Christ Our Righteousness
There is not one in one hundred who understands for himself the Bible truth on this subject [of justification by faith] that is so necessary to our present and eternal welfare.”1
The term “sanctification” is not a felicitous expression but a personal connection and expression of continued justification by faith. The Greek word hagiazo (hag-ee-ad’-zo) usually translated “sanctify” is more accurately rendered “to dedicate to God” or “to consecrate” to God; to purify.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah referred to this vital spiritual concept: “An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isaiah 35:8).
Likewise, the New Testament apostle Paul echoed the same principle: “Now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6:22).
We can thus only conclude the following: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
A sanctified person has made a commitment to God and remains in that commitment.
Therefore, sanctification is the process of transformation into Christlikeness which extends throughout our life. It is a progressive work of God combined with the human agent that makes us more and more free from sin and similar to Christ in our actual life.
Biblical sanctification usually denotes the sinner’s affirmative response to God’s pleading through the Holy Spirit, and his or her acceptance of Jesus as their personal Saviour. Hebrews 10:10 explains that “by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (NKJV). Any person who made a solemn life commitment to God is holy in the biblical sense. He or she is a saint. Today we would call such persons Christians. Sanctification here refers to a sinner’s turn to God with joyous acceptance of His plans and will for his or her life. That soul becomes an obedient child of God.
Through justification by faith a man or a woman is put into a life-giving connection or union with God and given the Holy Spirit for growth in grace and victory over sin. We are bidden to “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). “To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:3, 7). The apostle’s prayer is: “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 Thessalonians 5:23).
Simplifying the process of sanctification, we may say that sanctification is:
“Sanctification means habitual communion with God.”2
“Let no one suppose that conversion is the beginning and end of the Christian life. There is a science of Christianity that must be mastered. There is to be growth in grace, that is constant progress and improvement.”3
“But how shall we know that we are in Christ? - We may know it by the character of our fruit. The fruit borne on the Christian tree is holiness of heart - wholeness to Christ.”4
“Holiness is wholeness for God. It means perfect obedience to every precept of the law of God. This is the only true moral excellence. A character in harmony with the law of God is the only character which will receive His approval.”5
“Let no one say that your works have nothing to do with your rank and position before God. In the judgment the sentence pronounced is according to what has been done or to what has been left undone.”6
“True holiness is wholeness in the service of God. This is the condition of true Christian living. Christ asks for an unreserved consecration, for undivided service. He demands the heart, the mind, the soul, the strength. Self is not to be cherished. He who lives to himself is not a Christian.”7
“The true Christian obtains an experience which brings holiness. . . . A glow of perfect love for the Redeemer clears away the miasma which has interposed between his soul and God. The will of God has become his will, pure, elevated, refined, and sanctified. His countenance reveals the light of heaven. His body is a fit temple for the Holy Spirit. Holiness adorns his character. God can commune with him; for soul and body are in harmony with God.”8
“The sanctification of the soul by the working of the Holy Spirit is the implanting of Christ’s nature in humanity. Gospel religion is Christ in the life - a living, active principle. It is the grace of Christ revealed in character and wrought out in good works. The principles of the gospel cannot be disconnected from any department of practical life. Every line of Christian experience and labor is to be a representation of the life of Christ.”9
“True sanctification is an entire conformity to the will of God. Rebellious thoughts and feelings are overcome, and the voice of Jesus awakens a new life, which pervades the entire being. Those who are truly sanctified will not set up their own opinion as a standard of right and wrong. . . . True sanctification is a daily work, continuing as long as life shall last.”10
“God requires the entire surrender of the heart, before justification can take place; and in order for man to retain justification, there must be continual obedience, through active, living faith, that works by love and purifies the soul.”11
“True sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience, perfect conformity to the will of God. We are to be sanctified to God through obedience to the truth. Our conscience must be purged from dead works to serve the living God. We are not yet perfect; but it is our privilege to cut away from the entanglements of self and sin, and advance to perfection.”12
“[The sanctification of the soul] is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ revealed in character, and the grace of Christ brought into active exercise in good works. Thus the character is transformed more and more perfectly after the image of Christ in righteousness and true holiness.”13
“Bible sanctification does not consist in strong emotion. Here is where many are led into error. They make feelings their criterion. When they feel elated or happy, they claim that they are sanctified. Happy feelings or the absence of joy is no evidence that a person is or is not sanctified. There is no such thing as instantaneous sanctification. True sanctification is a daily work, continuing as long as life shall last.”14
“Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for Christ. Wrongs cannot be righted nor reformations wrought in the character by feeble, intermittent efforts. It is only by long, persevering effort, sore discipline, and stern conflict, that we shall overcome. We know not one day how strong will be our conflict the next. So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained. Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience.”15
Justification and sanctification by faith is the robe of Christ’s righteousness.
