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The Continuation of Salvation · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome back to the Deep Dive. We're dedicating this segment to
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Reformed thinking, really zeroing in on some of those
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core, sometimes pretty dense theological ideas that shape how
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we understand the Christian life.
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That's right. And today, we're tackling
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sanctification. That's the, well, the ongoing,
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sometimes messy, day-to-day experience of being made holy.
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Yeah, and it's something that for a lot of people gets really
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confused with justification. It's easy to mix them up.
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Oh, absolutely. And getting those two tangled
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up, you know, it can lead you down some wrong paths, either
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towards a kind of crushing legalism or on the flip side, a
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dangerous sort of anything goes attitude.
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So our mission today is pretty clear.
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Then we're diving into the theological notes, the research,
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trying to sort out the mechanics of holiness.
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We need to clarify, you know, what does sanctification
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actually look like? Who's doing the work?
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Is it us? Is it God?
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Both. Yeah, that's a big one.
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And what's the biblical expectation, really, for
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becoming holy in this life? We've got a good stack of
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detailed theological material here to help us unpack.
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It all right, let's get into it. OK, so let's start right at the
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beginning, the core definition. We generally understand
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sanctification as this continuous action, God's action
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in the believer. An action that makes them
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actually holy. It's about cultivating a real
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likeness to God himself. It's basically the continuation
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of that new spiritual life that kicked off the moment we were
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regenerated. Exactly.
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Yeah, but the sources immediately throw a bit of a
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curveball or maybe a necessary complication.
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There are two really different senses of holiness or
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sanctification that we need to get straight first. 2 senses.
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And understanding of these is, well, it's absolutely crucial.
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The first sense is you could say objective.
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It's all about status separation.
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Yeah, it comes from the Hebrew word kwaitos, you know, meaning
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separate or maybe cut off. It's talking about that formal
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characteristic of being set apart from what's common or
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mundane or profane. And dedicated entirely to God
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and His service. Precisely, it's about being
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marked out for God. So this kind of separation, it
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isn't necessarily about how morally pure something or
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someone is at that moment, It's more like a designation of
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ownership or purpose. That's a great way to put it.
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Ownership and purpose. Think about the Old Testament.
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This idea was applied pretty broadly.
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Right. Like the Tabernacle furniture,
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it was sanctified, set apart for a sacred purpose.
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But you know, a table isn't morally righteous in itself.
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Exactly. Or the Sabbath day.
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He was sanctified, cut off from the other days for a special
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purpose. So the object or the person
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becomes holy because of its relationship to God, it's
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dedication to him, not because it's inherently perfect.
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Spot on. And in the New Testament, this
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objective sense translates to belonging to the Lord.
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OK, when Peter calls believers of chosen people, a royal
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priesthood, a holy nation, God, special possession, he's talking
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about this initial objective status.
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You're separated out of the world and dedicated to the Lord.
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And the timing on this is key, right?
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The source is really stressed that this initial setting apart
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this objective sense it's instantaneous.
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That happens right at the point of conversion.
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Yes, simultaneously, along with justification and regeneration.
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It's all part of that initial package, so to speak.
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Which then explains why Paul can write to the church in Corinth
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and call them Saints Hajioy. Right.
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And if you know anything about the Corinthian church, well,
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they were a mess. Definitely struggling.
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Division, immorality, Doctrinal confusion.
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Deeply struggling. Yet Paul still calls them
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Saints. The set apart ones.
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Why? Because their objective status,
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their dedication to Christ, their belonging to Him that was
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fixed, their legal standing before God was settled, even if
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their actual behavior was frankly disastrous at times.
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That's a huge point for listeners.
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I think you are instantly a St. a set apart person the minute
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you believe that's your status. Yes, but.
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But that objective status immediately raises the stakes,
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doesn't it? It demands something more.
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It demands that second sense of holiness.
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Exactly that brings us to the second sense.
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This one is progressive. It's subjective.
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It refers to actual moral goodness, spiritual character,
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spiritual worth. So this is the one we usually
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think of when we talk about growing as Christians.
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It is, and this sense gradually became the main meaning when
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people talk about sanctification.
