is a term that mystifies some people and scares others; it mystifies some who think that it is some deep, mysterious doctrine; it scares some Baptists because they think that it is "Holy-roller" doctrine. But we must remember that every heresy is simply the perversion of some truth. There is a great deal of confusion in the religious world about sanctification, and this is because this doctrine has been abused by some denominations, and error has been taught by them. Some of the errors associated with this doctrine are: (1) That it is some sort of "second blessing", but this term is never found in the Scriptures, and it is a pitifully impoverished saved person who has never progressed beyond two blessings from the Lord. Indeed, every truly saved person daily receives many blessings from the Lord. However, "Sanctification" is generally used erroneously in regard to: (2) Sinless perfection. But the Bible no where holds out the hope that any person will ever achieve sinless perfection while in the flesh. Indeed, it moves on the assumption that sin will remain in the flesh so long as the flesh continues in its present state, and only with the glorification of the body at the coming of the Lord will anything like sinless perfection be reached. (3) Some also hold that sanctification has to do with the betterment of the flesh, but there abides in the flesh "no good thing" (Rom. 7:18), and the flesh continues to be the great antagonist of man’s spiritual nature until death severs the two. See chapter ten, which deals with the two natures in the believer.

The most common of these errors is the second one, yet the only connection that sanctification has to perfection is that it is progress toward it. C. D. Cole has well said that:

Complete personal sanctification in the sense of sinless perfection is a goal to be striven for and not a reality to be boasted of. Regeneration has been called the crisis of the disease of sin, and sanctification the progress of convalescence. To live in the truth of the glorious doctrine of sanctification will keep the believer humble, happy, hopeful, and helpful on his journey to glory. —Definitions of Doctrine, Vol. II, p. 75. Bryan Station Baptist Church, Lexington, Kentucky, no date.

Some people boast that they have come to such a spiritual level that they have attained to sinless perfection, and they call this supposed perfection "sanctification". Yet the Scriptures declare that "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" (1 John 1:10). If anyone should attain to perfection in this life, he would be out of place in any church he would join, for churches are made up of saints who are still in the flesh and consequently are still guilty of sin. But there is a difference in what believers are in this world, and what they are accounted to be in God’s sight; sin is a very real thing in the daily lives of believers, and it grieves the believer that he sins in proportion to the degree of his sanctification. Salvation not only changes God’s outlook on the believer, but it also changes the believer’s outlook on sin, for if one has been genuinely saved, his "want-to" has been changed. In answer to the oft-repeated statement that "If I believed like you Baptists do, that ‘once saved, always saved,’ I would go out and sin all I wanted to," one answered that "I not only sin all I want to, I sin more than I want to." The true believer is not accepted of the Father because of any human works or excellence, but he is "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. l:6), and consequently "Ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Col. 2:10).

The words "sanctify," "sanctification," "saints," "sanctuary," "holy," "holiness," and "hallowed," are all derived from the same root word, and this word and its derivatives appear some 280 times in the New Testament. This doctrine is a very important one, inasmuch as it has to do with living the Christ life and progressing toward the divine ideal for which we are saved. Many dislike this doctrine because of the great responsibility that it places upon them to conform their lives to their profession. Its importance is seen in Hebrews 12:14: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." Its importance is to be seen in that it is a part of salvation, being the outgrowth and continuation of that which is begun in Regeneration. Charles Spurgeon declares:

Sanctification begins in regeneration. The Spirit of God infuses into man the new principle called the spirit, which is a third and higher nature, so that the believing man becomes body, soul, and spirit, and in this he is distinct and distinguished from all other men of the race of Adam. This work, which begins in regeneration, is carried on in two ways, by vivification and by mortification; that is, by giving life to that which is good, and by sending death to that which is evil in the man; mortification, whereby the lusts of the flesh are subdued and kept under; and vivification, by which the life which God has put within us is made to be a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. This is carried on every day in what we call perseverance, by which the Christian is preserved and continued in a gracious state, and is made to abound in good works unto the praise and glory of God; and it culminates or comes to perfection in "glory," when the soul being thoroughly purged is caught up to dwell with holy beings at the right hand of the Majesty on High. —Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1862 Vol., p. 92, Pilgrim Publications, Pasadena, Texas, 1969.

