There is one thing about power—whether spiritual, financial, political, or physical: it always comes at a price. Some call it sacrifice; others call it a ransom. We who are Christians normally refer to it as sanctification. Some call it purification, and so forth.
Knowing What to Do Is Not the Same as Doing It
But that is not even the main problem. The troubling phenomenon about sanctification is not that people do not know what it requires. Most Christians know what ought to be done to preserve holiness toward God: living in accordance with His law and statutes. However, most of us fail to do so.
Then there are those who wish to walk in the same spiritual power the apostles demonstrated in the Bible, yet they cannot even stop lusting. So many spiritual Christians secretly wish to be recognized as holy and righteous before others, but in reality they only act righteous out of pride, not out of pure love for Christ. This is the problem.
Glory Without the Cross
They want to share in the glory of Christ but do not want to share in the suffering of the cross. It is like wanting to eat free food in a restaurant every single day of your life without ever trying to pay for it.
Sanctification in righteousness must stem from love, not from a sense that God is forcing you. Mind you, only Christ is righteous; the rest of us are sinners. Only He can make you righteous, no matter how good or holy you appear before the world.
Who knows how ugly the thoughts in your heart are? If the people around you were given a chance to listen clearly to your intrusive thoughts, would they still regard you as holy?
Grace Is Redemption, Not a License to Sin
That aside, should the fact that you cannot be fully righteous stop you from adhering to God’s Word? Can grace be assumed to be a license to sin?
Definitely not. Grace is a redemption card that Jesus plays every single time to redeem you from eternal judgment against your sins. But will He keep playing it for you while you undermine its purpose?
Obviously not. That is why He called you to be holy, as He is holy. Moreover, He warned the Israelites not to divert from His law—neither to the right nor to the left—but to stay in the middle all the way. Let’s look at it in Deuteronomy 5:31–33 (NASB 1995):
31 “But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and the statutes and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I give them to possess.’
32 So you shall observe to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left.
33 You shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.”
This is what the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelites; it translates to us as modern-day Christians—and to you, as a follower of Christ.
Sanctification Sets You Apart and Releases Power
God expects you, if you consider yourself worthy of Him being your God, to hold onto the sanctification required by His law every single day of your life. This is what will set you apart from the world. This is what will resurrect the power of sonship within you. This is in reference to the spiritual Christian: it is your sanctification that will set you apart, not sanctimoniousness.
As much as the two look alike—as I discussed before—the state of your heart will tell the difference. If your sacrifices are done out of selfish ambition and pride, they will amount to nothing. But if your sanctification is done out of pure love, surely you will walk in even greater power than the apostles did. Yes, even greater power. Have you not read what Christ said in John 14:12–14 (NASB 1995)?
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
What Ultimately Matters
Although, in the end, what will matter is not how many miracles you performed or how many times you helped those in need.
What will matter is how much of your life was spent in alignment with God’s will—not only on the outside, but also in the state of your heart and soul. That is the measuring line: the law.