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Because you've been formally set apart since one, you're now
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expected, even commanded, to live like it, to conduct
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yourself accordingly. The demand is for actual purity,
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actual goodness in life, yes. So it moves from just a
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declaration of belonging to an actual inward transformation of
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your character, your condition, who you are on the inside.
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Making the inside match the outside label, so to speak.
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That's it. The aim is to bring the
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believers subjective moral condition, how they actually
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live and think and desire, into line with their objective legal
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status before God, who they are declared to be in Christ.
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Closing the gap. Closing the gap.
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And because this involves changing really deep seated
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habits, desires, patterns of thought, sinful inclinations,
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well, this subjective work is inherently progressive.
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It takes time. It's a process.
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It's. Definitely a process.
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It starts the moment you're converted, but it requires
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really your entire lifetime to move towards completion.
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It's not finished overnight. OK, that distinction,
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instantaneous legal status versus a lifelong moral process,
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that seems incredibly fundamental.
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We probably need to spend some real time just comparing
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justification and sanctification directly.
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Absolutely critical. Getting this wrong is, as we
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said, a recipe for trouble. It can paralyze you.
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Either you get puffed up with self-righteous pride because you
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think you're doing OK, or you're crushed by guilt because you
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know you're not. Let's try analogy.
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Maybe the sources sometimes use them.
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How about the courtroom? OK, yeah, the courtroom works.
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Or maybe imagine you're a political prisoner, convicted of
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treason. Pretty serious stuff.
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Scenario, yeah. Justification is the moment the
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king intervenes, maybe surprisingly unexpectedly.
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He steps in, declares you completely pardoned, wipes the
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slate clean. He pays your debt.
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Pays your debt entirely, declares you legally righteous
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right then and there, and he puts you back into a position of
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favorite standing, maybe even adopt you as his.
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Child, and that's instantaneous. Instantaneous, complete.
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In a moment. The verdict is final.
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You're either pardoned and declared righteous, or you are
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not. There's no middle ground.
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That's your legal standing. OK, so that directly hits the
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first major distinction. Duration justification is a one
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time instantaneous event. Correct.
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Now, sanctification, using the same analogy, that's everything
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that happens after the pardon. You've been pardoned, your
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standing is secure, but you're still fundamentally the same
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person who had the mindset, the habits, the inclinations that
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led to treason in the first place.
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The internal stuff hasn't caught up with the legal reality.
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Yet. Exactly.
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So. The King in his grace doesn't
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just pardon you and leave you to figure it out.
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He takes you out of the prison, yes, but he puts you into, say,
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a palace, school, or maybe physical therapy for a lifetime
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of bad habits. Sanctification.
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Is that lifelong? Often difficult, sometimes
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sometimes painful process of learning the duties of
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citizenship in his Kingdom, shaking off the old prison
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habits, being retrained, remoulded into a trustworthy
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servant, even a child of the king.
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And that is continuous. It takes your whole life.
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It takes your whole life. So that analogy really
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highlights the 2nd and maybe the most critical distinction, the
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very nature of the work. Right.
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Justification is objective. It's forensic, like in a law
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court. It happens entirely outside of
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you. It's a legal transaction.
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It changes your standing before God, your relationship to Him as
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the Judge. It deals completely with the
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penalty and the guilt of your sin.
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Your record is cleared. Whereas sanctification, that's
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subjective, it's an inward work. It affects your actual
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character, your inner condition, your inner person.
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Yes, it doesn't change your legal standing.
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That's already fixed forever by justification, but it changes
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your moral conformity to that standing.
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It deals with the pollution, the power, the defilement of sin
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within you. So justification declares you
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holy. Sanctification actually makes
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you holy. Perfume Summary Justification
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gives you the right to stand before God accepted and loved.
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Sanctification works to give you the fitness, the character
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suitable for standing there in His presence.
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OK. And that naturally leads to the
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third distinction you mentioned, degree and completeness.
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Right, because justification is a declaration, a legal verdict.
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It's quantitative. You could say it has no degrees.
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You're either justified or you're not.
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Exactly. A person is 100% justified the
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moment they believe, or there's 0% justified.
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No one is more justified or less justified than any other
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believer. All believers stand on the same
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perfectly righteous ground of Christ.
