Tag: holy

Be Sanctified

What does it mean to be sanctified?  Sanctification is one of those big words mostly used in Christian circles.  What exactly does it mean?  Is it something we are given? Something we have to do? Do we obtain it when we receive salvation or is it a process?  This is a discussion that I have heard recently with conflicting answers so I thought I would look into it.  In the old testament, it is used to mean “to make holy or set apart.”  It usually was something God decided to do for His people, an individual or His temple.  It was something He declared.  So what does it mean for believers?

I looked up the Greek term using e-sword (www.e-sword.net) to learn what the Greek terms are and what they mean.  From what I gathered, there are a couple different words and different uses (I found a few in particular:  hagaismos,  hagios, and hagiazo).  I am no scholar or anything near to that, but they seem to be derivatives of the same word.  They basically mean “sanctification, consecration, purification.”  To purify, make holy, set apart (for God’s glory  or to do His work).  It is the process of making or becoming holy.  Clear as mud, right?  Let’s look at the New Testament scriptures to see how the word is used. Continue reading “Be Sanctified”

The High Priest Who offered Himself

The author of Hebrews writes to them reminding them that there is no longer a need for blood sacrifice for their sins each year.  Jesus is our High Priest, to Jews and Gentiles alike, who offered Himself, who is perfect, who is sinless, who is without spot or blemish, as a sacrifice once for all.  Those of us who believe, who follow Jesus Christ have been given a promise, that of eternal inheritance in the kingdom.  Salvation through our Lord, Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  Thank God for the richness of His mercy, whose love endures forever.

Hebrews 9:11-28

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another — He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Press on Toward Christ

Recently, I had comments from someone who believed that Paul was a false teacher who was a self appointed apostle, who contradicted Jesus’ teachings and who always wanted to lift himself up.  He used the book of Acts to point out that Matthias was appointed, not Paul, but would not accept my argument that Luke wrote (also in Acts) that Paul was appointed by Jesus and accepted by the apostles to bring the gospel to the Gentiles.  You cannot pick and choose which part of the Bible you believe and accept.  If there is any doubt in some of it, what does that say about the rest of it?  Read through the gospels and through Paul’s epistles (particularly Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians) and see if you see contradiction to Jesus’ teachings.  Does Paul point us to himself or to Jesus Christ?  Paul was martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ and proclaiming the gospel.  Paul says he is the least of the apostles and the chief of sinners.  He says he is wretched and undeserving and only by grace was he saved.  Now that I put that distraction behind me, let us move on and look at the scriptures.

Continue reading “Press on Toward Christ”

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