Sanctification is a three-fold doctrine in several different ways, as we shall note, for consider:

The Scriptures use the word rendered "sanctification" in three different ways, but none of which contradicts the others. The first of these meanings is "to set apart for a specific purpose." It often means to set apart to holy purposes. There are many passages of Scripture illustrative of this usage, and this is especially true in the Old Testament. The very first appearance of this word in the Bible illustrates this meaning: "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made" (Gen. 2:3). The meaning "to purify from sin" which some attempt to make the only meaning of sanctification, will not fit here, for a day of the week, not being a living, rational being, cannot have any morality about it and hence cannot be purified of sin; however, it can be set apart for holy purposes, and this is the meaning here. We believe that the Sabbath is set apart as holy for five reasons: (1) Rest From Labor. (2) Reverence Of The Lord. (3) Religious Instruction. (4) Reviving Of The Saint. (5) Recognition Of God’s Bounty.

It was in exactly this same way that the Tabernacle and all its furnishings, the garments for the priests, the sacrifices, etc., were all sanctified: they were all set apart for holy uses. In just this sense of the word, Jesus said of Himself in John 10:37: "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" And again in John 17:19: "And for their sages I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." In neither case can "sanctified" have the meaning of "to purify from sin," for the Son of God had no sin; the word necessarily carries its root meaning of "to set apart." Jesus, as the "Elect One" was set apart for the fulfillment of the Father’s purposes. In like manner, the believer is set apart initially for the purposes of God, but he is also set apart in the other senses of the word as well.

The basic meaning of the word "sanctify" enters in to every usage of it; the other two meanings are extensions of the word, developed from the way it is used, and do not necessarily apply in every case. The root meaning may be used even of unsaved persons separating themselves unto sinfulness, as in Isaiah 66:17: "They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord."

The more common usage of this word in its basic meaning, is to set apart for holy purposes, and it is so used by Jesus in John 17:17: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." The Word of God is the instrument whereby men are set apart, separated, but all of these references manifest the basic meaning of the word "sanctify" to be simply "to separate or to set apart" without regard to the moral significance of that separation.

In the second place, this word developed the meaning of "to regard, treat or declare to be holy." This meaning developed because the word was most commonly used of the setting apart of certain things or persons to a holy purpose, and so these would be regarded as holy because of this setting apart. This word is used in this sense in Isaiah 8:13: "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread." The Lord does not need to be purified from sin, and so this cannot be the meaning of this word here; neither does He need man to set Him apart for any reason, so this likewise is not the idea here, but He does require man to regard and treat Him as he truly is—the thrice holy God, Isa. 6:3,

This is the same sense in which this word is used in Matthew 6:9: "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." See also Luke 11:2. The Greek word used is that which is commonly translated "sanctified," there being only three exceptions to this rendering out of twenty-nine appearances. Because God Himself is holy, and is to be regarded as holy, so also is His name, which represents Him. This is the positive side of that which is negatively expressed in the third commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Ex. 20:7). Even in prayer, man is to treat God’s name as holy and above common usage; it is never to be used commonly or as a mere filler in one’s speech. There are many supposedly good Christians who are daily guilty of this sin by their light use of the Lord’s name.

We conceive the following as the only proper uses of the Lord’s name in our speech: (1) When we pray to Him. (2) When we proclaim Him to others. (3) When we praise Him. Whatsoever is more than this is an empty, pointless, vain use of the Lord’s name, and it incurs guilt. —Davis W. Huckabee, Studies On The Ten Commandments, p. 60. (Unpublished manuscript.)

