SANCTIFICATION 3: GOD'S WILL
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Sanctification
a) Sanctification takes a lifetime. We will never be completely perfected until that day of His return. We must resist temptation, flee from sin, press on, take hold, have a goal, strain toward, and read the Word of God. These allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, with us, and through us by cooperating and being proactive to avoid sinning against God.
b) We are told to be a living sacrifice. The only problem with being a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar. Paul gives us a fitting conclusion: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
2. God's Will
a) God’s ultimate aim is for us to be sanctified and grow in holiness, but unless you are regenerated or born again, you have no hope to be sanctified because sanctification takes the power of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible by human effort.
b) Paul says that “…the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17).
c) What is God’s will for your life? To be sanctified and to grow in holiness for God says, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Paul knew this as he wrote, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). This is exactly why “he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” (Ephesians 1:4).
The End ...
1. Sanctification a) Sanctification takes a lifetime. We will never be completely perfected until that day of His return. We must resist temptation, flee from sin, press on, take hold, have a goal, strain toward, and read the Word of God. These allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, with us, and through us by cooperating and being proactive to avoid sinning against God.
b) We are told to be a living sacrifice. The only problem with being a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar. Paul gives us a fitting conclusion: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
2. God's Will
a) God’s ultimate aim is for us to be sanctified and grow in holiness, but unless you are regenerated or born again, you have no hope to be sanctified because sanctification takes the power of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible by human effort.
b) Paul says that “…the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17).
c) What is God’s will for your life? To be sanctified and to grow in holiness for God says, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Paul knew this as he wrote, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). This is exactly why “he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” (Ephesians 1:4).
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