Help toward our Sanctification (1) 01/23/2022

Pastor Jason will come now and we'll read our New Testament passage which is

Galatians chapter 3 and then he'll pray for us.

Galatians chapter 3,.

O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?

It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

Let me ask you only this, did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by

hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Did you suffer so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain?

Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or

by hearing with faith?

Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham and the scripture foreseeing that God

would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying

in you shall all the nations be blessed.

So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham the man of faith.

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse for it is written cursed be everyone

who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them.

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law for the righteous shall live by faith

but the law is not of faith rather the one who does them shall live by them.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written

cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.

So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised

spirit through faith.

To give a human example brothers even with a man -made covenant no one annuls it or

adds to it once it has been ratified.

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring.

It does not say and to offsprings referring to many but referring to one and to

your offspring who is Christ.

This is what I mean the law which came 430 years afterwards does not annul a

covenant previously ratified by God so as to make the promise void.

For if the inheritance comes by the law it is no longer comes by promise but God gave it to

Abraham by a promise.

Why then the law it was added because of transgressions until the offspring should come to whom the

promise had been made and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

Now an intermediary implies more than one but God is one.

Is the law then contrary to the promise of God?

Certainly not for if a law had been given that could give life then righteousness would be would

indeed be by the law but the righteousness imprisoned everything under sin so that

the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came we were held captive under the law imprisoned until the coming faith would be

revealed.

So then the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by

faith but now that faith has come we are no longer under a guardian for in Christ Jesus you are all

sons of God through faith.

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ there is neither Jew

nor Greek there is neither slave nor free there is no male and female for you are all

one in Christ Jesus and if you are Christ's then you are Abraham's offspring heirs

according to promise.

Let's pray.

Our father we thank you for this tremendously encouraging passage.

We thank you for who we are and what we have because of Christ Jesus.

We're thankful that we are heirs because of Christ Jesus that we will one day share a wonderful

inheritance.

We are joint heirs with Christ Jesus.

Lord please help us remember who we are that we are your sons and we are your daughters through faith

in Christ Jesus.

Lord we pray that we would remember that as we live our lives we should not live according to the flesh but we should live according

to the Spirit.

Our lives were began in the Spirit and they must be continued in the Spirit.

So Lord we pray that we would rely upon you for these things.

Our father we ask that you would help us now as we continue our worship through the preaching of the Word.

We pray that we would hear what the Word of God says and that you would take it from our ear to our hearts and that we would be

changed.

We pray Lord that you would sanctify us and cleanse us.

We pray that we would walk in the truth that we are about to hear.

Help us to understand these things Lord and help us to live them.

Thank you in Jesus name.

Amen.

Before we get started on our notes this morning I want to turn and read the passage

from 1st Corinthians chapter 1 and it has to do with this

subject that we're addressing but we're really not going to be able to address it in detail until next Lord's Day Lord willing

and Paul here of course is writing to these Christians at Corinth to fix

themselves upon Jesus Christ.

They were proud he was going to bring them back to see that

they were nothing special and that God did not favor them because of something in them but rather it was holy by his

grace.

And so here's 1st Corinthians 1 26 for you see your calling brethren that not

many wise according to the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called

but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise God has

chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty the

base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen and the

things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are that no flesh had glory in his

presence but of him you are in Christ Jesus who became for us

wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and

redemption that as it is written he who glories let him glory in the Lord.

We mentioned this verse in our notes this last verse verse 20 but we'll be

giving our full attention to that or rather verse 30 we'll be giving our full attention to it next Lord's

Day morning because I think that it's a key really to our reformed understanding

of sanctification.

Now last Lord's Day we briefly addressed this matter of the believers sanctification.

It arose in our consideration to 1st Corinthians 6 7 through 11 that really directly worded

passage do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Do not be deceived.

Many are neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor

homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor

revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

In other words they won't have salvation but such were some of you but you are washed and here

it is but you are sanctified but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit

of our God.

Well after at last Sunday morning a few a couple of folks

seem to either be troubled with regard to the degree of their own sanctification or were

confused about various aspects of this work of God's grace in the soul.

So I thought it would be appropriate to address this subject in more detail and provide biblical

background or counsel on how the Christian may experience growth in grace which of

course is a vital aspect of our life of faith and so today we'll

lay the groundwork for understanding the nature of this subject.

However next week next Sunday morning Lord willing we'll attempt to be more practical in

understanding how God enables his people to become increasingly sanctified

and so it is an important matter.

And actually I'm kind of a hope that everything we say today

you don't hear anything new.

I hope we're all familiar with these matters but they need to be rehearsed I believe and we need to be

reinforced in these matters.

To begin let's consider several verses in which the term sanctification in our English Bible

are found.

First we have the words of Peter in the opening of his first epistle 1st Peter 1

1 2 Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to the pilgrims of the dispersion in

Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia which is in the northern part of present

-day Central Turkey elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

And here it is in sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of

Jesus Christ grace to you and peace be multiplied.