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But in that palace, School of sanctification degrees are
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definitely a thing. Oh, absolutely.
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One believer might be significantly more mature, more
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self-control, more loving, more patient, more Christ like Yeah,
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than another believer, or even compared to themselves a year
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ago. We see that all the time in the
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New Testament, don't we? Paul talking to the Comminthians
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saying he can only give them milk, not solid food because
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they're still infants in Christ. Precisely.
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They were fully justified, but their sanctification was, well,
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lagging behind. They were immature.
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So sanctification absolutely has degrees.
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It's progressive. We grow.
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So to really nail it down, justification is what God does
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for us in Christ. Sanctification is what God does
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in us by the Spirit. That's the heart of it, and
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keeping those categories clear is so important for a believer's
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peace. It means you can struggle with
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sin and you will struggle without constantly fearing
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you've lost your salvation or you're standing with God.
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Your justification holds firm. OK, that distinction is clear.
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Now let's dig into the mechanism if sanctification is this
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process of being made actually holy, Who's doing the work?
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Who's driving this change? Right, and our sources are
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incredibly clear on this point. Sanctification is, at its root,
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fundamentally a supernatural work.
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Not just self improvement. Not just trying harder or
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reading a self help book or implementing some new discipline
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technique. Though disciplines play a role,
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it's primarily foundationally God doing the work.
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It's not mere self reform. It's God continuing what he
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started. Exactly.
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We have to found our understanding sanctification in
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the reality that God continues and completes the good work He
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began when He regenerated US Philippians 1.6 right.
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He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion
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until the day of Christ Jesus. So the power, the energy for all
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this growth, it rests entirely on God's resources, His
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Holiness, his initiative. Yes, which then brings us to the
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specific agents involved in this divine work.
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Let's start with the one most closely associated with the
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day-to-day process, the Holy Spirit.
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The spirits role. The Holy Spirit is, you might
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say, the divine Executor of sanctification.
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He's the one who applies the finished work of Jesus Christ,
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his death and resurrection to the believers actual moment by
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moment to life. Applying the benefits of what
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Christ did. Yes, He is constantly, actively
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at work within us, bringing about a real, substantial
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likeness to Christ, changing our minds, our wills, our
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affections, our desires. And this application involves
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that practical, sometimes gritty process of mortification,
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putting sin to death. Right, that's a key aspect.
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The sources point us straight to Romans 8 verse 3.
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If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you
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will live. Notice the wording by the spirit
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you put to death. Crucial.
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It's not just gritting your teeth and trying harder in your
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own strength. That's a recipe for failure and
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despair. It's a spirit empowered
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activity. So the Spirit enables the
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putting to death of sin. He provides the power, the
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insight, the guidance, the desire, the strength needed to
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identify, resist and overcome the sin that still dwells within
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us. And when the Spirit is really
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the one guiding and empowering our lives, the results are
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tangible, aren't they? Absolutely.
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The result is manifest reality. It's the fruit of the Spirit.
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Listing Galatians 5 Lovejoy, peace, patience, kindness,
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goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
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These aren't just character traits we managed to drum up on
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our own. Not at all.
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They are the supernatural organic outflow of the Spirit's
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active presence and work within the believer.
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They are His fruit grown in us. But the Spirit isn't working in
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isolation. We can't forget God the Father's
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role in this whole economy of salvation.
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No, definitely not. God the Father is the ultimate
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source, the planner, the initiator of our holiness.
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The scriptures state that clearly.
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Yes, First Thessalonians 5.23 says it's God Himself, the God
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of peace who sanctifies believers through and through.
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And Philippians 2.13 tells us He is the one working in believers
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both to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.
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So he's orchestrating things, providing the means.
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He's orchestrating the circumstances, the challenges,
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the encouragements, the means of grace, word, sacrament, prayer,
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fellowship, all necessary for our growth.
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He's the architect of the process.
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OK, so Father plans, Spirit applies, but it all hinges on
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the foundation, doesn't it? Jesus Christ himself.
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Absolutely. We can't even begin to talk
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about sanctification in any meaningful way without Christ.
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It's utterly, completely reliant on our union with Christ.
