Sanctify Yourselves

sanctify: to separate from profane things and dedicate to God; to purify

When I was on Facebook, I once posted something about the need for Christians to sanctify and consecrate themselves unto the Lord.  This led to sincere questions from other Christians who believed that we are incapable of doing such for it is God alone who does this work. 

This type of view is common amongst certain denominations in Christendom, but does not align with Scripture.  There is a work which remains for Christians to "do" and that is in receiving what God has already "done". 

The following message is from Pastor Zac Poonen which I think aptly addresses and presents a balanced Scriptural perspective on this topic.

May we all make ourselves ready as time draws short.

The Bride Has Made Herself Ready

Pastor Zac Poonen

We read in Revelation 19:.5-7 And a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bondservants, you who fear Him, the small and the great’. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunders, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready’.

Notice that it doesn’t say that the Lord made the bride ready. No. It says that “the bride made herself ready” It is WE who are to make ourselves ready for the coming of the Lord. Many believers know that if we walk in the light as God is in the light the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn.1:7). But that is only one side of the truth. The other side of the truth is that we too must cleanse ourselves. This is how the bride makes herself ready. It is also written in Rev 19:8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

The phrase “given to her” makes it clear that it was a gift from God. This teaches us that, even the desire and ability to cleanse ourselves is a gift of God. It is God “Who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil.2:13). We cannot take any credit for that, nor can we boast over other believers in any way. The godly man is a humble man who gives all the glory to God for any goodness found in him. He knows that nothing good is found in his flesh.

If this clothing is a gift, then why don’t all receive it? Because God never forces anyone to receive His gifts. Even His gifts can be received only by those who respond to His Word.

The fine linen here is not the righteousness of Christ but “the righteous acts of the saints”. It is true that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us as soon as we are born again (Rom.4:22-24; 1 Cor.1:30). But we are also told that “the righteousness of law (should then) be fulfilled in us (inside of us)” (Rom.8:4). That is the dress of the bride here: “the righteous acts of the saints”. That is so clear in Rev.19:8, that one has to be blind as a bat, not to see it.

Her own righteous acts are her garment. She got it by taking the Lord’s commands to cleanse herself and to purify herself, seriously. She worked out her own salvation “with fear and trembling” (Phil.2:12). Every time she worked out her salvation with fear and trembling in the power of the Holy Spirit, she put one more stitch, as it were, on her bridal garment. Over a period of years, she wove the whole garment.

What about a Christian who takes all this carelessly, saying, “The blood of Jesus has cleansed me. So I am all right”. To such Christians the Lord says, “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest HE WALK ABOUT NAKED” (Rev.16:15).

Have you ever seen a bride coming naked to her wedding? The Lord warns His people not to be found naked - naked, because they do not have a garment on the wedding day. They had no righteous acts of their own.

The deception of Babylon, the mystery of iniquity, the magic spell that Babylon has cast on so many Christians is this: “Don’t worry. You are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. It doesn’t really matter how you live.” James clearly warns us that faith without works is dead. Yet Babylon has prevented believers from taking such warnings seriously.

There is a difference between our own righteousness, which are like filthy rags in God’s sight (Isa.64:6). and the righteousness wrought in us in the power of the Holy Spirit as we take up the cross and walk in Jesus’ footsteps in our daily life. It is the latter which is the bridal garment. When we first come to the Lord all we have as clothing are the filthy rags of our own righteousness and even filthier rags of our sins. But when we are born again, God first of all justifies us - imputing the righteousness of Christ to us (Rom.3:24; 4:5). Then He writes His laws upon our hearts and minds (Heb.8:10), fulfilling the righteousness of the Law within our hearts (Rom.8:4). This results in that righteousness gradually becoming our outward attire, and our outward character becoming Christlike.

The bride’s garment is made of fine linen, bright and clean. What a contrast there is between her simplicity, and the gaudy, scarlet dress and gold ornaments of the harlot. In the “Bridal Psalm” (Psalm 45), we read about the Lord, our Bridegroom,as One Who “loved righteousness and hated iniquity” (Psalm 45:7). And the bride is described thus: “The king’s daughter is all glorious WITHIN” (Psalm 45:13). She has a meek and quiet spirit (1 Pet.3:4). And it is with this inner garment that “she will be led to the King”(Psalm 45:14). That will be fulfilled in Rev.19:8.