There are people who would like to receive a letter from heaven. God is so far away and we know so little of His intentions... Sometimes we are annoyed with people who say that God speaks to them, and tells them clearly what He wants. We just cannot believe them, because we ourselves never received a letter from heaven.
But in the Bible God tells us so much about His will, that we would need more than a lifetime to accomplish just what He tells us in this way. In the Bible passage of today, Paul says plainly, ‘It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.’
What exactly is sanctification? It is for sure that everything in the next verses is a consequence of this sanctification. But sanctification is more than all this. It is something like: being completely for Him. So no living for ourselves anymore, but only for Him Who called us out of darkness into His Kingdom. Anyone who rejects sanctification, rejects God! How few people are aware of this great call of God.
There are many people who are very zealous to become a saint, but this kind of self-sanctification is more aimed at living a sinless life than at belonging to God. This is false piousness inspired by self-centeredness; deceit born out of an anti-Christian attitude.
No, only by undergoing God's discipline we become devoted to Him. And this is a sanctification which will make our life really useful in God’s hands. Then our life will probably not be flawless, but purified by His blood it will bear fruit for Him.