So these words of Peter reveal that Christians were first

elected by God that would be God the Father that is he chose them from eternity for

salvation.

And then secondly Peter wrote that God's elect were sanctified that is set apart now the

English says in but it can be better understood as by the Holy Spirit.

And then third Peter declared that the end or purpose for which he sanctified them was

that they might enjoy the or experience the obedience and sprinkling

of the blood of Jesus Christ the application of the sacrifice of Christ for our

salvation.

Other verses we wish to cite are all from the hand of the Apostle Paul

to his hand.

The Lord has provided other information for us regarding this important matter of sanctification and so we read

2nd Thessalonians 2 13 and 14.

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you brethren beloved of the Lord

because God from the beginning chose you for salvation there's election again an allusion to God the

Father through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth to which he

called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There again you have Trinitarian understanding of salvation chosen by the Father

sanctified by the Spirit and of course on to or the obtaining of the glory of the Lord

Jesus.

And so basically here Paul affirmed the same thing that Peter asserted the manner in which

God brings his elect on to salvation is through the sanctification of the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the agent by which the triune God calls and applies salvation to those

the Father is chosen.

And the end or the attaining of salvation is set forth as obtaining the

of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I don't think we can fathom what that fully means and we probably won't

until that day.

Paul also taught that salvation was the attaining of eternal life which was the end of or outcome of a life of

sanctification.

Romans 6 19 through 22.

For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity that's before you were Christian and to

lawlessness leading to more lawlessness so now present your members or your bodies as slaves

to righteousness leading to sanctification.

There's the word and explains why.

For when you were slaves of sin you were free in regard to righteousness.

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 its end or outcome

its result eternal life.

And so sanctification is the way of life.

It is the fruit of having become a slave of God after having been set free from

having been a slave to sin.

And the outcome of having been sanctified through life is to receive eternal life.

For Paul eternal life is always a future inheritance a prospect.

In John's Gospel it's a present possession because in John's Gospel eternal life is a quality of

life.

He who has a son has life.

But in Paul's epistles in other places eternal life is viewed as an inheriting

everlasting unending life.

In John it's a quality of life.

In Paul it is unending life and it's inherited when we pass from this

life into the presence of Christ and more fully at our bodily resurrection.

And so sanctification is a way of life.

In another place Paul set forth the will of God for his people to experience their sanctification.

He admonished the church at Thessalonica to abstain from sin and to live in holiness and honor.

For this is the will of God your sanctification that you should abstain from

sexual immorality that each of you every Christian should know how to possess his own

vessel that is human body in sanctification and honor.

Now the last passage we'll read sets forth a truth regarding the manner that God affects our

sanctification.

We've already read it.

This very sets forth a key principle one which many Christians do not understand and as a result

struggle with their own sanctification.

And just with preview toward next Sunday what we're going to emphasize next week I think is one of the

main reasons that sincere and even reformed Christians struggle in the matter of

sanctification and so it's one of the most

important keys to experiencing the grace of God and the Christian life.

Again we read just verse 30 I believe but of him you are in

Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification

and redemption that as it is written he who glory let him glory in the Lord.

And so we just read five passages.

And in these five passages we find every place in the New Testament that the word English word sanctification

is found.

Now there are other related words touching on sanctification we could have cited.

These include the verbs sanctify sanctification is a noun sanctifies a verb

five times in the New Testament be holy four times.

But these five passages we read are the only New Testament verses in which the noun sanctification

is are found.

And so we understand from these verses that sanctification is an essential aspect of experiencing

salvation through Jesus Christ.

You don't have salvation unless you're being sanctified is what the scriptures teach.

And so we want to address this subject by first considering the true nature of sanctification.

Second will address the visible marks of sanctification.

Third will address the four major and common views about the way Christians are to experience

God's grace in sanctification not everybody's agreed.

And then fourth we will summarize the biblical means by which God gives

Christians grace to live.

And so let's first consider the true nature of sanctification.

The basic idea of sanctification is to be consecrated or set apart

onto God by God.

God calls his people unto himself separating them from all others as ones who are

sanctified.

They belong to God they're the objects of his concern his favor.

They are the recipients of his grace that redeems them adopts them as his children and over time transforms them

into ones who live in righteousness.

And so through his work of grace in sanctification God enables his people to become holy

as his son Jesus Christ.

It's a process we never arrive in this life but one day we'll arrive there when we stand before

him.

And so in the mind and purpose of God he separated us from the fallen world.

To this end he looks down from heaven he doesn't see one mass of humanity.

He sees those that he set apart for himself sanctified for himself.

And so he views us regards us and treats us differently than all others.

Now as we emphasize last Lord's Day the sanctification of believers should be understood in two

different and distinct categories.

There is positional sanctification and there's practical sanctification.

Sometimes these two categories are designated passive and active.

In other words one we're passive God does it for us.

The other we're active God does it for us.