The word "sanctify" may be used in this sense of many other inanimate and intangible things, such as the Lord’s house, the Lord’s day, and it also has application to the saint as well, for in God’s eyes, from the time of his regeneration, God treats and regards him as holy, and hence the name ‘"saint" is given to even the newest and most immature Christian; he may not always act like a saint, but God treats and regards him as one nonetheless.

Thirdly., the word "sanctify" sometimes means "to purify or to make holy". This is a further extension of the former shade of meaning. It sometimes means to purify only in an external way, as in Exodus 19:10-11: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai." At other times it has to do with the inward cleansing and purifying of the soul in regeneration. It is in this sense that the word is used in 1 Corinthians 6:11: "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17). Here the reference is to the progressive sanctifying of the life of the saint after he has been initially set apart in salvation.

Sanctification is in three tenses: positionally, the believer is set apart in salvation; it is instantaneous and absolute; progressively, he is being set apart all his earthly life; perfectively, he is glorified and achieves perfect separation unto God at the resurrection. The means of sanctification is here declared to be "in thy truth" which is further explained to be "Thy Word." The basis of sanctification is Christ’s sanctification (v. 19). He secured a full salvation (in three tenses) for us, but this has not yet been fulfilled in us and will not be until our sanctification is complete; however, though this is not yet completed, it is certain of completion, for having started a work, Christ does not fail in accomplishing it (Phil. 1:6). —Davis W. Huckabee, Studies On John, p. 107. (Mimeographed Sunday School Notes of Immanuel Baptist Church, Wellington, Kansas, 1972.)

One may perhaps be led to ask, "But how may I know that I am being sanctified?" To which we answer, That the divine work evidences itself. Or, to quote Dr. J. M. Pendleton:

While in the three-fold definition now given of sanctification several points have been referred to which are in truth evidences of the progress of the gracious work, it may be well to refer more definitely to some other evidences. I name the following:

1. A deep sense of unworthiness. In all dispensations true piety has exalted God and humbled man....

2. An increasing hatred of sin. Sin is the opposite of holiness, and, so far as we know, God cannot make us holy without making us hate sin....

3. A growing interest in the means of grace. The word of God is more highly appreciated as the instrument of sanctification; for Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17)....

4. An increasing love of things heavenly.....Now, one of the effects of increasing sanctification is the weakening of the ties that bind Christians to this world, and the strengthening of their attachments to heavenly things." —Condensed from Christian Doctrines, pp. 306-310. American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1878.

One great mistake of many in regard to this doctrine is that they attribute sanctification entirely, or in large part at least to man’s energy and ability. Often such passages of Scripture as 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4: "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor," are interpreted as if sanctification were entirely of man, but this is not so. It is true that there is an element of human responsibility here, but the power of it is wholly of the Lord, and all sanctification must be ascribed ultimately to the Lord’s workings. To ascribe the power of sanctification to one’s self is nothing short of robbing God of the glory that is His, for the Scriptures teach that sanctification comes from God, and that all three Personages of the Trinity have their part in it. Jude 1 speaks of saints as those who "are sanctified by God the Father," yet this must never be understood as denying the work of Christ or that of the Holy Spirit. Charles Spurgeon well remarks in a sermon on "Threefold Sanctification:"

In the deeds of grace none of the Persons of the Trinity act apart from the rest. They are as united in their deeds as in their essence. In their love towards the chosen they are one, and in the actions which flow from that great central source they are still undivided. Specially I would have you notice this in the case of sanctification. While we may without the slightest mistake speak of sanctification as the work of the Spirit, yet we must take heed that we do not view it as if the Father and the Son had no part therein. It is correct to speak of sanctification as the work of the Father, of the Spirit, and of the Son. Still doth Jehovah say, "Let us make man in our own image after our likeness," and thus we are "his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." —Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, l862 Volume, p. 85. Pilgrim Publications, Pasadena, Texas, 1969.

