Romans Introduction Part 2 - Sanctification

Sanctification

This brings us to another often misunderstood aspect of salvation, with which we will eventually be dealing – that of sanctification. I am sure that many of us know that the Bible presents our salvation in three aspects, all of which are represented in Romans. These are “justification, sanctification and glorification”. They represent our deliverance from the penalty, the power and the presence of sin respectively.

We will eventually run into Paul’s great assertion that:

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. {Romans 8:28-30}

All of this caps off a passage dealing with the believer’s struggle with the old nature and its constant warring against the spirit. But again, much in the modern gospel minimizes this great struggle. Many believe that once we are saved (by which they mean justified) that the struggle is over, and they believe this because the exhortation to take up the daily battle, to abide in Christ, and to put to death the lusts and deeds of the old nature, is ignored in many pulpits.

We have millions of professors of the faith in churches who, not having been taught the doctrine of sanctification properly, or not having it applied specifically to them by their shepherds, are spiritual babies, never growing in their faith. All the key words and external behaviours are there. They make a pretty picture. But their lives are otherwise indistinguishable from those who are in the world because there is little understanding of the pilgrimage of the Christian soul.

If the message is preached to the sheep, and they are still slow to grow, then we must exercise loving patience and not be carried away into callous berating and frustration by our own thoughtless zeal. But preached it must be! For the preaching of it is one of the main means that God has ordained to grow His children.

But we can see that, contrary to the struggle of sanctification being an onerous and intimidating thing, it is both joyful and liberating, for the result depends not upon our efforts (though struggle we must) but upon the exceedingly great and encouraging God of the promises, Who is at work in us to bring to completion that good work that He started, and in Whom we trust. This is how we agree with our Lord when He calls His yoke easy and His burden light, or the Apostle John when he confirms that the commands of God are not burdensome.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. {1John 5:3}

They are not burdensome to the one in whom God has placed a new heart. They are, however, odious to those whose hearts have never truly been converted through repentance of sin. A truly converted man will love Psalm 119, but a mere pretender – one who got in over the wall – will loathe it. And some modern adherents will be utterly perplexed when they read…

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. {Psalm 119:18}

Great peace have those who love thy law; nothing can make them stumble. {Ps 119:165}

False professors have rebellion in their hearts still, and misled modernists, some of whom live only in the New Testament, have often learned a freedom that utterly misses the responsibility of love.

And so we will see that justification and sanctification are all of a piece – that though we sometimes treat them separately there is no actual separation between them. Those who were justified will be and are being sanctified, because these terms are aspects of the same salvation. Consequently, along with the Apostle John, we shall ask hard questions as to what it means when a person claims to be justified yet shows no progress in sanctification, but rather showing a preference to remain worldly