Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Sanctified Ministers
Jisha Thomas
Long Island MTC, NY

7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 
 
What does it mean to be sanctified ministers? Sanctification means to be set apart, to make holy. Sanctification can be thought of as setting something apart for the use intended by its designer. When Paul states that God’s will is our sanctification and then commands the people to abstain from sexual sin, he is speaking the way God has intended or created us to live. God is deeply concerned with our daily walk. He came not just to make us children of God to get into heaven, but also to enable us to live as children of God in a sinful world. 
 

If we look at the context of the church in Thessalonica, this letter was written to a group of very new believers. Unlike the Jews who had the Law, these Gentiles had come out of gross idolatry and immorality, especially in matters of sexual purity. For these former pagans, the lure of immoral behavior and sin was strong. 
 

The encouraging news to us is that regardless of our past condition or culture, when God comes into our lives, He joins us into union with Him and begins to transform us into the character of our Savior. This happens through the gift of the Holy Spirit, without whom we cannot live this kind of holy living. We don’t have a dictator who commands us to live by His laws, we have a loving Father who has designed for us to live in the way intended to bring us the most fulfillment and who has given us a Helper to enable us to live according to His will. The journey of sanctification is a process of obedience, which is why Paul states that just as they are now walking to please God, they should continue to do so more and more.

In a broken and sinful world, our Father invites us to taste and see that He is good. His ways are better. We as believers have received the righteousness of God as a free gift. We are called to put on the breastplate of righteousness by continuing to adhere to God’s Word. In this way, we develop a purity of heart that translates into our actions.

PRAYER

 Father, We pray that your Holy Spirit fill us and enable us to live as you have called us. We surrender any area of disobedience to you and pray that you would direct our path in every area of our lives. Help  us be your sanctified ministers. Amen.
 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
 
"I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a superior satisfaction in God.” - John Piper

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