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AS.WINAo CAJ..IPOIINI.A
The
common teaching today is that a person who is
11
eanct1!'1ed" is spiritually per!'ect -- that he 1s incapable of
sinning! But, is that the true meaning of "sanctificat1on
11
?
"Sanctification
11
is glibly called an "experience"
or a "eecond' work of grace," and it always must follow what
is called the
11
justification
11
of the individual. It is
further contended that this experience removes the
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Adamic
nature,
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or the
11
nature ol' sin.
11
Is this what the Bible teaches?
First, notice the de!'inition of
11
sanctificat1on
11
:
It means
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to consecrate to a sacred office or
calling,
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to "separate from common use", "to devote or dedi–
cate to God's service," according to the Biblical and English
dictionar1es. That means that any person who is set apart
for a holy use or purpose is sanctified. But that does not
~that
person cannot sin!
-------
Notice. what
~ ~ible
says in I Corinthians 7:14:
"For the UNBE.LIEVING HUSBAND .is SANCTIFIED by the wife • and
the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband . • ..
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Even an unbeliever can be sanctified!
Notice again what Scripture reveals about sancti–
fication: "Before I formed thee in the belly," said God to
Jeremiah, "I knew thee; and before thou earnest 1'orth out of
the womb I sanctified theeJ and I ordained thee a prophet
unto the nations" (Jer. 1:5).
Did you grasp that? Jeremiah was sanctified before
he was born! He was set apart to a special office -- that is
what sanctification means -- sanctified for the office of
prophet to the nations.
The first letter of Paul to the Corinthians certainly
makes the question plain. The apostle wrote this Epistle to
those who were "sanctified" (I Cor. 1:2), yet we find
that
the
Corinthians were puffed upJ carnal,
~
of sin. They had