Ask any 21st century Christian the above question and you’ll no doubt hear that it’s the process of becoming more like Jesus. You’ll hear verses like these:
- Romans 8.29: For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.
- Romans 12.1: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
- 2 Corinthians 3.18: And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.
Did you notice anything about these verses? None of them use the word sanctification. Now, I’m all for Christians becoming more like Jesus, but I think that using the word sanctification to describe this process robs the word of its most common biblical meaning, and does us a disservice.
Continue reading “Just what is sanctification?”