kind of salvation, and thus the sanctification which he taught, involved a willing desire to do and to be what Christ Jesus wanted him to do and to be.
The third thing we see is that sanctification is empowered by the Holy Spirit.
As someone said years ago: “sanctification is the Christianization of the Christian.” The Holy Spirit has an essential – but much neglected ministry in every child of God. Regeneration is wrought in the heart by His wonderful power. Then we are indwelt by His presence. He seals us unto the day of redemption, and He is the earnest of our inheritance. He becomes our comforter, and He is the one to teach us all things. He is the one who makes us fruitful in the work of the Lord.
And a part of the work of the Spirit is our sanctification. Solomon and David, prepared then worked and worked to construct a temple for the Lord. But it was only a beautiful empty building until the Holy Spirit came and occupied it. And WE can’t be more than an empty shell until Holy Spirit calls unto sanctification.
And yet an important part of sanctification is our surrender to it – verses 3-4.
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication; that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God.” The Father may will it, the Son may command it, and the Holy Spirit may empower us to it. But unless we agree and submit ourselves to it, we will never be genuine, practical saints. Saints in Christ, yes, guaranteed by God – but saints before the world, not necessarily.
When Paul speaks of sanctification here, he says “this is your responsibility.” You must abstain from fornication, you must know how possess your physical bodies as vessels of the the Lord and temples of the Holy Spirit. And if we don’t possess our earthly lives well, then we should expect chastening. “For whom the L loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. Our parents chastize us and we give them reverence, and they only do it for a few days and in their own pleasure, but God chastises us for our (very special) profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” – Hebrews 12:6-10. He whom the blood cleanses walks in the light as the Lord is in the Light. He who has a lively hope purifies himself even as he is pure.
We are responsible for our willingness to be sanctified. If you have NEVER felt that willingness, then you may not be a child of God. If you lack that willingness today, you can expect feel the sting of the Lord’s back hand.
This sanctification is seen in a habitual respect for the will of God. It is an unending endeavor to do the will of Christ. It is a cultivation of the ground which produces the fruit of the Spirit.