05.09 - Chapter 32 - The Beauty of Holiness
Chapter 32 THE BEAUTY of HOLINESS Sanctification: A Confession of Faith
“They who are united to Christ, effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them through the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection, are also further sanctified, really and personally, through the same virtue, by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them; the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified, and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces, to practice of all true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. (study Acts 20:32; Romans 6:5-6; John 17:17; Ephesians 3:16-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:21-23; Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:24; Colossians 1:11; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14)
"This sanctification is throughout, in the whole man, yet imperfect in this life; There abideth still some remnants of corruption in every part, whence ariseth a continual irreconcilable war; the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. (study 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 7:18, Romans 7:23; Galatians 5:17; 1 Peter 2:11)
"In which war, although the remaining corruption for a time may much prevail, yet through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part overcomes; And so the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, pressing after an heavenly, life in evangelical obedience to all the commands which Christ, as Head and King, in His Word, has prescribed to them." (The Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, Chapter 13, Section 3; study Romans 7:23; Romans 6:14; Ephesians 4:15-162 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 7:1) The Definition of Sanctification The Greek word for sanctification (hagios) means "to purify, to consecrate or set apart."
Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby the believer is renewed in the whole man after the image of God. The believer is then enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. Again, "Sanctification is that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit, by which the holy disposition imparted in regeneration is maintained and strengthened." (A. H. Strong) The Difference between Justification and Sanctification There are distinct differences between justification and sanctification.
• Justification is an act Sanctification is a work • Justification is declaratory Sanctification is experiential • Justification is done for us Sanctification is done in us • Justification changes our relation to the Law Sanctification changes our character • Justification is based on the righteousness Sanctification is the sequence of of Christ of righteousness A Vital Connection between Justification and Sanctification
While there are differences between justification and sanctification, there is an essential unity as well. "You cannot take Christ for justification unless you take Him for sanctification.
Think of the sinner coming to Christ saying, ’I do not want to be holy"; ’I do not want to be saved from sin. I would like to be saved in my sins"; ’Do not sanctify me now, but justify me now.’ What would the answer be? Could he be accepted by God? You can no more separate justification from sanctification than you can separate the circulation of the blood from the inhalation of the air. Breathing and circulation are two different things, but you cannot have the one without the other; they go together, and they constitute one life. So you have justification and sanctification; they go together, and they constitute one life." (A.A. Hodge) Sanctification: A Supernatural Work The primary agency and means of sanctification is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. However, the Scriptures and personal acts of responsibility are also involved in the process.
♦ John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
♦ Acts 20:32 “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”
♦ 2 Timothy 3:15 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
♦ James 1:21 “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
♦ 1 Thessalonians 5:28 “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly.”
♦ Hebrews 13:20 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,”
♦ Hebrews 13:21 “Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
♦ Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
♦ Ephesians 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,” An Illustration of Sanctification The union that exists between Christ and the Christian shows sanctification.
♦ John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
It has been said that a holy life consists of an unbroken chain of holy moments lived in full harmony with the love of God. At a deeper-life conference in England where Dr. Albert B. Simpson had been asked to speak, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance was preceded by two men who addressed the issue of Christian victory over sin. One argued at length in support of eradication--the idea that upon sanctification from the sin principle is removed from the human heart, leaving the individual free from sin. The other defended with equal eloquence the idea of suppression--that upon sanctification the Christian is given power to control the sinful nature from eruption. After both men had presented their views, Dr. Simpson rose and suggested in very simple language a third concept: habitation--Christ in the believer, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Jesus, the Indweller, is our righteousness,. He is made unto us sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30).
All of Grace
What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption? The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption are His ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s Supper), the Word, and prayer. All are made effectual to the elect for salvation resulting in sanctification. If there is no sanctification, there is no salvation. "Jesus declared that a religion that doen’t change a man on the inside is nothing but religious addiction." (Billy Graham) Charles Spurgeon said, "If there is no visible difference between you and the world, depend upon it, there is no invisible difference either."
