Sanctification

The word “sanctification” comes from the verb “sanctify” which derives from the Greek word hagiazo, which means to be "separate" or to be "set apart." In the Bible, sanctification generally relates to a sovereign act of God whereby He "sets apart" a person, place, or thing in order that His purposes may be accomplished. This process of setting apart is initiated by God, and it is done by Him supernaturally. In the book of Exodus, God sanctifies a place of worship. “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory,” says Exodus 29:43. Even a day can be sanctified as seen in Genesis 2:3 where the seventh day is "set apart" as a holy day of rest. “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made”. Similarly, when a person is sanctified he or she is being set apart by God for a specific divine purpose. The very moment we are saved in Christ we are also immediately sanctified and the process begins to conform us to the image of Christ. As God's children we are "set apart" from that moment to carry out His divine purposes unto eternity. Being sanctified also means being separated or distinct in the moral character of our lives. Holiness arises in the person of God therefore we are to be holy too.
Stanley Grenz, a well known theologian views sanctification as a process of transformation of the one who is saved into Christ likeness which extends through out life time. It is the process whereby we are renewed according to the image of God, conformed to the image of Christ, and enabled to die to ourselves and live to God. Additional to this understanding, Wayne Grudem, another theologian defines sanctification as a work of God and man in cooperation – a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in actual life.

Believers are saved because of what Christ has already done. We can do nothing to earn salvation, it is the gift given to every child of God regardless of race, age, maturity, or merit. Sanctification occurs as a result of salvation. At the moment of conversion, the Holy Spirit enters our life. We are no longer held hostage by death, but are free to live the life God desires for us. We are thus sanctified simply because of our standing as lost souls saved by grace. Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."

Sanctification is both a matter of position and progression. We are sanctified because Jesus Christ has saved us and yet sanctification continues to work within to transform us unto the likeness of Christ. Sanctification is the responsibility of every believer in Christ either in passive way or an active way. We play the passive role when we solely depend on God to sanctify us through salvation experience, and thereafter we take the active role in striving to obey God and take steps that will increase our sanctification.
When we choose to pursue sanctification in our life, positive growth occurs. The pursuit of it involves the surrender of the body and the will to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It takes time and is a working progress that cannot be hurried. Like a newborn baby that gradually matures unto adulthood, so is the work of sanctification in the life of a new believer. The work of sanctification will ultimately be completed in every believer's life when Jesus Christ returns. However, until Christ returns we are to work our sanctification. Work here does not mean work our ways to be saved but instead work our ways to maintain and grow in the sanctification that comes upon the regeneration. They are the fruits of a regenerate heart – total obedience to God and a sense to Glorify God in the mortal body. They are not only in external conformity with the law of God, but are also done in the conscious obedience o the Will of God – as required by God.