Pruning The Bad Stuff Off?

 Like a growing season in the garden, so is the season of your life after excepting the call of salvation. Sanctification is that period of your walk with Jesus where you grow a little, then God prunes the bad stuff out of your life and you grow a little more. Just like we do plants in our own garden, God tends to us in the like manner! Here is a look at that part of our life when we are growing in Gods Garden!

Understanding Sanctification

by Clint Baker on Friday, December 23, 2011 at 8:10am

   Sanctification, a word that you don't hear preached on very much from today's pulpit. What is it, why is it important, why is it not heard of much anymore?   Sanctification is a state of separation unto God (becoming His child),  all believers enter into sanctification when they are redeemed of God,(1 Corinthians 1:30). Not only when we are saved do we receive salvation, but God imputes the righteousness of Jesus' on us and He removes our sin debt and places our unrighteousness on Jesus. He also places the Holy Spirit within us to teach us and give us a measure of divine wisdom (Acts 1:5) 
   This is a forever separation, eternally unto God but not a license to live how you wish (Romans 6:4). It is a part of our salvation, our connection with Christ (Hebrews 10:10). If you read on in vrs. 16-17 of Hebrews 10, God promises us "that our sins will be remembered NO more." He also says that "there is NO longer an offering for sin." Why because Jesus was that sin offering once and for all that would trust/ receive His gospel. God sets us apart to be His children, He wants us to obey His Word but not out of obligation but out of love for Him and the sacrifice that He made for us. His sanctification is the pattern of, and is the power for, ours. The sending and the sanctifying are inseparable.  Because of what Jesus has done we are called saints, hagioi in the Greek; “sanctified ones.” Sanctification is important to understand because it is eternal, we are born again His Children never to cast out of His family again. (Romans5:1-10)
   There is one more sense that the word sanctification is referred to in Scripture. Paul in (1 Thessalonians 5:23, Colossians 1:5,Colossians 1:27,Colossians 3:4) talks an prays about later part of sanctification. This glorified state will be our ultimate separation from sin, total sanctification in every aspect. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Why is this part so important to understand, because between the salvation and the glorification, we are still all trapped in a sinful body. Paul even says, "Why do I do the things I don't want to do and don't do thing which I should." We are all gonna sin and fall short (Romans) but we are still children of God and yes while God will have discipline for us (Hebrews 10:26) just as we do when our own children are disobedient, God still loves us and we are still His children. Romans chapter's 6,7 and 8 are very good explanation of this and its not my explanation but God's.       
   I believe the biggest reason why sanctification and perseverance of the saints are not taught is because of the lack of understanding of how much God really does love His children. After we have been adopted into His family through the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ, we become in Gods eyes sinless and pure. Why would God sacrifice His own child, for a wretch such as me, to adopt me and at the first time I disobey to turn me back over to Satan. If we believe that every time we sin we must get "prayed up", or saved again, we are saying that the blood Jesus shed on the cross for our sin atonement wasn't good enough. (John 10:28-29, Ephesians 4:30, John 3:15, Romans 8:38-39, Our eternal security is based on God's love for those whom He has redeemed. Our eternal security is purchased by Christ, promised by the Father, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.