Good morning, Family:

I pray all is well. I had a conversation with my mother this weekend and we were talking about santification and holiness and the difference between the two. Our conversation sparked the desire for me to dedicate a devotional this week.

If we talk about being holy or being sanctified, are we saying the same thing or something different? First, what does the bible say about each term.

HOLY – 1 Corinthians 1:30 (Good News Version)

30 But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free.

Holiness is what God has made us. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we immediately have a new spiritual DNA called Holiness. We do not have any control over our spiritual DNA. It is part of the gift package from becoming a Christian.

What we DO have control over is how we display and demonstrate our new Holiness DNA. This is where Sanctification comes in to play.

Santification Here is what the Bible says about it in Romans 6:22 (ESV):

²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Santification is the OUTWARD manifestation of our Spiritual Holiness DNA. Before we accepted Jesus, we may have been a person that carried and demonstrated anger, hatred, jealousy, promiscuity, lying, backbiting, thievery, shame, unworthiness, confusion and so many other things. As we begin to study the Word of God, through the help of the Holy Spirit, and get it in our hearts, we start to realize that, in Christ, we are not those things.

As we read the Word of God, we find out that we are, and can become over time, beautiful, lovely, loving to others, slow to anger, patient, kind, gentle, modest, and self-controlled.

Sanctification is the daily conscious practice of continually turning away from sin (our old self) and demonstrating our faith in Christ by obeying God’s Word. That is why it so important for new believers, in Christ, to get into a spiritual setting where they can learn and hear about Jesus Christ, the Word of God, Why we worship, why we fellowship with other believers and grow in Christ.

Through daily santification, we are ALL still working out our salvation, as Paul the Apostle stated in Philippians.

I hope today’s devotional was helpful and beneficial for you and your spirit man. May we continually walk daily in God’s grace which gives us the strength to press on, in this world.

Be abundantly blessed,

Rev. Marcia Davis