SANCTIFICATION Part 2

The same range of meanings reflected by the Septuagint usage is preserved

In the New Testament but with extension of meaning in certain cases. Objects may be made holy (Matt. 23:17, 19; 1 Tim. 4:5) or treated as holy (Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2), but, mostly, the word group stresses the personal dimension of holiness. Here, the two streams of Old Testament meaning are significant: the cultic and the ethical. Sanctification is vitally linked to the salvation experience and is concerned with the moral/spiritual obligations assumed in that experience. We were set apart to God in conversion, and we are living out that dedication to God in holiness. The link of New Testament thought to Old Testament antecedents in the cultic aspect of sanctification is most clearly seen in Hebrews. Christ's crucifixion makes possible the moving of the sinner from the profane to the holy (that is, sanctifies, makes holy) so that the believer can become a part of the temple where God dwells and is worshiped (Heb. 13:11-16; 2:9-11; 10:10, 14, 29). Paul (Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Eph. 5:26-27; 2 Thess. 2:13) and Peter (1 Pet. 1:2) both affirmed the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion as a sanctification, a making the believer holy so as to come before God in acceptance. Especially in Paul, justification and sanctification are closely related concepts. Hebrews also emphasizes the ethical aspect of sanctification. Sanctification/holiness is to be pursued as an essential aspect of the believer's life. (Heb 12:14 NIV) Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. The blood of sanctification must not be defiled by sinful conduct. (Heb 10:26-31 NIV) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, {27} but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. {28} Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. {29} 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? {30} For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." {31} It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Paul stressed both the individual's commitment to holy living in (Rom. 6:19-22; 1 Thess. 4:3-8; 2 Cor. 7:1) and the enabling power of God for it (1 Thess. 3:13; 4:8). The summation of the ethical imperative is seen in Peter's (1 Pet. 1:15-16) of Leviticus 11:44; 19:2; 20:7) (1 Pet 1:15-16 NIV) But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; {16} for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (Lev 11:44 NIV) I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. (Lev 19:2 NIV) "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. (Lev 20:7 NIV) "'Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.