The Lord’s Prayer - Part 6 - Sanctification

Temple Baptist Church - 7-31-2024

John 17:17; Colossians 3:1-4

 

Introduction:

 

A. Verse 17 is the Lord’s Fourth Petition. The Petition for Sanctification of the Believer.

 

B. Sanctification is a Landmark in Doctrine and also an essential part of the salvation of the believer. God did not save us to go back into the world or allow the world to get into us! He saved us from our sin, not in our sin. But:

 

1. In todays version of Christianity, sanctification has become something to be both feared and denied. Sanctification is an act of God, a continuing act of the child of God, and a blessing to be looked forward to in eternity. Here we find the importance of sanctification to our Lord!

 

2. There are three aspects of sanctification that need to be expressed so that the believer has a good “handle” on what it is and what it is not.

 

3. God’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge and this is a basic foundation of truth that religion hides from its followers.

 

4. I want to begin this message by saying, “Thank God for sanctification!” It has to do with our position in Christ, our practice in Christ, and our eternal security in Christ.

 

5. Notice that I mention Christ in all three aspects of sanctification because it is by Christ, through Christ, and to Christ! Sanctification is all about Christ!

 

C. Sanctification - ἁγιάζω hagiazō hag-ee-ad'-zo defined: to make holy, that is, (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate: - hallow, be holy, sanctify. Simplified - to set apart.

 

D. Sanctification is a GOOD word, not a BAD word. It perfectly describes the division of the believer from the unbeliever.

 

E. There are three aspects of Biblical Sanctification and are best explained in **Colossians 3:1-4. Please turn there:

 

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (2) Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (3) For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (4) When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”

 

1. Positional Sanctification. Positional Sanctification is something that God does! “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

 

1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (“Of Him” tells us that salvation is an act of God, not an act of the believer. The believer brings a “bankrupt sinner” to God in repentance and faith and God saves the believer.)

 

Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (At the moment of salvation, the believer is emersed completely into Christ. Something that God does, not the believer. This is not water baptism! It is the baptism of the Holy Ghost.)

 

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. (13) For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

At the moment of salvation, the believer is set apart from the world positionally through Jesus Christ. “In Christ” is the believer’s sanctification. We are baptized into Christ who is both perfect and eternal and therefore remain secure!

 

Nothing or nobody can find us nor touch us. We are His and He is ours!

 

2. There is Permanent or Perpetual Sanctification. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”

 

John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. (30) I and my Father are one.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

 

1 John 3:1-2 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

 

I am not going to spend a lot of time on the Security of the Believer because I believe that everyone here is biblically settled on the fact that salvation, an act of God, is forever.

 

Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

 

3. Practical Sanctification. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (2) Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” This is both an act of God and an act of the believer. This aspect of sanctification is what our Lord asked of God in verse 17 of the Lord’s Prayer.

 

a. Our Partner against Sin. Our Lord wanted the Father to help us to remain in a state of holiness through sanctification!

 

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

 

b. Our Problem with Sin. As long as we live in this wicked flesh with an Adamic nature, the battle rages.

 

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

 

c. Our Propensity to Sin. When you get saved, you are as full of the Holy Ghost as you can get but, as He directs our lives, we often make bad choices that cause us to begin to fill back up with the world and less by the Holy Ghost.

 

Romans 7:21-25 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. (22) For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (23) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. (24) O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (25) I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

 

d. Our Protection from Sin. It is the Truth who died for us; it is the Truth of the Word of God that we hold in our hands; it is the Spirit of Truth who indwells us. WE HAVE ALL THAT WE NEED FOR BOTH LIFE AND GODLINESS.

 

2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

 

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

 

 

e. Our Prerogative concerning Sin. Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. Free or not to be Free? God has given to us all the tools necessary to life a consistent, not perfect, life for Christ Jesus.

The Landmark of Sanctification

 Temple Baptist Church - 3-3-2024

Genesis 1:1-4

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  I love the Book of Genesis or Beginnings. 

 

1.  “In the beginning God” is the most profound and important statement in the Bible!  Without God, man is nothing with no purpose and no hope. 

 

2.  The Bible is a “God Book” as our Lord said in both Psalms and Hebrews, “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me!”  It matters not what man says nor what man thinks.  If he contradicts the Bible, he is wrong.

 

B.  There is another “landmark” of the faith that I want to deal with this morning.  We have dealt with the landmarks of the Scripture, Sanctuary, Salvation, and Sovereignty, but one of the most important and neglected of all doctrines is that of Biblical Sanctification. 

 

C.  The Doctrine of Biblical Sanctification is so important that the Bible mentions it first!  In Geneses, chapter 1, we see that God set the precedent of sanctification along with the definition of it.  God left no doubt or place for argument.

