Sanctification

Exodus 29:43
And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.

The world, and in a lot of cases, the church, wants you to believe that right doing brings about right living and thus makes you a righteous person.  The idea is that your actions speak to what’s in your heart.  Most of the time this is true, but there are certain instances where actions, though seemingly righteous, are just actions.  They aren’t actions done in a spirit of righteousness; they are actions done because that was the only thing that could be done.

A preacher I recently listened to presented this example: consider an ugly man.  I’m not talking about your everyday, not so good looking guy, but a hideous monster of a person.  This man, who has no chance of a woman ever desiring to be with him, not even for money, is forced by circumstances beyond his control to keep the law.  But in his heart his desire is to commit adultery with every woman he sees.  Is he righteous because of his seemingly righteous behavior?  Certainly not!

The truth is that righteousness is a state of being, not an act of doing.  Out of being righteous come righteous deeds, but doing righteous deeds doesn’t make you righteous.

When God met with the children of Israel it was in the tabernacle.  It was a tent in the desert.  The tent itself was made by the best craftsmen in the land.  It was filled with beautiful works made by the hands of man.  But it wasn’t made holy or sanctified by these things.  It was God Himself who sanctified (made holy) the tabernacle.  It was God’s holiness that brought glory to the works of man.  It was God’s holiness that made the temple a sacred place.

Under the New Covenant, under grace, we have become the temple of God.  It is in our own bodies that He meets with us, communes with us, and lives with us (1 Corinthians 6:19).  This fellowship between us and God is not because we have done anything to become righteous.  It’s not our works, our lifestyle, our giving, or our service that causes God to dwell in this temple.  It is only by the blood of Jesus Christ that we are able to be the tent of meeting.  It is only by His perfection and gift of righteousness that we can have our own bodies as a place to meet with God!  

Jesus is the Glory of God.  It is Christ who sanctifies us; it is Christ who makes us righteous.  Knowing that He has given us the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17) empowers us to live an effortlessly righteous life based in, on, and around the finished work of Jesus Christ.