But we're to strive to positional or passive sanctification is the one -time act of

God when he first effectually calls the sinner to be the recipient of his saving grace.

When you became a Christian he sanctified you and this nature

sanctification.

Positional sanctification is the same for every Christian.

He sets you apart as one of his own as one of his people.

It's a one -time act of God.

The sinner who is one moment unholy immediately became holy that is set apart.

God regards them as distinct sanctified by God.

Herman Bavinck Dutch theologian.

Just in the last 20 years his works have been translated into English absolutely incredible

four volumes on his reform dogmatics and now they're

translating his reformed ethics.

I think two volumes are done.

They're just excellent.

When he wrote of this act of God on behalf of his elect.

The sanctification consists first of all in the fact that believers are set apart from the world and placed in a special

relationship with God.

In the Old Testament holiness marks that relationship of God with his people and of the people with

God that is described and regulated in the various laws.

Also in the New Testament the term holy and and that's the same as sanctify.

The term holy has retained this sense of relationship.

One reads of a holy city a holy place a holy covenant holy prophets holy ground holy

scripture holy sacrifice and a holy mountain.

And of Christ.

We read that though he was without sin he sanctified himself.

Christ himself set himself apart from the fallen world from sin that is offered himself up

in death to God as a holy sacrifice on behalf of his own.

Similarly believers are regularly described as saints.

Every true believer is a saint because being called called to be saints

they stand in a special relationship with God and taking the place of old Israel.

They are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation God's own people.

Israel in the Old Testament was an ethnic national people.

Israel in the New Testament under a new covenant newly constituted is a spiritual people

not coming in through physical birth but coming in through spiritual birth with a spiritual

circumcision performed without hands.

These are the true people of God and they're set apart by God from the world.

If you're a Christian you are distinct and if you're not a Christian but you

become a Christian you will at that moment in time be regarded by God as set apart

from the fallen world.

And he has wonderful and good designs for those that he sets apart he regards him as saints he

regards him as holy.

There's no special class of Christians that are elevated to the plate of being a saint.

Every true Christian is a true holy one a true saint of God.

And so when God initially calls his people out of the fallen world unto salvation he separated and secured

them unto himself.

He fully sanctified them positionally.

The true believers position in place is one sanctified can never be lost or

rescinded.

What God has declared and done can never be undone.

When God initially bestowed salvation upon you he sanctified you that he set you apart for

himself and set you on a course that will most certainly result in your glorification in his presence.

The glory of Jesus Christ as we read in another verse.

He has distinguished you from the fallen people of the world.

He regards you as special.

We read in first Corinthians 1.

It's not because you're special in and of yourself he chooses the foolish and the vile and the unwise so

that he alone gets the glory for it.

But he regards you as special because he determined to regard you as special in Christ.

And that's why you're called a saint.

In Scripture every true Christian is a true saint before God.

This was not a product of anything in you anything that you've done are doing or will do.

If you're a Christian it's because he sanctified you which sets you on a course that he has

brought you and where you are today.

And he will direct you in that course until the day you stand before him glorified in Christ Jesus.

It's a done deal it's going to happen.

Now we tend to focus more on the biblical teaching of progressive

sanctification rather than positional that which we've just dealt with.

Progressive sanctification is a work of God's grace by which he God enables his people to become more like

Jesus through life.

And so a passage that we read above speaks to this again.

Romans 6.

Paul's contrasting before salvation and after having come to Christ just as you once

presented your members or your bodies as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more

lawlessness.

Sin doesn't stand still.

So now present your members as slaves and righteousness leading to sanctification.

Obviously it's not talking about positional sanctification that's a done deal but it's talking about our

practical sanctification becoming more holy in life and thought.

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.

Rhetorical question implying none or bad fruit for the end

of those things is death.

But now that you've been set free from sin and have become slaves of God the fruit you get leads to

sanctification and its end eternal life.

Eternal life is at the outcome at the end it's the result of sanctification.

And so our initial positional sanctification always leads to our lifelong

progressive sanctification.

Through life we fight against sin battling and overcoming sin even as we live more and more under Christ

doing his will and becoming more conformed to his will and his nature.

This is a lifelong process which we never see completed in this life.

Paul describes this process and we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are

being transformed.

We're being transformed.

He doesn't say here we were once transformed although there was a sense that's true.

But we are being transformed through life as it were into

the same image that's Christ of one degree of glory to another.

For this comes from the Lord who is a spirit.

It can be said that God declared us to be holy or sanctified when he called us unto himself.

And then through his grace of sanctification he proceeds to make us holy through life.

He declares us to be holy and then he proceeds to make us holy to conform our lives to what we

are in reality before God holy.

So when we struggle trying to be holy we're frustrated.

We're not.

You have to keep in mind you're already holy in the sight of God and he's in the process of making you

more like you are making you to become holy and thinking and living.

We become more and more like Christ and that's a lifelong process.

And it's a battle.

It's a struggle.