The very fact that there is a harmony—a oneness—between the Persons of the Trinity, makes it evident that they must all be concerned in that which affects any One of Them. This is not to say that They all have the same degree of concern in any given work, for each One has His own work that He accomplishes. The Father is said to sanctify His saints because He is the One Who decrees that they are to be sanctified; Christ’s part, then is to effect that which will make possible their sanctification; the Spirit then applies the effects of Christ’s work to the saint. Doubtless it is because of His work in making men holy that the third Person of the Trinity is called the Holy Spirit, for it is obvious that He is not, and cannot, be holier than the Father or the Son.

But not only are believers said to be "sanctified by God the Father" (Jude 1), but they are also said to be "sanctified in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 1:2). Sanctification, or holiness, is that "without which no man can see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14), yet there is no sanctification possible apart from union with Christ in His redemptive work.

In Paul’s writings three things constantly appear: First, believers are sanctified through their union with Christ. Every holy impulse arises out of the fact that they are in Christ. Secondly, at every stage and in every detail the Holy Spirit’s work parallels that of Christ in us. Christ in us, and the Spirit in us, are identical in result. Thirdly, the result of "Christ in us" and the Spirit in us is seen in ethical and spiritual transformation. —E. Y. Mullins, Christian Religion in Its Doctrinal Expression, p. 419. The Judson Press, Philadelphia, 1932.

Hence we can see the folly of those who hope for eternal life without trusting in Christ for it. Whatever they may have apart from Christ—and it is scant—they cannot have holiness, and this is necessary for salvation. Many strive for a personal holiness through works, but the Scriptures uniformly designate such as "unprofitable" (Isa. 57:12), "unclean and filthy" (Isa. 64:6), "works of iniquity" (Matthew 7:21-23). Only those works which are done after one is saved—those works which rise from a new nature—are profitable to men (Titus 3:8).

True sanctification comes about only as a result of being in union with Him Who said "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth (John 17:19). The truth of God’s Word is the instrument whereby this union is brought about, and the believer is made partaker of the divine nature. "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Pet. 1:4). It is through the knowledge and practice of the Scriptures that the regenerated man is brought more and more into a likeness to Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:4,6).

Which brings us to consider that men are also "sanctified through the Spirit" (1 Pet. 1:2). This explains Romans 8:14: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God," for the same 6pirit that leads men to a saving trust in Jesus Christ, also sanctifies them as the sons of God, Sanctification is vitally related to both justification and regeneration, being the outgrowth and proof of them. E. Y. Mullins observes:

It is related to faith because in sanctification we constantly repeat the first act of trust. It gradually becomes the habitual and normal attitude of the soul. Faith is the condition of sanctification as of salvation in the first instance. Sanctification is related to justification because in its significance as setting apart or devotement to God, it corresponds to the new status conferred upon us in God’s justifying act. Sanctification is related to regeneration because it is the unfolding of the new life germ implanted in regeneration. It is vitally related to the work of the Holy Spirit because the entire process is conducted by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the believer and gradually perfects his new moral character. —The Christian Religion in Its Doctrinal Expression, p. 420. Judson Press, Philadelphia, 1932.

When men refuse to be led by the Spirit to trust in Christ, they cut off the means of their initial sanctification, without which the gates of heaven are barred to them; thus, many actually lock themselves out of heaven. But the believer who refuses to be led by the Spirit into more holy living also bars himself from many blessings, and makes necessary the chastisement of the Lord: "For they (our earthly fathers) verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he (God) for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb. 12:10-11).

The Holy Spirit’s part in sanctification is more prominent than either that of the Father or the Son, because His work is the active application of the sanctifying Word, which produces the evidences of sanctification, and therefore we are apt to think that He alone does the sanctifying of the believer unless we are attentive to what the Scripture teaches. It is a blessed thing to know that the whole Trinity is arrayed, not only for our salvation, but ‘also for our sanctification and our security.

