study guide on sanctification

7/30/2019 Study Guide on Sanctification

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Te Doctrne ofSanctification


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The Doctrine of SanctificationAn Extended Study Guide from the Reformed Perspective

WCF: What is sanctification? Sanctification is the work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed inthe whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live untorighteousness.

Sanctification is the complete renewal of our natures by the Holy Spirit, by which we are changed intothe image of God, through Jesus Christ. [It] is the cleansing of our natures from the pollution of sin.-John Owen, The Holy Spirit, p105.

Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin andlike Christ in our actual lives. -Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p746

Sanctification may be defined as that gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit by which, He

purifies the sinner, renews his whole nature in the image of God, and enables him to perform goodworks.-Louis Berkhof, Summary of Christian Doctrine.

It is a principle of grace savingly wrought, whereby the heart becomes holy, and is made after Gods ownheart. A sanctified person bears not only God's name, but His image. -Thomas Watson, Body ofDivinity

Justification is God declaring His people free from the guilt and punishment of sin. Regeneration is Godsetting His people free from the power of sin. In sanctification, God is cleansing His people from thepollution of sin. As one brother explains:

In justification, a sinners legal state is changed. Before justification, he was guilty and worthy of eternalcondemnation; after justification, he is free from guilt and is an heir of eternal life. However, while he is

declared free from the guilt of sin, he is not made free from the power of it. Justification changes thesinner's state, but not his condition. It delivers from the guilt of sin, but not from the pollution of sin.Justification pardons, but it does not cleanse the sinnerit does not make him holy. God's continualwork of making the believer holy in daily living is termed sanctification. Sanctification is the divineprocess by which the moral condition of a child of God is continually being conformed to his legal statusbefore God. -James Beeke, Bible Doctrine, book 2, p283.

I. Sanctification is both once for all AND a life-long process:

A. Definitive sanctification: once for allJohn 15:3, You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you.

1 Corinthians 1:2, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctifiedin Christ Jesus...

1 Corinthians 6:11, but you were washed, butyou were sanctified, but you were justified in thename of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Hebrews 10:10, By this will we have been sanctifiedthrough the offering of the body of JesusChrist once for all.

Old Testament Picture:The sons of Israel taking the land of Canaan under Joshua:


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Joshua 11:23, So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken toMoses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes.Thus the land had rest from war.

B. Progressive sanctification: a life-long processOld Testament Picture I: Though Israel took the promised land under Joshua, they still were notable to completely drive out all the Canaanites from the land:

Joshua 17:12-13, But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, becausethe Canaanites persisted in living in that land. It came about when the sons of Israel becamestrong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.(see also Judges 1:27-36).

So it is in sanctification. When Christ frees us from the power of sin there is a very realvictory over sin, as when Joshua and Israel took the land of Canaan. Before, the Canaaniteshad power over the land. After, there was no question Joshua and Israel had dominion overCanaan. But still there were remaining, indwelling enemies within the land, enemies thatcould cause great harm to Israel if God's people let them thrive, but would be held in check ifthey were put to forced labor.

The day that the sons of Israel let their guard down was a dangerous day because theCanaanites were still living in the land. The day we stop fighting against our sin, the day westop becoming watchful; the day we stop putting to death our sin is that day that our sin willbegin to put us to death.

Old Testament Picture II: The construction of the temple under Solomon a picture ofprogressive sanctification:

1 Peter 2:4-5, And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but ischoice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as aspiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God throughJesus Christ.

Holiness is like seed sown in the ground. It grows gradually into a full plant...The growth of trees and plantstakes place so slowly that it is not easily seen. Daily we notice little change. But, in course of time, we see that agreat change has taken place. So it is with grace. Sanctification is a progressive, lifelong work (Prov.4:18).-John Owen, p105, 108-9.

1. The Christian life is a war and will be a struggle.For Christians, salvation is the beginning of a life-long battle. Before, the world, sin, and Satanwere friends. Now they hate us and desire to destroy us.

William Gurnall said the conflict between the saints and Satan's forces was a war that made all the bloodybattles of mankind look like 'sport and child's play.' -Joel Beeke, A Puritan Theology.

1. The WORLD:

a. The world hates us:John 7:7, The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, thatits deeds are evil.

b. The world would choke us and lead us away from Christ:Matthew 13:22, And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this isthe man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness ofwealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.


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2 Timothy 4:10, for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted meand gone to Thessalonica

Illustration: Vanity Fair in The Pilgrim's Progress:

Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of the wilderness, they presentlysaw a town before them, and the name of that town is Vanity; and at the town there is a

fair kept, called Vanity Fair: it is kept all the year long. It bears the name of Vanity Fairbecause the town where it is kept is lighter than vanity; and, also because all that is theresold, or that cometh thither, is vanity. Almost five thousand years agone, there werepilgrims walking to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are: and Beelzebub,Apollyon, and Legion, with their companions, perceiving by the path that the pilgrimsmade, that their way to the city lay through this town of Vanity, they contrived here to setup a fair; a fair wherein, should be sold all sorts of vanity, and that it should last all theyear long. Now these pilgrims, as I said, must needs go through this fair. Well, so theydid: But...these pilgrims set very light by all their wares; they cared not so much as to lookupon them; and if they called upon them to buy, they would put their fingers in their ears,and cry, Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and look upwards, signifying thattheir trade and traffic was in heaven. [Ps. 119:37, Phil. 3:19-20].

2. The FLESH:*Paul's description of the Christian life in Romans 7:

NOT the struggle of an unconverted manNOT the struggle of an immature Christian (quite the opposite)NOT the battle between a natural man and his conscience:

Have you experienced this warfare? It is a clear mark of Gods children. Most of you, I fear,have never felt it. Do not mistake me. All of you have felt a warfare at times between yournatural conscience and the law of God. But that is not the contest in the believers bosom. It isa warfare between the Spirit of God in your heart, and the old man with his deeds. -RobertMurray McCheyne, The Inward Experience of Believers

Rather, the struggle of the Christian man who longs to know and follow Christ withall his heart, yet struggles with his remaining sin and corruption.

A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience but war within. He may beknown by his warfare, as well as by his peace. . .freedom from conflict we shall doubtless havein Heaven but we shall never enjoy it in this present world. The heart of the best Christian,even at his best, is a field occupied by two rival camps, and the "company of two armies" (Song6:13). -J.C. Ryle

3. The DEVIL:

1 Peter 5:8-9, Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowlsaround like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your

faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by yourbrethren who are in the world.

a. The devil attacks believers through temptation. We see this perhaps mostclearly in Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Satan comes to our Lord and triesthree times to tempt Him into sin. And as with the Master, so with His servants.

b. The devil attacks believers through deception (Jn.8:44; Rev.20:3,8,10). This iswhat he did in the beginning with Eve. He lies about who God is, about what Godhas said, about what God has promised to do, and about the destructiveconsequences of sin (it won't be that bad!), but temporal and eternal.


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c. The devil attacks believers through accusation:*He is called the accuser of the brethren (Rev.12:10), and is found doing justthis in the account of Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3:1-7.

*The Spirit convicts us of sin, leading us to repentance; but Satan condemnsus for our sin, leading us to despair. He tells half truths. He is right that weare guilty for our sin. But he won't remind us of Christ's work on the cross.

2. Through the struggle, every believer will be more and more conformed into God's likeness.*NT Scriptures:

2 Corinthians 3:18, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory ofthe Lord, are being transformedinto the same image from glory to glory, just as from theLord, the Spirit.