But we will arrive.

He's promised it and so our lives after we're

converted enables us to become in practice what we already are in position.

He declared us to be holy sanctified.

He then by his grace makes us holy.

We become increasingly holy in the manner that we live becoming increasingly conformed to who we are in

Christ.

When we first converted there might have been very little similarity between us in Christ.

Well hopefully after we've been in Christ a while we increasingly become more and more like our Lord

Jesus.

It's all by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit again.

We'll emphasize that next week in Christ.

J .C. Ryle wrote the definitive book on progressive sanctification.

In his book holiness he set forth a number of propositions regarding this biblical doctrine of

progressive or practical sanctification and I listed them here.

This was a extended portion of his book but I

distilled it here for us.

First sanctification then is the invariable result of that vital union with

Christ which true faith gives to a Christian.

Second sanctification again is the outcome and inseparable consequence of

regeneration.

In other words everybody is born again.

This is the consequence it will be seen.

Third sanctification again is the only certain evidence of that indwelling of the Holy

Spirit which is essential to salvation.

People can claim they believe on Jesus all day long.

But unless and until your life shows some evidence of sanctification you don't have a legitimate claim.

John wrote don't be deceived in this.

He who practices righteousness is righteous.

He who is being sanctified is justified just because you claim you believe all the right things.

Well that's good.

But that may not be good enough.

Damn people will go to hell believing the right things.

But if it's not seen in a person's life it's not saving faith.

And then sanctification again for is the only sure mark of God's election.

As we saw in the verses all of God's elector are being sanctified.

Five sanctification again is a thing that will always be seen.

Sometimes it's seen more readily and clearly than at other times.

Backsliding happens.

Six sanctification again is a thing for which every believer is responsible.

Here comes the active part all right.

We're not just passive but we are to obey.

We are to obey as God enables us to obey but we are to obey.

There's personal responsibility.

Seven sanctification again is a thing which admits of growth and degrees.

Positionally every true Christian in this place is equally holy sanctified.

Practically there's no two of us alike depending on how long you've been a Christian how much you've been in

the word how faithful or obedient you've been to the word we are all over the map as far as

different degrees.

And so he is identifying that admits of growth and degrees.

Eight sanctification again is a thing which depends greatly on a diligent use of scriptural means.

God has given us means by which we can become sanctified.

If we employ these then we can be increasingly sanctified.

Nine sanctification again is a thing which does not prevent a man from having a great deal of inward conflict.

You know some people say you become a Christian and everything also is lovely and peaceful.

And rest.

You know many times it would be more honest to say you don't know what it is to struggle until you become a

Christian.

You know you just float along with the tide in the fallen world and you get converted and try to go against that tide.

See how hard it is.

That's the spiritual battle is a hard thing when we're fighting against sin the devil and

everybody else is reacting to us and not supporting us except in the church.

10 sanctification again is a thing which cannot justify a man yet it pleases God.

We can only be justified that is be right before God through faith in Christ alone apart from works.

But when we're being sanctified God's pleased with that.

11 sanctification again is a thing which will be found absolutely necessary as a witness to our

character in the great day of judgment.

When you and I are judged according to our works it's our sanctification that's going to be all

all the difference.

And then 12 sanctification in the last place is absolutely necessary in order to train and

prepare us for heaven.

Without holiness no one shall see the Lord is what the book of Hebrews declares.

But a proposition 11 he gave a paragraph or two on each one of these.

But on proposition 11 that progressive sanctification will be found absolutely necessary to witness to

our character in the great day of judgment.

Ryle wrote the following.

It will be utterly useless to plead what that we believed in Christ unless our faith has had

some sanctifying effect and been seen in our lives.

Evidence.

Evidence.

Evidence will be the one thing wanted or needed when the great white throne is set when the books are

open when the graves give up their tenants when the dead are arraigned before the bar of God.

Without some evidence that our faith in Christ was real and genuine we shall only rise again to be condemned.

I can find no evidence that will be admitted in that day except sanctification.

The question will not be how we talked and what we professed but how we lived and what we did.

Look.

No man deceive himself on this point.

If anything is certain about the future it's certain that men's works and doings will be considered and

examined in it.

He that supposes works are of no importance because they cannot justify us is a very

ignorant Christian.

Unless he opens his eyes he will find to his cost that he comes to the bar of God without some

evidence of grace he had better never have been born.

It's going to be a day of awakening for a lot of professing Christians who live like the devil

rather than living like Christ.

Well secondly let's consider the marks visible marks of sanctification.

The one who's being sanctified has certain marks or characteristics that reveal display his

sanctification.

Evidence.

These indications of sanctification are the fruit of heeding and obeying the scriptures.

For obedience is both the nature and the fruit of sanctified grace.

What are some of these marks.

First God at work and sanctifying his people is seen in him directing them and enabling them to do his

will not perfectly but it guides them on the course they

take.

Paul wrote to the Christians at the Church of Philippi that they were to give their full effort to obey

the will of God.

