Set Apart

"And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Hebrews 10:10

The idea of God's will focuses on what it is that He wants each Christian to do as they walk with Him throughout life. This leaves out a primary area of His will. When it comes to our identity in Christ it is important that we understand how it is that God sees us through our faith in Jesus Christ. God sees us as holy. The author of Hebrews says that we "have been made holy." To have been made holy expresses the fact that the truth we were made holy has not changed in the present. The moment we believed God and accepted Jesus Christ as our savior, we were made holy; set apart by God for the work of the ministry. However, because our behavior is not perfect and we continue to sin, there is this idea that our holiness is a never-ending work in progress. It is referred to as "progressive sanctification." Progressive sanctification is said to be what gradually separates the people of God from the world and makes them more and more like Jesus Christ. This may sound good but is wrong. Our sanctification is not "gradual." We do not become "more and more like Jesus." If sanctification is a process, what do we use to measure our progress? Therefore, we would have to use the law of God to determine how we are doing. The Bible is clear about the law and its relation to us:

• For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Galatians 3:10
• "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." 1 Corinthians 15:56
• "We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers ... " 1 Timothy 1:9

If we were not made holy by God, we are saying that we must subject ourselves to a life of living under a curse, putting ourselves under the power of sin, and subjecting ourselves to laws meant for unbelievers. When would a person ever become sanctified? The answer is never. Then there is this idea of becoming more like Jesus Christ. What does the Bible say about this?

• “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5
• "For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." Romans 7:19
• "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48

Jesus Christ is God. Therefore, the goal to be more like Him is to fall for the lie of the devil all over again. We are deceiving ourselves in the same manner that Satan deceived Eve. Paul, who once said his legalistic righteousness was faultless, admitted that he kept doing the evil he did not want to do. If that isn't enough evidence, Jesus Christ said that we must be as perfect as God in our behavior. That is an impossible requirement to meet. Apart from God sanctifying us and setting us apart, it is out of our reach. 

When you believe that you are set apart by God through faith in Jesus Christ, it will reveal itself to you. Confessing you are sanctified by faith to someone who believes in progressive sanctification will reveal how set apart you have become. It will also reveal itself to you when your beliefs reveal themselves to the world. If you admit that belief in Jesus Christ is the only way for a person to get to heaven, you will find out that you are set apart. Expressing yourself in regards to morality as it pertains to subjects like marriage, the sanctity of life, and capital punishment will set you apart from many around you. There is no need to concern yourself with trying to progressively sanctify yourself through works because by God's declaration you will find out the meaning of being sanctified.