Hebrews 10:14 – “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
Our attention will be turned to the great subject of sanctification. There are two tragedies regarding this subject of sanctification. First, this subject is seldom preached, taught, or discussed; and second, in the few instances when this subject is considered, it is usually misunderstood or misrepresented.
Please understand that this is a massive subject. There are many scriptures that deal with this issue. There is no way to cover everything about sanctification in one post, or even in a few posts. The purpose of this post is to shine light on a few truths from the text presented, namely Hebrews 10:14.
Examination of the Text
The central word in our text is the word “perfected.” Let us use our text to answer a few questions regarding this word “perfected.” First, who or what in our text is perfected? The answer is clearly defined in the last four words of our verse of study – “them that are sanctified.” Second, who is doing the perfecting? The answer is clear and concise – “HE hath perfected.” The “he” that is doing the perfecting is God, as can be seen two verses earlier, in verse 12. Third, for how long are “them that are sanctified” perfected? Again, we have a concise answer – “…he hath perfected FOR EVER them that are sanctified.” Fourth, how are “them that are sanctified” perfected? This answer, like the others, is simple – “…by one offering,” namely, the offering of Christ upon the cross. It is because Christ offered his body upon the cross for a sacrifice that “them that are sanctified” can be perfected for ever. These truths are so clearly stated in our verse of study that it would it would be absurd for any sincere Bible student to attempt to refute any of these conclusions.
Who are the Sanctified?
Having seen that the blessing of being “perfected forever” belongs to “them that are sanctified,” it behooves us at this point to determine how a person becomes sanctified, and as a result, perfected forever.
Sanctification – Not an Eradication of the Sinful Nature
I understand that this is a sticky subject among many sincere believers. First, let me say that you need not see this subject of sanctification the same way as I see it in order for us to have fellowship, as far as I am concerned. Second, before I expound on the Biblical view of sanctification, let me expound to the reader what sanctification is not. Sanctification IS NOT a second definite work of grace, resulting in the eradication of the old sinful nature, as our Wesleyan friends teach. H.A. Ironside, in his book, Holiness, the False and the True, tells how he formerly was an advocate of the Wesleyan view of sanctification – that sanctification is a second definite work of grace, making holy that which is sinful. By “second definite work of grace,” it is meant that a person is first saved (or, justified); then, as a separate experience and usually at a later time, this person becomes sanctified.
Ironside states that, when he was of the Wesleyan persuasion, he defined sanctification this way –
“Justification, then, was supposed to be a work of grace by which sinners are made righteous and freed from their sinful habits when they come to Christ. But in the merely justified soul there remains a corrupt principle, an evil tree, or a ‘root of bitterness,’ which continually prompts to sin…The eradication of this sinful root is sanctification. It is therefore the cleansing of the nature from all inbred sin by the blood of Christ (applied through faith when a full consecration is made), and the refining fire of the Holy Spirit, who burns out all dross when all is laid upon the altar of sacrifice. This, and this only, is true sanctification – a distinct second work of grace, subsequent to justification” (Ironside, H.A. Holiness, the False and the True. Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Bible Truth Depot. New York, NY).
While there is something of this definition that sounds pious, there is little of this definition that is correct. Defining sanctification in the Wesleyan school of thought – as a distinct work of grace that eradicates sin in the root – is extremely inconsistent with the Scriptures. Note some of the difficulties that this definition of sanctification creates:
- In Exodus 40:10-11, inanimate objects in the tabernacle were to be sanctified. Would you conclude that the altar and the laver were eradicated of their sinful natures because they had consecrated themselves fully to the work of the Spirit? The very thought of such a thing is absurd.
- In Exodus 19:23, Mount Zion was sanctified. Did that great mountain go through a change in its sinful root?
- Individuals, by their own power and choice, have the ability to sanctify themselves. Consider the priests, who in Exodus 19:22, were commanded to “sanctify themselves.” Did these priests change their own natures, eradicating the very nature of sin within them?
- In Exodus 13:2 and Exodus 19:10, Moses was commanded to sanctify the people of Israel. Clearly, one man can sanctify another. Does this mean that a mere man has the ability to eradicate the sinful nature of another man? It most certainly means this, if the Wesleyan definition of sanctification is correct.
- Isaiah 66:17 actually speaks of people sanctifying themselves TO COMMIT INIQUITY! Surely no one will teach that these people were committing iniquity as a result of being set free from inbred sin!
- In John 10:36, Christ Himself claimed to be sanctified of the Father! Was Christ cleansed from inbred sin as a result of sanctification? Any reader who answers yes to this question is in serious error.
- In John 17:19, Christ sanctified Himself. Did He rid Himself of inbred sin?
- Even unbelievers are sometimes said to be sanctified! Notice I Corinthians 7:14 – “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.” Are unbelievers cleansed of the root of their inbred sin?
- Carnal Christians are sanctified. Look out! Buckle up and hold on tight! In I Corinthians 1:2, Paul refers to the Corinthians as being sanctified – “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” In I Corinthians 3:1-3, Paul refers to this same sanctified group as being carnal – “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” To the one who cannot perceive of a carnal individual being a Christian, I will have to agree with Paul the apostle. I think R.T. Kendall sums it up well when he says, “For if we cannot bear the thought that a carnal Christian is nonetheless saved, we border on betraying our own carnality.”