For God had given them both a desire to do so in the will to do so.

Therefore my beloved as you've always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work

out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Why.

Because the reason why.

For it's God who works in you both the will he gives you the will to do so and

to do the desire to do so of his good pleasure.

Second God at work in sanctifying his people is seen when they seek to be free from sin

while conforming themselves to the Word of God.

They obey the word which commends them.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit soul and body be

preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christians who are being sanctified purify themselves.

Therefore having these promises beloved let's cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and

spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Third God at work and sanctifying his people when they possess holy aspiration for him

and for those with whom they have influence they have the desired delight to be of the same

mind as God who sanctifying them.

They delight in knowing God's will.

They're satisfied when they do the will of God and they grieve when they find themselves having strayed

from the will of God.

This is all evidence of sanctification.

The ones being sanctified and tend to be free from all sin known and they desire to keep every command of the

Savior.

The true Christian being sanctified that's his desire.

If I had my way I would never sin again.

I know it's easy to say that now but this is the true hearts desire of the Christian.

The Lord's put it in there wasn't there before.

Fourth.

God at work and sanctifying his people is seen when they endeavor to be like their Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christians follow their Lord in humility and meekness attempting not to be self -willed but to

deny self maintaining discipline and devotion to the Lord.

Fifth.

God at work and sanctifying his people is seen in their desire and showing forth loving care and concern for others

manifesting brotherly kindness and a forgiving spirit toward their Christian brothers and sisters.

Even those who have wronged them they forgive others their

trespasses because the Father has forgiven them of their trespasses.

They are governed by the fear of God and that they're careful and concerned that they are faithful to all their duties

and relations.

They are spiritually minded and seek throughout their daily existence to understand the will of God even as

they're committed to doing it.

Six.

God at work and sanctifying his people is seen and they are concerned for the things of the Spirit.

What are the things of the Spirit.

First Christian desire to walk after the Spirit that is to walk in the way of holiness.

We desire that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us as Christian scripture

describing Christians in Romans 8 4.

Second Christians look to the power of the Spirit to enable them to do the things commanded to them.

God gave us a desire to please him when he converted us when we were born again.

But he only gives us the power to do those things as the Holy Spirit enables us.

When the challenger rises and we look to Christ alone we see our own folly our weakness our

inability to even take one step toward doing the will of God.

Without his grace it won't happen.

Jesus said without me you can do nothing.

Doesn't matter how sincere you are how much desire you have.

You can do nothing without the Lord Jesus today.

Third Christians walk daily as they are being directed and taught by the Holy Spirit in the Holy Scriptures.

The Christianity on the Lord's Day on Sunday alone is not Christianity.

Or because they see the Bible as God's Word.

The ones being sanctified approve what it says about sin and its penalty.

They don't pick and choose.

They may not like everything.

They may react to some things and reject it when they're not thinking rightly but they

understand it.

The Bible is the Word of God.

They agree with the Word as to what defines sin.

The unsanctified man cannot be subject to the law of God.

It's not possible for him.

He hates it.

People are actually God haters.

Now they can paper over that.

People react sometimes when you say that.

But you know when they see God face to face they crucify him.

They do the same thing that we would do the same thing today apart from the grace of God in our lives

we're sinners.

Christians hate sin and are grieved deeply by it.

The world cannot know how believers being sanctified by the Spirit feel about the things that the

world wants them to approve and celebrate.

The world is degenerated with regards to the standards of morality

and civility decency kindness

and you know Lord willing we as Christians are developing increasing in our sensitivity and

desire for these things.

The world is clueless as to how we view things and react to things.

Rather they see our disapproval of sin as arrogant bigoted and ignorant.

We're moved by blind fear and hatred.

They say ignorance.

No but by the Spirit we were made subject to the law of God in our innermost being.

And we cannot have it otherwise.

Nor would we want to have it otherwise.

Six.

The believer being sanctified hate sin most in himself.

The unsanctified man does not hate sin in himself.

Rather he cherishes it.

Well he might hate it out there.

Yes.

The unsanctified man might be ashamed of it but he loves it still it has a power over him leads him with

everywhere it would take him.

And so sin may indeed have great influence in the life of the one being sanctified also.

But the sanctified person that one being sanctified screams against it

even as he's being caught and pulled into his lair as God

warned.

You know Cain the beast is said is at the door seeks to devour you.

But you must overcome it.

You must resist it.

And so the Christian yeah he sins and willingly.

But he at the same time there's always regret and resistance.

He can't enjoy it.

He may get temporary pleasure you know but it never satisfied.

Sin never stands still.

It always gets worse and he's miserable in it.

Seven.

Christians are being say who are being sanctified are concerned about the sins of the tongue.

What they say.

They know that a fountain cannot send forth at the same place and time sweet water and bitter.

And so when they send with their tongue they're smitten in their conscience.

I shouldn't have said that we have regret.

We're smitten by it.