Sanctification accomplishes three things in man when it is operative in him; we say when it is operative in him, for there are many who claim to be sanctified, yet in whom we see no evidence of a true, biblical sanctification, and so we must conclude that these have only a pseudo or quasi sanctification. There is no truth that Satan has not counterfeited and perverted, and it is so that he has produced a spurious sanctification in many people so as to bring the true sanctification into question and disrepute. Many unsaved people assume that they have been sanctified just because they have "turned over a new leaf," "gotten religion," or "joined the church." But none of these things constitute sanctification, nor are they necessarily the evidences of sanctification, for all of these things can be done by those who have never been truly born again. Sanctification must not be confused with justification; Abraham Booth has well contrasted these two in the following words:

Though justification and sanctification are both of them blessings of grace, and though they are absolutely inseparable; yet they are so manifestly distinct, that there is in various respects a wide difference between them. This distinction may be thus expressed. Justification respects the person in a legal sense, is a single act of grace, and terminates in a relative change; that is, a freedom from punishment, and a right to life. Sanctification regards him in a physical sense, is a continued work of grace, and terminates in a real change, as to the quality both of habits and actions. The former is by a righteousness without us; the latter is by holiness wrought in us. That precedes, as a cause; this follows, as an effect. Justification is by Christ as a priest, and has regard to the guilt of sin; sanctification is by him as a king, and refers to its dominion. The former annuls its damning power; the latter its reigning power. Justification is instantaneous and complete, in all its real subjects; but sanctification is progressive, and perfecting by degrees. —The Reign of Grace, pp. 199-200. American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia, no date.

The first effect of sanctification is that the saint is cleansed from the stain of sin, for sanctification is initially the application of the cleansing blood of Christ to the soul. In regeneration one is both cleansed and set apart as belonging to God. It is to this aspect of sanctification that Hebrews 10:10-14 refers: "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

From this text the following things may be noted: (1) The initial sanctification is associated with the Lord’s sacrificial death. (2) This sacrifice is sufficient to sanctify "once for all," and while the words "for all" are italicized (showing that there is not a separate Greek word for these words), yet this idea is in the Greek word ephapax; (see it again in Rom. 6:10; Heb. 7:27; 9:12). This same idea is found in verse 12: (i) Only one sacrifice is offered. (ii) It is offered "for ever". (iii) After the offering of which, Christ "sat down on the right hand of God," signifying thereby that His work was finished. (3) This one offering was sufficient to "perfect forever" those who are sanctified thereby.

Christ’s sacrifice for the saint effects his cleansing from sin and setting apart unto the Lord; thus, in this instance, all three shades of meaning of this word are met together, for the saint is set apart unto holy purposes, he is declared by the Lord to be a "saint" or holy person, and is so regarded, for he has actually been made holy by the sacrifice of Christ.

Holiness when applied to God is defined as "that element in the Divine Nature which lies at the basis of, determines, and molds the reverence which is due from man to God." The word also has a meaning in classic Greek of "devoted to the gods;" an animal for sacrifice, a house for worship, a vessel for sacred use, a garment for priestly wear, a man for service, becomes by such designation, holy. So in Scripture, a person or thing, is termed holy by reason of being set apart from sin and possessed of absolute purity. —Emery Bancroft, Elemental Theology, p. 221. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1945.

The first effect of sanctification is accomplished instantaneously and is, for the most part, above the comprehension of the individual, for while the individual knows that from the moment of faith in Christ, he is flooded with a sense of peace with God, yet he does not realize at the time that this is all due to the sanctifying effect of Christ’s redemptive work. Later on, as a result of study and meditation, he will come to realize this.

The second effect of sanctification is a continual consecration of the saint to the will of God, as the believer yields himself to the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. Spurgeon, in the sermon before referred to, again says:

Holiness is the architectural plan upon which God buildeth up his living temple. We read in Scripture of the "beauties of holiness;" nothing is beautiful before God but that which is holy...I pray you, ye who profess to be followers of Christ, set a high value upon purity of life and godliness of conversation. Value the blood of Christ as the foundation of your hope, but never speak disparagingly of the work of the Spirit which is your meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light; yea, rather, prize it so heartily that you dread the very appearance of evil. —Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1862 Volume, pp. 85, 66. Pilgrim Publications, Pasadena, Texas, 1969.

