Introduction

Definition:

A.   Saints – hagios  holy, saint, sanctification

(Gk. AV - holy 161, saints 61, Holy One 4, misc 3; 229)

1.      most holy thing, a saint

Synonym – ieroj (a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word)

1.      ieroj means sacred, implying some special relation to God, so  that it may not be violated.

It refers, however, to formal relation rather than to character. It designates an external relation, which ordinarily is not an internal relation as well. It is used to describe persons or things. This is the commonest word for holy in classical Greek, and expresses their usual conception of holiness, but it is rare in the N.T. because it fails to express the fullness of the N.T. conception.

2.      A sacred place, temple

                     1a) used of the temple of Artemis at Ephesus

                     1b) used of the temple at Jerusalem

The temple of Jerusalem

The temple of Jerusalem consisted of the whole of the sacred enclosure, embracing the entire aggregate of buildings, balconies, porticos, courts (that is that of the men of Israel, that of the women, and that of the priests), belonging to the temple; the latter designates the sacred edifice properly so called, consisting of two parts, the “sanctuary” or “Holy Place” (which no one except the priests was allowed to enter), and the “Holy of Holies” or “the most holy place” (which was entered only on the great day of atonement by the high priest alone). Also there were the courts where Jesus or the apostles taught or encountered adversaries, and the like, “in the temple”; also the courts of the temple, of the Gentiles, out of which Jesus drove the buyers and sellers and the money changers, court of the women.

What Are Saints – If Your Name Is “BERNARD” It Might Sound Funny   

A.   They are not people who are dead and buried.

1.      It is not some degree available to you after you are dead. In the 95 references to saints in the Bible only 5 of those references are to those who are dead, and then not to individuals but to the company of saints.

a.       Behold He cometh with ten thousands of His saints.

b.      The harlot church drunken with the blood of the saints.

2.      It is not an honor bestowed upon you by a group of men. It is an honor bestowed upon you by God because of your faith and trust in His Son for your salvation

3.      Every Christian is a saint, because every Christian has been set apart and made holy through the perfect righteousness of Christ that has been placed to his or her account (Rom. 3:21-22; 1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 3:9 etc.). 

How Do I Become A Saint?

When a person acts in faith to receive Christ, God acts in grace to give that person Christ’s own righteousness (imputed righteousness).  It is Christ’s perfect righteousness – not a person’s own character or accomplishments, no matter how great they may seem in men’s eyes – that establishes every believer as one of God’s saints through saving faith.

            Therefore, every believer who has truly trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior is separated from the world and set apart to live for God.  

1 Peter 1:15-16 – hagios - holy, saint, sanctification

All three of these words and their various forms (holiness, saints, and sanctification) are translated from one Greek word hagios.  Its basic meaning is to be set apart and different.

A.   HOLINESS - To be righteous, pure, sinless, and godly; to be perfect, complete, and fulfilled in every possible sense; to be separated entirely different from all other beings and things.

Why Should I live a holy life? -Three Reasons

1.      God is Holy.

2.      God has called believers to be holy in all of life.  God’s very purpose in saving us is to have a people who will be just like Him (Romans 8:29; 12:2 . . .Philippians 3:10, 21)

3.      Scripture demands holiness (Lev. 11:45; Lk. 1:74-75; 2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 12:14; 2 Peter 3:11; Ps. 99:9)

B.   GOD IS HOLY

1.      God is said to be preeminently and supremely holy (Lk. 1:49; Jn 17:11; 1 Pet. 1:15)

·         God possesses an incomparable majesty, so supremely majestic that there are beings who do nothing but surround His throne day and night singing out the praises of His holiness

Isaiah 6:1-5 . . .Revelation 4:8

C.   THINGS THAT HAVE A SPECIAL CONNECTION TO GOD ARE SAID TO BE HOLY

Anything that becomes associated with God is set apart unto God in a very special sense and becomes different from other things.

1.      The ground that Moses stood upon (Ex. 3:1-5; Acts 7:33)

2.      The temple (Matthew 24:15) and the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 9:2-3)

3.      The mount where Christ was transfigured (2 Peter 1:18)

4.      The covenant the God made with Abraham (Lk. 1:35)

5.      The Gospel and Scriptures (Matthew 7:6; Romans 1:2)

6.      The Jews are called a Holy Nation

a.       They were set apart in a very special way to God

1.      Exodus 19:5-6 A Holy Nation Exodus

2.      Leviticus 20:26 cf Daniel 7:18, 22 Have separated you from other people

BUT NOTE THIS: The Old Testament is a record of the Jews continuous rejection of God’s will, they refused to play the part in History that God wanted them to play.  When God sent His Son into the world, they committed the supreme and lasting rejection.  They refused to acknowledge Him and put Him to death. 