Christians eight are concerned about their relationship with their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Their own peace is disturbed when peace with others is disturbed.

Nine Christians being sanctified seek to break off from their old sins and the places and the people

that would lead them into old sins.

They strive against sin.

It's a warfare for them spiritual battle.

And they don't always win.

But when they do suffer defeat they gather themselves up enter the fray once again waging the good warfare of Christ.

Ten Christians who are being sanctified low their weaknesses and failings.

They're not as others who can easily justify themselves.

They are sometimes thrown into despair because of the deepness of their remorse sense of failure

not not being what they want to be is the issue.

And they've lost hope that they ever will be.

The loss of hope in my mind is often the cause of depression.

I've tried everything.

Nothing changes nothing will ever change and they lose strength.

Hope is the strength the staying power of the Christian.

And we have to fix our hope not on anything in this life in this world that leads to frustration

defeat.

But rather our hope is on Christ and what we'll have when we stand before him particularly

upon the resurrection of the dead.

And too many evangelical churches so -called or the health and wealth gospel or say fix your hope of

the things of this world.

Follow Christ and you'll be healthy or wealthy.

And that leads to disappointment because those are not promises in this world but rather

our hope is be fixed upon glory.

I count all these characteristics by the way from John Gill

Baptist Reformed Baptist pastor in the 1800 1700s

pastored Spurgeon's Church a hundred years before him and he wrote this now.

Can such actings in the mind and life spring from nature.

You think these things are going to come forth from a sinful man's heart and soul.

Must they not arise from a principle of holiness in the heart.

Can there be such reverence of God love to him resignation to his will affectionate and fervent devotion

to him desires of communion with him and a concern in all things for his glory.

Without a supernatural principle of grace and holiness in the soul.

Is it possible that an unsanctified man should ever act apply to Christ for

cleansing be subject to him as King.

Be desires of walking as he walked of being wrought up to the conformity to him or be

concerned to mind the things of the Spirit to walk after the Spirit to live in him be careful not to

grieve him.

Can there be such actings in the mind concerning sin as to love the law which forbids it to dislike

sin abhor it hate it engage in opposition to it abstain from it lament it

earnestly desire to be rid of it.

Can these be the produce of nature or be without being internally sanctified

by the Spirit of God.

You know he put all those desires within us when he converted us.

When he made you holy when he declared you sanctified

when you were converted.

And so the sinner has to be a recipient of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit if these graces are to be seen in life.

That's why Jesus told Nicodemus you might you know you teacher of Israel you know so much you're so

religious.

Unless you're born again you're not going to enter the kingdom of God.

It can only go that way.

Now let's quickly in the time we have left consider the four different views about the way Christians are to

experience God's grace and sanctification.

And professing Christians are all over the map on this and here are the four major views.

Again we've already seen how we must be very active and diligent in obeying God's Word if we're to become holy in our

minds hearts and life.

We've also seen however that there that we are in need of God's grace.

So how does God give this grace.

What are the means of grace.

The means the things that if we do and think and believe God has promised to give us

the grace we need.

What would God have us do in order to receive the desire and ability to live in obedience to his Word.

Well when we begin to speak of the means that God gives grace to his people here the major differences begin to

surface even among conservative evangelical Christians.

And there have been four major different views through history to embrace a

faulty view of the way of sanctification can result in the failure to live so as to experience the full

blessings in one's life.

I passed the 50 year mark last week 50 years in the Lord converted in January of 72

and over the years I've held to a couple of these different views because that's what I was taught

first.

There's the Wesleyan understanding of sanctification.

This has been commonly called perfectionism.

By the title Wesleyan view we can understand that it was a position popularized by largely by John

Wesley in the 1700s.

He was an Arminian a very wonderful man as far as evangelism

goes.

But he was really flawed here.

And it also found expression in the ministry and teaching of Charles

Finney in the 1800s.

Charles Finney was not a good man he was a heretic.

He denied justification by grace through faith alone.

He has some real problems and yet he's believed to be a hero.

Among many uninformed Christians

Wesleyan preaching often focus not only on people becoming believers but also being consecrated to

God as a second blessing a second significant event

or experience that every believer should see can receive.

And so this position argues that unless you've received the second work of grace in your life you can't live a life of holiness before

God.

This Wesleyan view of sanctification is believed and taught by the more evangelical minded Methodist the

Christian Missionary Alliance and the Church of the Nazarene.

What does this position say about God's grace for living first.

It teaches that the Christian after conversion may or will live at a period of life characterized by defeat and

failure until the second blessing is experienced.

It's a second transforming work of grace which is an instantaneous experience whereby a Christian

suddenly advances to a new higher spiritual plane with new capabilities.

They teach that upon this experience of a second blessing the Christian from then onward is characterized by a full heart of

love for God and love for others.

And they say this gift of holiness is to be sought by prayer and full dedication and surrendering.

And there's really no way to live a godly life until you've received this second blessing from God.

