Order of Salvation - 8. Sanctification

What we've covered so far just to help jog your memory, or you can look back on that if you're new. But we are going to dive in tonight to thinking about this doctrine of sanctification. And so as you'll see at the top of the list, this is the first one that we're kind of shifting into post-conversion. We've thought a lot about what happens sort of leading up to conversion. at that moment of conversion, well now sanctification, we're thinking the time that comes after our conversion. So I want to start tonight by just kind of opening it up to you with the question, so what is sanctification? How might you define it? Or what are some key aspects that should be included in a definition? Kim? OK. That was strongly, but this is becoming holy. OK, great. Justine? We do catechism songs with our kids. And our little song says, sanctification is our declared righteousness before God. OK. Just like a nutshell, I think, in comparison to justification, which is a process. Sanctification is. Give me another way around. Okay. Okay, yeah. Yeah, so, right, so justification is a declaration. Sanctification, we think of the process. Oh, no, it's okay. That's great. So, I think a good way to just sum it up that's fairly short is sanctification is the process of becoming more Christlike. The process of becoming more Christlike. Or we could say the process of becoming more holy. But that's almost redundant, because if you understand what sanctify means, it just means to be set apart as holy. In fact, in Greek, the word for holy, it's the verb form, is to sanctify. So they're basically the same word. Also, in Hebrew, you have the same thing. The word for to make holy is the word for sanctify, or to consecrate, or to set apart. So, to be made holy means to be set apart, to be distinct, to be pure. And ultimately, as Christians, what true holiness is, it's becoming more like Christ. So, sanctification is the process of becoming more Christ-like. Now, where might we see this in the New Testament? What would be some key verses or Places you might point to, anything come to mind? Katie? I think it was, we always unveil faces or people images that are being transformed to one degree of glory. Yeah, that's great. Good. Roman VI. Yes? So the idea of dying, being raised, and I think this alliance could be longer. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, we are now dead to sin and alive to God in righteousness. Great. Hayden? Yeah, there's several verses in the Testament that talk about believers should be putting sin to death. Okay. Similar idea to that, but yeah, like, put to death what's earthly in your members. So it's kind of like, there's a very real way that we should be fighting sin and, you know, putting it, not doing it. Yeah, right. Great. First Thessalonians 4, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, and that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body of holiness and honor. Great, yeah, and so there's one, and we see the concept all over the place, but there's one where we see that word, and the idea is very clearly, this is God's will, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual morality. So our kind of growing in purity, in Christ-likeness, in holiness, this progressive growth, well, there we see it. A couple of their passages, I think of John 17 where Jesus is the high priestly prayer. He prays, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. And in the context there, he's talking about how his disciples, he's saying, I'm not praying that you would take them out of the world, but keep them from the evil one. And he says, they're not of the world. And so that idea of being distinct, being sanctified by the truth, being holy. Also, 1 Thessalonians 5.23 says, now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." So that's just a few kind of verses about sanctification. Now, we've already begun talking about this, but I want to drill into this a little more. So is sanctification something that happens instantaneously at conversion, or is it progressive? Basically, you're sanctified as in set apart as holy and then progressively you're sanctified in that you're growing more Christ-likeness. Okay, so you would say there's a both and. Other thoughts? Abigail? The story that's jumping to mind is when Peter is is it the circumcision party? Or he's like kind of swayed and sitting with the cool people and Paul calls him out. And that just jumped into my mind, like even Peter as this apostle preaching, like having known Jesus is still like maturing in his faith and being sanctified in his understanding and expression of following Christ. So in some ways, unless it's both and, unless you're a progressive, Yes. Right. Great. Kim? I would say it's definitely progressive because it has to be separate from the justification, that you're not adding to your salvation, you're growing more Christ-like, which I mean, I don't know the proper term, but like you are, like Hayden said, putting death to death, human nature, human sin to godly life. Yeah. Good. Yeah, I think you guys are all hitting the nail on the head here. On one hand, it's definitely progressive. I think that's kind of usually the emphasis. There are a couple of places where it speaks of it in the past tense. And so it's looking back on something that is sort of already accomplished. So 1 Corinthians 6, 11, Paul says, and such were some of you. You know, you were this long list of bad things, but you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. So