The believer is not here passively unconscious of these effects, as is the case in regeneration, but he takes an active part in this aspect of sanctification, and the success of this part of sanctification varies in exact proportion to the believer’s submissiveness to the Spirit’s leading. God has not only sanctified His people, He has also called them to be holy—to put into actual practice in their daily lives the basic elements of holiness. "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 4:7-8) It is a solemn thing for a believer to resist the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit in his life; it is his feeble attempt to stop Christ’s redemptive work in mid-course, for Christ’s redemption is more than just an initial cleansing; it is the continual application of His saving and sanctifying work until the believer comes into "the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the mreasure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). Until this stage is reached, Christ’s redemptive work is not complete, for He will continue to sanctify His saints until they are glorified.

The third effect of sanctification—its final stage—then is glorification. This is when God has finally perfected the believer in body, soul and spirit. He is never frustrated in His redemptive work, nor does He ever begin such a work only to cease in the midst and let it come to naught. This is referred to in Philippians 1:6: "Being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." The "day of Jesus Christ" marks the end of God’s sanctification, for at the resurrection and renovation of the bodies of the saints every believer is brought to complete likeness to Christ. Not until the flesh is renewed and glorified, will sanctification be complete, for not until then will sin be completely eradicated from the saint.

This is the hope that has ever been held out to the Lord’s people as the one great goal to be aimed at, striven for, and expectantly awaited. "For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself" (Phil. 3:20-21, R.V.). Glorification is the last link in that golden chain of God’s redemptive dealings which began with His foreknowledge of His people in His elective love (Rom. 8:29-30). It is often spoken of in association with the return of Christ to the earth, for this is when it will take place. This is why every true saint, from a purely selfish standpoint, ought to desire the return of Christ, for it will mark the end of his struggle with sin and with the problems that sin has caused, and the beginning of his eternal enjoyment of glory with his Saviour and Lord. May God hasten the day.

By this, we mean to consider how this sanctification is accomplished. What power accomplishes it? As we have already observed, the Holy Spirit is the One Who applies this sanctification; He is the active agent in it. But we must remember that there is not only an agent in sanctification, but also an element; and that element is the Word of God. The word of God alone is a cold, lifeless letter which can do nothing but condemn man; it takes the active application of the Lord by the Holy Spirit to enliven man both in salvation and in sanctification. "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (2 Cor. 3:6). The Holy Spirit works initially in salvation to set apart the saint unto God, but He does not then cease His workings, but continues to carry it on throughout the life of the saint.

Sanctification results from the continuation of the agency of the Holy Spirit, after the act of regeneration. (a) In strengthening and augmenting existing graces: faith, hope, charity, etc. (b) In exciting them to exercise, through reading and hearing the word, the sacraments, prayer, providences, afflictions, and chastisement. W.G.T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, Vol. II, p. 554. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, no date.

There are some who, in effect, try to tie the hands of the Spirit and to force Him to resort to other means of sanctifying them, for they steadfastly refuse to read or hear the Scriptures, and cut themselves off from all other means of sanctification. Some profess to believe in the Spirit’s sanctification, who yet absolutely refuse to make use of the only means of being sanctified. Whatever their profession may be, they deny it in their works, and if such are saved at all, they are saved "yet so as by fire," and shall have few works to be rewarded for at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Neither does the Holy spirit work independently in this matter, for in Hebrews 10, where we earlier noted the references to Christ’s sanctifying work of redemption (vv. 10-14), we find in verses 15-18 that this is all a matter of the covenant of the Triune God, for all three persons are mentioned as having their part in this great accomplishment.

