The most unsettling question confronting Christianity is not whether people profess Christ, but whether Christ has transformed them. Religious identity can be worn like a garment; holiness cannot. Scripture does not present sanctification as spiritual ornamentation. It presents holiness as the discipline of a life surrendered to God.
«“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
— Hebrews 12:14, KJV»
Sanctification is therefore not a ceremonial word reserved for theologians. It is the arduous work of separation from sin and conformity to Christ. Paul states the matter with stark simplicity: “This is the will of God, even your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). The Christian calling is not merely to receive a new name, but to become a new person.
That distinction exposes one of modern Christianity’s most dangerous illusions. A person may confess Christ, attend church, quote Scripture and sing worship songs while preserving a private allegiance to pride, lust, deceit, bitterness or greed. Religious activity can conceal spiritual decay. The appearance of faith is not necessarily the evidence of transformation.
Paul leaves little room for ambiguity: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old life cannot remain sovereign while the new life exists only as religious vocabulary. Where grace has taken root, character must eventually bear its fruit. The transformation may be gradual, but it cannot be imaginary.
This is why the anonymous warning that “many born again Christians will miss the rapture because of lack of sanctification” should provoke sober examination, not theological sensationalism. Scripture does not authorize anyone to pronounce who will or will not be taken at the rapture. But it does command believers to pursue holiness, remain watchful and live in readiness before God.
The issue is brutally simple: Christianity cannot be reduced to a profession of faith while the conduct of life repudiates the faith professed. The tongue may declare Christ while the habits deny Him. The sanctuary may applaud the believer while the secret place condemns the compromise.
The remedy is neither panic nor religious performance. It is repentance. It is the deliberate cleansing of thought, speech, desire and conduct. It is the refusal to baptize compromise as grace. It is the daily surrender by which the believer becomes increasingly recognizable as one who belongs to Christ.
The church does not need another generation skilled at looking saved. It needs believers whose lives withstand scrutiny when the applause stops, the lights disappear and nobody is watching. The question is not merely whether we have accepted Christ. It is whether Christ has taken possession of us.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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