Colossians 3:10, ...and have put on the new selfwho is being renewedto a trueknowledge according to the image of the One who created him.

Philippians 1:6, For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work inyou will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Old Testament Picture: The war between the house of David and house of Saul. 2 Samuel3:1, Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David; and Davidgrew steadily stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker continually.

So it is for believers. It is a long war, a hard battle. It won't end until we reach glory. ButGod is gradually conforming His children to Himself, transforming them through His Spirit,making them more and more after His own image.

Sanctification is a progressive thing. It is growing; it is compared to seed which grows: first the bladesprings up, then the ear, then the ripe corn in the ear; such as are already sanctified may be more sanctified.

2 Cor 7:7: Justification does not admit of degrees; a believer cannot be more elected or justified than he is,but he may be more sanctified than he is. Sanctification is still increasing, like the morning sun, which growsbrighter to the full meridian. . .Sanctification is progressive; if it does not grow, it is because it does notlive. -Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

The clothing of the OT priests: The priests in the law were not only washed in the great laver, butadorned with glorious apparel. Exod 28:8; so sanctification not only washes from sin, but adorns withpurity. -Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

*NOTE: You may not always FEEL like you are growing in grace. As Owen says,The Christian may be like a ship tossed in a storm. Nobody on board may be aware that the ship ismaking any headway at all. Yet it is sailing on a great speed. -The Holy Spirit, p110.

*OT Examples:

*God's work of grace in ABRAHAM: From fearful unbelief to faith: Abraham is thefather of our faith, and he certainly possesses saving faith beginning in Genesis 12, but thatdoesn't mean he has great faith. He believes in chapter 12, but seems to keep lapsing infaith over and over againbeginning in the same chapter as his conversion (Genesis 12)!There he uses his wife Sarah as a shield for his own protection. Later in chapter 16 hegives in to unbelief, listens to Sarah, and commits adultery with Hagar Sarah's made.Again in chapter 20 we see him stumble into unbelief, again using his wife as a shield toprotect himself, letting her go into the house of a pagan king. It is only much later, inGenesis 22, after many years, that Abraham's faith seems to be unshakable. For here he


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puts on the alter that which was most precious to him in all the world, with a sure faith inGod's promises that the Messiah would come through Isaacthat though he offer up hisown son on the mountain, God would still fulfill His Wordfor He was able even to raisethe dead (Hebrews 11:19).

*God's work of grace in JACOB:From stealing blessings to giving them: Chapters 29-31cover a 20 year period that is the most formative of Jacobs life. Jacob arrives in Paddan Aram freshfrom an encounter with God. He had the wonderful vision of the stairway to heaven. Which was

nothing less than an Old Testament revelation of Christ. Hes heard Gods promise to bless him nomatter what. There is no doubt that Jacob was more confident and sure of self than ever before. Butthat confidence was not balanced with humility. It was not balanced with a spirit of love and gratitudeand submission to God. You can see Jacobs nature in the way he ordered these shepherds around.He asserted himself proudly. He was contemptuous of their way of doing things. He wanted to makea big entrance for himself. This stone that it took several of them to move, he moved himself. Wealmost wish he had struggled to move it, grunted and strained and given up, while all the shepherdslaughed at him. That would have been good for Jacob.God did his work of sanctification in Jacobs life through his Uncle Laban. He used a tricky,dishonest, money-loving man to humble Jacob. Thats how God still works. He often uses challengingpeople to shape us. This switcheroo that Laban pulled, giving Jacob Leah instead of Rachel, and thentrapping Jacob into another seven years of service. Think how that must have slapped Jacob in the facelater when he realized how he had done the same thing to his father Isaac. Just as Laban covered Leahup so she wouldnt be recognizedso Jacob covered himself with Esaus clothes, and goat skins so

Isaac wouldnt. Just as Laban feasted Jacob before the deception to make him unsuspecting, so Jacobfeasted his father to put him in a good mood to get the blessing. And when Jacob he complained toLaban and said: Why have you deceived me? It must have been another slap in the face when heremembered that was the very same word Esau used when he found out Jacob had gotten the blessing.[The Lord's] main concern was Jacobs sanctification. And so it is with each one of us. -AndrewSiegenthaler, sermon on Genesis 29, The epic of sanctification

*God's work of grace in JOSEPH: From self-glory to tender love. There is an incrediblechange that had happened to Joseph somewhere between chapter 37 and 45/50. Whenhis brothers come to Egypt 15 years later Joseph is a different man. Before Joseph seemsmore concerned about his own honor and glory. At the end he doesn't care about hisown honor or glory (50:18ff). At first Joseph is mostly self-centered. But by the end hetruly possesses a deep love for those who betrayed him; he is a servant who is seeking theinterests of his brothers (45:7; 50:18ff). At the beginning Joseph is more or less Joseph-

centered but at the last, Christ-centered, wholly promise-saturated and set on seeking thejoy and upbuilding of his brothers, even to the point, that in the last chapter of Genesis heis encouraging his brothers in the grace of God from his own deathbed: Joseph said tohis brothers, I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you upfrom this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and toJacob. Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will surely take care ofyou, and you shall carry my bones up from here (50:24-25). It was God's gracious workof sanctification in Joseph.

*God's work of grace in MOSES:From ambitious pride to broken meekness. Moses hadto be much humbled before he was ready to lead God's people. He wanted to lead themat age 40, and he thought he was ready then. But God thought otherwise, and he ishumbled so much that 40 years later when God sends him back to deliver His people,Moses feels himself so insufficient and incapable that we attack him for being so hesitant.What had happened? God had broken Moses in the desert. Moses' seminary was thewilderness. Now we see Moses the meek. And now he was ready to be the Lord'sinstrument, though he now thought otherwise.

3. This growth in grace can take place in varying degrees in different seasons.As there are both seasons of summer and winter, so too there are seasons of summer andwinter of the child of God:


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Illustration:Not like a straight 45 degree anglerigid like the top of a key (but graduallyupward).

Sanctification is a thing which admits of growth and degrees. A man may climb from one step toanother in holiness, and be far more sanctified at one period of his life, than another. More pardonedand morejustifiedthan he is when he first believes he cannot be, though he may feel it more. Moresanctified he certainly may be because every grace in his new character may be strengthened,enlarged and deepened. This is the evident meaning of our Lord's last prayer for His disciples when

He used the words, "Sanctify them," and of Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians: "The very God ofpeace sanctify you" (John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). In both cases, the expression plainly impliesthe possibility of increased sanctification, while such an expression as "justify them" is never once inScripture applied to a believer, because he cannot be more justified than he is. -J.C. Ryle

4. Still, this growth in grace does no t only increase in believers over time, but affects their wholeperson.1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and mayyour spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of ourLord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

He will sanctify us completely, that is, entirely. No part of us will be left sinful or under the power of sin.Our whole nature is the subject of this work. He will make holy every part of us. -John Owen, The HolySpirit, p99.

Repentance works a change in the whole man; as wine put into a glass where water is, the wine runs intoevery part of the water, and changes its color and taste. -Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

Sanctification is an extensive thing: it spreads into the whole man. The God of peace sanctify you wholly.I Thess 5:53. As original corruption has depraved all the faculties - the whole head is sick, the whole heartfaint, no part sound, as if the whole mass of blood were corrupted - so sanctification goes over the wholesoul. . .