there Paul is looking back and he's saying, look, Sanctification past tense, something definitive happened. Also, Hebrews 10.10 says that, and by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. So there is this fundamental change that does happen at conversion. I mean, there's a sense in which we go from we were unsanctified to being sanctified, when we're regenerated. I mean, before we were Christians, we fundamentally hated God, and we did not trust God. And then the moment we come to faith, you know, the Spirit has done a work in our heart where we go to actually love God. And we hate sin. And so there's a real definitive change, an inward change, that is sanctification. So I think it's important to recognize that sense. That's also why Acts 20, 32 can speak of all those who are sanctified. It's like the way of describing Christians from non-Christians. Well, Christians are those who are sanctified. Non-Christians are those who are not. There's no such thing as an unsanctified Christian. So there is a sort of instantaneous sense. But then there's an ongoing progress. We still live in the flesh. We still have the old self. We still are in this body of death. We still don't love Christ the way we should, and we still don't hate sin the way we should. And so even though there's this definitive change, the rest of our Christian life is this ongoing progress and process, and it can go sort of up, it can even come down, and you know, there's this struggling along where by the grace of God we sort of gradually grow as Christians. Now another question, so is sanctification positional or intrinsic? So is it a status change, or is it sort of an inner change? Kind of goes with the first question. OK. I mean, it's something that is instantaneous. I have been sanctified. OK. That's a shift in position. Yeah. Right? But most of the time with you, it has to be talked about as something intrinsic that's happening, where who I am Good, yeah. And I guess I would say, because the instantaneous has an intrinsic aspect, like regeneration, I would say there's an intrinsic change that's instantaneous. But there's also a sense in which sanctification, the instantaneous part, is positional. So, just to kind of flesh that out, when we read, for example, in the Old Testament, it talks about consecrating or sanctifying things like utensils for the temple. or sanctifying the altar, or consecrating or sanctifying the priests. So you have Nadab and Abihu who were consecrated. They were sanctified, but they were not very inwardly holy. How do you make sense, if it's an inward sort of moral change, how does that apply to a fork for the temple utensils? How would that work? And you see how holiness, there's also a sense of being set apart, being dedicated for a certain special task. The temple utensils are not to be mixed in with all the other things. They're holy. They're set apart. And we also see how scripture speaks of believers in that kind of way. So, let me find my notes. For example, in 1 Peter 1, Peter addresses exiles who he says are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. And they're in the sanctification of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood. And so, I think there he's saying, like, the fact that we have been anointed with and even indwelt by the Spirit of God, like, that in and of itself sanctifies us. It's, yes, the Spirit renovates us within. There's a moral change, but there's also a change in status. that is a part of sanctification. We are not of the world. We belong to Christ. We are God's holy people. In fact, indwelt by the Spirit, we as the church are the temple of God. And so in all the ways that they were called to be set apart, even things in the temple, how much more are we called to be set apart? So we've seen sanctification instantaneous and progressive. There's a both-and, positional or intrinsic. Again, it's a both-and. But I think theologically, when we speak of sanctification, we're usually stressing the progressive and intrinsic aspects. That's why we defined it as the process of becoming more Christ-like. And I think that's because those are the key ways that sanctification is different than justification. So justification is instantaneous and it's a change in status. And justification is not gradual. There's not sort of this progressive aspect of justification. Justification happens the moment we believe and it's perfect. It can never be improved upon. But our sanctification is not like that. Our sanctification is partial, it's incomplete, and there's this ongoing growth that's key to sanctification. Now one final question about it. So is progressive sanctification something that God does or something that we do? Yes. I guess my questions are becoming predictable here. Yeah, this would be another both and. I think a particularly helpful verse is Philippians 2 verse 12, where we're told, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. So we are told to work because God is at work in us. So I think a good way to think about it, it's 100% up to us to work and it's 100% God who's at work within us. So you have to hold both of those together. Sanctification is not monergistic, like we would say regeneration is monergistic, it's one work, God just does it, we don't participate in being born again. God just does that by the power of His Spirit. But sanctification is not like that. Sanctification is something that we are cooperating with, we are working with, you could say synergistic, we work together