Sanctification: The Believer s Pursuit of Holiness (Part 6) The Role of the Believer in Sanctification Teacher: Paul Lamey Sanctification is a cooperative venture; the Spirit blesses believers with sanctifying grace, but the latter must faithfully cooperate therewith. Faith alone justifies; but faith joined with our concerted effort sanctifies. 1 Without God we cannot; without us God will not. ~Augustine VI. The Role of the Believer in Sanctification Human effort by itself is futile; inspired and enabled by the Spirit, it is fruitful. 2 2 Peter 1:5 8 That active role which we are to play is indicated by Romans 8:13, where Paul says, If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. Here Paul acknowledges that it is by the Spirit that we are able to do this. But he also says we must do it! It is not the Holy Spirit who is commanded to put to death the deeds of the flesh, but Christians! 3 A. What are the believer s motivations for sanctification? 1. DeYoung 4 1 Bruce Demarest, The Cross and Salvation (Wheaton: Crossway Publishers, 1997), 425. 2 Ibid., 425. 3 Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 755. 4 Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 57 60. 1
Duty (Eccl 12:13) God knows all and sees all (Eccl 12:14) It s right (Eph 6:1) It s for our good (Deut 12:28) God s example (Eph 4:32) Christ s example (Eph 5:2) Assurance (2 Pet 1:10) Being effective as a Christian (2 Pet 1:8) Jesus return (2 Pet 3:11 12) The world is not our home (1 Pet 2:11) To win over our neighbors (1 Pet 2:12) To lift up a nation (Prov 14:34) For the public good (Matt 5:13a) For the sake of our prayers (1 Pet 3:7) The futility of sin ( Matt 6:27) The folly of sin (Matt 7:26 27) The promise of future grace (Matt 6:33) The promise of future judgment (Rom 12:19) The fear of future judgment (Heb 10:26 27) For an eternal reward (1 Tim 6:18 19) Because Christ has all authority (Matt 28:18b 20a) Love for Christ (John 14:15) The surety of our inheritance (Heb 10:34) The communion of the saints (Heb 12:1) The good example of others (Heb 13:7) The bad example of others (1 Cor 10:6) We were created for good works (Eph 2:10) God is the master and we are his servants (Luke 17:10) The fear of the Lord (2 Cor 5:11a) The love of the Lord (1 John 4:11) To make God manifest (1 John 4:12) In gratitude for grace (Rom 12:1) For the glory of God (1 Cor 6:19 20) The character of God (Lev 11:44a) The work of God (Exod 20:2 3) To please God (Heb 13:16) To avoid the devil s snares (Eph 4:26 27) Fullness of joy (John 15:10 11) To experience God s favor (Prov 12:2) Our union with Christ (Rom 6:5 6) 2. Grudem 5 (1) It is true that a desire to please God and express our love to him is a very important motive for obeying him Jesus says, If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15), and, He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me (John 14:21; 1 John 5:3). But many other motives are also given to us: 5 Grudem, 757 758. 2
(2) the need to keep a clear conscience before God (Rom. 13:5; 1 Tim. 1:5, 19; 2 Tim. 1:3; 1 Peter 3:16); (3) the desire to be a vessel for noble use and have increased effectiveness in the work of the kingdom (2 Tim. 2:20 21); (4) the desire to see unbelievers come to Christ through observing our lives (1 Peter 3:1 2, 15 16); (5) the desire to receive present blessings from God on our lives and ministries (1 Peter 3:9 12); (6) the desire to avoid God s displeasure and discipline on our lives (sometimes called the fear of God ) (Acts 5:11; 9:31; 2 Cor. 5:11; 7:1; Eph. 4:30; Phil. 2:12; 1 Tim. 5:20; Heb. 12:3 11; 1 Peter 1:17; 2:17; cf. the state of unbelievers in Rom. 3:18); (7) the desire to seek greater heavenly reward (Matt. 6:19 21; Luke 19:17 19; 1 Cor. 3:12 15; 2 Cor. 5:9 10) (8) the desire for a deeper walk with God (Matt. 5:8; John 14:21; 1 John 1:6; 3:21 22; and, in the Old Testament, Ps. 66:18; Isa. 59:2); (9) the desire that angels would glorify God for our obedience (1 Tim. 5:21; 1 Peter 1:12); (10) the desire for peace (Phil. 4:9) and joy (Heb. 12:1 2) in our lives; and (11) the desire to do what God commands, simply because his commands are right, and we delight in doing what is right (Phil. 4:8; Ps. 40:8). B. What is my role in sanctification? 1. Fear Isa 66:1 2 1 Pet 2:17 Prov 1:7 (Prov 9:10; Ps 111:10) Fear applied: A right view of God A right view of man A right view of sin A right view of grace 2. Faith The life of holiness is therefore the life of faith, the way we begin the Christian life is the way we continue the Christian life until we get to heaven, where faith becomes sight. 6 Rom 6:1 12 Gal 2:20 Heb 11:1, 6 6 Mark Jones, Antinomianism, 23. 3
Faith applied: Faith trusts in God s promises and obeys God s commands Faith is dependent trust upon the Spirit and surrender to His Word Faith looks to God not circumstances, others, or self The fact that Christ is our sanctification is not exclusive of, but inclusive of, a faith which clings to him alone in all of life. Faith is the pivot on which everything revolves. Faith, though not, itself creative, preserves us from autonomous self-sanctification and moralism. 7 3. Love 1 John 4:19 2 Cor 5:14 16 Love applied: The greatest commandment (Mk 12:30; cf. Matt 22:37; Lk 10:27) In action (John 14:15) Manifested toward others (1 Jhn 4:20-21) C. Pursue channels of grace [Scripture] is commanding us to put ourselves in the way of those channels of grace which the Spirit uses to conform us to the image of Christ. 8 According to the biblical order, our actions are a response to the prior, sanctifying action of God in us. Our task is to be fit channels through whom God pours his grace and willing agents who practice biblical precepts and mortify fleshly passions. 9 The New Testament does not suggest any short-cuts by which we can grow in sanctification, but simply encourages us repeatedly to give ourselves to the old-fashioned, time-honored means of Bible reading and meditation (Ps. 1:2; Matt. 4:4; John 17:17), prayer (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6), worship (Eph. 5:18 20), witnessing (Matt. 28:19 20), Christian fellowship (Heb. 10:24 25), and self-discipline or self-control (Gal. 5:23; Titus 1:8). 10 7 G. C. Berkouwer, Faith and Sanctification (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1952), 93. 8 Michael Riccardi, Sanctificaiton: The Christian s Pursuit of God-Given Holiness (Sun Valley, CA: Grace Books, 2015), 18. 9 Demerest, 425. 10 Grudem, 755. 4
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