CHRIST OUR SANCTIFICATION AND
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Hebrews 10: 9: Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will,
O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10: By the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…12: But this man, after he had made one
sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God…14: For by one offering he hath
perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15: Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for
after that he had said before, 16:
This 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; 17: And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more.
When a sinner is
sanctified/holy—set apart, cleansed pure and consecrated to God—it is by the
sinner being made to behold that Christ is both his righteousness, as well as
his sanctification. In fact, Christ
sanctified his people to God, consecrating us perfectly, as he put away the
sins of his people and accomplished our justification.
First, God’s elect are sanctified by Christ
doing the will of God on our behalf. By
Christ fulfilling the old covenant law, he took away that first covenant and
established the second, everlasting covenant of grace for his people. It was by making one sacrifice for sins
forever in order to make his people righteous that Christ also, by that one
offering, sanctified us, perfecting forever them that are sanctified. Christ consecrated us in holiness by his
obedience unto the death of the cross as he made us righteous thereby.
Secondly, sanctification within is by the
Holy Ghost bearing witness of Christ and his finished work of sanctification
and justification for us. Be sure to get
this. The Holy Ghost bears witness to us
that Christ sanctified his people and made us righteous “for”, or because, this
is how God fulfills his promise of making his covenant with his people. It is by the Holy Ghost bearing witness to us
of Christ accomplishing our sanctification and justification that God writes
his laws in our hearts and in our minds.
In the context, those laws are the law of sanctification by Christ, the
law of righteousness by Christ and the law of faith in Christ. Having written these laws on our hearts, we
are brought to believe on Christ for holiness and righteousness. Therefore, the
Holy Ghost bears witness that God remembers our sins and iniquities no
more. It is only when the Holy Ghost
bears witness in our hearts and minds that Christ is our righteousness and our
sanctification that the Spirit bears witness that we have remission of sins and
therefore there is no more offering for sin. Only when we are sanctified do we
repent from the vain works of attempting to sanctify and justify ourselves by
our works by the law.
Now, we can approach holy God. Verse 19 says that by the Holy Ghost writing
this good news on our hearts and minds, we “having,
therefore, boldness to enter into the HOLIEST.” It is by the blood of Christ, by a new and
living way, which he hath CONSECRATED FOR US, through the veil, that is to say,
his flesh; and by having Christ as our High Priest. Also, it is by the Holy
Ghost bearing witness within that Christ sanctified us as he justified us, that
our hearts are made true, that we are sprinkled from an evil conscience and our
bodies washed with pure water. This is the fulfillment of what the priests
pictured as they ceremonially sanctified themselves by washing in the brass
laver before entering the holy place. It simply means we have been made
holy/sanctified in heart and body. It is
by the work of God, not by our works.