John 17:17--“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth”. Jesus spoke these words to God the Father when He was in prayer for his disciples and all that would later seek and find the road to salvation. Jesus cared enough to ask of the Father that we be led into the paths of righteousness; this was His concern for us, that we be blessed in the abundance of the Word of God and that our joy be made full through the love for one another--like the love He had for us!
 

By believing and following the Word of God, a person becomes set apart for sacred use, cleansed and made holy. Hebrews 4:12:  “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” This is the work of the Word of God! Daily inspection of the Word of God brings about a purification of the soul and spirit, mind and heart. It points out sin, motivates us to confession and repentance, and renews our relationship with Christ daily, putting us back onto the right path. When I find myself drifting, the Word aids my search for direction. God is living and breathing in His Word! He is able and willing to accomplish all my desires and to counsel me in all my affairs through the Word.

Christ’s sacrifice for our sins must be acknowledged in order to stay fervent in our work for Him. Do not leave your first love, the love for Christ, who gave himself for us, once for all. Both Revelation and Hebrews speak of His sacrificial death and the salvation of our souls, which are not to be taken for granted. (Revelation 2:4-5, and Hebrews 7:26-27.) Don’t lose your spiritual fervor; do not begin to only go through the motions! For many things can be done through tradition, but God can do much more with sincerity and fervor than we could even begin to dream.
 

Acts 20:32: And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. “Build you up, give you an inheritance?” These are promises of God! God is in the restoration business, as well as an encourager. Do you realize the many times that God has said in His Word, “Be not afraid, be of good courage”? Or, “It is I, be not afraid”? Or “Be Strong, and very courageous.”? God wants so much to build you up today; but you first must read His Word, the love letter that God has written for all of His children!

 Romans 15:16 explains that the Holy Spirit is the One who sanctifies. Paul is speaking about his calling to become the minister to the Gentiles: “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” He explains here that the offering up of the Gentiles was sanctioned by the Holy Spirit Himself, and this leaves no room for debate! He did not take the honor for winning souls in the Gentile race to Christ, but gave the correct honor to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Here he is divulging the work of the Holy Spirit in making us all pure, righteous, and holy, set apart for God’s use.

1 Corinthians 6:11 caps off a list of abominable deeds that God has prohibited with these words: “And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”  These aren’t just pretty words; these are the actual work of the blood of Christ in the life of every believer! The person you once were you are no longer, this is the reason we can “lift up holy hands”, or be called “set apart”, or be called “Godly”. Without the Name of the Lord and the Work of the Spirit of our God, there is no change, and the person who is just “playing church” will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (1 Thess. 5:23)  Pray for one another that God be involved in every  aspect of our lives, and that we do not err by separating our spiritual life from everyday life. Christ, in short, must control ALL of our lives, not only a small part. This is what spirit, soul, and body mean…the WHOLE being.

“The Lord our Righteousness”! (Jeremiah 23:6) attests to the fact that Jesus, who exchanged His robe of righteousness with us for our robe of sin, has made for us a way to be holy and blameless before God the Father! This is wonderful news, amen?

Hebrews 10:29 states of the man who turns back after he has been offered redemption and salvation from hell, “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (NIV) God has provided no other name under Heaven than Jesus Christ, through Whom we must be saved. Deliberate rejection of salvation brings about severe punishment.

I repeat from the King James Version: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace?” (Hebrews 10:29)

1 Peter 1:2—“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” This is Paul's greeting in 1 Peter to the Jews who were driving out o Jerusalem and scattered throughout Asia Minor. It is good to remember that this greeting also applies to us all as believers today. This greeting includes all three of the Holy Trinity.

All members of the Trinity work to bring about our salvation.

1) The Father chose us before we chose Him.

(Ephesians 1:4) “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love;”

2)  Jesus Christ the Son died for us while we were yet sinners.

(Romans 5:6-10) “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9) Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

3) The Holy Spirit brings us the benefits of salvation and sets us apart (sanctifies us) for God’s service.

(2 Thessalonians 2:13) “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”

All salvation is a result of the free and merciful choice of Almighty God, and no trials or persecutions can take away the eternal life He gives to those who believe in Him. Our discernment, our knowledge of the truth, as well, are all part of the gift of salvation that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gives. One of the best ways to get that discernment is to read HIS WORD!

God continue to bless and keep you in His care.
TR