Common Errors in Sanctification (Part 1)

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Mike, Mike Grimes. Today I'd like to talk to you about a subject that is very fascinating to me, and I think it's really, when it comes down to it, the least well -taught, the most badly taught, and we need a lot of work in the area of sanctification.

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There are so many issues when it comes to Christian sanctification. Do pastors understand it, do seminaries understand it, do congregations understand it?

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By the way, the first two don't, it's hard for the third one to understand it, therefore

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I'm going to dedicate today, and for the next couple shows maybe, dealing with common errors of sanctification.

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So on the positive side, then, what does the Bible really say about sanctification? You know, it's funny, you think you know what sanctification is, and then you're like, well, do

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I really know? And by the way, do I know because my study Bible tells me?

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Because my pastor tells me? Because the celebrity on the internet, celebrity pastor, tells me?

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What do you know, dear No Compromise Radio listener, about the topic of sanctification? And if you had to quick look up a definition of sanctification, or studying it,

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I wonder where you would go and why you would go there. Would it be your study Bible, or might it be a confession or a creed?

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This is an important topic because there's lots of confusion, lots of errors, lots of misinformation, and it is fraught with theological landmines.

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You know you're tired when you start doing that, right? And of course if I had an editor, well

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I do, Spencer, but I'd like to give him work, then I might edit all this stuff out. But we just play it live. It's like you're sitting here in West Boylston.

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It was raining out for a little while today, then it stopped, snowed 8 inches last week. That was interesting.

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If you want like a Bible teaching, verse -by -verse kind of thing, this show is not really for you. This is common errors in sanctification.

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No particular order, error number one. We have the wrong definition of sanctification.

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Error number one, we evangelicals, not everyone, but most, many, quite a few, have the wrong error.

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If I were to ask you, what's the definition of sanctification? I could even ask you out loud because I can't hear you.

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Okay, look to your wife if you're driving or tell your kids in the backseat. This is the definition of sanctification.

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It means, okay, go. Well, good try.

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I think probably most of you just said something about holy living, working out your salvation with fear and trembling, something like that.

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For the record, I would like you to live a holy life. For the record, I think

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I am all for, I'm positive I'm all for a life of godliness that you would live out.

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I'm all for that. But is living a holy life the definition of sanctification? What if I were to read you this verse?

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Maybe this would help you. Leviticus 20, verse 8, keep my statutes and do them.

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I am Yahweh who sanctifies you. Oh, I see what you did there.

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Let's read a couple of confessions. One of the good things about confessions, they stand the test of time.

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They're written by many men, not just one, at least the Westminster. Most of the confessions agree with the key primary doctrines, whether you're in England or whether you're in the

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Netherlands. What is sanctification? Westminster, shorter catechism, question answer 35.

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What is sanctification? Sanctification is the work of God's free grace. Is that what you told your kids in the backseat?

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Whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness.

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It is God's work. It is the work of God, of free grace.

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God is the sanctifier. We are being sanctified. God sanctifies us.

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Do you sanctify yourself? The language of the Westminster divines would be things like renewed, enabled.

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It's something done to us. If you'd like the larger catechism, sanctification is a work of God's grace whereby they whom

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God hath before the foundation of the world chosen to be holy are in time through the powerful operation of his spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them.

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Here's more passive language. Renewed in their whole man after the image of God, having the seeds of repentance unto light and all other saving unto life and all other saving graces put into their hearts and those graces so stirred up, increased and strengthened as that they more and more die to sin and rise in the newness of life.

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It is God's work. God is the sanctifier. And we become renewed and we become recipients of God's grace whereby then we can die to sin and say yes to the newness of life, both mortification and vivification, right?

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Living unto life. If I were to go to John 17,

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Jesus said, high priestly prayer to his father, sanctify them. He's telling the father or asking him rather, sanctify them in truth.

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Your word is truth. Well, is that going to change your definition that you gave me early on in the show of your definition of sanctification?

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And for their sake, Jesus went on to pray two verses later, I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth.

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I think we have to rearrange our thinking when it comes to sanctification. We are for holy living, that's certain.

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But God is the sanctifier. Acts 26, and I said, who are you, Lord? This is

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Paul and his encounter with the Lord Jesus, and the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise and stand upon your feet for I have appeared to you for this purpose to appoint you as a servant and a witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which

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I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I'm sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

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Romans 15, 16, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

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First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 2, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus.

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Chapter 6, and such were some of you, but you were washed, you were what? Sanctified. Now, you say, you know what, we have positional sanctification, which we just read there, and what about practical sanctification?

