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Holy Spirit: We Hardly Know You—But We Know We Should
Our Holiness Stimulus Package
Selected Scriptures

Introduction: Holy, Holy Holy

The testimony of Scripture affirms without question that God is holy. The prophet Isaiah was an eyewitness of God’s holiness as he saw two seraphs and heard them calling to one another,

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

                                                                                                Isaiah 6:3 NIV

As we continue in our series on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the follower of Christ we focus today on the subject of sanctification. Words relating to sanctification, derived from the same basic root words in the Old and New Testaments, occur almost one thousand times. These words are familiar to us—words like sanctify, holy, holiness and saint.

The Old Testament book of Leviticus majors on the topic of holiness. There aren’t many people who name Leviticus as their favorite book of the Bible or even include it in their top 5. The short introduction to the book in the Women’s Devotional Bible aptly summarizes how many people view it.

Moses writes this book while the Israelites are in the wilderness, before they enter the promised land. In it he reports to them the numerous religious, civil and moral laws that God revealed to him on Mt Sinai. As you read this book, some of it may seem dull and boring. But think about how holy God is, how he wants you to serve him in every part of your life and in all you do.

The key verse capturing the theme of the book challenges us as God says,

I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.

                                                                        Leviticus 11:44 NIV

This is the theme adopted by Peter in the New Testament.

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."                          1 Peter 1:14-16 NIV

That’s our goal for the day. We are going to talk about the process God has designed for us to be holy. This is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. What we believe is intended to make a difference in the way we live. God gives us the Holy Spirit as our holiness stimulus package. My prayer is that your desire for holiness will be deepened as you understand what God wants to do in you and through you by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Meaning Of Sanctification

The meaning of the verb to sanctify is expressed best as to separate. As sanctification is developed in Scripture we find it most often used to mean separation to God or being set apart for God. Various pieces of equipment were sanctified for use in the temple. They were set apart to be used in worshipping God. In being set apart for God the Christian is also separated from sinful things. The believer disconnects from evil behavior and thought patterns. What we learn is that sanctification involves the dual initiatives of being set apart from something while being set apart to something.

One of the major purposes of the Holy Spirit in your life is to motivate you to separate from sinful thoughts and behavior in order to be separated to God and righteousness.

The Holiness of Sanctification

How many of you are saints? If you are a Christian, you are a saint. All believers are sanctified in Christ Jesus. Paul often addressed his letters to the saints at a particular church, like in Ephesus.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
      To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus…     Ephesians 1:1 NIV

When he addressed the church in Corinth, a church with some serious sin issues, he still called them to the high standard of holy living.

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

                                                                                                1 Corinthians 1:2 NIV

When the word saint is used in the New Testament it doesn’t speak to a high standard that they had achieved. It describes what God accomplished in them by His grace. God calls us by this name because His call makes us holy.

That, however, is just the start. In addition to this believers are challenged to be consistent with our calling in the way we live. You are to live worthy!

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.                                 Ephesians 4:1 NLT

While the word sanctify is not used by Paul, the meaning is inescapable. Our lifestyle should reflect that we are members of God’s family.

The Counteraction In Sanctification

It’s important to understand the promise offered by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in dealing with our natural tendency toward sin. In explaining how the Holy Spirit aids us I have carefully selected the word counteraction.

By choosing this word I want you to know God doesn’t burden us with the responsibility of gaining control over the sin nature. That is beyond our capabilities. I also want you to know that what God provides offers more than the suppression of the sin nature. His power runs far beyond simply trying to keep sin hidden below the surface where it can’t be seen.

Third, and most importantly, you need to know that sanctification doesn’t eradicate the sin nature making it impossible for us to ever sin again. That would be nice; it’s just not true. I grew up in a church background that stressed a work of God through the Holy Spirit occurring at some time after salvation. When a Christian received this second blessing the sin nature was wiped out, meaning we should be living in sinless perfection. How many of you are living in sinless perfection? That’s a problem that has one of two solutions. One solution is that no one has been sanctified. The second solution is that eradication of the sin nature is the wrong understanding of sanctification.

Counteraction means the Holy Spirit acts to move us in a direction that runs opposite of the sin nature. God provides the ability to choose what is good and right. But, there is still the need to choose. By granting us the freedom of choice we experience the constant push/pull of deciding how we will choose. This will become clear as we move to our next consideration dealing with…

The Timing of Sanctification

To understand the timing of sanctification we need to answer the question as to whether sanctification is a crisis experience or a process. The background in which I grew up emphasized that sanctification is a crisis experience when the believer submits to God to be made holy.

The Bible certainly teaches a crisis experience as the starting point in sanctification.

