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 – 1st Corinthians 6:11.

Sanctification is another word for being holy; “Holy” means to be separated to God. It’s a submission to His written Word without questioning why He said it; it shall be done to be His child. Serving Him is not being served at Burger King having it your way.

When the children of Israel were set free from the bondage of Egypt and its Pharaoh, they were instructed by God through Moses to sanctify themselves as He was leading them to the Promised Land of Canaan (Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine. And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel – Exodus 19:5). Israel was to be different from all the surrounding nations because they belonged to God.

Christians are to be different from the world; they have been set aside to serve God and keep His commandments. Christians can’t serve God part-time and think they have a relationship with God or are in the right standing with God. He has given Christians His Word to follow and apply to their lives. Christians belong to God, and they can’t be like the world.

God is holy as the transcendent Creator, above and apart from nature. To be separate to God is much more important than to be separate from other things. As God’s people are separated to Him, we become increasingly conformed to His image, to be the persons God intended us to be when He created the first man and woman in His image.

Holiness in God’s people involves grace, righteousness, integrity, peace, and mercy because these are the characteristics of the God who has redeemed us and whom we serve. Sanctification also brings about the Fruit of the Spirit, which are some of God’s characteristics: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

The Fruit of the Spirit can be produced only by God; Christian character thus results from “Christ living in me.” When Jesus comes into the heart of an individual, they become a new creation (Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new 2nd Corinthians 5:17). A believer’s life should change, because he or she is being transformed into the likeness of Christ. Instead of living for oneself, a believer lives for Christ. Instead of evaluating others with the values of the world, a believer looks at this world through the eyes of faith.

When a person first becomes a Christian, they don’t change overnight into a mature Christian. Just like it takes the time of life between puberty and maturity. It takes time and submission to grow in the things of God. The more we surrender ourselves to the leading of the Spirit, the more we become more like Jesus.

One thing about God is that He will never require you to do something that He has not already prepared you to do (According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue – 2nd Peter 1:3). Jesus’ Spirit is living within our hearts, God’s Spirit is living within our spirit all we have to do is submit to their leading.

To get to know the Father and Son, we must read and study the Bible. The Bible is God’s written Word for His people to follow. He instructs the believer on how to live in the world but not be a part of the world. His written Word instructs the believers how to bring themselves into sanctification.

First, we must love God; then, we must love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We’re to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice (I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service – Romans 12:1). A living sacrifice meaning they should use their bodies to serve and obey God. Giving the body to God is more than a contrast with dead animal sacrifice; it is a newness of life. Holy means set apart for the Lord’s use, and acceptable means pleasing to Him.

As a Christian, there are places we shouldn’t go, and there are things we shouldn’t look or listen to. The Bible does not indicate everything we should or shouldn’t do, but as we grow in a relationship with the Father and Son and the knowledge of His written Word, the more we will know in our spirit what we should or shouldn’t do to equip ourselves to be instruments for God.

To be a doer of the Word of God, one must read it. When you read it and apply the instructions, you’re gradually being processed into sanctification. This is why Satan influences some Christians they don’t have the time to read the Bible. They have time to do everything else, but when it comes to setting time aside to read what God is saying to them, they don’t have time.

Sanctification is a must to be caught up in the Rapture (And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be – Revelation 22:12). Ask God to help you to live a sanctified life, a life that will be pleasing to Him!