7.     The Spirit of God who indwells our bodies is Holy (Acts 1:8)

8.     One of the names given to us is that of Holy Brothers (1 Thess. 5:27; Heb. 3:1)

9.     The great call of God to us is a holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9)

10.            When the Lord returns, He will present us holy before God (Col. 1:21-22)

11.            Our inheritance will be that of a holy city (Rev. 21:2)

D.   JESUS CHRIST IS SAID TO BE HOLY IN A VERY SPECIAL WAY

1.      Luke 1:35, 49ff.  before His birth

2.      John 10:36  the people recognized that He was sanctified by God

3.      Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34  the demon possessed recognized Him as the Holy One of God

4.      Acts 4:27,30  the church worshiped Him as “the Holy Servant Jesus”

BUT NOTE THIS: The Jews rejected God’s Son, showing their ultimate refusal to follow God, to be Holy and Separated unto Him.  Therefore, God has raised up another people of all nations, these people are called today “the body of Christ, or the Church.”

E.    THE CHURCH IS NOW TO BE SAID THE HOLY PEOPLE OF GOD.  THE PRIVILEDGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FOLLOWING GOD WERE TAKEN FROM ISRAEL AND GIVEN TO THE CHURCH. 

1.      1 Peter 2:5,9   the church is called a holy nation and a royal priesthood

2.      Ephesians 2:19-22   the church is now the dwelling place for God’s presence.  Believers are now “being joined together” and “being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.”

3.      Ephesians 1:22-23   the body of Christ

F.    THE BODY OF THE INDIVIDUAL BELIEVER BECOMES THE DWELLING PLACE FOR GOD’S VERY PRESENCE.

1.      1 Corinthians 6:19-20  the Spirit of God dwells within the believer’s body

2.      The body of the believer replaces the Holy of Holies within the inner sanctuary of the temple. 

3.      Therefore, believers are called Saints!  Amen.

every believer who has truly trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior is separated from the world and set apart to live for God.

SANCTIFICATION

THERE ARE THREE STAGES OF SANCTIFICATION

Sanctification is different from justification.

1.      Sanctification is the process which God transforms our lives into the image and likeness of Christ.  This is a process, which will take place over our entire life and relates to our maturing in Christ.  It is never completed in this life.

2.      The word sanctify is to hallow, or consecrate. It was to set something apart for God.

a.       All of the vessels used in the temple worship were to be sanctified. i.e. they were not be used for any other purpose than in the worship of God. They were never to be used for personal purposes once sanctified to God.

b.      The great blaspheme of Belshazzar was to take the vessels that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzer had taken from the temple, that had been sanctified, and drink wine out of them as he praised the gods of gold and silver (Daniel 5:1-4,22-23).

THE THREE STAGES

1.     Positional Sanctification – God’s Work

a.       When a person believes in Christ, he or she is immediately and permanently set apart for God.

·         Hebrews 3:1 . . .Hebrews 10:10-11 . . .1 Corinthians 1:2 . . .1 Corinthians 6:9

2.     Progressive Sanctification – God’s Work, With Our Cooperation

a.       This is where the believer makes a determined and disciplined effort on his or her part to allow the Spirit of God set him or her apart day-by-day for as long as you are alive on this earth.

3.     Eternal Sanctification – God’s Work

a.       There is a day coming when every believer will be perfectly set apart unto God and His service—without any sin or failure. 

·         Ephesians 5:27 . . .1 John 3:2 . . .1 Thessalonians 5:23

4.     Perfect Sanctification - Perfect Sanctification is not attainable in this life

Proverbs 20:9 . . . James 3:2 . . .1 John 1:8 . . .Romans 7:14-25 . . .Philippians 3:12-14 . . .

1 Timothy 1:15

How Can I Apply All of This to My Life?

What Must I Do?

Progressive Sanctification - God’s Work, With Our Cooperation

A.   We have been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ, set apart as His holy possession, He now owns us . . .1Peter 1:17-19.

B.   Therefore, live and walk as a separated people of God, living a holy and righteous and pure life 2 Peter 3:10-12!

·         John 17:17  we need to read and study the Word of God

·         Romans 12:1  present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God

·         Philippians 2:12-13  work out your own salvation – in other words (cooperate with God)

·         Philippians 3:12  I press on

·         1 Peter 1:2  grow up in your salvation

·         2 Peter 3:18  grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ  

What Is the Goal of Living A Sanctified Life?

Total Moral Perfection - Philippians 2:14

Moral Identification with God the Father – Ephesians 5:1

Conformity to Jesus Christ – God’s Son – Romans 8:28

A Life of Good Works – Matthew 5:13-14

A Full Christian Life -