After the fall, there was ignorance in the mind ; but in sanctification, we are light in the Lord. Eph 5:5.After the fall, the willwas depraved; there was not only impotence to good, but obstinacy. In sanctification,there is a blessed pliableness in the will; it symbolizes and comports with the will of God.After the fall, the affections were misplaced on wrong objects; in sanctification, they are turned into a sweetorder and harmony, the grief placed on sin, the love on God, the joy on heaven. . .

Thus sanctification spreads itself as far as original corruption; it goes over the whole soul: the God of peacesanctify you wholly. He is not a sanctified person who is good only in some part, but who is all oversanctified; therefore, in Scripture, grace is called a new man, not a new eye or a new tongue, but a newman. Col 3:30. A good Christian, though he be sanctified but in part, yet in every part. -Thomas Watson,Body of Divinity

Application:A great comfort and encouragement. God WILL do this. He will not leave anyarea of our lives untouched by His purging grace. He WILL finish that great work He hasstarted (Phil.1:6).

5. Yet, believers will never reach perfection in this life.There are no perfect Christians friends! There is no perfection this side of glory. We will bestruggling with and fighting our sin til the day we die. Those who say otherwise must have verylittle knowledge of their own hearts.

*The testimony of the Scriptures:

*1 John 3:6 carries the continual/habitual sense: keeps on sinning. The meaning ofthis is found a few verses later in 3:9 (practices sin), and earlier in 1 John 1:6-8: .....Ifwe say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us (v8).


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*Romans 7:21-25: The struggle of the Christian man with indwelling sin.

*Philippians 3:12, Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect,but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by ChristJesus.

*Matthew 6:11-12, forgive us our sins; is a prayer that we are to pray continually.

*A few examples:

*Noah. Abraham. Job. David. Solomon. Asa. The disciples. Reflecting again onthe life of Jacob:

[Jacob] was a believing man who had much to learn. We might have thought that thestairway to heaven vision would have changed Jacob into a completely different man. But as

wonderful as that vision was, it was just one tiny step. It was just one little piece in Gods workto transform Jacob from an ambitious, self-reliant man, into a believer with true humilitybefore God. Mountaintop spiritual experiences dont translate into overnight spiritual change.Sanctification is a work of Gods grace. Its a long-term project. It is a difficult and oftenpainful work of transforming us into holy people. And the details of this chapter show us howthe Lord sanctifies. He puts his finger on the very spots where we most need change. Heshows us our sins, he shows us our idols. He breaks us down so we must rely on him.

-Andrew Siegenthaler

The best of [Christians] are still confessing sin,Job 9:3, 20;Ps. 32:5; 130:3;Prov. 20:9;Isa. 64:6;Dan. 9:7;Rom. 7:14;I John 1:9,

praying for forgiveness,Ps. 51:1, 2;Dan. 9:16;Matt. 6:12, 13;Jas. 5:15,

and striving for greater perfection,Rom. 7:7-26;Gal. 5:17;Phil. 3:12-14.

-Louis Berkhof

*Indeed, one healthy sign of sanctification is seeing more and more of your sin:

*Hence our Saviors words: Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are those who mourn

Illustration:The more light in a room, the more dust you can see. So too the more Christshines on and in a person's soul, the more they see their sin.

*Paul's own journey through the epistles: 1 Corinthians 15:9, least of the apostles, AD 53-55 Ephesians 3:8, least of all the saints, AD 62 1 Timothy 1:15, I am foremost of all [sinners], ~AD 65

Illustration:William Carrey's tombstone: A wretched, poor and helpless worm, on Thykind arms I fall.


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Illustration:John Calvin's self-estimation: In aletter to Falais in 1546: "Apart from thesermons and the lectures, there is a month gone by in which I have scarce done anything,in such wise I am almost ashamed to live thus useless. ( A mere 20 sermons and 12lectures in that month!)

Indeed, the more sanctified the person is, the more conformed he is to the image of his Savior, themore he must recoil against every lack of conformity to the holiness of God. The deeper his

apprehension of the majesty of God, the greater the intensity of his love to God, the more persistenthis yearning for the attainment of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the moreconscious will he be of the gravity of the sin that remains and the more poignant will be his detestationof it. -John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, p.145.

6. Sanctification is made perfect in us only at death wh en we receive our new resurrected bodies(this can also be called glorification).Philippians 3:20-21, For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for aSavior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state intoconformity with the body of His glory...

1 Thessalonians 5:23, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may

your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of ourLord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:23, ...and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect

II. Sanctification cannot save us, yet without sanctification we cannot be saved:

Matthew 7:16-20, You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thornbushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad treebears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you willknow them by their fruits.

*Sanctification is a necessary and vital mark of true, saving faith in Christ. You know an appletree by its apples; so too the fruit of a man reveals his true nature. God doesn't justify allChristians but only sanctify a few of them. The Scriptures are clear: you cannot be saved fromthe punishment of sin in the next life, if you will not be saved from the power of sin in this life.The Bible teaches that our sanctification is the proof of the reality of our conversion.Sanctification is thus the proof of our justification; it is absolutely necessary for salvation.

Romans 8:13, for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit youare putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Hebrews 12:14, Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will seethe Lord.

1 John 1:6-7, If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie anddo not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we havefellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 3:10, By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone whodoes not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

John 15:2, Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch thatbears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.


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This sanctifying work of Christ in us cannot save us, yet, without this sanctifying work of Christ inus, we cannot be saved. It is the mark that we truly have been saved.

The branchwhich bears no fruit is no living branch of the vine. The unionwith Christ which produces noeffect on heart and life is a mere formal union, which is worthless before God. The faithwhich has not asanctifying influence on the character is no better than the faith of devils. It is a "dead faith, because it isalone." It is not the gift of God. It is not the faith of God's elect. In short, where there is no sanctificationof life

there is no real faith in Christ...Simply put, the lack of sanctification is a sign of non-regeneration. Wherethere is no holylife there has been no holybirth. This is a hard saying but a Biblical truth; whomever isborn of God, it is written, "cannot practice sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9). -J.C. Ryle

Without sanctification there is no evidencing our justification. Justification and sanctification go together. Butye are sanctified, but ye are justified. I Cor 6:11. Pardoning iniquity, Mic 7:18; there is justification. He willsubdue our iniquities, 5:19; there is sanctification. Out of Christs side came blood and water, John 19:94;blood for justification; water for sanctification. Such as have not the water out of Christs side to cleanse them,shall never have the blood out of his side to save them. . .There is no going to heaven without sanctification.Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Heb 12:14. God is a holy God, and he will suffer no unholycreature to come near him. A king will not suffer a man with plague-sores to approach into his presence.Heaven is not like Noahs ark, where the clean beasts and the unclean entered. No unclean beasts come intothe heavenly ark; for though God suffer the wicked to live awhile on the earth, he will never suffer heaven to bepestered with such vermin. Are they fit to see God who wallow in wickedness? Will God ever lay such vipers in

his bosom? Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. -Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

III. Sanctification is a work God does AND a work He calls believers to take partin:

Philippians 2:12-13, So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presenceonly, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it isGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

It is vital to keep these two truths in tension:

1. God does this work in us.

2. This is a work God also calls us to take part in, through the power of the Spirit. We cannotsanctify ourselves, but we are commanded to BE sanctified: to BE renewed (Eph.4:23), to BEtransformed (Rom.12:2), to BE made holy, through the blood of Christ, applied to our souls bythe Holy Spirit (Heb.9:13-14; 10:19-22).

A. The work God does in believers:Philippians 2:12-13, So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presenceonly, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it isGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

1 Thessalonians 5:23, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may yourspirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus

Christ.

Hebrews 2:11, For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from oneFather...