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That phrase union with Christ seems central and Reformed
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thought. It is the key really to the
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believers entire spiritual life. Justification, sanctification,
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adoption, perseverance, glorification, it all flows from
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being united to Christ by faith through the Spirit.
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It's the concept used to express that biblical idea that Christ's
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own life is somehow lived in and through the believer.
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Yes, without that vital spiritual connection to Christ,
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any attempt at holiness is just, well, it's just moralism.
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It's self effort doomed to fail. It lacks the Divine life source.
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And the classic biblical picture for this is John 15, right?
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The vine and the branches. That imagery is absolutely
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essential. Jesus couldn't have been
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clearer. The branch cannot bear fruit by
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itself. It must remain connected to the
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vine. Apart from me, Jesus says you
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can do nothing. Nothing of eternal value anyway.
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Fruit bearing, effective prayer, lasting joy.
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Jesus links all of these directly to remaining in Him,
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abiding in that union. And This is why evangelicals
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often rely so heavily on this union with Christ's language.
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Yes, precisely because it captures this idea of active
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participation in Christ's life and power without implying that
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we somehow get absorbed into him or lose our identity.
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Yeah, that means the believer has been incorporated into
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Christ. Like Paul saying I have been
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crucified with Christ. And I no longer live, but Christ
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lives in me. That's not just poetry.
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Paul is expressing the literal, practical source of his new life
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and power for sanctified living. It's Christ's resurrection life
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flowing into the believer through the Spirit.
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So pulling it together, the Father plans and wills our
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holiness, the Son provides the life source and the perfect
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pattern through our union with Him.
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And the Spirit executes the plan day-to-day, applying Christ's
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work to us. That's a great summary that the
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divine teamwork involved. It's all of God from start to
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finish. OK, but this divine scaffolding,
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this emphasis on God doing the work, it leads us straight into
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one of the most, well, dynamic and sometimes confusing parts of
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sanctification, this tension. Tension.
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Yeah, between God's exclusive power and initiative and the
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constant and unavoidable commands in Scripture for us to
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actively participate. If God is doing all the heavy
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lifting, why am I constantly being told to strive to fight
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sin, to put off the old self, put on the new self?
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It feels like my effort is required.
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This is that critical juncture, isn't it?
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The paradox. And reformed theology doesn't
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shy away from it. It lives right in that tension.
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The classic text is Philippians 2, verses 12 and 13.
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That's the locust classicus for sure, Paul.
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Tell the believers, work out your salvation with fear and
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trembling. That sounds like intense, maybe
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even exhausting, human effort. It really does work out your
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salvation. But then in the very next
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breath, He gives the reason why you can and should do this.
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It is God who works in you both to will and to act according to
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His good purpose. So you work out what God is.
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Working in exactly the divine enablement is the foundation for
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the human responsibility. You're not working for your
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salvation in a justifying sense. You're working out the
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implications of the salvation God has already given you and is
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actively bringing to fruition within you.
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So the knowledge that God is the one ultimately working in US,
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providing the will and the power, that should change how we
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view this driving, shouldn't it? It should completely, completely
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change it. It should eliminate both
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paralyzing guilt when we fail and self reliant pride when we
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perceive success. We work because God is working,
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not to make Him work or to earn His favor.
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Our. Effort is the necessary response
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to His enabling grace. It's the corollary, the
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evidence, the means through which His Grace operates.
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The sources show this involves A2 fold action from the
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believer. First, there's the negative
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side, the removal of sinfulness, mortification.
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Putting to death the deeds of the body, Well, we saw in Romans
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8, yes. Actively resisting temptation,
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starving sinful patterns, confessing sin, turning away
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from it. That's the putting off aspect.
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And then there's the positive side.
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Vivification making alive. This is the development of
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actual holiness, the cultivation of godly habits and character.
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This is the putting on aspect. Like Romans 12, presenting our
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bodies as living sacrifices being transformed by the
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renewing of our minds. Exactly.
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Reading the Bible, meditating on it, praying, engaging in
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fellowship, participating in the sacraments.
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These aren't just religious duties, they are the God
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ordained means of grace. They are the channels through
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which the Spirit does His transforming work as we actively
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engage with them. So this act of wrestling, this
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effort, this is the labor of the Christian life we hear.
