Sanctification | ACBC Exam Question #14

 Sanctification is said to be past, present, and future.  Discuss, including the idea of “union with Christ”.

             Sanctification is the process of a believer becoming more and more set apart from sin, becoming increasingly pure in life and morals, growing in holiness, and consecration to God and righteousness. 

“The focus of sanctification is the healing of the dysfunctionality of sin. Since all spiritual blessings, justification and sanctification included, are the Christian's the moment he or she is "in Christ" (Eph 1:3), sanctification is total and final in one sense (Acts 20:32 ; 26:18 ; 1 Cor 6:11). Yet, unlike justification, sanctification also continues until it will be consummated when Jesus Christ returns. For then we will be like him (1 John 3:2) perfect and complete. Sanctification, therefore, has an initial, progressive, and final phase. A believer's present preoccupation is with progressive sanctification (2 Cor 3:18, note the present continuous tense, "are being transformed"), by which the child of God lives out the implications of initial sanctification with an eye to the goal of final sanctification. The sanctified life is victorious (Rom 8:37), though it is lived out in the context of temptation and suffering.”¹

            Before a relationship with Christ we can’t help but grow in sinfulness.  Once we make a personal decision to place our faith in Christ we are forgiven for all sin-past, present and future, are united with Christ, given new life, and are put on a path of righteous living; “For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.” (Romans 6:19b) 

             The process of sanctification is not humanly accomplished apart from Christ.  There is no possibility of sanctification in the life of an unbeliever, and a professing Christian cannot manufacture sanctified living on their own; it is a work of God in the lives of believers.  “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24)  It’s God’s work, but that does not mean that we don’t have any responsibility in the process.  We see this paralleled in Philippians 2:12-14; “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  We need to actively pursue righteous living by studying the Bible to know His standards, obey what it says, pray for enablement, relying on Him as we put His truth in motion in our lives. And we can say with the Apostle Paul; “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. “(Philippians 1:6)

¹ http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/sanctification.html