with, where we could not do it on our own, but God is the one working through us, and yet we must work and put forth effort. Another place this comes up in Galatians 5, we're commanded, walk in the Spirit, but the emphasis is so that you would bear the fruit of the spirit, right? So we have to work, we have to walk, but it's fruit that we can't just produce, but the spirit produces through us. So it's what God does and what we do. All right, well, in the time we have left, I want to think about some application of this. So what are some ways that understanding sanctification should affect our lives as Christians? I've listed a few topics to delve into, but I'm assuming there's things I've missed. I just want to open up for any thoughts about how this applies practically in our lives. James? think it if a newer believer especially well all of us but if we understand that we are in that process of sanctification at all times we're not going to pummel ourselves non-stop for our sinfulness you know we always would be repentful we always would be remorseful Yeah. Effectual Christian, I guess you would say. Right. Yeah, and I think kind of branching off that, a very related question, so how should understanding the doctrine of sanctification affect our expectations as we try to go about growing as Christians? Thoughts on that? Cam? I think James is on a good track in trying to word it as like, you're, because you know, we're not going to become perfect Christ-likeness is not a reality. We're not gonna become a Buddha or something, but it's how you align yourself with God's word. Not God's word, but hearing God. You're aligning yourself with what God's asking you to do more perfectly, I think is a way that I would think of it. You're coming into line with him, and you might come out, but the better aligned with God's plan for your life, you're closer to that. Good. Other thoughts? I think it could also inspire you to kind of work out your salvation with fear and trembling in that when you look at how jealous God is for the things he's sanctified throughout the Bible, and you realize that you're also sanctified and set apart for God, there's a certain amount of righteous fear in that. Good. Yeah, I think with the question of expectations, I mean, on one hand, we could easily be too optimistic where, you know, we just sort of expect, well, if I'm a real Christian, well, then I'm sanctified, and therefore, I don't sin like that. I don't do these things like I'm supposed to have it figured out. And we could really underestimate the degree to which it's a gradual, slow process that doesn't happen overnight. And like if you struggle with you know, anger or something, and you're still struggling with it next year or a few years from now, like, that's not a sign, well, you can't be a Christian. I mean, like, no, that's, sanctification is a lifelong battle that we don't conquer completely. Like, we're not gonna be fully sanctified until death. And so we could be over-optimistic and that could really lead us into trouble. But on the other hand, we could be kind of too pessimistic. And we could think, well, because, you know, it's this process and, you know, I'm never really going to be totally holy. We could just kind of roll over and think, well, you know, this sin is just going to be with me forever and there's not much point fighting it. But I think a good biblical understanding of sanctification is going to help us remember that, no, there is real progress to be made. Like, we're not slaves of sin anymore. And while, no, I'm not going to get to perfection, I can make progress. So for example, in Romans 6, Paul writes saying, for just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and eternal life." So this encouragement that we have been set free from slavery to sin and therefore we really can live differently. You talk about holiness. It's a crazy stuff, you know what I'm saying? I mean, my theology today, New Testament, Old Testament, go out based on the mask that leads to baptism, turns 13. And 10 Commandments go on. I do all the matchmaking and when you match that thing, The Council of Kings made the verdict one hour after I was Jewish law, okay? What they're saying is that people are supposed to be judged. That's what they're saying. I know that. Pastor Powell, he said, when I was Jewish law, and he knew that at the mass as well, at the Old Testament, all the mass making of heaven and earth, and the New Testament. But the harmony had to be what I, God like, and Jesus like. I said, that's what that one is. You can't have it all. And the funny thing, by transcribing her, I can tell you, one way to get to the end of the life of Jesus Christ, you see, that's his favor. So he's right. It's the same about that book of Romans, when I became 25, I've got my first book on the shelf, and you've read it too, but about material, the Israel, right? You know that verse. But at the same time, she was saying, we give my good Israel with the end forgiven. That's it, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, so I'm not 100% sure I'm following everything, but I think in some ways maybe that transitions us to another really important question, which is how does understanding sanctification relate to our assurance? If it's not clear how that connects, maybe this will explain. How does understanding sanctification relate to the way we think about assurance and find assurance as Christians? I think at times when people, including myself, have struggled with insurance, when it