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About it is it's diligent, purposeful effort, but effort
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empowered and directed by the Spirit working within us based
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on our union with Christ. OK, this talk of active
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participation naturally brings up a huge question, one that
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trips up a lot of people the law.
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Yes, the role of God's law. If we're justified by faith
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completely apart from works of the law, what legitimate role,
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if any, does the law, specifically God's moral law
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like the 10 Commandments, have in a life of a believer who is
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actively participating in sanctification?
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That's a really important question, and the sources
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drawing on Scripture are quite clear.
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The primary function of the law in the New Testament is not to
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justify anyone. Because no one can keep it
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perfectly. Precisely since fallen humanity
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consistently fails to obey it perfectly, its main use,
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especially in evangelism, is to act like a mirror.
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It shows us God's perfect standard, reveals our sin,
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establishes us as sinners, and demonstrates our desperate need
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for Christ's righteousness. So it drives us to Christ for
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justification. Yes, but Paul is also clear the
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law itself isn't bad, he says the law is holy, just and good.
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The problem isn't the law, it's our inability to keep it.
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OK, so post justification, once we're in Christ, does the law
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get a new job description for the Christian?
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It does. The Reformed tradition often
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talks about the three uses of the law.
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The first use is conviction of sin.
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The second is restraining evil in society.
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But the third use, sometimes called the normative use, is the
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most relevant for sanctification.
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What's that third use? It's that the biblically
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revealed moral law serves as a guide, a standard, a pattern for
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righteousness. It expresses God's will for how
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He's redeemed people should live.
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So it's like the blueprint for Holy Conduct, the curriculum and
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that palace school analogy. Exactly.
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We look at the 10 commandments or the moral principles taught
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throughout Scripture, not as a way to earn God's favor that
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settled in justification, but as a way to understand what
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conformity to Christ actually looks like in daily life.
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What does love require? What does justice demand?
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What does self-control involve? The law helps define those
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things. And Paul seems to confirm this
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connection between the spirit and the law's requirements.
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He does. In Romans 8, he says that the
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righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in US who do
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not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
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The Spirit enables us to begin to uphold the law's true intent,
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which is rooted in love for God and neighbor.
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And Jesus himself linked obedience directly to
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relationship, didn't he? Very directly.
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If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and you are my
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friends if you do what I command.
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Obedience becomes the evidence of our love and the expression
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of our relationship with Him, not the basis for it.
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But we have to wave the warning flag again here.
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Legalism. Where's the line between using
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the law rightly as a guide and falling into legalism?
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That's always the danger. Guiding your life by the moral
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principles of God's law is absolutely necessary for growth
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and holiness. It becomes legalism, and
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therefore spiritually destructive, when a believer
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starts following the law with a mistaken belief that by doing so
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they're earning merit with God, or maintaining their justified
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status, or proving their spiritual superiority.
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So legalism misuses the law, trying to make it do the job of
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justification again. Exactly.
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It puts the believer back under a performance based relationship
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with God which breeds either pride or despair.
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Rightly used, the law guides our gratitude fueled obedience.
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OK. And one final aspect of active
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participation mentioned in the notes is separation from the
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world. Yes, this flows directly from
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that first sense of sanctification being set apart.
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If we were set apart for God, it implies being set apart from sin
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and the ungodly values and practices of the world system
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that is opposed to Him. Jenks puts it pretty strongly.
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Keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
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He does, and this requirement stems from our objective status.
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Since we belong to a holy God, our lifestyle, our choices, our
21:58
values must increasingly reflect His character, not the world's.
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But again, the notes urge a balance.
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We're not called to be hermits completely retreating from
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society. No, absolutely not.
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That's the delicate balance, the tightrope block we mentioned
22:13
earlier. We have to maintain our
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distinctiveness as God's people being unspotted from the world,
22:19
while simultaneously being actively involved in the world
22:22
as agents of His grace and truth.
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Being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, salt has
22:28
to be in the food to work. Light has to shine in the
22:30
darkness. Precisely.
22:32
We need to engage the culture, serve our neighbors, contribute
22:35
to the common good, but do so without being absorbed by the
22:37
world's sinful patterns or compromising our allegiance to
22:40
Christ. That's a constant challenge in
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the sanctified life. OK.
