Consecration

There are many hundreds of religions in the world. Some claim that God told their founders proprietary truths, and they were then written down in official books for their religion. The ideas from different religions often conflict with each other denoting either that God has come up with a large offering of variety, or that a number of ideas are actually wrong. In Christianity the Holy Spirit can reveal to you what is truth and what is not. However, religions' adherents tend "religiously" to defend their doctrine. It seems that their minds are made up. The mind is where thinking occurs. It can be analytical making sense of the input it gets, or imaginative creating original thoughts. It is a tool which helps determine whether something is true or false. But it doesn't inherently know everything, so processes like the scientific method may have to be implemented. The conscience can determine whether something is right or wrong but it doesn't necessarily depend on the logical mind for this.

Paul explained "you are slaves of the one whom you obey . . . [such as] sin resulting in death" (Ro 6:16). But now you "present your members as slaves to righteousness resulting in sanctification" (:19). "The outcome [results in] eternal life" (:22). God "is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (Ac 20:32). "You were washed, . . . sanctified . . . [and] justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God" (1Co 6:11). These facets are a package deal representing instantaneous regeneration and are not phases of a long, drawn out process. "God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth" (2Th 2:13). Christ "became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption" (1Co 1:30). He accomplished this "having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time" (Heb 10:12) and "has perfected for all time those who are sanctified" (:14).

"This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1Th 4:3). The Hebrew word qadash means to be set apart, holy, or consecrated. The Greek word hagiazo means to make holy, purify, or dedicate. Christians are "beloved of God . . . called as saints" (Ro 1:7). The term comes from the same root word as "consecration". Moses told Israel, "'You are a holy people to the Lord . . . for His own possession'" (Dt 7:6). Joshua told them, "'He is a holy God'" (Jos 24:19). God desires to have a relationship with his people but advises, "'Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy'" (Lev 11:44). God told Moses to say, "'You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation'" (Ex 19:6). To accomplish this God instructs, "'You shall consecrate yourselves . . . and you shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you'" (Lev 20:7-8).