feels like sanctification is not quick enough, complete enough, those times where you feel like I am not even close to being as sanctified as God would want me to be, so maybe I'm not even Yeah, so it could be sort of with our expectations of it. I think another really key thing is when we start to confuse sanctification and justification. As you were talking about forgiveness, I think it's so important that we keep clear the difference between justification, which is by faith on the basis of what Christ has done for us, and our sanctification. That includes our intrinsic growth in holiness. Because as soon as we start to think that our sanctification is in any way the basis of our justification, well then, either our view of sin is going to become skewed, or our view of God is going to become skewed, or we're not going to have assurance. Because if we see sin rightly, And we see God for who He is. Well, there is no way we will have any confidence before God if we are thinking that our standing before God is somehow based on our sort of degree of attaining holiness and sanctification. I mean, it will rob our assurance. And so theologically, if we understand what sanctification is and how that's distinct from justification, that's so crucial for finding confidence and assurance, to know that no matter how much we fall into sin, we remember the cross and we come back by faith to trust in Jesus, to say, I am a sinner in need of forgiveness, and it's what He has done for us. that saves us. And so, I think that's a really key point, to see those different, and to understand the motivation for our sanctification isn't to earn our salvation, but should be out of the gratitude of the salvation we're freely given. Cam? As for assurance, is that partly like a confidence thing, perhaps? That like, confident the Holy Spirit is indwelling me, that I have strength and power beyond what I originally had. But when I'm 80 years old and have walked with Christ for 70 years, it's still just as difficult to make holy choices. You're still the same temptation, but you have to rely on the confidence of the power given to you, I guess? Yeah, so typically when we talk about assurance theologically, we're thinking like my confidence that when I stand before God on the last day, he is going to accept me into his kingdom rather than condemn me to hell. So I think that's kind of the key question, which, that's where understanding justification is foundational. But it sounded like you were talking about sort of confidence that we... Yeah, in the process, the sanctification process, you have the Holy Spirit within you, but you're always going to struggle. It's constantly going back to that power source to continually overcome. Yeah, right. And I think in many ways, you know, that growing in sanctification is not so much we get stronger in our ability to just beat sin, but it's sort of we grow in our realization how weak we are and how much we need to depend on the Spirit. And by God's grace, we walk differently because it's His power. And we are striving, but not in our own strength. So just real quick, a couple other things. I think if you think about the doctrine of sanctification, it's helpful as we think about our calling as Christians. Just the fact that every time we think about sanctification, we should be remembering we are fundamentally called to be holy. We have been set apart as holy. And we are called to pursue lives that correspond with who God has made us. As you read through the Old Testament and all the laws of Leviticus and all these things about holiness, we should see that very connected to our calling for what we are called to pursue. And obviously it's not just sort of a, I'm holier than thou, don't touch me, sort of pharisaical kind of thing. But there is a sense in which we are called to be distinct from the world. We're called to be separate from the world. We're not called to just fit in. But to be sanctified, to be consecrated, to be holy means to be set apart for God. I thought in particular of 2 Corinthians 6, beginning with verse 14, where Paul writes, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing. Then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. So just what a powerful picture and reminder that as those who are being sanctified, we are to be distinct and separate from the world. And then finally, I think we've really hit on this, but as we think about how sanctification affects how we pursue growth, we have to constantly hold intention. It is, you know, we can do nothing without God, but we need to work hard with effort. Sanctification is not something that happens as we just sort of let go and let God. It is the fruit of fighting the fight of faith, of working out our salvation with fear and trembling, or as Paul says, of pressing on toward the goal for the upward call of God in Christ. So sanctification takes effort, it takes work, and yet we must be ever diligent not to be pursuing it in our own strength, but relying on the Spirit of God. All right, well, I hope that's been helpful for you as we think about sanctification. Let me close us in prayer. Our Father, you have indeed given us such a high and holy calling. Lord, we pray that you would help us to pursue sanctification with all our heart. Lord, we want to be holy as you were holy. And God, we praise you that even where we fall short every day, we're justified through Christ. And I pray that we would hold firmly to that at the same time. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.