Leviticus 22:31-33 (ESV Strong's)
“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.”
Subject: Sanctification
One of my favorite subjects to study is Sanctification - God setting us apart for purity and holiness. Sanctification is one stage of Salvation. Since I believe salvation is "wholly" by God, I believe that Sanctification is something God does. Since I believe salvation is wholly by faith in God's Word, I believe Sanctification is accomplished by God through our faith in God's Word. The above passage - from the Old Testament book of Leviticus - bears this out. In this passage we see that God states, "I am the God who sanctifies you." We also see "how" God is going to do that sanctification. In the first part of the passage it reads, "So you shall keep my commandments and do them: ... that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel.". God is in the process of making His people holy - O.T. and N.T. Note how the Apostle John says the same thing in his epistle:
John 17:17 (ESV Strong's)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
We have to be careful to not think the "law" was there to "make us holy." It was not. God makes us holy. But, He does so by our acting in faith in obedience to His Word. His Word will sanctify us as we believe it and, subsequently, obey it.
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