Hebrews 6:1-3, Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on tomaturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead andeternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.


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Hebrews 13:20-21, Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd ofthe sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in everygood thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ...

1. Wh at does this work entail?*A work wherein believers are cleansed from the pollution of sin:

2 Corinthians 7:1, Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselvesfrom all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Sanctification is a supernatural thing; it is divinely infused. We are naturally polluted, and tocleanse, God takes to be his prerogative. I am the Lord which sanctify you. Lev 21:1. Weedsgrow of themselves. Flowers are planted. Sanctification is a flower of the Spirits planting, thereforeit is called, The sanctification of the Spirit. I Pet 1:1. -Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

Old Testament Picture I: Cleansing of sanctification pictured in the OT cleansingrituals. The animal sacrifices forepictured Christ's work of atonement; thepurifications of Leviticus forepictured the Spirit's work of sanctification:

There is a spiritual defilement in sin. Sin in Scripture is compared to blood, wounds, sores,

leprosy, scum, loathsome diseases and such evil things. From sin we must be washed, purged,purified and cleansed...By the sacrifices of atonement, God taught his people the guilt of sin.By the ordinances for purification, God taught his people the filth of sin. By these leviticallaws, sacrifices and purifyings, internal and spiritual things were symbolized. Theyforeshadowed Christ and his work, which brought real and actual spiritual cleansing(Heb.9:13-14). So the whole work of sanctification is pictured by 'a fountain opened for sinand uncleanness' (Zech.13:1). -John Owen, The Holy Spirit, p121.

Sin is compared to leaven, which sours; and to leprosy, which defiles. Sanctification purgesout the old leaven. I Cor 5:5.Though it takes not away the life, yet it takes away the love ofsin. -Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

Old Testament Picture II: Cleansing of sanctification pictured in the consecration of

the OT priests:

Exodus 28:41, You shall put [the holy priestly garments] on Aaron your brotherand on his sons with him; and you shall anoint them and ordain them andconsecrate them, that they may serve Me as priests.

Exodus 40:12-13, Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door way of thetent of meeting and wash them with water. You shall put the holy garments onAaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest toMe.

*The washing represents REGENERATION*The putting on of the holy garments representsJUSTIFICATION*The anointing and consecration represents SANCTIFICATION

Old Testament Picture III: Cleansing of sanctification pictured in the OT prophets:

Ezekiel 16:9-14, 'Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from youand anointed you with oil. I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and putsandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen andcovered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your handsand a necklace around your neck. . .


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*The washing represents REGENERATION*The putting on of the holy garments representsJUSTIFICATION*The adorning of precious ornaments represents SANCTIFICATION

*A work wherein believers are renewed after God's own image:

2 Corinthians 3:18, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the gloryof the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just asfrom the Lord, the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:4, . . .Christ, who is the image of God.

Colossians 3:10, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a trueknowledge according to the image of the One who created him

Sanctification is an immediate work of the Spirit of God on the souls of believers, purifying andcleansing of their natures from the pollution and uncleanness of sin, renewing in them the imageof God, and thereby enabling them from a spiritual and habitual principle of grace, to yieldobedience unto God, according unto the tenor and terms of the new covenant, by virtue of the lifeand death of Jesus Christ. Or more briefly ; it is the universal renovation of our natures, by theHoly Spirit, into the image of God, through Jesus Christ. -John Owen, The Holy Spirit

[Adam] was created in the image of God, and that he had an ability to fulfill all God's commands,and that in himself, and no more shall be desired. This was lost by the fall. . .In our regeneration,there is a renovation of this image of God in us -John Owen, The Holy Spirit

Man was made in the image of God. In the fall, the image of God was not lostcompletely, but was greatly degenerated, as a ruined castle after hundreds of years ofneglect still retains the image of a castle but without its former glory. But through theSpirit's work of sanctification in a believer, that image is being restored to its formerglorymore than thatto a greater glory than the first Adam in his pre-fallen state, forwe are being conformed to the very likeness of Christ, who is the image of God.

Thus, as those who have been made new creatures in Christ, we are being conformed

to His image. Just as before regeneration we bore the likeness of fallen Adam, so nowin Christ we are being changed more and more into His likeness.

2. What are some of the characteristics of this work of G od in believers?*A work God PROMISES to do in all believers.

Jeremiah 32:40-41, I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turnaway from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so thatthey will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and willfaithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

Philippians 1:6, For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a goodwork in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

1Thessalonians 5:23-24, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely;and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at thecoming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bringit to pass.

*A work God DELIGHTS to do in all believers.

Philippians 2:12-13, So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in


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my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation withfear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work forHis good pleasure.

*And thus a work God ALWAYS DOES in all believers.

Matthew 7:16-20, You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from

thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, butthe bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad treeproduce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and throwninto the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Romans 8:29, For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to becomeconformed to the image of His son, so that He would be the firstborn among manybrethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called,He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

*The implication here is that everyone who is glorified has been sanctified. So too,sanctification is the proof of a man's justification. No exceptions.

3. WH Y does God do this work?*God does this work in believers FOR HIS OWN NAME and glory

2 Samuel 7:23-24, Who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom Godwent to redeem to be his people, making himself a nameand doing for them great andawesome things bydriving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself fromEgypt, a nation and its gods?

*Remember, the sons of Israel taking over the land of promise is typical of sanctification,as we have illustrated above.

Psalm 23:3, He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Psalm 31:3, For You are my rock and my fortress; for Your name's sake You will leadme and guide me.

Isaiah 48:10-11, Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in thefurnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My namebe profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.

Ezekiel 36:22-25, Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God, 'It is notfor your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which youhave profaned among the nations where you went. I will vindicate the holiness of Mygreat name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in theirmidst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,' declares the Lord God, 'when Iprove Myself holy among you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations, gatheryou from all the lands and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean wateron you and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all youridols. . .

*God does this work in believers FOR THEIR OWN GOOD and JOY

Psalm 1:1-2, How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the lawof the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night


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Psalm 16:11, You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness ofjoy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 81:16, But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from therock I would satisfy you.

God has been pleased to bind together our holiness with our happiness! Satan lies to usand tells us that to indulge in the pleasures of sin is what will bring us joybut he is a liarsin only leads us to misery. We see this evidenced in the Garesene demoniaca manpathetically miserableyet so deceived by the lies of sin that at first he pleads with Jesusnot to cast the demons out!!

4. HOW does God do this work?*BY the Holy Spirit...

1 Peter 1:1-2, . . .To those. . .who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of Godthe Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkledwith His blood. . .

2 Thessalonians 2:13, But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethrenbeloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvationthrough sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

*...working in and through the Word...

John 17:17, Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

Ephesians 1:25-26, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the churchand gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by thewashing of water with the word

Ephesians 5:25-26, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the churchand gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by thewashing of water with the word

1 Peter 2:2, Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it youmay grow in respect to salvation

*...applying the atoning blood of Christ to our souls:

Hebrews 9:13-14, For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifersprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, howmuch more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himselfwithout blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living

God?

Hebrews 13:12, Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through Hisown blood, suffered outside the gate.

Our holiness comes from the spring and fountain of all grace that is in Christ Jesus, the head of thebody (Col.3:3). As the whole body derives strength and ability from the head, so by the Holy Spiritall the supplies of holiness in our head, Jesus Christ, are brought to every member of his body(Col.2:19). As the branch is nourished by the vine out of which it grows, and by that nourishment isable to bear fruit, so we, being grafted into Christ, receive from him all necessary supplies ofholiness to bear fruit to his glory. And these supplies of holiness are brought to us and made


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effective in us by the Holy Spirit. So God warns us not to become proud, but to remember that wewere grafted into Christ by grace, and from him we receive all necessary supplies of grace(Rom.11:20). -John Owen, The Holy Spirit, pp107-108.