 

In verse 4, we find the Doctrine of Sanctification: “and God divided the light from the darkness!”  The light of God dispelled the darkness of this world.  Here, we find the first Biblical sanctification, is caused by division, which demands separation.

 

D.  In verse one, God created the first heaven, our atmosphere, and the earth.  In the beginning, we find that darkness shrouded the earth.  “Without form, and void.”  Darkness preceded light.  The darkness was upon the face of the deep.

 

E.  Darkness was before light but when God introduced light (notice I said introduced and not created), it dispelled the darkness.  The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light!”  This was not natural light nor was it a man-made light.  It was the light of God.   In 1 John 1:5, the Bible declares that God is perfect light as He has no darkness at all.

 

1 Timothy 6:15-16  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;  (16)  Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

 

1 John 1:5  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

 

F.  In verse 4 of Genesis 1, We find the First Mention of the word “good.”  God declared the light to be good with the unsaid truth that darkness was not good as it obscured what God had made to be seen.  God divided light from darkness.

 

G.  Thus, we find Biblically that God created sanctification, separation, and division. 

 

1.  I know that this introduction is a little long, but we need to understand that God will not compromise, and it is He that brings division which brings about separation. 

 

2.  God loves sinners and hates sin.  God loves good and He hates bad.  Period! 

 

3.  Today, sanctification and division have been given a bad name by both worldly lost and religious lost.  But too often by God’s children as they try to co-exist in peace with the world. 

 

4.  This cannot be done without compromise and the world does not compromise.  The world’s take on sanctification is that doctrine is bad because it divides while love is good because it unifies. 

 

5.  The question now needs to be asked, “What does doctrine divide and what does love unify?”  Doctrine divides Godly from ungodly while a love without truth unifies the ungodly against the godly.

 

H.  Sanctification is Separation!  The word means to be set aside from something for a purpose.  Sanctification is Division!  God created both sanctification and division and in the end analysis, said that it was very good! 

 

1.  I feel that I need to make a point that the world does not like and that is compromise.  The world teaches that both side in conflict need to give somewhat.  We hear a lot about arbitration which is compromise.

 

2.  Do not think for one second that God will compromise in order to bring about a peaceful solution!

 

Matthew 10:34-35  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.  (35)  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

 

3.  By the same token, God does not want His children to compromise what the Bible is clear on.

 

J.  Sanctification which brings division which brings separation is a Landmark that God, through the Bible has set!  It is not the believer who set the precedent, it is God, and the Bible is clear upon the subject.  Now, let us look at sanctification for a few minutes. 

 

1.  Salvation’s Sanctification. This is something that God does!  There are three distinct areas of sanctification in the life of every believer:

 

a.  It is Positional Sanctification - 1 Corinthians 1:30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 

 

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

At the moment of salvation, the believer is set apart from the world positionally through Jesus Christ.  He is the believer’s sanctification.  We are baptized into Christ who is both perfect and eternal and therefore remain secure!

 

b.  It is Perpetual or Permanent Sanctification - 1 John 3:1-2  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  (2)  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

 

2.  Personal or Practical Sanctification.  Something that we do!  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.  (2)  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.

 

1 Peter 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. 

 

a.  The Believer is the separate from the world.  1 John 1:5-7  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  (6)  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:  (7)  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

 

When we are saved, we remain just a sinner saved by the grace of God.  As we mature in the Lord and grow in our faith, we are being constantly changed by both the Spirit of God who indwells us and the Word of God that teaches and guides us.

 

John 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

 

b.  The Believer is to be the light of the world.  Matthew 5:14-16  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  (15)  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  (16)  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

2 Corinthians 4:3-4  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  (4)  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

3.  Doctrinal Sanctification.  Something that we do!  Romans 16:17  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 

 

a.  We are to preach sound doctrine.  Sound means something that is not weakened or flawed.  2 Timothy 4:2-3  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  (3)  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

 

b.  We are to practice sound doctrine. We are to remain doctrinally sound and separated.  Romans 16:17  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

 

4.  Ecclesiastical Sanctification.  Something that we do!  2 Corinthians 6:14-18  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

 

a.  Denominationalism lends itself to unbiblical unions.  Our church is not to be yoked in any manner with other churches that are liberal or apostate. You are who you hold hands with spiritually. 

 

b.  One may think they are straight but if they are supporting or affiliated with liberal churches, they are liberal!  That’s why Bible churches were independent and autonomous! 

 

Conclusion:  Sanctification or Separation or Division of a right kind is an act of God!  The believer MUST love the sinner but not the sin and this requires (by God) Biblical Sanctification!