There is a word that is tossed around in the church world- Sanctification. It sounds pretty fancy, but really all it means is to be set apart. In the Old Testament the priests would sanctify the items used in the temple sacrifices, setting them apart and making them holy. These things were intended for worship and not to be used for common practices. They were holy.  

Likewise, through the blood of Jesus, we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, set apart as holy and clean, meant for worship of our God. We have been redeemed and renewed. This is what we often call positional sanctification.  

But there is another kind of sanctification that happens throughout our lives called progressive sanctification. Progressive sanctification is the understanding that though we are made holy by God through the cleansing of His Son, we still have a sin nature that we are learning to let go of. So, while our position in heaven is sealed and we stand fully righteous before God the Father, there is also a process of becoming more holy, more like Jesus, in our daily lives. 

That is what this verse is talking about. If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have been rooted in Christ. Period. You are a part of His family and His word is implanted in your hearts. But as that word grows, the process of progressive sanctification makes us more like Christ. It is this establishing and building up that we undergo the remainder of our days. When we surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we grow, we change, we become more like Christ. It is a process we will undergo until God takes us home to be with Him in heaven. 

And this is really good news for you and me! See God didn’t ask us to be mature before He was willing to implant His word and give us the Holy Spirit. He knew we would never make it there on our own. Instead, He makes the first move and meet us where we are at. And through the positional sanctification, this permanent and eternal right standing with God, we now have the ability to become more holy. It’s through His redeeming us that we can begin to live like the redeemed! 

So, if you, like me, take a look at your life and wonder how you can be considered “holy”, you are in good company. That is the audacity of the Gospel. That through the redeeming blood of Christ, we who are anything but holy can be made right with God and begin to live in the holiness of Christ. Praise God!