Over the past few months, I've had many deep discussions with my husband and friends about salvation, justification, sanctification, and victorious living. To me, these topics just get deeper and deeper the more I ponder them.

I went back to the classic book written by Ellen G. White: Steps to Christ. I reread it and then went back to scour certain chapters over and over again. If you haven't read Steps to Christ, I highly suggest you go do it! You can access it for absolutely free here: Steps to Christ Online. Or you can visit your local Seventh-day Adventist Church where they will probably have some. Steps to Christ is amazing because it outlines the whole salvation experience in 13 short chapters using many Scriptures. Never have I opened up that book and not been deeply moved. If you want to read Steps to Christ, we have a study guide that can help you systematically go through the book and study it here or if you subscribe to our website, you can get it in your inbox for free!

In my search for more detailed inspiration on the experience of sanctification, I came upon the book The Sanctified Life by Ellen G. White. After a few paragraphs in, I was adamantly telling my husband that we needed to read this book together. By a few chapters in, I was telling my friends at church about it.

This book is a beautiful gem and I'm here to share about it with you. I'll give you a short summary of the book, a breakdown of the content, and who I would recommend it fo.

The Sanctified Life: Book Summary

This book is actually a series of articles put together as well as an excerpt from another one of Ellen White's books (Prophets and Kings). The Sanctified Life formerly had the titles of Sanctification (1881) and Bible Sanctification (1889) before adopting the current title (1937). It's encouraging to know that this resource was actually put together and published during Ellen White's lifetime, except for the last (current) version which was modified only by adding that excerpt from Prophets and Kings and formatted into a book for easier distribution. If you want to review these details, you can go here.

I would divide this book into 3 sections:

1. Exposition about sanctification
2. Stories of Daniel, Daniel's three friends, the apostle John and how they relate to the sanctification experience (Paul is also mentioned later on)
3. Further exposition on true sanctification

Section 1: About Sanctification

The articles contained in this section are easy to read and understand. This section brings together many Scriptural passages and explains them in light of the topic of sanctification. The simplicity of the explanations makes it a wonderful read. With imperative topics such as self-righteousness, feelings vs reason, and the meekness of Christ, it answers several pressing questions about sanctification:

• What is true sanctification and what does it look and feel like?
• How is true sanctification different from false sanctification?
• Why do some claim to be sinless or "living without sin" (The Sanctified Life, p. 9, paragraph 2) and are they truly sanctified?
• Can anybody rightly claim to be sanctified, without sin, and pious?
• As I draw closer to God and gain victory over sins, and bad habits, will I feel more righteous or feel more sinful?
• How was Christ the most righteous to have walked on Earth, yet the epitome of humility and how did it effect His influence?
• Do we really need to keep all the commandments of God?
• What is the relationship between faith, obedience, and sanctification?

Here are a few powerful quotes that impressed me about sanctification:

Section 2: Sanctified People from the Bible

This section covers the stories of Daniel, Daniel's three friends, and John the Revelator and how they experienced sanctification. At first, I wondered why these particular saints were chosen, but then I saw clear statements on sanctification and how it related to them. Below is one such example about Daniel:

"Daniel was a devoted servant of the Most High. His long life was filled up with noble deeds of service for his Master. His purity of character and unwavering fidelity are equaled only by his humility of heart and his contrition before God. We repeat, The life of Daniel is an inspired illustration of true sanctification." (The Sanctified Life, p. 52, paragraph 1)

The three Hebrew friends of Daniel are written to have "possessed genuine sanctification" (The Sanctified Life, p. 39, paragraph 2) and beautiful lessons are drawn out for the modern-era Christian. I particularly was impressed with this following quote about how their story is a foreshadowing of what will happen to God's people at the end the earth as we know it:

The apostle John, described in Scripture as "one whom Jesus loved" is also written about in this book in a way that brings so much insight into who he was and how he became that. Starting from what his natural, before-Christ character was like, all the way to his exile at Patmos, John's transformation is painted in vivid hues. Ellen White even sheds light on how his particular relationship with Christ influenced his writings in the Bible.

"The depth and fervor of John’s affection for his Master was not the cause of Christ’s love for him, but the effect of that love. John desired to become like Jesus, and under the transforming influence of the love of Christ, he became meek and lowly of heart. Self was hid in Jesus. He was closely united to the Living Vine, and thus became a partaker of the divine nature. Such will ever be the result of communion with Christ. This is true sanctification." (The Sanctified Life, p. 54, paragraph 2)

Section 3: The Joys, Rewards, and Experience of Sanctification

In this section, we are encouraged to contemplate, imitate, and not shrink "from such a life as our Saviour lived." (The Sanctified Life, p. 82, paragraph 2) The immeasurable blessings of being sanctified is laid out and called a privilege despite the obstacles that we will have to overcome. The apostle Paul's many letters to the churches including the Ephesians, Corinthians, and Colossians are quoted as an appeal to us as well to "enjoy the blessing of sanctification" (The Sanctified Life p. 84, paragraph 3). Paul used the terms "sanctified" and "sanctification" in his writings and these are explained in this section which is great for those who want to go and study those Bible references further.

The following questions are answered:

• Will I face obstacles or temptations while being sanctified? 
• How will I resist temptation?
• How can I cling onto Christ?
• How much obedience is required by God?
• Is it once sanctified, always sanctified? Or is sanctification progressive?
• What is the reward of sanctification and is it worth it?

These topics such as resisting temptation, how to cling onto Christ, and the rewards of obedience to God covered in this section that make it a fitting way to encourage us to choose and stay on the path of true sanctification. The far-reaching nature of sanctification and how it involves our whole being and how high the calling of God truly is for us is also written of in this section.

Who Should Read This Book

This book was an incredible blessing to me filled with precious quotes that have and will continue to uplift me. I do think that this book is better suited to Christians that are not completely new to the faith and salvation experience. For newer Christians, I'd first suggest studying Steps to Christ thoroughly before reading this book. In my opinion, to get the most out of The Sanctified Life, it would be beneficial to already be familiar with the following:

• Salvation as laid out in Steps to Christ (ex. coming to Christ, repentance and forgiveness)
• What sanctification is
• The general storylines of Daniel, Daniel's three friends, John, and Paul
• The character of Christ as expounded upon in The Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White
• Certain aspects of the Seventh-day Adventist health message (temperance, refraining from drugs, alcohol, tobacco, stimulating tea, and coffee)

Overall, The Sanctified Life was an exhilarating read. It answered many questions I had and explained sanctification in the clearest way from so many perspectives that I had ever read or heard. I loved how it brought those examples from the Bible for us to see how sanctification played out throughout real people's lives. Also, certain parts of the book were merely explaining concepts in a clear way, while others were filled with Bible verses and helped me understand them in reference to true sanctification.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs encouragement, is grappling with their Christian walk, or are wondering whether they are on the right path on sanctification. You can find the electronic version for free online at at www.egwwritings.org here or on your EGW Writings app.

Let me know if you've read this gem before or if you'd consider reading it! Also, I'd love to hear what your questions about sanctification are or what you have found to be the biggest challenges or blessings in your journey!