Pastor Steve Paulus |
||
|
Archives
Course Notes
Old Testament Poetry and Wisdom Literature
External Links:
Pastor's Blog
|
Excursions in Historical Theology
How do we become holy? What happens in the next life?
6. How do we become holy? (Westminster Confession, Chapters Thirteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen)
6.1 Sanctification
The word sanctification appears in both the Old and New Testaments. The Hebrew word is qadosh, or a variant, and the Greek word is hagias, or a variant. It carries two basic meanings: to set apart, or to make clean, which connotes the idea of purity, moral purity in particular. Hence the idea of holiness is to be set apart from the world, the flesh, and the devil, and to be set apart to God for holy or pure purposes. It also indicates that an individual has been cleansed from the guilt and the power of sin. This cleansing or sanctification has the practical effect not only of justifying a sinner, but transforming their nature. The word hagios is the word for saint, which simply means holy or sanctified one.
Biblically, sanctification is both a completed work and an ongoing process. The sense that it is a completed work is found in the following two statements: “And by that will we ha been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all . . . Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy”(Heb.10:10, 14); “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (I Cor. 6:11). These passages speak of sanctification in a manner indicating completion. From these verses it appears sanctification is a completed fact. However, other teaching indicates that our sanctification is an ongoing process. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope purifies himself as he is pure” I John 3: 2-3). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son . . .” (Rom. 8:29). “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2). (Also, see Eph. 4:20-32; Col 3: 5-14). These passages indicate that our behavior is “catching up” with our status as redeemed, justified, and sanctified believers.
The means of our sanctification is also broached in these passages. How are we set apart or made clean and delivered from the guilt and powerof sin? First, the blood of Jesus is the agent of our cleansing. Second, the Spirit of God, and third, the name of Christ. Fourthly, the word of God is mentioned as a cleansing agent (Eph. 5:26). So we see that our cleansing or sanctification is not a matter of our own works. I find many people believe salvation is a work of grace, but sanctification is a work of merit. Not so. While sanctification involves growth, effort, and acts of the will, they are entirely works of grace accomplished through the gifts of Christ’s blood, the operations of the Spirit, the name of Jesus, faith in the will of God, the power of His word (II Peter 1:3-11).
The Westminster Confession sees sanctification (Chapter XIII) as a work of grace and a process. Those who are regenerated with a new heart and spirit: “Are further sanctified, really and personally, through the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection, by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them, the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified, and they are more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces . . . .” The Confession goes on to state that believers engage in a continual lifelong battle between flesh and spirit and that some believers may suffer setbacks in their efforts but their regenerate nature will ultimately prevail.
A doctrine of entire sanctification as a second blessing related to the infilling of the Holy Spirit is common in many Wesleyan and Pentecostal churches. This is the belief that the Holy Spirit so overpowers the sin nature in a baptism of fire, that the believer is cleansed from all known sin. While indwelling sin remains, it is unconscious and the sanctified believer is victorious over all conscious manifestations of sin. While such powerful experiences of sanctification should be common among believers (I John 3:4-6), it seems the more biblical picture of sanctification and transformation is an ongoing process requiring constant care and effort by the believer.
Philippians reminds us to “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is he who is at work in us to do his will,” and “He who began a good work in you will bring it unto completion unto the day of Christ.”
The process view of sanctification leaves little room for spiritual pride. It acknowledges the frailty of the vessel and the supremacy of grace in the cleansing and transformation of the individual.
6.2 Perseverance
The Reformed belief in the perseverance of the saints is seen as a guarantee or assurance that the regenerated person will ultimately be saved, even despite set-backs and failures in their struggle against sin (the sanctification process). An Arminian view sees perseverance as the responsibility of the individual believer, which can be neglected or lost. Thus, in that system, there is no guarantee of salvation for those regenerated by the Spirit. It is contingent upon remaining faithful to the end, though surely that faithfulness is a result of grace in one’s life.
For Reformed believers, perseverance is guaranteed by the intercession and promise of Christ (John 6:37-40), the nature of the New Covenant (Heb. 8:10 ff.), and the nature of the New birth (I Peter 1:23). The Westminster Confession makes a difference between the professed convert, and the genuine believer, and allows for a fall from the faith, but only for false brethren.
As stated in Chapter XVII, “They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”
This leads to the concept of assurance.
6.3 Assurance
Although hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of God (which hope of theirs shall perish); yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus, and love Him in sincerity, endeavoring to walk in all good conscience before Him, may, in this life, be certainly assured that they are in a state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, which hope shall never make them ashamed (Chapter XVIII, para. 1).
This doctrine does leave rooms for struggle and doubt in arriving at the point of assurance, and does not require special revelation to understand one’s standing as being in God’s favor. “This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties, before he be partaker of it. . . . .”(para. 3).
One of the doctrines addressing this paradox of assurance as opposed to hypocritical self-confidence has been the doctrine of the visible and invisible church (See glossary).
