Sanctification

Earlier this year the faculty preached on sanctification for its yearly Faculty Lecture Series. It would be safe to say that this topic has hit me upside the head. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that there really hasn’t been any large change in my theology of sanctification. But if there has been anything gleaned in these lectures, its how that theology ought to make its way into my life and how it ought to be applied to those around me.

Sanctification is a work of God. Just like justification, sanctification is monergistic. It is God initiated. Sanctification is God sustained. No man on earth can bring about sanctification in another. The Bible is clear that it is the Lord that works in the heart of the believer which produces fruit in the believer’s life.

Romans 8:12-13, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

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

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

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

1 Peter 1:2-4, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Romans 6:17-18, “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such things there is no law.”

Even the Old Testament speaks of God as the actor of sanctification when addressing the New Covenant we have in Christ,

Ezekiel 36:25-27, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

There is no way around it. All glory is given to God because He initiates and carries out our sanctification. God works within the heart to make the believer holy. Our external works are but a mere manifestation of the work of God that takes place within.

It is important that the believer correctly respond to Bible’s teaching of sanctification. You, as a believer, must constantly be patient bearing in mind that you are not the primary agent of sanctification. You can do nothing to bring a person from A to B. You may bear a responsibility in pointing them in the right direction, but it is only the sovereign hand of God that can carry an individual’s heart from dark to light, death to life, sin to righteousness.

Be patient and eagerly rejoice with those around you when God works in a life. Continue to encourage, teach, set the example, and disciple; but never forget that you are not the primary agent of a changed heart—God is.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Mark Pakingan