- In I Peter 3:15, believers are commanded to sanctify God! Are believers being commanded to cleanse God from His sinful nature? It feels nearly blasphemous to ask that question, let alone to answer it!
You see, the individual who teaches sanctification as an eradication of the root of inbred sin is teaching a figment of his own imagination – no such definition of sanctification exists in the scripture!
Biblical Sanctification
Going back to our text, Hebrews 10:14, we see that it is “them that are sanctified” that are recipients of the blessing of being perfected forever. I would like to briefly bring out just two truths regarding Biblical sanctification. First, sanctification is neither a separate experience from, nor a subsequent experience to, salvation. To put it plainly, you are sanctified when you are saved. To make it plainer yet, if you’re not sanctified, you’re not saved. There is no such thing as being saved in January, but not being sanctified until May. If you were not sanctified until May, you were not saved until May. The Bible clearly states that salvation is THROUGH SANCTIFICATION. This means that one must go through sanctification to get to salvation, making it impossible to be saved, but not be sanctified.
II Thessalonians 2:13 – “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation THROUGH SANCTIFICATION of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”
I Peter 1:2 – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, THROUGH SANCTIFICATION of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”
The Bible is clear; you must go through sanctification in order to get to salvation! I did not say it; the Bible clearly states it! Believe it, fight it, love it, hate it, despise it, endorse it, promote it, scrap it, or do whatever else you wish – but the Bible truth is clear – you were not sanctified some time after salvation – if you’re saved, you’re sanctified!
Secondly, since the old Wesleyan definition of sanctification is does not hold up to scriptural application, then what is the true definition of the term, “sanctify”?
As for the ten instances of difficulty previously mentioned, each difficulty completely vanishes when we define the term “sanctify” correctly. In its most basic form, the word “sanctify” means simply, “to set apart.” This definition works whether you are talking about men being sanctified, God being sanctified, Christ being sanctified, inanimate objects being sanctified, or unbelievers being sanctified. Because of this clear truth, honest Bible students can only conclude that the definition of sanctification supplied by advocates of the “second definite work” is foreign to the Scriptures, and grossly contradicts them!
Let us turn again to our text. Hebrews 10:14 – “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Having comprehended the truth that a believer is sanctified when he is saved, this business of being “perfected forever” is promised to every saved individual. The current chapter of our discussion, Hebrews 10, bears this out. Look at Hebrews 10:9-10, located just five verses prior to our text:
Hebrews 10:9-10 – “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Notice the words – “We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” The “offering of the body of Jesus Christ” speaks of the time when Christ offered up Himself on the cross. So it is clear – we are sanctified by what Christ did on the cross. The blood sanctifies us! The same blood that saves us sanctifies us! Just as Romans 5:9 teaches that we are justified by His blood, Hebrews 10:10 teaches that we are sanctified by His blood! When I was saved, I put my faith in Jesus Christ completely, trusting only in His blood for salvation (Romans 3:25). At that moment, Christ’s blood not only saved me; but sanctified me!
Allow me to say here that when the blood of Christ sanctifies us, we are perfected forever, according to Hebrews 10:14. However, the blood is not the only sanctifying agent. We who saved are sanctified by the blood, but we are also sanctified by the Spirit, as well as by the Word of God. This means that there is a sense in which, the more that the Word is planted in my heart, the more sanctified I will be. Although the Bible teaches that we are sanctified by the blood that perfects us eternally, it is necessary to grow in this grace. Although sanctification is a definite experience that the believer receives at salvation, working out one’s salvation is a daily walk, and we must become more and more like Jesus the closer to heaven we get. There is much room for growth in our sanctification. This term “perfected forever” does not mean there is no room for growth. It means, rather, that I have been perfected judicially. It means that I have been declared NOT GUILTY – because my sins were laid upon Christ and He paid for them in full! This term “perfected forever” does not mean that from salvation to glorification I will never sin. It means that God sees me as perfect because of Christ.
I hear a lot of talk about perfection. I hear preachers preaching from Matthew 5:48, which states, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” These preachers, however, never bring Hebrews 10:14 into their sermons. They always preach the need for perfection, but they never preach the Biblical truth that the saved HAVE BEEN PERFECTED by Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross – and perfected forever!
Closing Thoughts
There is much more to say regarding sanctification. There is no need for the reader to email me to inform me that I have not “covered all the bases.” I understand this more than the reader. It is not possible to exhaust this subject in a single post.
Make no mistake about it – the Biblical doctrine of sanctification is a precious doctrine – it is the doctrine that teaches us how to become more and more like Christ. Is this not the ultimate goal of God for us – that we be conformed to the image of Christ? Should this not likewise be our ultimate goal? How grieved the Spirit must be when we fight about this precious doctrine. Perhaps the reader does not agree with everything I have written concerning this subject. It will not hinder my fellowship with you, as long as your view of sanctification makes you more like Christ. That is the goal, and we would be wise to never stray from it!
NOTE: To the reader who is interested in the subject of sanctification, I recommend the book from which I quoted in this post, Holiness, the False and the True by H.A. Ironside, published by Loizeaux Brothers. Please be reminded that when I recommend any book, I am not claiming to endorse every sentence in the book! H.A. Ironside, in this book, teaches sanctification in a biblically solid manner. I used a few of his points in this post. He goes into much more detail than I am able to do here. This book can be downloaded as a PDF file free of charge at WholesomeWords.org.
