Philemon 1:6 (NKJV) – “That the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”
The first step to being sanctified and living a sanctified life is accepting every good thing that is in you by Christ Jesus, and the only way to truly recognize and accept what is available for us in Christ, is by seeing what the Bible says about sanctification, meditating on these truths, and taking them to God in prayer. It is in prayer we ask God to help us receive His word, and ask Him to teach us how to apply what we have learned.
Sanctification is a work of God, something made available by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is both received and lived by faith. Romans 6:6-7 (NLT) – We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives (the death of Christ). We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin (the resurrection of Christ).
When you made the decision to repent of your sins and believe in Christ, you believed that He died on the cross to take away your sins and confessed Him as Lord. On the cross, Jesus took on your old sinful self to be crucified with Him.
Now that your old sinful self is already crucified with Him and sin has lost its power in your life. You are no longer a slave to sin. It has lost its power over you if indeed you are genuinely born again. You are now a servant of righteousness through the fact that Christ did not stay dead. His death atoned for our sins, the truth that He resurrected and now lives in us is the power by which we live out our sanctification.
No longer should you listen to the lies of Satan that you cannot control yourself or that it is part of your nature to indulge in sinful practices. It is a lie. You are now dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ. To add, you have the Holy Spirit and a gift/fruit of the Holy Spirit is self control. This means you now have the liberty by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you to say no to sin and live a life pleasing to God. This is why Romans 6:12 says, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires”. It does not have dominion over you anymore.(Romans 6:14).
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the sanctification made available by your death, burial and resurrection. From today, give me the grace to meditate on your truth about sanctification, receive it by faith, and live it out in my everyday life. Help me in the areas of my weakness. Convict me in the areas I need to release unto you. In Jesus name. Amen.
For deeper study, read Romans Chapter 6.