According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, to sanctify is "to set apart or observe [something] as holy" or "to purify or free from sin."¹ These definitions reflect the fact that the Bible uses the word "holy" in two main ways: 1) a special status, that is, set apart for God’s use, and 2) moral behavior—thoughts and actions appropriate to a holy status, thoughts and actions that are in keeping with the way God wants.²

God is the one who sanctifies his people. He is the one who sets them apart for his use, and he is the one who enables holy behavior. There is little controversy about the first point, that God sets people apart for his use. But there is controversy regarding the divine-human interaction involved in behavioral sanctification.

The questions include: How active a role should Christians take in sanctification? To what extent should Christians expect to succeed in conforming their thoughts and actions to the divine standard? How should the church exhort its members?

We will present the following points:

Let us discuss how sanctification begins.

Humans are morally corrupt and cannot of themselves choose God. Reconciliation must be initiated by God. God’s gracious intervention is needed before a person can have faith and turn toward God. Whether this grace is resistible is disputed, but orthodoxy agrees that God is the one who does the choosing. He selects people for his use and thereby sanctifies them or sets them apart from others. Anciently, God sanctified the people of Israel, and within that nation he further sanctified the Levites (e.g., Leviticus 20:26; 21:6; Deuteronomy 7:6). He set them apart for his use.³

Christians, however, are set apart in a different way: "sanctified in Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 1:2). "We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 10:10).⁴ Christians are made holy through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:29; 12:12). They have been declared holy (1 Peter 2:5, 9) and throughout the NT are called "saints"—"holy ones." That is their status. This initial sanctification is like justification (1 Corinthians 6:11). "God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

But God’s purpose for his people goes beyond a simple declaration of a new status—it is a setting apart for his use, and his use involves a moral transformation in his people. People are "chosen…for obedience to Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:2). They are to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). They are not only declared to be holy and righteous, they are also regenerated. A new life begins to develop, a life that is exhorted to behave in a holy and righteous way. So the initial sanctification leads into behavioral sanctification.

Even in the Old Testament, God told his people that their holy status implied a change in behavior. The Israelites were to avoid ceremonial uncleanness because God had chosen them (Deuteronomy 14:21). Their holy status depended on their obedience (Deuteronomy 28:9). The priests were to avoid certain sins because they were holy (Leviticus 21:6-7). Nazirites had to change their behavior while they were set apart (Numbers 6:5).

Our election in Christ has ethical implications. Since the holy One has called us, Christians are exhorted to "be holy in all you do" (1 Peter 1:15-16). As God’s chosen and holy people, we are to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient (Colossians 3:12).

Sin and impurities "are improper for God’s holy people" (Ephesians 5:3; cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:3). If people cleanse themselves from ignoble purposes, they will be "made holy" (2 Timothy 2:21). We should control our bodies in a way that is holy (1 Thessalonians 4:4). "Holy" is frequently linked to "blameless" (Ephesians 1:4; 5:27; 1 Thessalonians 2:10; 3:13; 5:23; cf. Titus 1:8).

Christians are "called to be holy" (1 Corinthians 1:2), "to live a holy life" (1 Thessalonians 4:7; 2 Timothy 1:9; 2 Peter 3:11). We are told to "make every effort…to be holy" (Hebrews 12:14). We are urged to be holy (Romans 12:1), told that we "are being made holy" (Hebrews 2:11; 10:14), and encouraged to continue being holy (Revelation 22:11). We are made holy by the work of Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. He changes us from the inside out.

This brief word study shows that holiness and sanctification have something to do with behavior. God sets people apart as "holy" for the purpose that they live holy lives in following Jesus Christ. We are saved so that we might produce good works and good fruit (Ephesians 2:8-10; Galatians 5:22-23). The good works are not a cause of salvation, but a result of it. Good works are evidence that a person’s faith is genuine (James 2:18). Paul speaks of the "obedience of faith" and says that faith expresses itself in love (Romans 1:5; Galatians 5:6).

When people come to faith in Christ, they are not perfect in faith, love, good works, or behavior. Paul calls the Corinthians saints and brothers, but they have many sins in their lives. The numerous exhortations in the New Testament indicate that the readers need not only doctrinal instruction but also exhortations about behavior. The Holy Spirit changes us, but does not suppress the human will; holy living does not automatically flow from faith. Each Christian must make decisions whether to do right or wrong, even as Christ is working in us to change our desires.

The "old self" may be dead, but Christians must also put it off (Romans 6:6-7; Ephesians 4:22). We must continue to kill the deeds of the flesh, the remnants of the old self (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5). Though we have died to sin, sin continues to be in us, and we should not let it reign (Romans 6:11-13). Thoughts and emotions and decisions must be consciously shaped after the divine pattern. Holiness is something that must be striven for (Hebrews 12:14).

We are commanded to be perfect and to love God with all of our being (Matthew 5:48; 22:37). Due to the limitations of the flesh and the remnants of the old self, we are unable to do this perfectly. Even Wesley, who boldly talked about "perfection," explained that he did not mean complete absence of imperfections.⁵ Growth is always possible and commanded. If a person has Christian love, he or she will strive to learn how to express it in better ways, with fewer mistakes.

The apostle Paul was bold enough to say that his behavior was "holy, righteous and blameless" (1 Thessalonians 2:10). But he did not claim to be perfect. Rather, he pressed on toward his goal, and he admonished others to not think that they had attained their goal (Philippians 3:12-15). All Christians need forgiveness (Matthew 6:12; 1 John 1:8-9) and grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18). Sanctification should increase throughout life.

But our sanctification will not be completed in this life. Grudem explains: "When we appreciate that sanctification involves the whole person, including our bodies (see 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23), then we realize that sanctification will not be entirely completed until the Lord returns and we receive new resurrection bodies."⁶ It is then that we will freed from all sin and be given a glorified body like Christ’s (Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2). Because of this hope, we grow in sanctification by purifying ourselves (v. 3).

Wesley saw a pastoral need to exhort believers to practical obedience resulting from love. The New Testament contains many such exhortations, and it is right to preach these exhortations. It is right to anchor behavior in the motive of love, and more ultimately, in our union with Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is the source of love. Although we give all glory to God and recognize that grace must initiate all holy behavior, we also conclude that such grace is present in the heart of all believers, and we exhort them to respond to that grace.

McQuilken offers a practical rather than a dogmatic approach.⁷ He does not insist that all believers must have similar experiences in sanctification. He advocates high ideals, but without implying perfection. His exhortation to service as the end result of sanctification is good. He emphasizes the scriptural warnings about apostasy rather than get boxed in by theological conclusions about perseverance. His emphasis on faith is helpful, since faith is the basis of all Christianity, and faith has practical consequences in our lives. The means of growth are practical: prayer, Scripture, fellowship, and a confident approach to trials. Robertson exhorts Christians to greater growth and witness without overstating the demands and expectations.

Christians are exhorted to become what they have been declared to be; the imperative follows the indicative. Christians are to live holy lives because God has declared them to be holy, designated for his use.

Michael Morrison