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So if sanctification is this lifelong progressive process
22:47
driven by God, involving our active participation, where is
22:51
it all heading? What's the ultimate non
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negotiable goal? The specific theological aim,
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the target that God is consistently moving us towards,
22:59
according to the sources, is likeness to Christ Himself.
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Conformed to his image. Yes, Romans 8.29 is key here.
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God, for new and predestined believers to be conformed to the
23:11
image of His Son. And the word used therefore
23:14
conformed indicates more than just a superficial resemblance.
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It points to sharing his characteristics, his qualities,
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his moral fiber, all stemming from that vital union with Him.
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So the overarching final destination point of this whole
23:28
journey of progressive sanctification is ideally
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leading a sinless life, perfectly reflecting Christ's
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image. That is the ultimate standard,
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the final goal. Yes.
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Sinlessness. Perfect holiness.
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But this immediately brings us to that major fork in the road,
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theologically speaking, the perfectionism debate.
23:45
Right. Is complete sanctification
23:47
achieving actual sinlessness, something attainable before we
23:50
die here on Earth? And here we find 2 main camps,
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historically and theologically. On one side you have what's
23:55
generally called the perfectionist view.
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Often associated with Wesleyan theology.
23:59
Yes, historically rooted there and common today in various
24:02
streams, like some Armenian traditions, Nazarene churches,
24:06
certain Pentecostal groups, they argue that yes, it is possible
24:10
to reach a state of grace in this life where one does not
24:13
consciously or willfully sin, a state sometimes called entire
24:17
sanctification or Christian perfection.
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And they point to certain scriptures that seem to support
24:21
this possibility. They do.
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They often highlight texts like Matthew 5.48.
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Be perfect. Therefore, as your Heavenly
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Father is perfect, they take the command as something achievable
24:31
now. And Paul's prayer in First
24:33
Thessalonians 5.23 where he prays that God would sanctify
24:36
the believers through and through and keep their whole
24:39
spirit, soul and body blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus
24:43
Christ. Right.
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They interpret blameless and perfect as pointing to a
24:47
potential state of actual sinlessness attainable in this
24:50
life, even if it doesn't eliminate temptation or the
24:53
possibility of future growth. OK, so that's one view.
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What's the counter position? Standing in pretty direct
24:58
opposition is the non perfectionist view.
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This is generally the position held within the Calvinist and
25:04
broader reformed traditions. Lutheranism as well.
25:06
And their core argument is. That sinlessness, while
25:10
absolutely the standard we must strive for, the ideal we aim at,
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is never actually attained fully in this mortal life.
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They emphasize the continued lingering presence and activity
25:22
of indwelling sin within the believer, even the most mature
25:26
believer. Their biblical support often
25:27
comes from. The Apostle John is a key
25:29
witness for this view. First, John 1 verses 8 through
25:32
10 are critical. John writes to believers.
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If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
25:38
truth is not in us. He says if we claim to be
25:40
without sin. Present tense ongoing reality
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for believers. Exactly.
25:45
He frames claiming sinlessness not as a mark of maturity, but
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as self deception. If you say you have no sin
25:50
currently, you're fooling yourself.
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And then verse 10, if we claim we have not sinned, we make him
25:54
out to be a liar. This seems to indicate that the
25:57
struggle with actual sinning continues throughout the
25:59
Christian life. And the interpretation of Romans
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Chapter 7 seems to be a major battleground between these two
26:05
views. It really is often the crux of
26:07
the exegetical debate. Romans 7 describes this intense
26:11
internal conflict. For I do not do the good I want
26:14
to do, but the evil I do not want to do.
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This I keep on doing. Paul speaks of sin dwelling
26:21
within him, warring against his mind.
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The perfectionist view tends to see this as Paul describing his
26:27
life before conversion, right? Or maybe the struggle of someone
26:30
under the law without the spirit.
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Generally, yes. They argue it can't describe a
26:35
mature Christian living in the power of the Spirit, which Paul
26:38
describes in Romans 8. But the non perfectionist view
26:41
reads Romans 7 differently. They typically argue strongly
26:44
that Romans 7 must be describing the ongoing post conversion
26:47
struggle of even the most spiritually mature Christian,
26:50
including Paul himself as he writes.