. . .More on this later. . .

*God also especially uses OUR AFFLICTIONS for our growth in Christ:

"You cannot, you must not have a more pleasant or more easy condition here, than he had, who'through afflictions was made perfect' [Heb.2:10]. We may indeed think, Cannot God bring us toheaven with ease and prosperity? Who doubteth but he can? But his infinite wisdom thinketh anddecreeth the contrary" -Samuel Rutherford

Scriptures:

Psalm 119:67, Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.

Psalm 119:71, It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Yourstatutes.

Psalm 119:75, I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in

faithfulness You have afflicted me.

Isaiah 48:10-11, Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver, I have tested you inthe furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for howcan My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.

John 15:2, Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and everybranch that bears fruit He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.

Illustrations:

*JOSEPHmade fruitful in the land of his affliction (Gen.41:52). And that he wastruly sanctified through his afflictions is proven by the way he deals with his

brothers in Genesis 45 and 50, as we have already shown above.

*DAVIDseems to have sung in the caves like he never did in the palace(Ps.119:67, 71, 75)

*JOBwas refined from 14 karat to 24 karat gold through his sufferings (23:10)

*CHRISTHimself, who learned obedience through that which He suffered(Heb.5:7-8; cf. Mk.1:12, ekballo, a violent casting forth, the same word used inthe gospels to describe Jesus casting out demons).

Quotes:

"Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house. It is the best book in a minister's library."-Charles Spurgeon

When spices are bruised, then they send forth a sweet savour. -Thomas Watson

Afflictions are God's refinings. The purer the gold, the hotter the fire; the whiter thegarment, the harder the washing. -Thomas Moore

Great winds and storms help fruit-bearing trees. So also do corruptions and temptationshelp the fruitfulness of grace and holiness. The storm loosens the earth round its roots so thetree is able to get its roots deeper into the earth where it receives fresh supplies of


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nourishment. But only much later will it be seen to bring forth better fruit. So corruptionsand temptations develop the roots of humility, self-abasement and mourning in a deepersearch for that grace by which holiness grows strong. But only later will there be visible fruitsof increased holiness. -John Owen, p111.

B. Sanctification is also a work God calls believers to do, through the Spirit. Thus, Sanctification is notonly a promise but a command for believers.Leviticus 20:26, Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apartform the peoples to be Mine.

2 Corinthians 7:1, Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from alldefilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Ephesians 6:17, And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of

God

Philippians 2:12-13, So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presenceonly, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it isGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

1 Thessalonians 4:7, For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.

Hebrews 12:14, Pursue. . .the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.

1 Peter 1:15-16, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'

A man who professes to be a true Christian, while he sits still, content with a very low degree of sanctification (ifindeed he has any at all), and coolly tells you he "can do nothing," is a very pitiable sight, and a very ignorant man!

Against this delusion, let us watch and be on our guard. The Word of God always addresses its precepts to believersas accountableand responsiblebeings. If the Savior of sinners gives us renewing grace and calls us by His Spirit

we may be sure that He expects us to use our grace and not to go to sleep. It is forgetfulness of this which causesmany believers to "grieve the Holy Spirit" and makes them veryuselessand uncomfortableChristians.

I can find no warrant in Scripture for the doctrine of " imputedsanctification." It is a doctrine which confuses thingsthat differ and leads to very evil consequences. Not least, it is a doctrine which is flatly contradicted by theexperience of all the most eminent Christians. If there is any point on which God's holiest saints agree, it is this: thattheyseemore, and knowmore, and feelmore, and domore, and repentmore, and believemore as they get onin spiritual life, and in proportion to the closeness of their walk with God. In short, they "grow in grace," as Peterexhorts believers to do; and "abound more and more," according to the words of Paul (2 Peter 3:18; 1Thessalonians 4:1). -J.C. Ryle

*Old Testament Picture: The Feast of Unleavened Bread:

1 Corinthians 5:7-8, Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are

in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let uscelebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but withthe unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

*What feast? The Feast of Unleavened Bread! The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted 7days, symbolizing a complete cycle of time: there was a solemn assembly on first and last dayof the feast (Exodus 12:16): thus, believers look back to their conversion on the first day andthe glory awaiting them on the last day. As believers, we live in the feast of unleavened bread.Our lives are to be unleavened; that is, sanctified, set apart, holy for Christ.


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1. HO W do we grow in sanctification as believers?*By GRACE alone, through FAITH alone, in CHRIST alone:

Colossians 2:6, Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him

We are thus sanctified the exact same way that we are justified. Looking to His finishedwork on the cross, His resurrection victory, His blood, His merit, and His promises, byfaith laying hold on Christ and what He has done for us.

2 Corinthians 3:18, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory ofthe Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from theLord, the Spirit.

*It is thus in beholding Christ that we are changed more and more into His image

If we would grow in holiness and become more sanctified we must continually go on as we began,and be ever making fresh applications to Christ. He is the Head from which every member must besupplied (Ephesians 4:16). To live the life of daily faith in the Son of God, and to be daily drawing outof His fullness the promisedgraceand strengthwhich He has laid up for His people this is the grandsecret of progressive sanctification. Believers who seem at a standstill are generally neglecting close

communion with Jesus, and so grieving the Spirit. -J.C. Ryle

INVOLVING. . .

A. RENEWAL: Believers are commanded to continually be renewed in the inner man:

Romans 12:2, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by therenewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which isgood and acceptable and perfect.

Ephesians 4:22-23, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside theold self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that yoube renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness

of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Colossians 3:10. "And have put on the new man, that is being renewed untoknowledge after the image of Him that created him."

2 Timothy 2:1, You therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

"No real good can come to thee, no healing to thy spirit, no fruitfulness to thy soul, from aperpetual living upon convictions of sin, legal fears, or transient joys: the Divine life can derive noaliment from these. But live upon the atoning blood of Jesus. Here is the fatness of thy soul found;this it is that heals the wound...It is the blood of Jesus, applied by the Spirit, that moistens eachfibre of the root of holiness in the soul, and is productive of its fruitfulness; this it is that sends the

warm current of life through every part of the regenerate man, quickening the pulse of love, and

imparting a healthy and vigorous power to every act of obedience. And when the spiritual seasonschange--for it is not always spring-time with the soul of a child of God--when the summer's sunwithers, or the autumnal blast scatters the leaves, and the winter's fiercer storm beats upon thesmitten bough, the blood and righteousness of Christ, lived upon, loved, and cherished, will yetsustain the Divine life in the soul..." -Octavius Winslow

Hebrews 9:13-14, For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifersprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, howmuch more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himselfwithout blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the livingGod?


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Hebrews 10:19-22, Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holyplace by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for usthrough the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house ofGod, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our heartssprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 12:1-2, Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surroundingus, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes onJesus. . .

Our holiness comes from the spring and fountain of all grace that is in Christ Jesus, the head ofthe body (Col.3:3). As the whole body derives strength and ability from the head, so by the HolySpirit all the supplies of holiness in our head, Jesus Christ, are brought to every member of hisbody (Col.2:19). As the branch is nourished by the vine out of which it grows, and by thatnourishment is able to bear fruit, so we, being grafted into Christ, receive from him all necessarysupplies of holiness to bear fruit to his glory. And these supplies of holiness are brought to useand made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. -John Owen, p108.

