February 17 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Hebrews 10:10-29:

¹⁰By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
¹¹And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
¹²But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
¹³From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
¹⁴For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
¹⁵Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
¹⁶This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
¹⁷And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
¹⁸Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
¹⁹Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
²⁰By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
²¹And having an high priest over the house of God;
²²Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
²³Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
²⁴And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
²⁵Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
²⁶For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
²⁷But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
²⁸He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
²⁹Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Devotional

In order to unite us with himself and make us truly one with him, Christ is also glorified, and has obtained for us the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that sanctifies. It is the Spirit of faith. This Spirit is given unto us in answer to Christ's intercession for us. Through the operation of this Spirit we become so united to Christ by faith that we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones, that Christ lives in us and we in him. And we receive everything from him that is necessary, willingly and truly to walk in God's commandments.

The word "sanctification" is so closely connected to the word "righteousness" by the Greek connecting words "te kai", that it stands on a par with it. The meaning is, that just as Christ is our righteousness, so also is He our sanctification. These two must not be separated, nor the one subordinated to the other. The apostle Paul expresses the same when he says: "Whom he justified, them He also glorified." All those who are justified, are also sanctified in Christ Jesus. They are perfect saints, because the holiness of Christ is their own by faith. Christ also teaches this in his high priestly prayer, when He says, "For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth." We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Therefore, as Christ is our righteousness, so also is He our sanctification.

Prayer

O Lord, teach us that we do not become more holy by any good works that we do, but that Thou hast sanctified us, and dost sanctify us through Thy truth. Thy word is truth. May the fruit of the Spirit be found in us in a rich measure. And as we learn more and more to know our sinful nature, let us the more earnestly seek forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ. And may we by the grace of the Holy Ghost become more and more changed into the image of God, till we attain finally to full perfection after this life. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Cor. 4:13; Eph. 5:30; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 8:30; John 17:19; Heb. 19:10.

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