How is the Word made Effectual to Sanctification? The Spirit of God makes the reading and preaching of the Word, an effectual means of convincing, converting, and cleansing sinners in order to build them up in comfort and holiness through faith unto salvation. Any Christian neglects these things to the eternal peril of his soul. J. Wilbur Chapman realized this and formulated a standard of conduct. "The rule which governs my life is this: Anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn from it." Is Man Co-operative in Sanctification? As salvation is of the Lord, so is sanctification. "Holiness is not human life brought up to the highest level of development, but Divine life brought down to the lowest level of condescension." (Duncan Campbell) Holiness is not the way to Christ; Christ is the way to holiness. But there is this truth: no person is more holy than they want to be.
I rise to walk in heaven’s own light Above the world and sin, With heart made pure and garments white, And Christ enthroned within. When the soul does not flirt with sin, there is a co-operation with the Spirit in the process of sanctification. "Now, I have heard of some professed Christians, wanting to see, they said, the ways of the ungodly, going into low places of amusement, to spy out the land to judge for themselves. Such conduct is dangerous and worse. I must confess, I should feel very much afraid to go into hell, to put my head between the lion’s jaws, for the sake of looking down his throat. I should think I was guilty of a gross presumption if I went into the company of the lewd and the profane to see what they were doing." (C. H. Spurgeon) The Effect of Sanctification The effect of sanctification is that it makes individuals holy through holiness comes by growth. It is not instantaneous.
♦ John 13:10 "He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit [i.e., as a whole]"
♦ Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof" Note. "Sin dwells in a believer, but it reigns in an unbeliever." (C H. MacIntosh)
♦ Ephesians 2:21 “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:”
♦ 1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
♦ 2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” Not only does sanctification make individuals holy, it makes them a witness to the world.
"The serene silent beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in the world, next to the might of the Spirit of God." (C. H. Spurgeon) Francis of Assisi (AD 1182-1226) realized the power of a holy life in the hands of the Lord and prayed.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is hate, may I bring love; Where offense, may I bring pardon;
Truth, replacing error;
Faith, where once there was doubt;
Hope, for despair;
Light, where was darkness;
Joy to replace sadness.
Make me not to so crave to be loved as to love.
Help me to learn that in giving I may receive; In forgetting self, I may find life eternal.
Sanctification is Perfected at Death
There are significant benefits that believers receive from Christ at death. The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves, till the resurrection.
♦ Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
♦ Revelation 21:27 “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Perfectionism
Though the Bible teaches that "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us," (1 John 1:8), many movements have arisen in Christendom to teach a concept of perfectionism. For example, the name Catharists was given to members of various sects of the Middle Ages, including the Albigenses, who lived an ascetic life in the quest for holiness. Their leaders were known as the Perfect because they were believed to be free from all sins of the flesh and had become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Somewhat surprising is the fact that John Wesley taught the possibility of perfection though resisting the idea of sinlessness. Wesley was able to do this by embracing a definition of sin, which distinguished between a willful violation of God’s known law from mistakes. “Some deviations and transgressions need atonement; but are not sin. I do not call these sin.” Of course, if imperfections are not sin then they need no atonement, no confession, and no forgiveness. Reformed theologians have consistently pointed out that the Wesleyan concept of perfect love does not exist in reality for any transgression of God’s law is sin, whether intentional or not. Wesley’s view of an instantaneous sanctification subsequent to justification exalts human ability, minimizes the nature of sin, and lowers the demands of the law. An Appeal to the Scriptures
Man is imperfect in this life. Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? The biblical answer is negative.
♦ Romans 7:15-25 “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
♦ 1 John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
♦ Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
♦ Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
♦ Proverbs 20:9 “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?”
♦ Psalms 143:2 “And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.”
♦ Psalms 130:3 “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?”
♦ Ecclesiastes 7:20 “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” The prayer of every man should always be, “God be merciful to me the sinner.” The Bible teaches that all unrighteousness is sin. The Fall destroyed man’s ability but not his obligation to do right and be just before God. God’s Law is absolute perfection and there can be no lowering of it.
♦ Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
♦ Mark 12:30 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
♦ Mark 12:31 “And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
There is none other commandment greater than these. Can a Christian be perfect? No. The Law drives the soul to the Savior. The Law serves as a school master to teach us of our need for the Savior. The practical duty of individuals is not to be discouraged but to strive for holiness for without holiness no man shall see God.