For in the second place, there could be no application of sanctification to the individual by the Holy Spirit but for the sacrificial work of Christ, which is the ground of that sanctification. Men are sanctified by the blood of Christ (Heb. 13:12), which is termed the "blood of the covenant" (Heb. 10:29). The Holy Sprit applies what Christ has wrought by His atoning death, but His death had more than a mere transient effect upon His people; they are not simply saved by a once for all application of His blood; they are also kept in a state of salvation by the continual application of the saving effects of Christ’s death by the Holy Spirit. This is why, when speaking of those who were already saved, John was inspired to say: "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth (note the present tense) us from all sin (all sin, future, as well as past)" (1 John 1:7). Not only so, but the blood of Christ also purges the conscience from dead works (Heb. 9:14), and continues to purify the lives of the redeemed (Titus 2:14). Not until the sanctification of the saint is complete will the cleansing efficacy of Christ’s blood cease to be applied to the life and conscience of the saint.

The adequacy of the atoning work of Christ is to be seen in Hebrews 10, where He is contrasted with the Levitical priests and their ministry; this especially stands out in verses 12-14. But in speaking of this "one offering" which was offered "for sins for ever," and which "perfects for ever" the sanctified, no room is left for any supposed offerings of the "mass" as a repetition of His atoning work, nor is room left for the supposed need of human works to perfect His redeeming work, and it is blasphemy of the worst sort for anyone to try to substitute such "filthy rags." All that is needed is for the Holy Spirit to apply the benefits of the blood in regeneration, and continue to apply the cleansing benefits of it in sanctification.

Thirdly, we see another working in sanctification in that this is all the will of the Father, for the sacrifice of the Son, and the application of the benefits of Christ’s death by the Spirit are declared to be His will in Hebrews 10:9-10. "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." What is the instrument of the application of the saving and sanctifying benefits of Christ’s death by the Holy Spirit? It is the preached Word, by which the Father is said to sanctify believers: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17). Remember, Jesus was speaking, but He was not speaking to the Spirit, but to the Father, and so it becomes clear that the Father also works in the sanctification of saints. Thus, the preached Word is not only "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18), it is also the power of God unto sanctification.

We cannot divide the Trinity in this matter; all Three work together to effect the complete separation of the saint from the world and its defilements, and while our Heavenly Father’s chastisements are often grievous at the time, yet they are meant to develop holiness in us and to fit us for eternal fellowship with Him. "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb. 12:9-11).

Sanctification is an important doctrine, for it is a barred door which keeps out of heaven all who are not possessed of the holiness of Christ. Many will be turned away who have thought to present their own personal righteousness, which God views only as "filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). But while some have erred in trusting in their own works, there are others who go to the opposite extreme and make no effort to practice personal holiness. Both of these are mistakes, for the Scripture speaks both of the believer’s sinfulness, and of his perfection in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 1:8; 3:9). A. J. Gordon says of this:

"What a paradox it is that side by side in the Epistle of John we should have the strongest affirmation of the Christian’s sinfulness...and the strongest affirmation of his sinlessness...Now heresy means a dividing or choosing, and almost all of the gravest errors have arisen from adopting some extreme statement of Scripture to the rejection of the other extreme. If we regard the doctrine of sinless perfection as a heresy, we regard contentment with sinful imperfection as a greater heresy. And we gravely fear that many Christians make the apostle’s words, "If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves," the conscious justification for a low standard of Christian living. It were almost better for one to overstate the possibilities of sanctification in his eager grasp after holiness, than to understate them in his complacent satisfaction with a traditional unholiness. Certainly it is not an edifying spectacle to see a Christian worldling throwing stones at a Christian perfectionist. —The Ministry of the Spirit, pp. 116-117. The Judson Press, Philadelphia, 1949.

Sanctification is both the will of God and the work of God, yet it is also the responsibility of the saint to make a practice of it, and if he is not possessed of personal holiness, he is deceived if he thinks that he has a hope of heaven, for the Scripture says: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). Say reader, what does your life proclaim you to be, a saint or a sinner?