Leviticus 20:8
Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
Tag: It is God Who Sanctifies Us.
Throughout this section of Leviticus God is given the nation of Israel rules, guidelines and precepts to obey. These are not options. Many do not fit our current societal mores. Most of our liberal thinkers would reject most of what Moses is telling the nation. It should be noted that in these three chapters, alone, God uses the phrase, “I am the Lord your God,” as the reason for these commands. We tend want to reject them as “Old Testament” teaching. However, we need to really investigate how each of these commands might fit in the “grace” (not “law”) world of the church today. The reason God gives for each of these commands is that it is HE who “sanctifies” them and it is because HE IS THE LORD YOUR GOD! We need no other reason. Today we live in a world of personal self choice. We are told we get to choose what we want to do and don’t want to do. We are told we have ultimate freedom. We don’t want to do what the side government tells us. We don’t have to do what a god tells us. We are gods! Or, so we would like to believe. The truth is that God is in the process of “sanctifying” His people for Himself. Since He is holy we are to be Holy. God demands holiness from His people. But, God makes it happen as well. As the above verse states, He has made us holy. It is God who sanctity’s us for Himself. He does this (NT) by sending us His Spirit to use His Word, to sanctify us:
John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
The “them” in the verse is believers. Jesus prayed to God that we would be “sanctified” by truth and God’s Word is Truth. This is why we have to spend time in God’s Word and allow it to chisel us. It is God who sanctifies and He can because He is God.
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