Old Testament Picture I: Trimming the lamps in the tabernacle (Ex.30:7-8). Aaron

and his sons the priests were commanded to trim the lamps in the tabernacle everymorning and evening. So too, we are called as believers to continually be trimmingthe lamps of our hearts by the Spirit.

Old Testament Picture II: Constantly going back to the words that Samuel spoke tothe people after they had sinned by asking for a king: Do not fear. You havecommitted all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve theLord with all your heart. . .For the Lord will not abandon His people on account ofHis great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people forHimself. (1Sam.12:20-22).

Old Testament Picture III: Joshua the High Priest before the Angel of the Lord inZechariah 3. Our own garments are indeed filthy. But we need to be renewed

constantly in the truth that on the cross, Christ has taken away our iniquity and clothedus with the festal robes of His own righteousness and merit(Zech.3:4).

2 Peter 1:5-9, For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, havingforgotten his purification from his former sins.

"We are only poor for this reason, that we do not know our riches in Christ. In time of temptation,believe Christ rather than the devil. Believe truth from truth itself. Hearken not to a liar, anenemy, and a murderer. -Richard Sibbes

I am persuaded that I shall obtain the highest amount of present happiness, I shall do most forGod's glory and the good of men, and I shall have the fullest reward in eternity, by maintaining aconscience always washed in Christ's blood, by being filled with the Holy Spirit at all times, and by

attaining them most entire likeness to Christ in mind, will, and heart, that it is possible for aredeemed sinner to attain to in this world. -Robert Murray McCheyne

In all true prayer, great stress should be laid on the blood of Jesus...All prayer is acceptable withGod, and only so, as it comes up perfumed with the blood of Christ...never do we place a brightercrown upon his blessed head, than when we plead his finished righteousness as the ground of ouracceptance, and his atoning blood as our great argument for the bestowment of all blessing withGod. If then, dear reader, you feel yourself to be a poor, vile, unholy sinner; if a backslider, whosefeet have wandered from the Lord, in whose soul the spirit of prayer has declined, and yet still feelsome secret longing to return, and dare not, because so vile, so unholy, so backsliding; yet youmay return, 'having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.' Come, for the blood


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of Christ pleads; return, for the blood of Christ gives you a welcome: 'If any man sin, we have anadvocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. -Octavius Winslow

Illustration: Dying of thirst on the Amazon: There is a story about an earlyexploration voyage in the Americas. The ship had been sailing in the ocean for manydays and the drinking water started to run out on board. Soon it ran out completely.The explorers couldn't drink the salt water underneath them, and not long after theydied of thirst. But they didn't have to. They had sailed right in to the Amazon Basin,

the largest fresh-water reserve in the world. Ironically and tragically, as they died ofthirst, underneath them lay billions and billions of gallons of fresh water. How oftendo we live this way as believers, upheld and sustained by the merit of Christ, yetstarving ourselves to death, neglecting to appropriate Christ's blood to our guiltysouls?

B. MORTIFICATION: Believers are commanded to constantly put to death theirindwelling sin by the Spirit:

Romans 8:13,for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by theSpirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Galatians 6:24: "And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with thepassions and the lusts thereof."

Colossians 3:5, Therefore, put to death the members which are upon the earth;immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

I. What this mortification is NOT:

*A mere external morality or civility:

Men may be angels outwardly who are devils inwardly. Mortification does notconsist in mere outward pleasantnessbut a holy war declared on their own sinsboth outward and secret. The man who has not yet truly declared war against hissin is yet at war with God.

Civility is but nature refined; there is nothing of Christ there, and the heart maybe foul and impure. . .A hypocrite may leave sin, yet love it; as a serpent casts itscoat, but keeps its sting; but a sanctified person can say he not only leaves sin, butloathes it. -Thomas Watson

Illustration: The rich young ruler, for though, according to his estimation, he hadkept God's commandments, yet he had never truly even kept the firstfor he hadnever mortified his heart-idol of greed.

*A giving up of some sins in exchange for others:

Someone may change an obvious sin for a hidden one. Mortification is not justthe substitution of one sin for another. He may simply have changed from oneroad to hell to a safer path than he was on before. -John Owen.

Illustration: Simon Magus: Even though he had made a profession and hadgiven up his sorceries, his lust was as powerful as ever; it was the same lust, onlythe streams of it were diverted in a different direction. (Owen).

*A giving up of only certain (convenient) sins:

Some may gladly give up the sins that are convenient to give up, while clinging onto others.

As a comet may shine like a star, a luster may shine from their profession thatdazzles the eyes of the beholders. Having a form of godliness, but denying the


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power. 2 Tim 3:3. . .like pictures and statues which are destitute of a vitalprinciple. Clouds without water. Jude 12. They pretend to be full of the Spirit,but are empty clouds. . .the most counterfeit saint deceives others while he lives,but deceives himself when he dies. To pretend to holiness when there is none isa vain thing. What were the foolish virgins better for their blazing lamps, whenthey wanted oil? What is the lamp of profession without the oil of saving grace?

What comfort will a show of holiness yield at last? -Thomas Watson

Illustration: Jehu, king of Israel, who eradicated Baal worship completely, yet stillclung to the sins of Jeroboam, the calfs at Dan and Bethel.

*A mere outward restraining of sin:

As men may give up some sins for others, so too they may restrain themselvesfrom sin in general, in order to earn a religious reputation. But this is not truemortification.

[This is] when men forbear vice, though they do not hate it. This may be thesinners motto, Fain I would, but I dare not. The dog has a mind to the bone,but is afraid of the cudgel; so men have a mind to lust, but conscience stands asthe angel, with a flaming sword, and affrights: they have a mind to revenge, butthe fear of hell is a curb-bit to check them. There is no change of heart; sin iscurbed, but not cured. A lion may be in chains, but is a lion still. -Thomas

Watson

Illustration: Ahithophel, the Pharisees, and Judas; for though they outwardlyappeared very religious, in the end it was made evident that they had never trulyput their sin to death, but only pretended to be holy men.

*A temporary resolve to give up sin:

A mere renouncing of sin and resolving to do away with it, is no truemortification unless the resolve is from the Spirit of God and leads to more than

wordsan actual putting it to death.

Illustration: Saul in his hunting of David.

II. What this mortification IS: The actual and continual putting to death of our sin bythe Spirit.

Romans 8:13, for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but ifby the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

III. What are the ways we are to mortify our remaining sin?

*We are to mortify our sin by WALKING by the SPIRIT:

Galatians 5:16, But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry outthe desire of the flesh.

*We are to mortify our sin by HATING it:

Psalm 97:10, Hate evil, you who love the Lord

Psalm 119:128, Therefore I esteem right all Your precepts concerningeverything, I hate every false way.

Romans 12:9, Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.

Till sin be hated, it cannot be mortified.


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*We are to mortify our sin by CUTTING it OFF:

Matthew 18:8-9, If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cutit off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled orlame, than to have two hands or two feed and be cast into the eternalfire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it fromyou. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have twoeyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

*We are to mortify our sin by STARVING it to death:

Psalm 119:101, I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that Imay keep Your word.

1 Peter 2:11, Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstainfrom fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

*We are to mortify our sin by FLEEING from it:

1 Corinthians 10:14, Therefore, my beloved brethren, flee fromidolatry.

1 Timothy 6:11, But flee from these things, you man of God, andpursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance andgentleness.