26:52
Why must it be post conversion? Because the person described in
26:55
Romans 7 says things like I delight in God's law in my inner
26:58
being. An unregenerate person doesn't
27:01
genuinely delight in God's law. They also cry out, who will
27:05
rescue me from this body of death?
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Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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That sounds like a believer aware of both the struggle and
27:13
the solution. So for the non perfectionist,
27:16
Romans 7 is proof positive that sin remains active and the
27:19
struggle continues even in genuinely sanctified believers.
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Perfection isn't realistic this side of glory.
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That's the conclusion they draw. The ongoing battle between the
27:29
Spirit and the flesh means sin remains present and active,
27:32
making sinlessness and unattainable goal in this life,
27:35
though still the required standard.
27:37
So then how does the non perfectionist position handle
27:39
Jesus's command be perfect? If it's unattainable, why
27:43
command it? This is where understanding the
27:45
Greek word helps. The word translated perfect
27:47
there is tellyoy. It carries the sense of
27:49
complete, mature, finished or goal oriented rather than
27:53
necessarily flawless or spotless in an absolute moral sense in
27:57
that context. So strive for maturity
27:59
completion in Christlikeness. Yes, sinlessness remains the
28:04
absolute standard, like the North Star, it gives direction,
28:07
defines the ideal we must constantly press toward.
28:10
But the non perfectionist view teaches that our progress toward
28:14
that ideal in this life is always only partial.
28:17
We grow, we mature, we become more like Christ.
28:20
But true, final, flawless perfection, absolute
28:24
sinlessness, is achieved only at our glorification.
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When we receive our resurrection bodies and are fully freed from
28:30
since presence and the life to come.
28:32
Exactly. Sanctification here and now is
28:34
the striving. Glorification, then and there,
28:37
is the final attainment. OK, that clarifies the main
28:39
debate. Now, shifting gears just
28:41
slightly, there's another term relating to the ultimate goal
28:44
that sometimes comes up, especially from outside our
28:47
usual reform circles, theosis or deification.
28:50
This is prominent in Eastern Orthodoxy.
28:52
It is, and it's a concept worth understanding, even if we might
28:55
use different language. The Eastern Orthodox Church uses
28:58
theosis, sometimes translated as deification or demonization, to
29:02
describe the ultimate goal of salvation.
29:04
Which they define as. As believers achieving genuine
29:07
participation in God's own life, a famous phrase is that
29:10
believers become by grace what God is by nature.
29:14
OK, that sounds potentially problematic if taken wrongly.
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How do they maintain the crucial creator creature distinction?
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They are very careful about this.
29:24
Historically, the standard way they preserve the distinction is
29:28
by differentiating between God's unknowable, inaccessible
29:31
essence, His fundamental being, and His knowable active
29:35
energies, His operations, grace, glory, life shared with
29:39
creation. So believers participate in
29:41
God's energies, his life and glory, but not his fundamental
29:44
essence. We don't become God in that
29:46
ultimate sense. Right.
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That's the crucial qualification they make.
29:50
We are united to God, transformed by his grace, shared
29:53
his divine life, but we remain creatures.
29:55
Some more recent Orthodox theologians might nuance it
29:57
further, perhaps preferring to speak of theosis as
30:00
participation in the personal, divine human existence of the
30:03
Incarnate Christ. Conceptually, then, when
30:05
carefully defined, it sounds like it might overlap
30:07
significantly with the Western, particularly Reformed,
30:09
understanding of the transformative effects of union
30:12
with Christ. There are different points of
30:14
contact and shared goals. Yes, the desire to express the
30:18
profound reality of believers sharing in Christ's life and
30:22
being transformed into His likeness is common ground.
30:25
So why do evangelicals, especially in the Reformed
30:28
tradition, generally tend to avoid using the term theosis or
30:32
deification? The sources suggest that
30:35
generally, evangelicals consider the language itself unwise and
30:39
potentially misleading, particularly in our current
30:41
cultural context. It's less about rejecting the
30:44
entire concept when properly defined, and more about the
30:47
inherent risks of the terminology.
30:49
What are those specific risks of misunderstanding?
