God’s people find deep joy in contemplating the fact that He has set us apart as His special possession. Believers in Jesus Christ already belong to God. We have been sanctified. We have been accepted “in the Beloved” now and forever. Nothing can change this glorious position or status. Hallelujah!
As we find great joy in these realities, we should also find a matching sense of responsibility and privilege in the companion truth regarding our ongoing, growing consecration to Christ. Our status is “set apart already.” Our experience is that we are not yet sanctified entirely (1 Thessalonians 5:23)1. Our position is “accepted in the Beloved.” Our longing and prayer are that we might “please Him in all respects” (Colossians 1:10). Though we know that we will not experience full sanctification in this life, we must pursue it with all our hearts. We must earnestly seek full consecration to the Lord. All of us stand in danger of harboring sin. We may tend to excuse ourselves because of real or perceived theological tensions. Perhaps we fear being accused of “backwardness” or lack of relevance. God’s piercing expectation still rings out clearly: “with all your heart.” No rivals. No divided loyalties. No half-hearted devotion. No corner of my life off-limits to the Spirit’s examination and transformation. No satisfaction with anything less than full surrender to Christ Jesus. Is this the longing of your soul?
How does the Bible stir our hearts to seek this consecration? Consider the following five Scriptural reasons to pursue absolute devotion to Jesus Christ.
Because God is Holy (1 Peter 1:14–16, 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1)
In 1 Peter 1:14–16, Peter exhorts us to “be holy yourselves in all your behavior.” He gives this appeal to “obedient children” of “the Holy One who called you,” and he adds explicit motivation from Leviticus: “because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’” The holiness of God encompasses His transcendence and His purity. He is unique and separate from His creation, and He is absolutely pure, separate from all sin. If you are a child of this holy God, you must reflect His holiness by a distinct life in this world “in all your behavior.” All of it. As a child of God (2 Corinthians 6:18), you must cleanse yourself “from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1, italics mine). No stone unturned.
Because Perfect Holiness is Your Final Destination (1 John 3:1–3)
This passage extols the love of God in making us His children. Yet though we are children already, we are still waiting for the fullest experience of the privileges He has given us through Christ. Verse 2 assures believers in Jesus Christ that we know that when Jesus appears, “we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” No more sin. No more temptation. No more battle. Glorified in body and spirit forever. Verse 3 applies this glorious reality: “Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies Himself, just as He is pure” (italics mine). If you desire that God would stir your heart toward greater consecration, fix your attention and hope on the coming of Jesus Christ and the promise of being fully like Him. God will help you purify yourself, just like Jesus is pure.
Because You are Not Your Own (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)
“You have been bought with a price.” Christian, you do not belong to yourself. Even your body is the possession of the One who poured out His blood to purchase you as His own. Your whole life belongs to Him because He bought you. You don’t have the right to make your own decisions independently of Jesus. You must use all you are and all you possess to glorify God. Is there some area of your life today that you are treating as your own?
Because You Will Stand Before the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11–15, 2 Corinthians 5:9–10)
A day is coming when Christ will “test the quality of each man’s work” (1 Corinthians 3:13). Look at Paul’s inspired application of that future event: “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:9–10). Our ambition, whether we live or die, is to be pleasing to Christ, because we will appear before His judgment seat. Consider the prospect of being rewarded by Jesus Christ for what we did on earth through His enablement. Think of that day! Does that stir you to holy ambition to live a life fully pleasing to Him?
Because He Has Done Great Things for You (1 Samuel 12:24, Joshua 24:1–14, Luke 7:36–50, Romans 12:1–2)
Jesus once pointed out a forgiven sinner who had poured out great love and devotion before her Savior. He drew this conclusion: “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47). Small love is certain evidence of a misshapen understanding and horrifying underappreciation of the greatness of the forgiveness we have received. Yet if we truly grasp—every day a little more—the magnificence of what Christ has done for us, we will love Him deeply. Our love to Christ will result in lives consecrated to Him. This is Paul’s argument in Romans 12: “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1–2, italics mine). Does your whole life—every part of it—display a comprehension and admiration of the mercies of God in Christ Jesus toward you? Can you sincerely say, by the grace of God, “All for Jesus! All for Jesus! All my being’s ransomed powers!”?
1 Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the NASB® New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.