Soteriology 101: Sanctification Part 1

Sanctification Part 1

1 Peter 1:15-16

1. Why sanctification?

a. The wilderness motif in scripture helps to answer this.

b. We are not yet ready for the garden.

c. Will we submit to God’s way, or will we continue in our own “wisdom?”

2. What is sanctification?

a. It is the process of the Spirit triumphing over the flesh.

b. It is to the process of being made holy. To be made holy is to be set apart.

c. It is the process that we will be engaged in for our entire time on this earth. (Romans 7:15-25)

d. It is to know God’s holiness, experience God’s holiness and respond to God’s holiness.

e. We are made holy by God and commanded to be holy just like Him. (1 Peter 1:15-16)

3. How can we reconcile the gift of salvation with this command to be holy?

a. There are two definitions of holy used in 1 Peter 1:15-16.

i. Indicative verb: It is absolutely true that we are now holy because God is holy.

ii. Imperative verb: We are now commanded to behave in a manner that corresponds to our holy position in Christ.

iii. Set apart/Separate [position].

iv. Morally Pure [condition].

b. We are called to behave in holy manner [our condition] in response to our new identity of being holy as our God is holy [our position].

c. We are new creations in Christ. The old has passed away! (2 Cor. 5:17)

4. God’s work and our responsibility.

a. Jesus Christ finished the work of salvation on the Cross of Calvary. (John 19:28-30)

b. We cannot add to this salvation, anyone that teaches otherwise is accursed. (Gal. 1:6-10)

c. There is a response that we must have to the salvation that Christ purchased for us.

i. James teaches that faith without works is dead and useless. (James 2:18)

1. We are not saved by works, but works are evidence of our salvation.

ii. Galatians teaches us that the flesh is made evident by the ongoing practice of sin; the Spirit is made evident by the fruits of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:16-26)

iii. Jesus teaches us that if we love Him, then we will obey Him. (John 14:15-17)

d. We fulfil our responsibility by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit. (Gal. 5:5)

i. We cannot finish this work but we can demonstrate our love for God through our

active obedience to Him. (Phil. 1:6 & John 14:15-17)

5. Will you choose God’s way or your way when you find yourself in the wilderness?

Talk it out, Walk it out!

1) Will you choose to trust Christ when you find yourself in the wilderness?

2) How does our position in Christ change our daily behavior?

3) If we are new creations in Christ, then why pray? Why be in scripture? Why confess your sins? Why be in fellowship? What does our new nature gain by faithfully doing these things?

4) Read Matthew 26:41, Romans 7:15-25 & Corinthians 9:24-10:13. In what way do these verses inform us about the process of sanctification?

5) Corinthians 9:24-10:13 uses a lot of wilderness imagery from the Exodus. How does this apply to Christians today?

6) Read Proverb 10 and reflect on how the call of wisdom and her preparation relates to the Christians process of sanctification.