Throughout the entire Bible, God has shown that sanctification has been an essential element in the relationship between Him and His people. He presents himself to us as the almighty and holy Lord, totally separated from sin, and his desire is that holiness also be a fundamental characteristic in the lives of his children.
It is clear that while we are here on earth, we will never be 100% without sin as God is, but we must try to live a life as separate as possible from sin, in a walk in search of that sanctification that will one day be concluded in heaven. .
"BECAUSE I AM HOLY" - "Therefore you will consecrate and you will be holy, because I am holy." Leviticus 11.44.
Since the creation, God wanted a holy people, to create a sinless man and woman, had a special communion with them, were able to walk with him, talk with him, and live in full harmony and communion with God his creator. But man can only be in the presence of God, if he is pure, that is, purified of all sin. The Bible shows us that Adam and Eve walked in the same garden as God, talked with him every day, and for a time they were holy as God desired. But then they sinned and they lost this special coexistence. Then they were expelled from the garden of the Edem, they no longer had daily and full communion with their Lord, because the sin separated them from God, bringing spiritual death, which was the consequence of sin: "Because the day in which to eat You will surely die. " Gen 2.17. The man without holiness could not remain in the presence of the Holy God. Certainly that loss of communion, of the pleasure of each day being with God and talking with him, was the worst of all deaths. Certainly they came to feel a lack, because they were thrown out of paradise without knowing where to go and what to do, there arose the first feeling of being lost.
But the holy God did not stop wanting a holy people, after generations of sinners died in a corrupted world, enslaved by sin, without any condition of freedom, after sin dominated the world, God again, wanted to sanctify his creation . Through Noah, a man who ardently desired that communion with God, and began to seek a life of sanctification, for we are told: No, he was a righteous man, and Noah was with God. Gn. 6.9. He is known as the preacher of justice, and even being ridiculed, mocked, trusted and sought after God, obeying his word, building the ark that saved him and his family from the destruction sent by God to sinners. With him again God wanted to start a holy people, separated from sin. But the descendants of Noah, but once failed before God, ceasing to be a holy people, before seeking honor and glory for themselves, and even tried to get to heaven without God's help, leaving once again the Lord holy, angry for the great sin of his people, and once again the punishment that accompanies sin, came upon mankind, and the Lord scattered them over the surface of the earth. Gn 11.8. but still God wanted and acted to have his holy people, "because I am holy, says the Lord, you will be holy." Lv 11.45.
What unforgiveness does - The prophet Isaiah states: "But your iniquities make a separation between you and your God, and your sins hide their face from you, so that they will not hear you." Isa 59.2 That unforgiveness is sin all know, now, you already thought that this sin separates you from God? When we do not want to forgive, it is as if we put a big dagger between us is God, and we can not get close to him, and even more, he also covers his face of God, so that he does not hear our prayers, that is why, because many Christians, even reading the Bible, praising and worshiping in worship can not feel close to God, or feel that their prayers are not answered: simply because they do not They want to forgive.
THE PEOPLE OF GOD - With Abraham once again, God gave sequence to his plan to have a people separated from sin, that is, holy. For this, he called him, and gave him orders to leave his land, his family, his people, which would certainly influence him to live in the constant practice of sin. God separated him from his people, and he called him to get out of there, and go to the land that the Lord would show him. God also separated him from the evil influence of the lords of Egypt, when he wandered through that land in search of food, and prepared him a land where he could live free from the influence and corruption of idolatrous peoples. God found in Abraham a man as he sought. And, despite having had some moments of relapse into sin, Abram was a man who sought to live as God wanted, sought to walk in purity before God, living a life of sanctification.
This motive led the Lord to crown him with great blessings, making him a father at 100 years of age, being known today by Christians as the Father of faith, being truly a blessing to all those who had the joy of meeting him, and giving him a descendant more numerous than the stars of heaven, and these became the people of God. Even though Abraham lived that sanctified life that God desires all men to live, the Bible shows us that his descendants, the people that the Lord had chosen to be his, did not remain holy. The Israelites repeatedly exhibited their sins in the eyes of God, many times the Lord warned that they could enter the sinful congregation and destroy the people, Ex 33.5. There can be no communion between the holiness of God and the impurity of man, for either man is purified to be in the presence of God, "You are the chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, people of exclusive property of God, to proclaim the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1 Peter 2.9. God still wants a holy people, and in order to achieve this, he gave his all by offering the most precious, his son, Jesus Christ, through him to purify every sinner so that he can have communion with God and serve him with all his heart. Today Christians are that holy people of God, as I Peter 2.9 says: "The holy nation, the exclusive property of God, who proclaims the virtues of that Lord." Therefore, those who call themselves followers of Christ must also live as a people sanctified and purified of the impurity of the world. True Christians always seek to live a life like this, separated from sin and the impurities of the world, being considered by God himself as his people, which he has freed from the evil influence, from the corruption of the world. They still live in this world, but they do not belong to the world, they do not love, nor seek their pleasures, or that disordered life that many live, but seek to walk in holiness in the presence of their Lord and Savior, to really do justice to the name of Christians and thus be accepted by the same God, as his children, purified by the blood of Jesus of all evil and sin. One thing is clear, that holy people of God while here on earth, still sins, as we are told in I John 1.8, "If we say that we do not have sins, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us". But we have to admit those mistakes and seek forgiveness from God to keep alive that communion with Him, because it says: 'If, however, someone sins, we have a lawyer next to the Father Jesus Christ the Just.' I Juan 2: 1. He intercedes for us so that this communion can be re-engaged.
