"And
the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."
(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.)
Introduction
The God who gives us rest does the work of sanctification in our souls. It
is not adopting a form of mental assent to this principle, but practical
emancipation from all inward evil. This inner peace is the result of the power
of God's love for us.
Three
important words
Notice the three words Paul uses in our text - "Faithful," "Calleth,"
and "Do." God's faithfulness, love, and power work together to bring
about sanctification in the soul of the believer.
The word "calleth" indicates something of His great love for us. With
regards to the lost, God "commandeth all men every where to repent"
(Acts 17:30,) but He calls His saints to holiness. John Wesley, when asked if
entire sanctification ought to be preached, said, "Never until men are
hungry and seeking for it, and when we do, let it always be by drawing rather
than by driving." God draws us to a land of rest that is free from inbred
sin.
A
false method of consecration
There are those who use emotionalism to bring people to a state of
sanctification. By working up the senses they think holiness will result.
The Lord Jesus Christ did not do this. Instead He approached them in a way that
of their own accord they confessed their sin and need. Look how He dealt with
the woman caught in adultery. She had every chance to run away from Him, but she
was drawn to Christ (John 8.) The callous Pharisees condemned her, but the Lord
pardoned her.
He
is drawing us now
No matter how defeated and discouraged we may feel, Christ is drawing us to
His side. He, the very God of peace, does the work.
Jeremiah's prophecy offers us insight to how God deals with His people in
bondage to sin. There He describes them as an adulterous wife. Yet He is willing
to accept her back ... " Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast
transgressed against the LORD thy God" (Jeremiah 3:13.) That in reality was
the only condition. The Lord said, "My people have forgotten me days without number"
(Jeremiah 2:32) yet He was willing to cleanse them and receive them back.
Will
we return?
The reason we fail to get the victory over our sin is that we will not
return wholeheartedly unto the Lord. But return we must if we want deliverance.
We must return just like the Prodigal Son, with the rags of ungodliness still
clinging to us, to the only One who can sanctify us wholly. He will come running
to meet us and to welcome us home.
Conclusion
Here
is one secret of inheriting the blessing of sanctification. Do we still find it
hard to believe this precious promise? If we do, then it proves that our hearts
are deeply poisoned by sin. God wants all the poison of distrust, suspicion and
unbelief extracted from our souls, and to replace it with a holy faith. He
desires this because He loves us.