BE SET APART

1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV) “… you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

WASHED (def): To rid of corruption or guilt; cleanse or purify.

SANCTIFIED (def): To make holy; purify; to set apart for sacred use; consecrate.

JUSTIFIED (def): To declare free of blame; absolve.

Paul not only makes a point of addressing the Corinthians in his greeting in Chapter 1 “to those sanctified in Christ Jesus”, but brings it up here in chapter 6 and again in chapter 7. There were quarrels among the leadership in the Corinthian church and it was leading to division. Paul felt the need to remind them that they were washed, sanctified and justified, just in case they had forgotten that they had been set apart for God. Their behavior had caused Paul to chastise them for acting like “mere humans” (1 Cor. 3:3) and not children of God.

I fear we, as modern day believers, need that same reminder. We tend to forget the simplest, most basic teachings and thus make our decisions based on our own acquired worldly knowledge, which is far inferior to that which God has imparted to us.

Proverbs 14:12 & Proverbs 16:25 (NIV) “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”

Our ‘slate’, so to speak, has been wiped clean. We have been cleansed of all wrong doing; made free from sin; justified … “just as if I’d never sinned”. Yet by our thoughts, words and deeds, we appear to have forgotten this. We have been made pure and holy, set apart for God’s use and yet often give the appearance that we remain unregenerate Godless souls.

Once “saved”, we are instantaneously sanctified or made holy. However, our sanctification, while instantaneous, is progressive as well. God sees us as holy because He sees us through the blood of Christ, yet our normal, human inclination will be to strain against God’s yoke. Just like we must LEARN to be patient, kind, compassionate and humble, we must learn to live holy lives. Like everything else in God’s economy, it is acquired through having a willing, teachable spirit. There is no place for stubborn, stiff necked individuals in these life classes. We must allow ourselves to be broken so that we might be built up once again on the new foundation that is Christ. If we are to BE LIKE JESUS, we must strive to understand the purification, consecration and absolution process.

I leave you with this illustration: think of yourself as a used, dirty drinking glass. You are washed; cleansed of all your dirt. This would be representative of your sanctification. You are then set aside to dry. Once dry you are fit to be placed back in the cabinet, absolved of any and all grime; this would be representative of your justification. Now you are to be used to hold liquids that are meant to refresh and hydrate. This would be representative of our being used by God to encourage, edify and invigorate others. Allow yourself to be used of God. He has made you ready for use through salvation. Have a teachable, willing spirit, that you might be God’s blessing to the world. It is one of the things God has called you to do.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!