2 Timothy 2:22, Now flee from youthful lusts and pursuerighteousness, faith, love and peace. . .

Old Testament Picture: Joseph from Potiphar's wife, Genesis 39.

*We are to mortify our sin by KEEPING WATCH against it:Proverbs 4:23, Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from itflow the springs of life.

Acts 20:28, Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock. . .

Ephesians 6:18, With all prayer and petition pray at all times in theSpirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance. . .

1 John 5:21, Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

*We are to mortify our sin by LAYING it ASIDE:

Ephesians 4:22, that, in reference to your former manner of life, youlay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with thelusts of deceit. . .

Colossians 3:8, But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath,malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.

*We are to mortify our sin by DENYING it:


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Titus 2:11-12, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvationto all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires andto live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. (For Greekverb here compare to disown in Acts 3:14 and 7:35).

*We are to mortify our sin by FIGHTING against it:

Ephesians 6:13, Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that youwill be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, tostand firm. . .

*We are to mortify our sin by PUTTING it to DEATH:

Romans 8:13, for if you are living according to the flesh, you mustdie; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body,you will live.

Colossians 3:5, Therefore, put to death your members that are on theearth: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, whichamounts to idolatry.

Old Testament Picture:Again, fighting the remaining Canaanites in theland of promise under Joshua:

Deuteronomy 20:10-18 makes clear that when they fought othernations outside the boundaries of the promised land, they were to firstoffer terms of peace (that is, the gospel, which is God's peace terms forhumanity). However, in fighting the Canaanites dwelling within theboundaries of the promised land, they were to offer no terms of peace,neither were they to show any mercy. This is the way we are to dealwith our remaining indwelling sin.

The day that the sons of Israel let their guard down was a dangerous

day because the Canaanites were still living in the land. The day westop fighting against our sin, the day we stop becoming watchful; theday we stop putting to death our sin is that day that our sin will begin toput us to death.

Be killing sin or sin will be killing you. -John Owen

Application: Do you have present habitual or secret sin? Cut it off. Don't messaround; don't play games. Do whatever it takes. Ask help of brothers if you need it;humble yourself.

*We are renewed in our minds and mortify our remaining sin especially as we make use of theMEANS of GRACE:

Sanctification depends greatly on a diligent use of Scriptural means. The "means of grace" aresuch as Bible reading, private prayer, and regularly worshiping God in Church, wherein onehears the Word taught and participates in the Lord's Supper.

I lay it down as a simple matter of fact, that no one who is careless about such things mustever expect to make much progress in sanctification. I can find no record of any eminentsaint, who ever neglected them.

They are appointed channelsthrough which the Holy Spirit conveys fresh supplies of grace to


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the soul, and strengthens the work which He has begun in the inward man. Let men call thislegal doctrineif they please but I will never shrink from declaring my belief that there areno "spiritual gains without pains." Our God is a God who works by means, and He will neverbless the soul of that man who pretends to be so high and spiritual, that he can get on withoutthem. -J.C. Ryle

2. WHY we should labor and strive to pursue sanctification as believers:a. Because it is the desire of God (1Thess.4:3).b. Because it is the command of God (Heb.12:14).

c. Because without it we cannot ourselves be saved (Heb.12:14; Rom.8:13).

d. Because it glorifies and pleases our heavenly Father (Jn.15:8).

e. Because, as a corollary, sin and sloth lead to the loving but painful discipline of our

heavenly Father (Samson, Solomon).

f. Because it will in great measure determine the extent of our growth in Christ.

g. Because it will in great measure determine the extent of our fruitfulness for the kingdom of

Christ (Mal.2:6; Jn.15:4).

h. Because it will in great measure determine the extent of our joy in Christ.

i. Because, as a corollary, sin and sloth lead only to our own emptiness and misery.

j. Because to the extent that we pursue Christ in sanctification, our gifts and graces will

increase and multiply exponentially (Matt. 13:12).

He who values and improves the gifts with which the Lord has endowed him, is thereby puttinghimself in the sure way of having these gifts still further increased. -Robert Buchanan

Illustration:Our gifts (as our faith) is like a muscle. The more they are exercised themore they grow and increase, but the opposite is also true: when not exercised theyatrophy:

k. Because, as a corollary, sin and sloth lead to the decline and deterioration of our gifts and

graces.

IV. Sanctification and other aspects of salvation:

A. Sanctification and election/predestination:1. Sanctification was one of God's grande purposes in electing a people. He chose us in orderthat He might sanctify us.

Romans 8:29, For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed tothe image of His son...

2. Election is the cause of our salvation, sanctification is our evidence. Without sanctification we

can show no sign of our election. -Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

2 Thessalonians 2:13, But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved bythe Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation throughsanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

B. Sanctification and the atonement:Sanctification was also one of Christ's purposes in shedding His blood:


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Hebrews 13:12, Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His ownblood, suffered outside the gate.

Ephesians 5:25-26, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gaveHimself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of waterwith the word. (see also Titus 2:13-14).

Illustration:When a young man wants to marry a girl, he makes a marriage proposal to her. Andhe is excited. But he doesn't get excited about the proposal itself. The proposal is just a means toan end. He proposes to her so he can marry her. He wants to make her his, and there is onlyone way to do that. The proposal is a means to an end.

The cross, for Jesus, was in many ways a means to an end. He gave himself up for his bride inorder that he might sanctify her. He was zealous to cleanse and purify his bride, and for thisreason he went gladly to the cross, if only thereby he might sanctify her.

Application for marriage: This should change our whole paradigm for marriage. We are ashusbands commanded to love our bride as Christ has loved his, and Christ gave himself up forhis bride, why? In order to sanctify her. So what applications does that carry for us men? Weare called to likewise join together in marriage with the special bride God has given usfor the

supreme purpose of sanctifying our bride the rest of our lives. This must be our goal ashusbands. We become united in marriage in order that we might, through the power of Christand the Holy Spirit, and by the Word of God, cause our bride to grow exponentially in holinesswith Jesus. So biblically, we do not marry our bride because she is beautiful. Rather, we marryher to make her beautiful.

C. Regeneration and Sanctification:In regeneration, a believer is once for all set free from the power of sin; in sanctification, abeliever is gradually being set free from the pollution of sin.

Regeneration is instantaneous. It is one single creating act, whereas sanctification is progressive. It is begun atthe moment of regeneration and is continued gradually. -John Owen, The Holy Spirit, p105.

Old Testament Picture: Creation and the new creation: In Genesis 1 we read that the Lordcreated plants and animals that brought forth fruit after their kind (Gen.1:12, 21). Thislanguage our Lord hints at in Matthew 7, teaching: every good tree bears good fruit, but the badtree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce goodfruit (vv17-18). Thus, we see that the FRUIT is governed by the ROOT. The good or badROOT brings forth good or bad FRUIT. The good root is regeneration. The good fruit whichregeneration brings forth is sanctification.

D. Justification and Sanctification:*How are they ALIKE?1

1. Both proceed originally from the free grace of God. It is of His gift alone, that believers arejustified or sanctified at all.2. Both are part of that great work of salvation which Christ, in the eternal covenant, hasundertaken on behalf of His people. Christ is the fountain of life, from which pardon andholinessboth flow. The rootof each is Christ.3. Both are to be found in the same people. Those who are justified are always sanctified; andthose who are sanctified are always justified. God has joined them together, and they cannot beput asunder.4. Both begin at the same time.The moment a person is a justified person he also begins to be

1 From J.C. Ryle on Sanctification


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a sanctified person. He may notfeelit but it is afact.5. Both are alike necessary to salvation. No one ever reached Heaven . . . without a renewedheart as well as forgiveness; without the Spirit's grace as well as the blood of Christ;without afitnessfor eternal glory as well as atitle. The one is just as necessaryas the other.