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Well, that's really what I'm after. I'm after what's going on practically.

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How do you become more holy? Who does it? Do you make yourself more holy as a Christian?

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Paul does say in 1 Thessalonians 5, 23, now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. God is the sanctifier.

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Does that change your definition? The author of sanctification is

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God. Ezekiel 20, that they may know that I am the Lord that sanctifies them.

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John Cahoon said, man can indeed pollute himself, but he cannot purify himself.

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That's true. And so, the source of holiness for us, for those of us, you know, when we think back to our unbelieving days, it was the

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Lord, and then what about when we're Christians? Is the source us? Sanctification by the

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Spirit, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Burkhoff said, sanctification is a supernatural work of God.

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It consists fundamentally and primarily in a divine operation of the soul whereby the holy disposition born in regeneration is strengthened and its holy exercises increased.

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And therefore, I just want you to realize that God is the sanctifier. And when you have a definition of sanctification, don't you think it'd be good to start off like that?

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You're like, yes. Walter Marshall said, you cannot live a holy life no matter how hard you try if you still have your old nature.

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In order to live a holy life, you have to receive by faith a new heart and a new nature through your union and fellowship with Christ.

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Positionally, that's so true, is it not? But what about practically? What about progressive sanctification? Are we the sanctifiers?

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You say, well, I think maybe God was a positional sanctifier, monergistically, but now we are like synergistically sanctifying together.

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Really? Would you be willing to go out and say that? Westminster Confession of Faith, they who are effectually called and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified, really and personally, through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection, by his word and spirit dwelling in them.

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Hmm. Isn't that interesting? This sanctification is throughout in the whole man, yet imperfect in this life.

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There abiding still some remnants of corruption in every part. Sanctification is what

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God does. That's what I want you to think about.

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And therefore, why don't you then make the obvious kind of practical conclusion?

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Besides talking about sanctification in a God -centered way, would a good prayer request be,

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God, please sanctify me? Hmm. Yeah. When's the last time you prayed that?

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God, please sanctify me. Thank you for sanctifying me. Thank you for the promise of sanctification.

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Thank you that you help, you sanctify, you set apart, you apply the death and resurrection of Jesus so that I may say no to sin and yes to righteousness.

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The first error we have, I think, when it comes to sanctification, is we have the wrong definition.

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We kind of leave God out of it. Do you think that's a big error? I sound so patronizing today, don't

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I? Well, because of this idea of sanctification, the last two days, because I've been thinking about this,

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I did pray, Lord, sanctify me. Lord, sanctify me. And I didn't before because, hey, we're going to sweat and toil and copy out and work out your salvation and all these other things.

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I think it's going to be reminded of this. God is the sanctifier. Well, there's another error, and you can probably tell where I'm going to go now.

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Error two is there's no human activity in response to God's sanctification. What's our role?

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If God's a sanctifier, do we respond? Do we do nothing?

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Do we lay back and let God? Well, we know we do good works. And even the confessions will say in their contents, table of contents, of justification, of sanctification, of good works, or justification, sanctification, of good works.

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Sanctification, it's a free work of God's free grace, and he renews us, and we're then enabled more and more to die to sin and live for righteousness.

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We are renewed. That's a passive thing. God does to us.

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God's active. We're passive. We are enabled. God is active. We are passive. Yet, we know, don't we, that there's effort, that there's a striving, that there's exertion, right?

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Of course, we have to have that. And if you look at 2 Peter 1, verse 5 and following, you're to add these things.

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You're not to add faith, but you're to add to faith virtue and moral excellence, everything from brotherly love to agape love.

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Grace alone saves, and grace alone sanctifies.

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Then I can do what I want. If grace alone saves, one man said, and true faith also receives salvation freely given, but it's also true, this man said, that true faith also seeks these virtues.

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Faith shows itself. Faith has consequences.

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Faith has evidences. The Spirit of God raises us from spiritual death, gives us faith, unites us to Christ, and He's working in us, and our response is good works, trying.

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That's our response. But they're not, it's not properly termed sanctification.

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Consequence of sanctification would be me working hard at living a holy life.

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Yeah? You like that so far? By the Spirit of God's power, you'd say yes?

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Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it's God to will and to work in you, that kind of thing, you'd say yes? One scholar said, we're justified by grace through a faith that simply rests in Christ, and we are sanctified by grace through a faith that resting in Christ is working through love.

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That's right. Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self -control, self -control with steadfastness, steadfastness, steadfastness, that's me about now, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

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We want these. We don't want to be ineffective or unfruitful. We want to be diligent to confirm our calling, yes?

