1 Peter – Sanctification (1 Peter 1:2)

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Scripture Text

1 Peter 1:2 …through sanctification of the Spirit…

Introduction

In this post we are going to look at what happens when a person is saved.  As a Christian it is hard to explain to a lost person what it’s like when you are saved.  We look for words but words cannot describe the change inside. Here is my best effort at describing the moment of salvation… I am clean, my conscience is clear! Stem to stern, from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, inside and out, my sin is gone, the stain, the blot and the darkness are all gone.  I am free from the evil force that ruled over me. When we are saved everything changes, we have a whole new purpose in life.

How about God, what does God see when we are saved?  Now we are getting to the point Peter is making in verse 2 when he says “through sanctification of the Spirit”.

Sanctification of the Spirit

Sanctification means to be purified.  We still walk around in a body of flesh that is corruptible but the spirit inside us is renewed.  The penalty of sin we carried is now gone. 

Coming to an understanding that we cannot save ourselves is a big step.  Without understanding this simple fact we will try to change ourselves.  The most common belief is if we do good deeds in this life God will consider those deeds after we die. Because of such beliefs people try to clean up their own life. There are phrases like “turning over a new leaf”, a “fresh start”, “pushing the reset button” and on and on we could go.   [Let me be perfectly clear… “Our good deeds will never, ever, get us into heaven”.  This line of thinking is a lie created and propagated by the evil one.]

There are a lot of people in church trying to earn salvation.  We cannot earn it, we must trust in God for the free gift of salvation.  We must accept the fact that Jesus died for us.  “Jesus I believe you died for me and I accept that you paid my sin debt.  I now put my faith and trust in you.”  Sanctification is God’s domain; we cannot eliminate our own sin. Once we are saved we are a new creature in Christ.

Closing Remarks

Can we be saved without being sanctified? We cannot be right with God, and have fellowship with Him, unless our sin is gone.  Sanctification is the washing away of our sin by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. (Heb. 13:12) Only through sanctification can we be acceptable to, and have fellowship with, God.

Until Night,

A Servant