If we, the Christians, are today that people of God, we must always keep in mind that God wants a holy people, who live as far away from sin as possible, without giving any opportunity for evil, because if we give it, like Adam and Eve , we can fall into temptation and lose that intimate communion with our Lord. In the present day most people do not want to live that life of consecration and holiness before God. Many are even religious, go to church, some even pray, but because they want to have the blessings of God, but when they speak of a total consecration, a constant search for the sanctification of their lives, they are scandalized, or sometimes they say What a new fashion that pastors and preachers want to implement. But, if we pay attention in the Word of God, we see that this is as old as the origin of man, that since the creation that was the will of God, to have a holy people, separated from sin. As it is affirmed in I Ts 4.3, "Because this is the will of God your sanctification, that you abstain from prostitution".
What is the link between the sanctuary of God and idols? Because we are the sanctuary of the living God, as he himself said: dwell and walk among them, I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore remove yourself from them, separate, says the Lord. Do not touch impure things, and I will receive you, I will be your father, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. "(II Cor. 6.16-18) In the present days, many who call themselves Christians, they believe that it is not necessary to lead a life of purity, they end up mixing what is pure with the impure, they like to serve God, but they also love sin and worldly pleasures, so the Bible describes that the Church of Corin lived, surrounded by immorality and false religion, and Christians were still tempted to return to the sinful practices of worldliness, Paul writes to them urging them not to allow impure things to be mixed in their lives purified by Christ (II Co 6.14-15). chapter 7.1 "Let us purify ourselves of all impurity, both of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting our holiness in the fear of God." God wants us as his people, calls us to live a life in holiness, purified of all sin, and living for faith in Christ .
Although hundreds of years have passed since God sent his son to purify his basic desire, he remains the same, he wants to have intimate communion with his holy people. However, as we have already said, the pure and Holy God can not have friendship and communion with sin, therefore, in order to be accepted by him we need to separate ourselves from the evil and impurities of that world.
This should not be considered as an unpleasant task of renunciation. But yes, we understand how great is the privilege of being God's people. Because the holy, almighty God, our great creator and redeemer, wants to be our Father and wants to call us sons and daughters, and that is something wonderful, almost incomprehensible, the fact that Christians are called children of God himself. And as children, we certainly will not want to disappoint that Father, and we will certainly attend to what he asks of us when he says that it is necessary to purify us of all impurity. He tells us that it is necessary to do 3 things first so he receives us as sons and daughters, and these are highlighted in three verbs in the text: withdraw, separate and do not touch.
God tells us that the first thing to do is: "Get out of them, what did you want to say to us?" Before using this phrase, he is talking about people who like to mix what is right, what is wrong, or what is pure before God with what is impure, as, for example, quoted in verses 14 and 15, of mixing the darkness of sin with the light of God, or justice with iniquity, or even the believer with the unbeliever, and those such as the Lord tells us, remove them from among them. "The second sentence tells us," separated, saith the Lord, "he is referring to people who believe there is a connection between the sanctuary of God and idols, (V. 16) because then he affirms that we are sanctuaries of God, where he himself lives, and in that sanctuary there can be no place of adoration for the holy God, and at the same time for the idols, he is the one who wants to unite both is that you tell us to separate, because the Lord Jesus himself when he was tempted or: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and worship him only" Mt 4.10. And the third sentence, says: "Do not touch impure things", there is referring to everything that is sin, or even in practices that seem to be healthy, but as a result lead people to fall into temptation and sin . God concludes at the end, saying that after having withdrawn from the means of sinful practices, separated our body, that is, the sanctuary for God, so that He alone is worshiped, and we do not touch in impure things, contaminated by sin, Lord says "I will receive you, I will be your Father, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty." (II Co. 6.17 and 18).
Therefore, reflect: are you part of that holy people? Have you tried to lead a life of sanctification before God? Remember, God wants a holy people, so you can have full communion with your children.