30:52
Well, in a postmodern era where you have influences from new age
30:55
movements, pantheism, and various eastern religions
30:58
floating around, the word deification is just too easily
31:00
misunderstood. People might hear it and
31:02
immediately think. They might immediately
31:04
associated with New Age ideas of achieving some kind of cosmic
31:07
consciousness or becoming divine in a pantheistic sense, like
31:11
being absorbed into the universe or realizing one's own inherent
31:15
divinity. This is obviously miles away
31:17
from the carefully qualified Orthodox meaning, and certainly
31:20
alien to the evangelical understanding of being conformed
31:23
to Christ through union with him.
31:25
So the term itself just carries too much baggage, creates
31:28
unnecessary confusion or potential for distortion.
31:32
That seems to be the main concern.
31:34
It requires a lot of careful explanation to avoid being
31:36
misunderstood. So many evangelicals who grasp
31:39
the underlying biblical truth that we are profoundly united to
31:42
Christ and transformed by His Spirit prefer to stick with the
31:45
established biblical and theological language of union
31:48
with Christ. Because that language is clearer
31:50
and less prone to misinterpretation.
31:52
It seems so. Union with Christ clearly
31:55
describes that profound supernatural participation and
31:58
transformation into Christ's image while maintaining the
32:02
necessary distinction between the believer and Christ.
32:05
It makes it explicit that our spiritual life has lived in a
32:08
vital living connection with Christ, ensuring the listener
32:12
understands we are united to Him, dependent on Him, but we do
32:15
not become Him. Ontologically, the goal is
32:18
conformity to Christ, not absorption into divinity.
32:21
OK, that makes sense. Let's try to pull the threads
32:24
together now, reflecting on this deep dive into sanctification,
32:27
right? We've established pretty
32:28
clearly, I think, that sanctification is the
32:30
subjective, internal, lifelong process.
32:33
It's initiated and carried out primarily by Godfather, Son and
32:37
Holy Spirit working together. And it's built entirely upon
32:39
that instantaneous, objective legal verdict of justification.
32:43
Justification is the foundation, Sanctification is the building
32:45
constructed on. It the whole mechanism is driven
32:48
by the Holy Spirit's application of Christ's work, and it's
32:51
sustained crucially by our ongoing union with Christ
32:53
himself. And the clear goal, the target,
32:58
is conformity to Christ's own sinless image becoming like him.
33:03
The key thing to grasp, it seems, is the progressive nature
33:06
of this work. It happens over time.
33:08
It has degrees of progress. And it absolutely requires our
33:11
active, conscious effort, our working out, our striving, our
33:14
participation in the means of grace.
33:17
But crucially, this effort is enabled by the fact that God is
33:21
simultaneously working within us, giving us both the desire
33:24
and the power to act. That's the great paradox, the
33:27
divine synergy it is. We work because he works in US.
33:30
So thinking about this for the listener, sin sanctification is
33:33
this progressive process demanding our act of
33:36
participation every single day, and knowing that while
33:39
sinlessness is the ultimate standard, it's likely not our
33:42
current achieved reality. Here's something to consider.
33:46
How does the knowledge that God's moral law remains the
33:48
pattern for righteousness, the standard of conduct for you as a
33:51
believer? How does that fact change your
33:54
daily relationship with your own remaining sin?
33:56
When you fail, When you fall short of that standard?
33:59
Do you immediately despair? Do you question your
34:01
justification? Right.
34:03
Or do you treat those failures not as a sign that your
34:05
justification has somehow failed, but rather as evidence
34:09
that the process of sanctification, while real and
34:11
ongoing, is simply not yet complete evidence that the
34:15
working in and working out still needs to continue?
34:18
That distinction is vital, isn't it?
34:20
The ability to distinguish between your absolutely secure
34:23
legal status in Christ justification, and your ongoing,
34:26
imperfect but necessary moral effort and growth
34:30
sanctification. That's what frees you to
34:32
actually fight sin vigorously, pursue holiness diligently,
34:36
without being crushed by fear or guilt when you stumble.
34:38
Because, you know, the work continues.
34:40
The work continues guaranteed by God Himself, and Our Calling is
34:43
to actively, faithfully labor in the strength that He Himself
34:46
supplies until the day He brings it to completion.