John Wesley taught that it was a final cleansing of the heart through the actual uprooting and destroyed of inbred

sin and the channeling of all the man's personal energies intellectual volitional emotional motivational into

one sustained activity a loving God and others.

And so they believe they taught when you arrive at this second blessing you receive it

you no longer sin.

And John Wesley thought he arrived at that point and so that's why it's sometimes called

perfectionism.

Secondly there's the Pentecostal understanding of sanctification.

It's similar to Wesley's teaching.

It emerged from it really this began to be popularized in the last century 20th century primarily

and continues of course to be a widely held view.

Today the emphasis on the second blessing is the attributed to the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is

separate and subsequent after coming to salvation.

This baptism of the Spirit is evidenced by speaking in tongues which they claim to be an angelic language or

prayer language.

We believe the gift of tongues in the New Testament is always a foreign language that people were miraculously and able to

speak in order to convey the gospel to the Gentile world.

It was a gift miraculous gift of the apostolic age.

This baptism of the Spirit again evidence in speaking in tongues.

It's similar to the Wesleyan view.

It said that a person may be a true Christian but a defeated one not encountering victory over sin

or truly experiencing the fruit of the gifts of the Spirit until you're baptized in the Spirit.

But upon being baptized in the Spirit the person encounters a transformation and is thereafter and able to

live a spirit empowered life.

And oftentimes these people who may be sincere and true Christians

look down on other people who haven't experienced this and look down upon us as rather

pitiful and ignorant and weak and powerless.

But they've arrived and that's often the attitude.

It should be recognized that among Pentecostals there are differences of opinion about some matters.

Some are altogether Wesleyan in their assertion of a second blessing that's prerequisite to a holy life.

Others however see this emphasis would be a diminishing of the sufficiency of Christ and what he did

on the cross.

They're right about that.

Although they would argue that every Christian should seek to be baptized in the Holy Spirit they would tend to put more emphasis on the

finished work of Calvary but they still hold to that

baptism in the Spirit as a separate experience.

The third the Keswick understanding of sanctification probably only a few of us are familiar

with the term.

I hope more of us do now because we talked about this in the past

it's a view about sanctification receiving God's grace for a living which is held by many even most evangelicals.

I held this view for years.

This is what I was taught.

Teaching has been around since about 1875.

It was it was purported to be this newfound discovery from the

Bible and that the church now Christians who are going to be able to live holy lives in a way they've never been able to

live in the last 1800 years.

It was new people to think don't understand the newness of it today.

They think that we've all Christians have always held to this view.

It developed or was popularized in Bible conferences that were and still are annually

presented in Keswick England.

Their prophecy conferences dispensationalism futurist teachings also were promoted at Keswick.

The teaching is also sometimes referred to as victorious life teaching or the deeper life higher Christian life

is held by many popularized more by some.

For example this is put forward by campus crusade in a little book how to live the spirit -filled

life.

Its principal argument is as follows.

Based on Romans 6 it said a person can be a true Christian but with an unsurrendered life.

They draw a circle.

That's you as a person you got a throne in the middle but instead of L Jesus the

Lord on the throne.

S self is on the throne and the Lord's in the circle there but he's your Savior but he's not yet your

Lord.

This is their false teaching and so they say through a

crisis of surrender the victorious life might begin for such a defeated person.

This theory involves these teachings.

You got to understand this from Romans 6 7 8.

They are they say they say a Christian can truly be justified but still under

sins dominion.

And so what's needed is a second work of grace in which self has taken off the throne of one's heart and Christ is enthroned.

And so they say you can have Jesus as your Savior but you have not yet surrendered to him as Lord.

This is false teaching.

But it said through certain steps a Christian may enter into this place of victorious Christian living.

Well what does this entail.

First they say the believer must consciously reckon himself to be dead on the sin.

Romans 6.

They quote the scripture.

But they misunderstand it misinterpret it.

And so what they mean by that is your sinful nature that's inside this power that leads you into sin.

You're supposed to convince yourself it actually died with Christ on the cross.

And the reason it is it is so powerful in your being is because you don't believe it.

But as soon as you believe it all of a sudden the power will cease.

It's dead they say in reality.

And so then you must consciously believe on Christ's resurrection power to receive power for living.

And so they argue that the reason you are not victorious is because you're trying

stop trying rest of the flesh.

You need to be wholly passive let go and let God let God do it rather than yourself.

And so they take all responsibility and accountability and responsibility away from the Christian.

You to let go and let God do it through you through faith they say.

But the Bible everywhere commands us to obey to do this to do that over and over

and over again.

But they deny this.

And so they tell Christians stop trying and start trusting you to be wholly passive.

That's that third view.

The fourth is the reformed understanding of sanctification which obviously we advocate.

The reformed understanding of the means of sanctification differs from these other types.

We understand.

First there are no shortcuts to holiness.

There are no secrets whereby you may be set free.

Although there are victories they are generally won after warfare has been waged for a time.