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit.                    2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT

We need to make up our minds to be spiritually clean.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.                                                         Ephesians 4:31 NLT    

A time arrives when each of us must decide there is going to be a radical change in the way we live. This is usually takes place as the result of the crisis.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.                                                                                                                                                 Romans 12:1 NIV

As a response to all God has done for believers we give our bodies to God and His purposes.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  Hebrews 12:1 NLT

While running the race of life we recognize there are things weighing us down and tripping us up that we need to get rid of.

At some point it is necessary that we present ourselves to God for Him to set us apart. We acknowledge our harassing inability and His surpassing ability. We finally have had it with our own inadequate solutions and embrace His supernatural solution.

So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.                                                Romans 6:11 NLT

Sanctification is clearly a crisis experience.

Sanctification is also a process. God declares us to be holy because of what He did for us through Christ. When God forgives sin, He forgives us completely. At the same time we become involved in the process of sanctification by our daily obedience.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2a NLT

How do we decisively strip off the weight that slows us down and the sin that so easily trips us up? We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus! It is an ongoing choice of the direction in which we will go.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

                                                                                                Romans 12:1-2a NIV

The renewing of the mind is the continuous process by which we are transformed. There is a thought by thought process where we choose where we are going to allow our thoughts to settle.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.                                       Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

The decisive action to rid ourselves of all types of evil behavior is counterbalanced by the ongoing action of being kind and forgiving one another.

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

                                                                                                2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT

After we are cleansed there is ongoing progress toward complete holiness. We are to cleanse ourselves and then commit to further cleansing.

Is sanctification the result of a crisis or a process? The answer is both.

It can be pictured with a beginning point that continues as an ongoing process. It is this picture that Paul presents to us.

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

                                                                                                Colossians 3:9-10 NIV

Our behavior as Christians is different. Why? It is different because we have decisively taken off in the past the old self that did things like lying to one another and have put on the new self, which is in the process of being renewed to become more and more like its Creator.

This passage pictures what was practiced in baptismal services. The person being baptized would take off and lay aside the outer garment before entering the water to be baptized. Coming out of the water a new, white garment would be put on. The symbolism is powerful. The old self is taken off and the new self is put on. This marks the start of the process of being transformed to become more and more like Jesus.

Two Necessities For Holiness

1^st  Necessity: We Must Have Convictions

We need to be convinced that a holy life for every Christian is God’s will and is important. How do we develop the right convictions? They have already been developed for us by the Word of God.

2^nd Necessity: We Must Have Commitment

What is our commitment? It is to live by our convictions. We must honestly face the question, “Am I willing to give up a specific habit or practice that is keeping me from holiness?”

Conclusion: What Has Happened To Holiness?

An Informal Discussion On The Priority Of Holiness In Our Lives

The Closing Challenge: Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit Of Holiness, pp. 94-96

It is at this point of commitment that most of us fail. We prefer to dally with sin, to try to play with it a little without getting too deeply involved.

We have the “just one more time” syndrome. We will take just one more lustful look, eat just one more rich dessert before starting our diet, watch just one more television program before sitting down to our Bible study. In all of this we are postponing the day of commitment, the day when we say to sin, “Enough!”

Solomon tells us that the eyes of man are never satisfied (Proverbs 27:20). One more lustful look or one more piece of pie never satisfies. In fact, quite the opposite takes place. Every time we say yes to temptation, we make it harder to say no the next time.

We must recognize that we have developed habit patterns of sin. We have developed the habit of shading the facts a little bit when it is to our advantage. We have developed the habit of giving in to inertia that refuses to let us get up in the morning. These habits must be broken, but they never will till we make a basic commitment to a life of holiness without exceptions.

The Apostle John said, “My dear children, I write this to you so you will not sin” (1 John 2:1). The whole purpose of John’s letter, he says, is that we not sin. One day as I was studying this chapter I realized that my personal’s life objective regarding holiness was less than that of John’s. He was saying, in effect, “Make it your aim not to sin.” As I thought about this, I realized that deep within my heart my real aim was not to sin very much. I found it difficult to say, “Yes, Lord, from here on I will make it my aim not to sin.” I realized God was calling me that day to a deeper level of commitment to holiness than I had previously been willing to make.

Can you imagine a soldier going into battle with the aim of “not getting hit very much”? The very suggestion is ridiculous. His aim is not to get hit at all! Yet if we have not made a commitment to holiness without exception, we are like a soldier going into battle with the aim of not getting hit very much. We can be sure if that is our aim, we will be hit—not with bullets, but with temptation over and over again.

Jonathan Edwards, one of the great preachers of early American history, used to make resolutions. One of his was, “Resolved, never to do anything which I would be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.” Dare we…make such a resolution? Are we willing to commit ourselves to the practice of holiness without exceptions?

Good question! Let’s pray and give our individual answers to God.