Sermon Tone Analysis

The Doctrine of Sanctification

“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.””

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The Christian life begins with the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit acting upon a cold, dead heart of stone (Ezekiel) to produce a heart of faith and obedience to God’s will.

No change could be more momentous—we are “born again” (), we are “made alive” (), we are transferred from the “domain of darkness” into the “kingdom of God’s son” (), we are forgiven our sins (), we are delivered from wrath (), we are reconciled to God ().

As Jesus put it, we pass “from death into life” ().

As dramatic as this change is, it is only the beginning.

God’s purposes for us do not end when we become Christians.

Rather, conversion sets us on a glorious path in which God will continue to work out His gracious purposes in our lives.

What are those purposes?

How are they worked out?

In this lesson, we will examine the sanctifying work of the Spirit in the life of the believer.

The Goal of Our Redemption: Holiness

Salvation is much more than simply deliverance from the penalty of sin.

When God saves us, He makes us His own and begins a renovation program: the process of making us more and more like our Lord Jesus—the process of making us holy.

“In reality, holiness is the goal of our redemption.

As Christ died in order that we may be justified, so we are justified in order that we may be sanctified and made holy.”

– J. I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness

The Barrier to Holiness: Sin

To be holy means to be set apart unto God.

This includes being set apart from all that is sinful and opposed to God.

Holiness is God’s goal for His people, and the Christian life involves the process of reaching this goal.

The New Testament is full of words that describe this process: transforming, renewing, conforming, maturing, and growing.

Although we will never reach perfection in this life, we are called to make every effort to live a holy life for the glory of God.

“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.””

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Sin not only deserves God’s punishment, it also mars God’s good creation and obscures the display of His glory.

He therefore desires to eradicate sin and its corrupting effects from His creation.

For the believer, salvation is the beginning of the process of removing sin and its effects from our lives.

& At regeneration, the power of sin is broken, and we are made alive in Christ.

& In justification, the penalty of sin is removed, and we are declared righteous in Christ.

& In sanctification, the pollution of sin is progressively removed as we are made holy in

Christ.

In our day many alternatives to sin as the primary barrier to holiness have become popular: the therapeutic movement viewed the core problem of man as a need for greater self-esteem and personal improvement.

The chemical solution for sin still popular today.

Many think that our problems result from chemical imbalances and correcting these levels would result in right life.

While some medicines can be helpful in some situations, no drug can alleviate the real problem of sin.

In some religious circles character and personality problems are thought to be the result of demonic influence, and their corresponding solution is to cast out the demon.

The Model for Holiness: Jesus Christ

Jesus is our Lord, Savior, and example.

We are to follow Him in attitude and action.

Paul called this being “imitators of God” ().

John called it walking as Jesus walked ().

Jesus said simply, “Follow me.”

More remarkably, God Himself has committed to making us like Jesus.

The ultimate goal in sanctification is conformity to the image of Christ.

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

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The Motive for Holiness: Love for God

As we grow to know His love and appreciate what He has done for us, we will also grow in our desire to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,” ()

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.

And His commandments are not burdensome.”

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The Battle for Holiness

While holiness is God’s will for us, this does not mean that the process of sanctification is easy.

Given our own sinfulness and the sinful world in which we live, this process involves a battle— one that will require our energies for the rest of our lives.

The Power of Sin is Broken

“What shall we say then?

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

Certainly not!

How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

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“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (6:6)

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

(6:11)

“He breaks the power of canceled sin He sets the prisoner free His blood has made the foulest clean His blood avails for me.” - Charles Wesley

The “Double Cure”:

The penalty for sins is paid.

The power of sin is broken.

The Presence of Sin Remains

Although sin has been deposed as the ruler of our lives, it has not been removed as a factor in our lives.

We are free from its dominion, but not its presence and influence—our quest for holiness is not unopposed.

The remaining influence of sin is usually summed up in two words: “the flesh.”

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” ()

The Heart is the Battlefield

“Regeneration makes man’s heart a battlefield where ‘the flesh’ (the old man) tirelessly disputes the supremacy of ‘the Spirit’ (the new man).”

– John Owen

Growth in holiness always comes through the pathway of the heart.

The Holy Spirit does not just change us outwardly by “dressing us up” with new behaviors; He transforms us from within.

The lust of the flesh and the corruption of our hearts are deceptive, wicked, and in active rebellion against God.

““The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

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The Bible teaches that our sinful behavior is not caused by other people or our circumstances, but by our own desires, cravings, longings, and lusts.

Whatever rules our hearts determines what we do and say in response to people and situations.

Nobody makes you sin.

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

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“Where do wars and fights come from among you?

Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” ()

We do not sin because our hearts are empty, wounded, broken, or in need of love, self-esteem, or significance.

We sin because of sinful desires that have not been recognized and put to death.

We are still tempted to idolatry, to the substitution of someone or something as our “savior” or “god.”

““Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity.

Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?” ()

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

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The “flesh” tempts our hearts to forget the gospel and to seek happiness, joy, peace, rest, security, and satisfaction outside of Christ.

The heart’s idolatrous pursuit of “life” outside of Christ leads to sinful behavior.

The sin is always in the heart first.

The Process of Holiness: Sanctification

Sanctification Defined

Sanctification is the continuing work of God in the life of a believer.

It is a progressive work in which we become more and more free from sin and more and more like Christ.

In short, our actual lives become increasingly conformed to our legal status before God.

It is a process

We do not become instantly perfect.

Rather, we become progressively more holy as we cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.