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Day 22 - Rom 1:7 Because Christ sanctified me, God calls me a Saint
Romans 1:7 (KJV) - "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ."
In Romans 1:7, the Apostle Paul addresses us as "saints," emphasizing that our sanctification is not based on our own efforts or merits but on the sanctifying work of Christ. As believers, we are set apart and made holy through our union with Christ, who is our sanctification. This truth applies to all who are in Christ, regardless of our condition, for it is Christ's finished work on the cross that defines our identity as saints.
We can "put on" our sanctification by renewing the spirit of our minds. Sanctification is Christ Himself (1 Cor 1:30). Whenever we think of sanctification, we should not detach it from Christ, but consider it as something that He has accomplished in Himself and made available to us (not apart from Himself, but as Christ Himself, who is made unto us "wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption!” (Rom 13:14).
So we are told in the scripture to "put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27). This is the root of all enjoyment of things that are true in Christ but seem to be lacking in our experience. To put on Christ is something we do by faith. It is an acknowledgment of who He is (Hebrews 1:3), what He is (Colossians 1:15-20), what He has accomplished (Hebrews 10:12), and what is now ours by faith in Him, through union with Him (Romans 8:1-2). With faith, it is always a matter of "unseen things, and the God who 'calls those things that are not as though they are.'" (Romans 4:17). This means we look to what we believe, not to what we see, to determine what is true. You say, "I'm not holy," but the scripture calls you a sanctified one. Where is this sanctification? It's in Christ! (1 Corinthians 1:2)
Sanctification in our life comes not by focusing on our own behavior but on the work of Christ as the definition of who we are (Romans 6:11). This focus is about refusing to persist in untruth and aligning our thoughts and perspectives with the truth of God's Word. We deliberately practice acknowledging that our identity as saints is rooted in Christ's righteousness and not our own (2 Corinthians 5:21). This brings the washing and the renewing that comes from the word, which is spirit and life, and is Christ Himself (John 6:63).
What is the purpose of sanctification? Is it merely that we would be more holy (better behaved)? No. The purpose of sanctification is that we would be free to enjoy the presence of God, and Christ can even make His home in our heart. This makes the way for fruit-bearing in the Christian life (John 15:4-5).
The corrective work of mind renewal, where we drop our old thinking and embrace the truth of the word (especially in "preaching the Gospel to ourselves"), is our path. This is why we are told to let the "word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom" (Colossians 3:16) and to speak the truth to one another in love (Ephesians 4:15). Christ makes His home in our hearts through faith and changes the atmosphere. At that point, we are no longer focused on holiness as a thing, but as a holy Person, Christ Himself, who is the goal of our pursuit (Philippians 3:8-10). When we embrace the truth and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts, we experience the reality of our sanctification in Christ - fellowship with Him. This fellowship is full of fruit, and it makes our heart a watered garden for the Lord.
Perhaps only He enjoys this fruit for a time. But it is there in our faith, and in our peace, and in our satisfaction with Him. There is no law against this kind of atmosphere in our heart, and it fully satisfies the Lord. The fruit of the Spirit is not something we "cultivate"; it is something that appears as we grow in and enjoy this reality of fellowship with Christ by Grace. By acknowledging and living in the reality of Christ's sanctifying work, we can rest from our own efforts to try to "be" or "become" something we can never be in our flesh and even find ourselves walking in the Spirit and enjoying His presence (Galatians 5:16).
Verses
- 1 Corinthians 1:2 - "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:"
- Ephesians 1:4 - "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"
- Colossians 1:22 - "In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:"
- Hebrews 10:10 - "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
- 1 Peter 1:2 - "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
Prayer / Confession
Thank you, Father God, for the sanctifying work of Christ in my life. I acknowledge that my sanctification is not based on my own efforts or merits but on the finished work of Christ on the cross. I embrace the truth that by faith in Christ, I am set apart and made holy, and that my identity is rooted in Christ's righteousness and not my own. Thank you for the renewing and the washing of Your Word. Thank you that I can put on Christ by faith. I thank You, Father, that because of Christ's sanctification, I am free to enjoy Your presence and that Christ can even make His home in my heart. I pray that as I embrace this truth and allow the Holy Spirit to work in my heart, I would experience the fullness of my sanctification in Christ, manifesting the fruit of the Spirit as I grow in and enjoy this reality by Your grace. In Jesus' name, Amen.