We believe and confess that sanctification is the progressive work that God performs through the Holy Spirit in the life of the saved sinner. It begins at the new birth, and through it, we are made conformable to His will.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification...”
1 Peter 1:16 “Since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
1 Thessalonians 4:7 “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.”
Holiness means cleansing from sin and the setting apart of one's life for God by separating from the world. The cleansing from sin is accomplished by the blood of the Lord Jesus.
1 John 1:7 “...and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
1 Corinthians 6:11 “...But you were washed, you were sanctified...”
Hebrews 13:12 “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.”
The separation from the world and the setting apart for God is achieved through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, who gives us the power to resist temptation and live out His will.
John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
Acts 2:40 “...‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’”
2 Corinthians 6:17 “...‘Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord...’”
1 Peter 1:2 “...in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience...”
2 Corinthians 3:18 “...are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Sanctification is a work in which God has His part and man has his. God, through the Holy Spirit, influences our will and gives us power, while man accepts for himself, entirely, the will and power of God.
Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Hebrews 13:20–21 “Now may the God of peace... equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ...”
Colossians 4:12 “...that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.”
Colossians 1:22–23; 2 Thessalonians 1:11