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There's a response. There's something we do as a consequence of grace. Faith works.

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That's true. And Luther would say faith is a busy thing, looking for something to do.

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God doesn't need our faith working out, but our neighbor does, right?

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You can see all kinds of commands that we're supposed to do something. We're not antinomian. We're not against the law for Christians.

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We understand that it tells us to be unified and run and flee from immorality and don't be an idolatrous person, don't be a covetous person, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to righteousness in Christ.

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That's true. And as Michael Horton said, it's better simply to say that we're working out that salvation that Christ has already won for us and given to us by his spirit through the gospel.

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Though in sanctification, faith is active in good works, the gospel is always the ground and the spirit is always the source of our sanctification as well as our justification.

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Did you get that? Source and ground. John Owen, the doctrine of justification is a directive, is directive of Christian practice and in no other evangelical truth is the whole of our obedience more concerned for the foundation reasons and motives of all our duty toward God are contained therein.

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We're not Roman Catholics. We're not synergist when it comes to this. We're not trying to do a final justification according to works.

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That's not what we do. We run with endurance the race that is for us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.

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Error number three. Isn't this fun? Do I sound like I'm patronizing you, patronizing you, patrioning you, patronizing you?

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I think we have 13 people that support No Compromise Radio. Thank you, thank you for those 13.

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Okay, number three, error number three, car 54, where are you? Error three, we can completely figure out slash understand sanctification.

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And I think that's kind of where it happens. Most people would say, you know, we work together,

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God's the main worker, I respond, something, you know, they're going to do this and even if they're synergistic in their theology about it, they'd say

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God's the sanctifier. But I think there's an element of mystery that we have forgotten about that I think the

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Reformed heritage can help us with to just let it kind of lie. We don't have to figure everything out.

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Sanctification, God the sanctifier, he helps us to do good works, right?

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He enables, he activates. And Scott Clark says,

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God's gracious sanctification enables us to do good works. They are the result of that process. It's fruit, not the process itself.

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Failure to make this distinction has resulted in the confusion about biblical and Reformed doctrine of salvation and sanctification.

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We do not have to choose between free justification or good works. God who graciously justifies sinners also graciously progressively sanctifies them into the image of Christ.

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Out of that tree, gracious salvation comes, good works, just as surely as good fruit comes from a living tree.

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And here's what Clark says, and I like this because Jerry Bridges, I'm going to give you a quote of his in a minute as well, it is not complex, the doctrine of sanctification, but it is mysterious because we cannot say exactly how or when or to what degree the spirit is presently at work in us, and yet we know he is, and therefore our sanctification is a matter of faith.

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Very, very fascinating gospel mystery of sanctification. Now Jerry Bridges did the same thing.

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God has given us mind, heart, and will with which to respond to his work in us, with which to cooperate with his spirit in the process of transforming us into the likeness of Christ.

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I think cooperate, you know, to respond would be better. But he's going to make my point elsewhere.

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He intends that we understand his will with our minds, that we yearn to do it with our hearts and that we actually make choices of obedience with our wills.

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We're to make every effort to be holy, to train, discipline ourselves to be godly.

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We're to put to death the traits of our sinful nature. The New Testament is filled with injunctions about holy character that address our responsibility

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Is the road to holiness, then, one of dependence on God or of personal discipline?

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Surely it is one of personal discipline, but how can this be? If the work of transforming us into Christ's likeness and image is the

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Holy Spirit's ministry, where does our responsibility fit in? How can we be simultaneously responsible for pursuing holiness, right?

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It's a sin if you wouldn't be. Be holy for I am holy. And dependent on the spirit. Now here's the answer, similar to Scott Clark's.

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I finally gave up. I concluded that God has not answered that question anywhere in the Bible. The mutual relationship of the

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Holy Spirit and personal responsibility is a mystery known only to God.

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But our inability to explain just how God works in and through our personality should not keep us from believing that he does.

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Although God has not explained to us the mystery of how he works in us, he has made our responsibility clear. He has also made it clear that in carrying out that responsibility, we are dependent upon him.

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I call this dependent discipline. And whenever I find something like this out where I can't exactly say when does the

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Holy Spirit start and stop, when do I start and stop, I know that's not really technical language right there, but I just say

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I'm finite, I'm sinful, I can't understand these things, and the gap between my understanding and what the Lord is doing, it drives me, on good days, to say, that's worship, that drives worship versus driving angst or anything like that.

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Well, my name is Mike Abendroth. I've got 15 more errors to go. How am I going to do this? I guess I'm going to have to do part two.

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