“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.”
Sanctification can be defined as making something or someone holy, setting apart as sacred, purify and be free from sin. On this note, I will define sanctification as separation from the world and dedication unto God- it means doing away with worldliness, sinful living and embracing holiness- being sold out to God totally by doing His will, walking to please Him in all your ways.
The Bible tells us that the eyes of the Lord are too pure to behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13). For you to be at peace with God your ways must be right before Him, you must not be in tune with the world.
“You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4).
We were bought with a price and that makes us to be accountable to the one (God through Christ) that paid the price. Your life is no longer your own anymore because Jesus paid the price with his precious blood. Hence, you cannot live as you want any longer- you must live according to the dictates of your owner (God).
Whatever God tells you to do, you must do, and your ways must conform to His commands.
From the day you gave your life to Christ, it is expected of you to have turned a new leaf- the scripture says you are now a new man old thing have passed away behold all thing have become new(2 Corinthians 5:17). In this wise, all your sinful old ways shouldn’t be reflecting in you as a new person in Christ.
God wants you to be sanctified, to avoid all form or immorality and other works of the flesh.
Our anchor scripture says in verse four “that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour.” This verse is telling us that it is our sole responsibility to decide to live a sanctified life. You must make the determination to stand out from the world and its sinful pleasure so that you can embrace holiness and attain perfection by the grace of God.
Living a sanctified life is a personal obligation- the determination to live according to God’s precept is a matter of choice rather than coercion. God will not force you to do anything; He has given us the free will of choice.
Your pastor, Sunday school teacher, Bible study leader, House fellowship leader or the church counsellor cannot compel you to separate yourself from the world; they can only preach the word and encourage you to be a doer of the word. The onus is on you to obey the word of God and be determined that you will walk blamelessly with Him. Sexual immorality, lust of the eyes and pride of life, greed and covetousness should be avoided.
We are vessels of God- a vessel is an object that can retain contents either liquid or solid substance.
As spiritual vessels your heart can retain things; that is why the writer of our anchor scripture says we should possess our vessels in sanctification and in honour. You are the temple of God the spirit of God lives in you, but as soon as you harbour filthy things inside of you, any immoral act would make the Holy Spirit to take a break from you because light and darkness cannot mingle.
Let no corrupt though be in you like the people of the world. Examine yourself and be honest with yourself, make amends if need be. God did not call us to be impure; but to live a holy life. If you reject this instruction you are rejecting God and the outcome may be grievous.
As you cannot use a dirty plate to eat, so also God cannot use a dirty vessel. You must be purified and sanctified for God to use you.