This is the power and glory of the “other angel,” the banner of God’s faithful people, a powerful witness of the truth. This is “Christ Our Righteousness.”
Sanctification is the term used to describe the work of the Holy Spirit upon the character of those who are justified. We are justified in order that we may be sanctified, and we are sanctified in order that we may be glorified.
“This is true sanctification; for sanctification consists in the cheerful performance of daily duties in perfect obedience to the will of God.”16
Sanctification is living righteousness by faith, and it is the standard of Christian experience.
Sanctification is granted only for the justified sinner, and glorification comes only to the sanctified Christian. It is God, through the Holy Spirit, that is making one righteous as Christ’s rightdoing is imparted to the Christian. Sanctification removes from us the power of sin, for we are empowered by the Holy Spirit and receive the strength needed to overcome our sins.
Righteousness is not a belief but a reality. It is not a theory but a practical daily experience.
“The truth is of no value to any soul unless it is brought into the inner sanctuary and sanctifies the soul. Piety will degenerate, and religion become a shallow sentimentalism, unless the plowshare of truth is made to go deep into the fallow ground of the heart.”17
God requires perfection from His children. We need to understand the message of sanctification, which is living “righteousness by faith” and the increasing light of the power and the glory of the other angel.
We are bidden to “follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
“ ‘For their sakes I sanctify myself,’ Christ said, ‘that they also might be sanctified through the truth’ (John 17:19).
“No error can sanctify the soul; we must bear this in mind. Sanctification comes not through error, but through belief of the truth. We need to possess a faith that is based upon the sure word of promise.
“The Word of God specifies the quality of the faith that will distinguish between the sacred and the common, and will render the life well-pleasing to Him who has purchased the powers of our being by the redemption price of His blood. All men have a certain kind of faith; but it is that faith which works by love that purifies the soul. This faith cleanses the life from all self-serving, from all acquiescence to man’s arbitrary exactions. It is a genuine faith that is revealed in the spirit, in the speech, and in the actions. In the life of the one who possesses such a faith as this the will of Christ will be daily carried out.
“The soul who really believes the truth will carry out in his life the principles revealed in the life of Christ. Of Enoch it is written that his ways pleased God; and without faith it is impossible to please God. Not a thread of coarseness or selfishness was woven into the web that this servant of God was weaving in his daily life. And of him we read, ‘Enoch walked with God . . . three hundred years; . . . and he was not; for God took him’ (Genesis 5:22, 24).
“The Lord’s measure of correct character is given in the words of the prophet Micah: ‘What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?’ (Micah 6:8). There are men who may be represented as doing justly and loving mercy, but who have not the true principle within them, the faith that will lead them to walk humbly with the Lord. They may seem to have every specification needed but that of sanctified faith, but lacking this, they lack all. The life is not sanctified, and without this sanctification of motive and purpose, it is impossible to please God. God has given men and women affections and intellect that they may appreciate the character of God as it was revealed in the earthly life of Christ, and through faith in Christ reveal the same attributes. Christ is to be manifest in the life of every true believer. Each is to prove in his life his right to the claim he makes for citizenship in the kingdom of Christ and of God. . . .
“The science of overcoming as Christ overcame is the science of salvation. If we will unite with Christ in the work of developing Christian character, if we will maintain unwavering faith in God and in the truths of His Word, we shall be given strength to overcome every evil thing in the life.”18 May this great victory be our life experience!