Sudden deliverances may occur.

I've experienced one or two.

The Lord delivered me from things I had no idea cleaned up my bucket mouth.

I didn't even know it until somebody else commented about it.

On the other hand something comes comes through struggle and fighting months.

I fought against smoking hardest thing I ever did my life.

Some things come easy some things not.

The Lord can bring deliverance but he doesn't always.

And through that prolonged battle we learn things.

Don't we how weak we are how unable we are and how capable he is to grant

us grace to live.

The reformed understanding of sanctification holds that there's no single second blessing which you must receive in order to

become holy.

He's already given you everything needful for a godly life.

You're not missing anything.

If you're a Christian you are complete in him.

They say you're not complete in him.

You need something.

This second blessing his divine power is given to us

all things that pertain to life and godliness.

That pretty much covers it doesn't it how through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue.

Third our sanctification involves direct energetic full -hearted action and obedience of

the believer to the Word of God.

You are commanded to obey.

There's no passivity.

Paul spoke but the but by the grace of God I am what I am.

He didn't stop there and his grace toward me was not in vain.

I labored more abundantly than they all.

Yet not I but the grace of God which was in me.

See it's through our effort and energy and yet empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit.

There's activity.

Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself.

And then the command abstain from every form of evil.

That doesn't sound like passivity to me.

We're to be active.

And for the reformed understanding of the way of sanctification maintains a connection between justification and

sanctification while recognizing the distinctiveness of the two.

Justification speaks of being forgiven when we believe on Christ and the righteousness of Christ is credited

to us.

God looks at us and regards us as righteous as his son.

And then sanctification is different than justification.

But the two cannot be severed from one another.

Again Herman Babbitt wrote.

Justification is a juridical.

I've never heard that word before or judicial act completed in an instant.

While sanctification is an ethical process that continues throughout our lives.

Though justification sanctification are distinct they must never be separated.

They are united in the power and work of the Holy Spirit.

Sanctification as well as justification is a gift purely in grace.

And so there's no scriptural case that one can be a Christian truly pardon justified without also

having experience or experiencing a work of sanctification.

Drop down.

Number five.

Reform view of sanctification maintains that the principal means of sanctification is grace that is given by

Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Applying the scriptures to the mind and the life.

A lot of these other folks they take the mind completely out of it and they say no.

No.

It's an experience.

You've got experience.

Christ experience the Holy Spirit.

Now the Word of God informs the mind.

And then you know the Holy Spirit enables us to act out and live out enable us to live out

according to that understanding of the will of God that we have derived from the Word of God.

Lastly and we'll close.

What are the means by which God gives grace to live.

Well there are private means and there are public means private means

practices and disciplines that should characterize every one of us.

Private personal prayer reading the Word of God written

Word of God.

Not just reading however meditating upon the Word of God.

Psalm 1 blessed is the one who delights in the law of the

Lord and in his law meditates day and night.

We think about it ponder it weigh it.

We try to assess the world in the light of the scriptures the Word of God.

We meditate upon it self -examination which we

always do.

But particularly when we observe the Lord's Supper we would examine ourselves.

These are the private means of grace.

But there are public means of grace.

And what are these.

Sunday worship of his people.

Stop coming to church come back in six months.

Tell me how you doing.

Some of us miss a week or two and it's it takes some effort to come back takes grace to come back

to get back in the right frame of mind.

It's a public means of grace of course being where the Word of God is preached or hearing the Word of God

preached.

And the biblical fellowship of the Saints where we're encouraged and exhorted and corrected.

One of the great problems of the church is through this whole kovat virus is the severing and separating us

in so many different ways isolating us and even when we're before and with one another there's a there's a

separation that we have to overcome and purpose to overcome.

Because through biblical fellowship we it's a public means of grace where we can

encourage and exhort one another in Christ.

And of course there's practical admonitions of the Word of God warning instructing us with view to

our own growth and grace.

We need watchful in our day -to -day conduct order in our life according to the God's Word.

Exercise carefulness regarding our associations.

Don't be deceived in this you know aberrant people will corrupt you

is what the scriptures say everywhere now again.

Let next week.

However on Sunday morning we were going to talk about a matter that I think is a

is not fully understood and applied by Christians with regard to this matter

sanctification.

And that is that our sanctification must be seen and understood in our union with Jesus Christ.

And if if that is not in your mind and heart your your your effort at being

sanctified is going to be frustrated and you're going to struggle with it and so

we want to address that in some detail next Lord's Day.

Morning.

Lord willing a lot of information here but it's important.

Let's pray.

Thank you father for your word your kindness to us your mercy in Jesus Christ.

Help us our God to be all that we can be and should be.

Forgive us our Lord of our failures our neglect in these matters and just motivate

us our God enable us to to walk in a manner that pleases you.

Inspire us our God.

Illuminate our minds to the truth is in Jesus Christ.

Put it within our souls both to desire Lord and to long to

be true to you.

For we pray in Jesus name amen.