Does It Sanctify?

Somehow I seem to have the privilege of hearing a lot of ‘fantastic’ doctrines from people of various Pentecostal sects on a fairly regular basis. And according to God’s undeserved grace I also have the God-given capacity to know whether these doctrines are true are not. It is certain that they are not. One big question that a lot of these fine folks need to ask of themselves, and of those who teach these 'elitist’ doctrines to them; is, does adherence to these doctrines serve to remove sin from their lives, and develop God’s love and peace in them? I can tell you that in fact they do not serve the purpose of holiness, but rather they puff up the religious pride of those who are willing to accept these teachings. Speaking of the relationship of Christ and his people, the apostle Paul stated; “That he might sanctify and cleanse [them] with the washing of water by the word, That he might present [them] to himself a glorious [congregation], not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish”(Eph. 5:26,27). So we see that the bride of Christ that will advance to the marriage supper of the Lamb as described in Revelation 19:7-9, will be without sin. And we also see here that she will be without sin by means of being “sanctified and cleansed by the washing of water by the word.” The only water that will wash away sin from the inner man is the ‘living water’ that Jesus said would flow from the innermost being of everyone who truly believes on him (Jn. 7:37-39).

According to the apostle Paul the washing away of the fleshly nature comes by means of ‘the word.’ So the true word of God brings conviction on the heart and soul, maybe for sin that is present, and maybe just for the need of spiritual growth. But in any event the real truth that comes from heaven serves to bring a conviction of holiness on the hearts and souls of the hearers, and those who are honest will agree with that conviction and pray their way into holiness, or into further holiness. In truth, ‘the word’ is whatever the Spirit of God is saying, and the Spirit of God only teaches and leads into true holiness of the heart, soul, and mind (Rev. 2:7; Jn. 16:13; Rom. 8:13,14). And in light of this short, simplistic glimpse into spiritual truth and reality, it is no wonder that the apostle Paul said that we must obtain salvation by means of “sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (II Thess. 2:13). Those two elements are inseparable spiritual realities, and without them we have nothing. The erroneous doctrines that God’s people acknowledge as truth do NOT sanctify or cleanse anyone from anything at all. That is why sin and spiritual immaturity always accompany those who adhere to the doctrines that are designed to set the hearers apart from everyone else. In short my friend, it is not about how much we think we know, but rather how much we are able to love, and how much we are able to stand in true holiness, which is to say pureness of heart. Amen.