August 31, 2008

Sanctification is progressively being made like Christ. It is a work of grace, but one which the believe cooperates with, unlike salvation which is purely the work of God, faith and repentance being merely our response to that work. Justification is instantaneous and complete; sanctification is progressive and incomplete until we are glorified in heaven. Justification means the end of the unconquerable dominion of sin; sanctification is the gradual growth in the power and desire to obey. Biblically, our greatest enemy is sin, the flesh; it is not the devil and our circumstances, though these can introduce temptations to us. Sanctification is a work of man and requires us to renounce sin (Tit 2:11f), mortify sin (Col 3:5), and cannot be done casually. Thus, we need to recognize that because of the power of sin, even things that are biblically allowable might be for us unhelpful and lead to further temptations. These we need to remove from our lives. This fight also must be specific. Sanctification is also a work of God and requires the Holy Spirit (Phil 2:13). We are dependent upon him to understand and love God's word, to walk in obedience, and thus we need to pray regularly to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18).