Question 75. What is sanctification?

 

Question 75. What is sanctification?

Answer. Sanctification is the work of God's grace, whereby those whom God has chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy, are in due time, through the mighty work of the Holy Spirit, applied to the death and resurrection of Christ, so that men, who have been formed after the image of God, are renewed, and the seeds of repentance unto life, and other saving graces, are put in their hearts, and these graces are stirred up, increased, and strengthened, so that they die more and more unto sin, and live unto newness of life.

 

Those who are clothed with holiness were not predetermined before the creation of the world. God predestined Christ before the creation of the world, and gives holiness to those who enter into Christ. God predestined Christ, and in order for this predestination to be carried out as planned, there were those who were chosen before the creation of the world.

There were prophets and pioneers of faith, and the disciples of Jesus’ time would have been included. Many others who were chosen afterward would have appeared. God also clothed them with holiness through His Spirit. However, those who enter into Christ are not those who were predestined in advance, but those who repented, turned, and cried out to God, and were acknowledged as holy by God from their sins.

Most believers think of holiness as God’s character. Most pastors tell believers that they should live a life that resembles God, and the logic is that if they live that way, their sinfulness will gradually disappear, God’s grace will overflow, and they will live a sanctified life. So they say that God’s image will be restored, and the hearts of believers will be renewed and they will become people whom God is pleased with. People who say such things do not know exactly what the gospel is. Most of them mix the gospel with the law, but they do not realize it.

Holiness is the opposite of sin. A person who is sinful can never become holy, and all human beings are beings who cannot become holy on their own. Therefore, if a sinner can be free from sin, they can advance to holiness, but no one is free from sin except Jesus Christ.

The atoning death of Jesus Christ is to make repentant sinners holy. This is not achieved through any effort on the part of sinners, but through the absolute grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the word holiness is the price paid for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

"Becoming like God, becoming like Jesus" is an act of one's own effort, and it does not achieve holiness, but rather becomes a way for a person who has become holy to achieve spiritual growth. However, this is also an act without substance.

It is not clear exactly what it means to become like God or to become like Jesus. A believer may be praised by the pastor for diligently participating in church life, but God does not praise anything other than preaching the gospel.

Also, believers may be sacrificing themselves to others and receiving praise from them in order to glorify God's name, but God does not receive glory from sinners. Even if believers preach the gospel to sinners and make them return, God only wants to hear the cries of repentance from sinners. Therefore, the life of becoming like them is not real, and if pastors say this, they do not know the meaning of holiness.

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