On Sunday evenings we have been studying the names of God.  So far we have looked at Elohim, Adonia, YHWH, Jehovah Rohi (The Lord is my shepherd) and El Hanneman (The Faithful God).  Last Sunday evening we began our brief look into Jehovah Mekaddishkem (The God who sanctifies).  Our primary passage for last Sunday evening was Leviticus 22:32. 

As we studied the passage, one point in particular struck me.  The reason that all the objects used for worship in the OT were kept separate from common and profane objects/people was because they had already been sanctified.  They were not sanctified by being separate from those things.  There seems to be some misunderstanding in the area of the believers sanctification at times.  Some people seem to think that they have to do certain things so that they might be sanctified, instead of doing those things because they are sanctified.

Simply defined, in the context of a true believer, sanctified means to be set apart to God and by God for a specific purpose.  That purpose ultimately is the glory of God.  Since God has sanctified me, I desire to aspire to holy living with the strength and the ability the Spirit provides.  I do not aspire to holy living so that I can become sanctified.  In a similar sense, I do not live right because I want God to be pleased with me, I live right because God is pleased with me.  This goes to the motivation behind our actions.  Are you doing what is right to find favor with God; or are you doing what is right because you have already found favor with God, and your right actions are a display of your appreciation for all that He has done for you?