Sanctification....Total Commitment

The sanctification set forth in the Scriptures embraces the entire being--spirit, soul, and body.

Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that their "whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23).

Again he writes to believers:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Rom. 12:1).

In the time of ancient Israel, every offering brought as a sacrifice to God was carefully examined.

If any defect was discovered in the animal presented, it was refused; for God had commanded that the offering be "without blemish."

So Christians are bidden to present their bodies,
"a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God."

In order to do this, all their powers must be preserved in the best possible condition.

Every practice that weakens physical or mental strength, unfits man for the service of his Creator. 


And will God be pleased with anything less than the best we can offer?
 
Said Christ: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart."
 
Those who do love God, with all their heart, will desire to give Him the best service of their life, and they will be constantly seeking to bring every power of their being,  into harmony with the laws that will promote their ability to do His will. . . . {NL 18}

Counterfeit Sanctification/ Is It "Only Believe"?

The sanctification now gaining prominence in the religious world, carries with it, a spirit of self-exaltation and a disregard for the law of God, that mark it as foreign to the religion of the Bible.

Its advocates teach that sanctification is an instantaneous work, by which, through faith alone, they attain to perfect holiness.

"Only believe," say they, "and the blessing is yours."

No further effort on the part of the receiver is supposed to be required. At the same time, they deny the authority of the law of God, urging that they are released from obligation to keep the commandments.

But, is it possible for men to be holy, in accord with the will and character of God, without coming into harmony with the principles which are an expression of His nature and will, and which show what is well pleasing to Him?

The desire for an easy religion that requires no striving, no self-denial, no divorce from the follies of the world, has made the doctrine of faith, and faith only, a popular doctrine;

but what saith the word of God?

Says the apostle James:

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? . . . Wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? . . . Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:14-24). 

The testimony of the word of God is against this ensnaring doctrine of faith without works. It is not faith that claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the conditions upon which mercy is to be granted, it is presumption; for genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures. {NL 16.2}

Let none deceive themselves with the belief that they can become holy while willfully violating one of God's requirements.

The commission of a known sin, silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit, and separates the soul from God.

. . . Though John, in his epistles, dwells so fully upon love, yet he does not hesitate to reveal the true character of that class who claim to be sanctified, while living in transgression of the law of God.

"He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected" (1 John 2:4, 5).

Here is the test of every man's profession. We cannot accord holiness to any man without bringing him to the measurement of God's only standard of holiness in heaven, and in earth. . . . 

The claim to be without sin is, in itself, evidence that he who makes this claim, is far from holy.

 

It is because he has no true conception of the infinite purity and holiness of God,  or of what they must become, who shall be in harmony with His character;

 

Because he has no true conception of the purity and exalted loveliness of Jesus, and the malignity and evil of sin, that man can regard himself as holy.

 

The greater the distance between himself and Christ, and the more inadequate his conceptions of the divine character and requirements, the more righteous he appears in his own eyes. {NL 17}

No Room For Boasting

Those who experience the sanctification of the Bible, will manifest a spirit of humility.

Like Moses, they have had a view of the awful majesty of holiness, and they see their own unworthiness in contrast with the purity and exalted perfection of the Infinite One. 

The prophet Daniel was an example of true sanctification.

His long life was filled up with noble service for his Master.

He was a man "greatly beloved" (Dan. 10:11) of Heaven.

Yet instead of claiming to be pure and holy, this honored prophet identified himself with the really sinful of Israel, as he pleaded before God in behalf of his people:
"We do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies." "We have sinned, we have done wickedly."
He declares: "I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people. . . ."
(Dan. 9:18, 15, 20). 

When Job heard the voice of the Lord out of the whirlwind, he exclaimed: "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6).

It was when Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, and heard the cherubim crying,

"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts," that he cried out, "Woe is me! for I am undone" (Isa. 6:3, 5).

Paul, after he was caught up into the third heaven, and heard things which it was not possible for a man to utter, speaks of himself as "less than the least of all saints" (2 Cor. 12:2-4, margin; Eph. 3:8).

It was the beloved John, who leaned on Jesus' breast and beheld His glory, that fell as one dead before the feet of the angel (Rev. 1:17).

There can be no self-exaltation, no boastful claim to freedom from sin, on the part of those who walk in the shadow of Calvary's cross.
 
They feel that it was their sin which caused the agony, that broke the heart of the Son of God, and this thought will lead them to self-abasement.
 

Those who live nearest to Jesus, discern most clearly the frailty, and sinfulness of humanity, and their only hope is in the merit of a crucified and risen Saviour. {NL 15.2}