*How do they DIFFER?2

Justification SanctificationLegal standing Internal condition

Once for all time Continuous throughout life

Entirely God's work We cooperate

The same in all Christians Greater in some than in others

Perfect in this lifeA finished work

Not perfect in this lifeAn ongoing, progressive work

Application: You will never be more justified in heaventhan you are now...an incredible truth

James Beeke adds,

Concerns pardon from theguilt of sin

Concerns cleansing from thepollution of sin

Imputes Christ'srighteousness, declaring the

person righteous

Infuses (imparts) Christ'srighteousness; making the

person holy

Ryle adds,

The act of God's free grace

FOR us

The work of God's grace IN

us

Cannot be seen by men Can be discerned by men

E. Sanctification and Glorification:Sanctification and glory differ only in degree: sanctification is glory in the seed, and glory issanctification in the flower. -Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

V. Final Applications:

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS, J.C. Ryle:

1. For one thing, let us all awake to a sense of the perilous state of many professing Christians.Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord; without sanctification, there is no salvation (Hebrews 12:14).Then what an enormous amount of so-called religion there is, which is perfectly useless! What an immenseproportion of church-goers and chapel-goers are in the broad road that leads to destruction! The thought isdreadful, crushing and overwhelming! Oh, that preachers and teachers would open their eyes and realize thecondition of souls around them! Oh, that men could be persuaded to "flee from the wrath to come"! If

2 From Wayne Grudem's Systematic


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unsanctified souls can be saved and go to Heaven the Bible is not true. Yet the Bible is true and cannot lie!What must the end be!

2. Let us make sure work of our own condition and never rest until we feel and know that we are"sanctified" ourselves.What are our tastesand choicesand likingsand inclinations?This is the great testingquestion. It matters little what we wishand what we hopeand what we desireto be, before we die. Whatarewenow? What are we doing? Are we sanctified or not? If not, the fault is all our own.

3. If we would be sanctified, our course is clear and plain: we must begin with Christ. We must goto Him as sinners, with no plea but that of utter need, and cast our souls on Him by faith for peace andreconciliation with God. We must place ourselves in His hands, as in the hands of a good physician, and cry toHim for mercy and grace. We must wait for nothing to bring with us, as a recommendation. The very first steptowards sanctification, no less than justification, is to come with faith to Christ. We must first live and thenwork.

4. If we would grow in holiness and become more sanctified we must continually go on as webegan, and be ever making fresh applications to Ch rist.He is the Head from which every member mustbe supplied (Ephesians 4:16). To live the life of daily faith in the Son of God, and to be daily drawing out ofHis fullness the promised graceand strengthwhich He has laid up for His people this is the grand secret ofprogressive sanctification. Believers who seem at a standstill are generally neglecting close communion with

Jesus, and so grieving the Spirit. He who prayed, "Sanctify them," the last night before His crucifixion isinfinitely willing to help everyone who by faith applies to Him for help, and desires to be made more holy.

5. Let us not expect too much from our own hearts here below.At our best, we shall find in ourselvesdaily cause for humiliation and discover that we are needy debtors to mercy and grace every hour. The morelightwe have the more we shall see our own imperfection! Sinners we were when we began and sinners weshall find ourselves as we go on! Renewed, pardoned, justified yet sinners to the very last. Our absoluteperfection is yet to come, and the expectation of it is one reason why we should long for Heaven.

6. Finally, let us never be ashamed of making much of sanctification, and contending for a highstandard of holiness.While some are satisfied with a miserablylow degreeof attainment, and others are notashamed to live on withoutanyholiness at all, content with a mere round of church-going and chapel-going but never getting on, like a horse in a mill; let us stand fast in the old paths, follow after eminent holinessourselves and recommend it boldly to others. This is the only way to be really happy. Let us feel convinced,

whatever others may say, thatholinessis happiness;and that the man who gets through life mostcomfortably

is the sanctified man. No doubt there are some true Christians who from ill health, or family trials, or othersecret causes enjoy little sensible comfort and go mourning all their days on the way to Heaven. But these areexceptional cases. As a general rule, in the long run of life, it will be found true, that "sanctified" people are thehappiest people on earth! They have solid comfortswhich the world can neither give nor take away. "The waysof wisdom are ways of pleasantness." "Great peace have those who love Your law." It was said by One whocannot lie: "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." But it is also written, "There is no peace unto the wicked"(Proverbs 3:17; Psalm 119:165; Matthew 11:30; Isaiah 48:22).


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Appendix: Errors regarding Sanctification*The Catholic or Legalist: Makes sanctification the grounds of our justification/salvation, declaring thatwe are only justified to the degree that we are sanctified. So when our personal holiness goes up anddown like the waves of the sea day to day, so goes our standing with God. This is a false gospel.Scripture teaches instead that though we are never sanctified perfectly in this life, our righteousnessbefore God is Jesus Christ himselfthat though our sanctification goes up and down as believers in this

life, we have assurance of a steady, enduring, perfect righteousness in heaven. This is not only thedoctrine of the Catholics, but the functional belief of many evangelical believersmany of us livefunctionally as Catholics. Richard Lovelace says it well: "Only a fraction of the present body of professingChristians are solidly appropriating the justifying work of Christ in their lives. . .Many others have a theoreticalcommitment to this doctrine, but in their day-to-day existence they rely on their sanctification for justificationdrawingtheir assurance of acceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religiousperformance or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience. . ."We all automatically gravitate towardthe assumption that we are justified by our level of sanctification, and when this posture is adopted it inevitably focusesour attention not on Christ but on the adequacy of our own obedience. We start each day with our personal securityresting not on the accepting love of God and the sacrifice of Christ but on our present feelings or recent achievements inthe Christian life. . ."[Yet, Christians] cannot proceed to grow in sanctification unless they are sure that they are acceptedby God through the righteousness of Christ.

*The Keswick or Pietist: Neglects to come to grips with the reality that believers still struggle with

remaining sin, declaring that through a second blessing experience, Christians may become fullysurrendered, attaining to a higher life that has become free from the troubles and struggles of sin. Butthis is not what Scripture teaches. Rather, God's Word teaches that every true believer IS completelysurrendered to Christ, YETevery true believer still struggles deeply with remaining sin, and will untilglory.

*The Antinomian: Says sanctification isn't important or necessary for salvationall that matters,according to them, is that we are saved. But they fail to realize that sanctification, though never thegroundsof our salvation, is indeed always a vital mark of true saving faith (Matt.7), and that Scriptureteaches that the man who is not being sanctified has never truly been saved (Heb.12:14). Indeed,Scripture teaches that though sanctification is never the basis of our justification or salvation, it is certainlythe necessary mark of true saving faith.

*The Hyper-Calvinist: Makes God's sovereignty and man's responsibility oppose each other, as if we hadto pick between one or the other, failing to hold with equal force God's role in our sanctification with thecommand God has given us in the Scriptures to actively pursue holiness by the Spirit.

*The Intellectual: Makes sanctification into a matter of mere intellectual assent, thinking wrongly thatsanctification is a matter of merely believing right doctrines, or even, believing the gospel, but failing torealize the vital role of the Spirit in sanctification, that we can never grow in sanctification merely byassenting to certain truthseven if they are right truthsapart from the power of the Holy Spirit(Rom.8:13).

study guide on sanctification

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