What is Sanctification?

Sanctification is an important concept or process to understand in the life of a Christian. It’s much more than just a fancy word, sanctification simply means “to be set apart” for God’s exclusive possession as a reminder to us of God’s redeeming Grace that brings about our salvation. That gift of grace was the gift of his Son Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sins on the Cross so that we could be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God our Creator.

Sanctification is the ongoing process by which a person becomes holy in God’s sight by yielding his or her life daily to Jesus. It is a lifelong experience for the believer. We are reminded repeatedly in the Bible that God never leaves us as we were before we experienced salvation in Jesus Christ. This transformational work is guided by God’s Holy Spirit and by God’s inspired Word–the Bible. Like an athlete training for a marathon, sanctification is an endeavor that takes discipline, time, sacrifice, commitment, faithfulness, and a desire to please and follow Jesus and bring honor and glory to God.

Finally, sanctification comes about as we read and study the Bible on a consistent basis, participate in Bible studies with others, set aside regular quiet times with Jesus, attend and participate in worship services, and treasure God’s Word in our hearts by memorizing Scripture. The goal of sanctification is to, over time, make a believer more and more like Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:1-18). As that happens, others will see Christ in the believer and he or she will be able to tell them about Him and God’s love for them.