SANCTIFICATION IS A LIFE LONG PROCESS

Proclamation:

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout ...  who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God The Father, through the sanctifying work of The Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ ..."  1 Peter 1:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

The Apostle Peter said, in the opening lines of a letter to the believers who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire, that they were chosen by God, and sanctified by The Holy Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ.

Application:

As believers we are sanctified by The Spirit of God, consecrated, and set apart for the purpose and will of God.  Sanctification is the process by which believers are purified and made ready to partake in the holiness of God.  It begins with justification, the moment we accept Christ and our sins are forgiven, and it continues until glorification when we see Christ face to face.  The Spirit of God is working within us from the moment we first believe, and continues to work within us for the rest of our life as we become more obedient to The Word of God and more like Christ.  God gave us all the free will to choose to accept, or not accept, Jesus, The Christ, as our Lord and Savior.  We also make choices each day as to whether or not we will obey The Word of God.  We must choose each day to be more like Christ.  The more we study His Word, and submit ourselves to Him, the more Christ-like we become.  As we grow in age, we should also grow in the knowledge of God and in holiness.  However, perfection will not be attained until we are glorified and see Christ face to face.

Honest Is The Best Policy

"Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living.  Now we ask you and urge you in The Lord Jesus to do this more and more.  For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of The Lord Jesus.  It is God's will that you should be sanctified; that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him.  The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.  For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life."  1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 (NIV)

In his letter to the believers in The Church at Thessaloniki, the Apostle Paul gave them instructions regarding holy living in order to please God.  He urged them to live a sanctified life, to control their bodies, and to live in an honest, holy, and honorable manner.  He also warned them that God would punish them if they chose to do otherwise.

We know that we are all sinners, we all fall short when it comes to obeying The Word of God. (Romans 3:23)  However, we are all encouraged to make an active effort to do the will of God and live a Christ-like life.  It would please The Lord God if we would consciously choose to sin less and less each day.  We may not know all that is contained within The Word of God, but we know right from wrong.  God said that we should be holy because we are His and He is holy. (1 Peter 1:16)  We have been called and set apart from the world to behave in a Christ-like manner. (Psalms 4:3)  Our bodies are His temple, and we should treat ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him. (1 Corinthians 6:19 and Romans 12:1)  We should be honest and helpful in our dealings with each other.  We are children of God, and our actions should reflect that we are in this world but not of this world. (Romans 8:16, Galatians 3:26, and John 8:23)  "God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." (1 Thessalonians 4:7)