Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Sanka is the first decaffeinated instant coffee I can remember. I use this title in comparison to sanctification, a first help word. It is instant and removes all our sins.

Sounds a little strange doesn’t it. Sanctification is a separation of sin from our lives yet we still live in sin.

Romans 7:22-23 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

The inward and real Vs. the outward and seeming. The Holy Spirit in you is your life in Christ. The body physically is subject to the contaminations of the outside world. In this we must look to the Spirit of Truth to understand what is going on with us.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross He took away the sins of the world. All sin for all time for all mankind. He holds those sins separate towards judgment day. God has dealt with sin and He is satisfied in the sacrifice of His Son. We on the other hand live in time and have to deal with sin on a daily basis. In this sanctification is a twofold approach.  God’s act and man’s act.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

God has provided the Word of Truth. The power of sanctification is in the truth.

John 3:19-20 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Reading His Word sheds the light of truth on the inward man driving out darkness. Our part is getting the Word to the inner man. Read the Word daily. Sanctify yourselves.

Psalm 121:1-3 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

We left off yesterday admitting to ourselves that sin is still present in our lives and that the power over sin lies with God. This also is part of God’s plan. Remember that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are and did not sin. Temptation is not sin. Giving in to temptation however is sinning.

If we focus on the sin we miss the goal of the plan. Growing in Christ, to be more Christ like is a character building process. God created us to love and to return that love, and to spread that love in the furtherance of kingdom building. He did not perfect us instantly because He did not create puppets without a mind of their own.

Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

To build you up, to grow in Christ, is a process in which God leads by the power of the Holy Spirit within you. In this He is the Comforter and the Helper. Here in Acts 20:32 we find the first two words of help, grace and sanctified.

Because we cannot deal with sin on our own we need to look to those blessing God has bestowed upon us to help us deal with sin. These are just the first two we examine as the help provided to us by God. We should understand what help is provided in order to ask for that help.