There have been erroneous teachings concerning sanctification. In Catholicism only special “holy” people are called saints, meaning sanctified ones. But this second step, the function which follows regeneration, means the increase of God’s element in us.
Consider the behavior of those who are of the world, those you see at work or at school or among your relatives. Their way of living is blind. They follow whatever others do. If it is convenient to tell a lie, they have no hesitation about doing so; if they might be caught, then they do not. There is little difference among them.
What characterizes those in the world should not characterize us who have the Lord’s life within. There should be a separation. This is not to say that we should wear a sign, saying that we are Christians and different from others. Nor should we try to give the impression that we are superior to others.
Sanctification does not refer to any such artificial distinction. It is simply the adding of God to us, as day by day we open to Him. From the time we are saved and His Spirit comes into us, there should be a continual increase of His life, making us different from those around us. This change can be observed by our parents or teachers; they will see that we are not the way we used to be. We do not need a label saying we are separated from the world. There is an inward work going on, something growing up and living out of us, that makes us different from others. We are being “sanctified in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:16).
What we are talking about is not moral improvement but a renewing in life. We are not laboring to be better behaved. The change others see comes because we have a life and a Spirit within that produces this fruit.
Suppose there is a tree which seems dead. There is no foliage, and the branches are dry and brittle. The root, though, is still intact. You begin to supply fertilizer and water to it. In time signs of life appear. Some tender buds sprout. The trees around it may be withered and lifeless, but this one is showing evidence of life by its newness and freshness. There is life in this tree; that is what makes it different from the other ones.
Sanctification is the adding of God’s element into us, making us different from others.
The third process is the metabolic change that takes place in us. As God’s element is being added into us, the old elements are flushed out and replaced. In our physical body the process of metabolism never ceases. It regulates the assimilation of our food, the discharge of the dead cells, and their replacement with healthy, new ones.
When the Scripture tells us, “Be transformed” (Rom. 12:2), it does not mean that we should try to make ourselves different in an outward way. If my metabolism is poor, I may look pale and ill. The answer does not lie in using artificial coloring so that I seem healthy. What I need is nourishing food, adequate rest, and proper exercise. Then, after a few months, my skin color will improve, as a result of the metabolic changes that have taken place.
As Christians, we do not care for outward pretension. The transformation that we experience happens metabolically, as God’s element is added to us. We are being inwardly transformed, not outwardly improved.
The work in a mortuary is to make dead people look well. The pallid skin is masked with rosy coloring. Some messages in Christianity in effect do the work of a mortician. The object is to make lifeless ones look healthy. What a contrast this is to the Lord’s way! He cleanses away all that is false. He puts His life into us, so that we can be changed in our very being. He provides us with nourishing food and rest. Transformation is the result.
On our part, we need to be sure to get the proper nourishment. Without eating, we cannot have the metabolic process operate properly. It is as we nourish the divine life in us that we are transformed.
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