Day 13 – Sanctification is the Goal

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4: 1 – 12

In this section of the letter, Paul spends some time dealing with practical aspects of living God’s will for our lives. In verse 3 of chapter 4 he introduces the new topic of “sanctification” to the Thessalonian believers. Sanctification means holy living. Sanctification is a life-long process for Christ followers and it happens when God works in us. We can’t achieve it on our own – even the desire to live a holy, sanctified life has to come from the Holy Spirit working in us. Sanctification is a work that the Holy Spirit performs in us. Sanctification is not an austere life-style that I achieve when I follow a bunch of rules.

Many of our friends and family who do not know Jesus would probably say that happiness is the goal of a successful life. The goal of a Christ follower should be to live a life that pleases God. Paul told the folks in Thessalonica that he wanted them to live a quiet life and work diligently in order to earn the respect of outsiders so they could eventually share the gospel.

Paul’s admonishment to the folks at Thessalonica was to live a quiet and diligent life and mind their own affairs. What do you think Paul’s reaction would be to the social media craze that exists in our culture today where sharing one’s opinions and mundane details of daily life has become the norm?

A proper understanding of holiness is to acknowledge that Christ’s righteousness has been imputed (given) to me. When God looks upon us, He sees the righteousness of Christ – not our hard work of trying to be righteous. One of the truly great aspects of the gospel is that I can be covered with the righteousness of Christ and I no longer have to stand in judgement and shame as I approach my Father, God.

Prayer time: Lord, you’ve done so much for me and I want to live a life full of gratitude and love for the people that you love. I value the relationship I can have with you but I know you are holy and I must be holy to maintain the intimate nature of our relationship. I don’t want to disappoint you or quench the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do in me and through me.

Final thoughts: Anyone who commits his life to Jesus Christ and endeavors to live a holy life will soon realize that as holiness increases, the awareness of sin in our life also increases. Previously accepted behaviors are much harder to ignore and our consciousness is offended by actions that we have accepted in the past.