6.4 Good Works
The great discussion concerning good works centers on whether mankind in himself is able to do works pleasing to God which merit forgiveness or reward. The Reformed doctrine is clearly stated in the Confession:
Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ. And that they may be enabled thereunto , beside the graces they have already received, there is required an actual influence of the same Holy Spirit to work in them to will, and to do, of His good pleasure: yet they are not hereupon to grow negligent as if they were not bound to perform any duty unless upon a special motion of the Spirit; but they ought to be diligent in stirring up the grace of God that is in them.
They who, in their obedience, attain unto the greatest height which is possible in this life, are so far from being able to supererogate, and to do more than God requires, as that they fall short of much which in duty they are bound to do” (Chapter XVI, 3,4).
The Confession goes onto say that good works, or even repentance never merits forgiveness, for that is gained through the cross of Christ alone.
Counter to the Reformation view, the Council of Trent (Roman Catholic Council 100 years prior to the Westminster Assembly), taught that the following propositions were to be held anathema (rejected or condemned):
15. That a man reborn and justified is bound by faith to believe that he is assuredly in the number of the predestinate.
23. That man once justified can no more sin, nor can he lose the grace, and so he that falls into sin was never truly justified; or that it is possible altogether to avoid all sins, even venial sins. . . .
24. That justification once received is not preserved and even increased in the sight of God through good works; but that these same works are only fruits and signs of justification, not causes of its increase (Council of Trent, Session VI, January 1547, in Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church, 263).
Several comforting benedictions from scripture are the basis of the Reformed view of assurance, perseverance, and sanctification, i.e. the idea that we are saved, kept and growing unto the return of Christ.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it (I Thess.5:23-4).
May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Heb. 13:20-1).
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our savior be glory , majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen (Jude 25-5).
Discussion Questions:
Does emphasis on sanctification as a process, rather than a completed experience leave room for excuses for sinful behavior?
Is the doctrine of entire sanctification accurate? Why or why not?
Does the Reformed doctrine of perseverance give comfort to those who live in conscious disobedience to the revealed will of God? Why or why not?
Is the statement of the Catholic Council of Trent (16th century) that one cannot know if they are among the number of the elect correct in your view?
Readings for Chapter Six
Henry Bettenson, ed. “Canons on Justification, Anathemas” in Documents of theChristian Church, Second Edition, London: Oxford University Press, 1963, 263.
Wayne Grudem. “ Sanctification (Growth in Likeness to Christ)” in Systematic Theoogy: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, 746-762.
John Wesley, “A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.” in Readings in Christian Theology, Vol. 3, Millard Erickson, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979. 159-167.
R.E O. White “Perseverance,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter Elwell, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984.
Glossary
Anti-nomianism: This is the view that salvation by grace meant that Christians were free from observing the constraints of any moral law. The word literally means “against law.” Gnostics and others who took this false view of grace believed licentious behavior was permissible since spirit and matter are incompatible, and what we do in the body is of no spiritual significance. Paul addressed an early form of this belief in Romans 6:1-2. “Shall we go on sinning that grace may abound? By no means.”
Assurance: The conviction of the believer in Jesus Christ that despite his sinful condition he is a child of God, forgiven of sins, and an heir of heaven through the finished work of Christ.
Entire Sanctification: The belief that one is entirely free from the power of sin in one’s life and is able to live in a state of freedom from all known sin.
Perseverance: The doctrine that the regenerated believer in Christ will ultimately be saved despite moral failures, lapses, or doubts in this life. Perseverance (ultimate salvation) is guaranteed by God’s promises, the nature of the New Covenant, and new birth. For Reformed believers it is rooted in the doctrines of election and pre-destination
Sanctification: The cleansing or setting apart of the believer from sin to God. It includes the experience of continued growth in Christ -likeness and purification of the believer’s life through the blood, name and word of Christ and is a function of the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life.
Visible Church: This refers to the members who are identified as part of Christ’s Church, and includes both believers and non-believers, truly regenerate, as well as false believers or hypocrites. The visible church is contrasted with the invisible church which is made up of all true believers in Christ from whatever segment of Christ’s body. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes, and some for ignoble. (II Tim. 2:19-20).
Works of supererogation: The Roman Catholic belief in good works which go beyond what God requires (Luke 10:35), and can be stored up to the benefit of others. These benefits include merit for the removing of persons from purgatory.
Bibliography:
Herman Bavink. “Sanctification,” in Readings in Christian Theology, Vol. 3, Millard Erickson, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979, 239-252.
G.K. Berkouwer. “The Reality of Perseverance,” in Readings in Christian Theology, Vol. 3, Millard Erickson, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979, 239-252.
Henry Bettenson, ed. “Canons on Justification, Anathemas” in Documents of theChristian Church, Second Edition, London: Oxford University Press, 1963.
Wayne Grudem. “ Sanctification (Growth in Likeness to Christ)” in Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, 746-762.
_____________. “The Perseverance of the Saints (Remaining a Christian)” in Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, 788-809..
John Wesley, “A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.” in Readings in Christian Theology, Vol. 3, Millard Erickson, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979, 159-167.
R.E O. White “Perseverance,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter Elwell, ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984.
|
|
|
Pastor P. Steve Paulus D.min. ~ pastor@stauntongrace.org
|
||
