Have you ever heard the term “christianese”? I’ve heard it defined as a word that is uniquely Christian—something that people outside of the church are not going to use in everyday conversation. Words like mercy and grace both fall into this category, but one that even a life-long Christian may have trouble defining is sanctification.
According to dictionary.com, sanctification is “to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.”
Although that definition may explain what sanctification is, every definition offered here neglects to mention who is doing the sanctifying. Is it the individual? Is it God? Is it both?
Perhaps this question is too detailed for a website like Dictionary.com, but, as Christians, this is something that ought to be discussed. Our judgment on the matter has a huge impact on the way we approach sanctification in our lives—either we passively wait for God to sanctify us, or we actively pursue the sanctification on our own strength.
So, which is it?
There is little consensus in the church on the subject, and I am not an expert. For my own personal belief, however, I tend towards the belief that it is a joint effort. For God to impose sanctification upon us takes away our free will. If, however, the process rests entirely on us, that is giving us a huge amount of both power and responsibility. If the process is joint, that means that we choose to pursue it, and God has the power to grant it.
That’s my understanding of the subject. But maybe I’m just taking the dicitionary.com way out: leaving it undefined.
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