Sanctification is defined by the Westminster Assembly Shorter Catechism Qn 35 as follows:
Sanctification is the work of God's free grace,[1]whereby we are renewed in the whole man, after the image of God,[2] and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness[3]
The sanctification of the children of God is the will of God (1Th 4:3 ). The aim of sanctification is to restore redeemed sinners back to the image of God, which had been effaced because of the fall. Sanctification is a spiritual renovation undertaken by the Triune God, freely by His grace. Every part of us (our minds, affections, speech, actions, in the words of the catechism `our whole man') is renewed progressively as we resist temptations and sinful desires from within us. It is NOT to yield our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness but yield ourselves freely as instruments of righteousness in obedience to His holy commandments and precepts.
It is vital to recognize those things that hinder our sanctification and to avoid them consciously. Let us consider some of them:
a) Wilful sins that grieve and quench the Holy Spirit. (1Th 5:19 ). No child of God is perfect and without sin. If you know that something is displeasing to God and you fall into sin then you have sinned against the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit testifies against your sin that you are grieving Him. If you refuse to repent eventually you will quench the Holy Spirit. This will greatly hinder your progress in sanctification if you are truly born again.
On the other hand, if you obey God through the enablement of the Holy Spirit, you progress in your sanctification. When you do what God commands and shun those things that He condemns and warns against, your life is sanctified and you walk closer with God. You experience the joy of fellowship with God.
b) Ignorance and negligence of God's word. Ps 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed [thereto] according to thy word. John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. The Holy Spirit who sanctifies the redeemed does so through the Word of God. But if a Christian remains ignorant of God's Word, he cannot progress beyond what little he knows! No Christian should remain ignorant, by neglecting his duty to study the Scriptures for it is like starving himself to death. He is commanded to hide God's Word in his heart and take heed to them so that he will not sin against God. Those words that he has diligently studied and meditated upon and hidden in his heart will be his defence when he is tempted.
c) Slothfulness. Pr 24:30-31 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Every student knows the result of slothfulness in study. Every farmer knows the effect of slothfulness in farming. It does not require a rocket scientist to know the effect of slothfulness in spiritual matters. But how great is our slothfulness in spiritual matters as compared with physical and material matters! How diligent modern men are in health matters! How zealous are greedy men in gathering wealth and the pursuit of well paying jobs! Ironically, professing Christians neglect eternal and spiritual matters of the souls which are of infinite worth! They neglect the diligent study of God's word, to pray without ceasing and to persevere in prayer, to fellowship with like-minded believers, to serve the Lord and worship with the saints. Slothfulness produces an impoverished soul.
d) Weakness in the flesh. Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.
These were the words of the Saviour to the disciples when He brought them to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He knew that great temptations would come upon both Himself and His disciples. He therefore exhorted them to pray with Him. But while the Lord prayed, the disciples slumbered. Their negligence in prayer and lack of watchfulness were the cause of their fretful behaviour. The denial of Jesus by Peter was a case in point. He recognized who the devil was after this incident and exhorted, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour". (1 Peter 5:8 ). Take heed: for the world is not a playground to Christians. There are unseen spiritual forces working against all who live for Christ. Watch and pray.
e) No mortification of the flesh. Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
To mortify is to put to death. The Christian is commanded to deny fleshly desires. Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. That can only be done not by the works of the flesh but by the works of the spirit. Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof].
Is there something that we need to `pluck out' or `cut off'? Make no provision for the flesh! Jesus says to all who desire to be a Christian, "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." (Mt 5:29-30 ). Now that we say that we are Christians, should we be like the dog that goes back to its own vomit? Cut off and mortify every sinful lust for Christ's sake! He died for you, and for the sake of your sanctification.
Jude 1:24-25 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.