The evidence that you need sanctification
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
Friends, have you noticed that even after you became born again, sometimes within you, resentment comes out of your heart? Despite observing your quiet time everyday, even tho’ you can say God is my God, even tho’ you can say Abba Father, even tho’ you are praying everyday, even tho’ you go for evangelism everyday, even tho’ you can say, praise the LORD I’m not who I used to be, even tho’ people can say, that brother/sister is not what he/she used to be.
Yet within you, the irritability, the criticism, etc are quick to come forth from you. You’re still touchy, over sensitive, always grumbling and suspicious of people around you. Sometimes, you’re also unreal, hypocritical, pretentious, bossy, and you even harbour impure thoughts.
Man/boy have you discovered that even though you’re born again, you can’t see a lady/girl walk pass – you’ll forget your Bible, you’ll even forget heaven, because of the lady/girl that passed. And for the next few minutes, or hours, or days, you’ll be thinking about it.
What’s that? Is that holiness? Is that purity? Is that heavenly character? How about the inordinate affection? How about cherishing wrong thoughts against other people? That thing we’ve talked about for long, and you’re still nursing it like a baby in your heart. Wrong feelings, take it out of the way! That’s what we are talking about. After we have been saved, there is a sure necessity to present this same heart to the LORD, and say, “LORD sanctify me;” and take all these inward impediments away!
Have you seen impatience in you? Do you like other people to be patient with you, but you are never patient with anybody? Have you noticed envy and jealousy before in your heart? That person has something that you have not got, God is using him greatly, have you ever felt envious? I’m talking of after being born again.
That person have something that is natural that God has endowed him with, maybe the way he talks, and then you’re jealous, or maybe the property” he owns, the way he does things, and you say, he’s mimicking/copying, and you are jealous, how about that? Have you ever found talkativeness in you? Irrelevant talks, gossip, slashing other people behind their back, evil conspiracy, backbiting, how about all these?
That’s why we need sanctification! There’s a screening process going on at the cross for pilgrims that want to tread on the highway of holiness, and if all these are hidden deep in your heart, it will hinder your pilgrim progress. We need to retreat to Calvary by faith for the second work of grace to be wrought in our hearts. Which is Sanctification: holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.
Reagan Azoyenime is a born again Christian and an undergraduate student of Ambrose Ali University, Nigeria. He writes edifying Christian messages centred on salvation in Christ and holiness.
E-mail: razoyenime@gmail.com
