3 John 1:11 – “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.  Anyone who does what is good is from God.  Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”

While the Bible is very clear that we cannot earn our salvation through good works (see Ephesians 2:8-9), it is also clear that true salvation will be evident through the transformed life of the believer.  Genuine salvation produces sanctification.

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1 John 2:28-29 – “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.  If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.”

Many Christians think of salvation only as a one-time event. They focus on the moment of conversion. This passage focuses on another dimension of salvation: salvation as a process. This process continues for our entire lives, until we reach eternity.

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Ephesians 5:25-27 – “…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

The Bible teaches that Jesus gave his life on Calvary for the sake of a church that is “radiant” (NIV) or “glorious” (KJV). This church is not just a religious organization, or a Christian ministry. It is a living entity, holy, cleansed from sin and impurity. It is Jesus’ bride. Yet there are many “churches,” denominations, and Christian organizations that do not fit the description here. There is a difference between a “religion” (i.e., Christianity) and a radiant or glorious church.

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1 Peter 1:16 – “…for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy….” 

How do we define sanctification?  Sanctification means “set apart for God’s purposes” or “separated from sin and spiritual uncleanness.”  In the original text of the Bible, “sanctification” is often the same word as “holiness.”  The definition of sanctification has two components – separation from sin and dedication for God’s purposes (that is, the will of God).  In practice, we experience sanctification in three general ways: past, present, and future.  As Christians, we can say that we were sanctified, that we are being sanctified, and that we will be sanctified.  

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Exodus 27:9-10 – “Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. . .”

While the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, God told them to make a large portable temple that they could carry with them and set up wherever they encamped. This is how we define the “Tabernacle” now, although the word originally meant simply “a tent.” More than one-third of the book of Exodus focuses on God’s revelations about how to make the Tabernacle, and on the Israelites’ construction of it according to God’s plans.

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