Discussing Sanctification (Part 02)

STATEMENT

How do you read this:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Sanctification is part of our salvation, no? Yet Paul writes that we are "saved" by grace through faith apart from any "doing" of our own. And to make sure his readers are clear he adds, "not a result of works, so that no one may boast." "not your own doing" and "not a result of works" excludes all that the believer does. Yet Paul adds that we were created in Christ Jesus "for good works." Those works God himself prepared beforehand for his redeemed to walk in. So we seek to obey, we struggle to mortify the flesh, we "work." Yet salvation (election, calling, justification, sanctification, and glorification) is of God alone for us to receive by grace through faith. We don't add to Christ's "It is finished" work of redemption. But we get to share in its benefits, one of which is a new heart and will that loves righteousness and looks and desires to be obedient. And by the work of the Holy Spirit in us, God effects that in his people.

Galatians 5:22-23 terms our new obedience in Christ as "fruit of the Spirit" not works or fruit of the believer. But as to our sinful deeds, Paul terms them as "works" (vs. 19-21). So we choose and we work as disciples of Jesus but see and know, according to Scripture, that our good works are the fruit of God alone who produces freely by his Spirit all the growth of goodness in us, yes in conjunction with our always imperfect labors. So we say with Paul regarding all of our salvation, it is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

- Anonymous

RESPONSE

My thoughts follow…

How do you read this from Ephesians 2: Sanctification is part of our salvation, no?

LEGAL/POSITIONAL sanctification, which is a perfect, monergistic accomplishment of the Lord Jesus Christ, is undeniably a part of our eternal salvation. Moreover, because our salvation is utterly by monergistic grace it is also incredibly important to point out that our works of obedience have absolutely no participatory involvement with this sanctification. On the other hand, the ETHICAL/PRACTICAL sanctification to which we are exhorted involves imperfect, synergistic acts of obedience to God. It is by no means guaranteed as evidenced by the sin that we continue to practice during our natural lives (I John 1:8). Because this sanctification is dependent upon our obedient actions, it is therefore not a condition of our eternal salvation, because all of those conditions were met by Christ. Our imperfect obedience to God is evidence that we are beneficiaries of the covenant, but it has NO participatory involvement in our eternal salvation whatsoever. Indeed if it did, then salvation would be by works as an unavoidable logical consequence.

Yet Paul writes that we are "saved" by grace through faith apart from any "doing" of our own. And to make sure his readers are clear he adds, "not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

That is correct. You should not lose sight of the fact that your ETHICAL/PRACTICAL sanctification in this life most certainly involves your “doing” the righteous work of obedience to God. It therefore is excluded from having any participatory involvement in our eternal salvation.

"not your own doing" and "not a result of works" excludes all that the believer does.

Correct. In so doing it exclude every act of ETHICAL/PRACTICAL sanctification you ever perform in obedience to God. The point you’re making here perfectly underscores the distinction I insist arises out of the scriptures. Again, I would ask…

  1. If you fornicate are you sanctified in the Hebrews 10:10 sense? Of course you are, because that sanctification was a monergistic, perfect, LEGAL/POSITIONAL sanctification that was done by Christ without any assistance or participation from you whatsoever.

  2. If you fornicate are you sanctified in the I Thessalonians 4:3 sense? No. Because fornication is unsanctified behavior that is inconsistent with the ethical practice we are taught to follow in the new testament.

I would ask further – How else could you possibly deal with these questions? You could answer Yes/Yes: but in so doing you would be affirming that fornication is a practice consistent with the notion of sanctification. That is clearly untenable. On the other hand you could answer No/No: But this would be an assault on the perfect, monergistic work of Christ wherein God’s people are eternally set apart.

For this reason it is essentially that we maintain distinction between the setting-apart that God did related to our eternal salvation with which we had absolutely no participatory involvement (LEGAL/POSITIONAL sanctification – Hebrews 10:10) and the setting-apart from this untoward generation that we are admonished to do as our reasonable service to God (Romans 12:1) which has no participatory involvement in the work whereby we are eternally saved (ETHICAL/PRACTICAL sanctification – I Thessalonians 4:3).

Yet Paul adds that we were created in Christ Jesus "for good works." Those works God himself prepared beforehand for his redeemed to walk in.

I don’t deny that we were created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of doing good works in the Kingdom of God. In addition to that I am clarifying that those “works” have no participatory role in the work whereby we are eternally saved. If they do then eternal salvation is by works (Romans 11:6) It is also important to note that these obedient works are also accompanied by many disobedient acts of sin (I John 1:8). As such our works are imperfect and therefore distinct from Christ’s perfect work whereby we are LEGALLY/POSITIONALLY sanctified (Hebrews 10:14).

So, we seek to obey, we struggle to mortify the flesh, we "work."

All of which determines our performance in ethics, not our position in Christ.

Yet salvation (election, calling, justification, sanctification, and glorification) is of God alone for us to receive by grace through faith.

Our LEGAL/POSITIONAL sanctification is in Christ alone. It is His work that sets us apart unto eternal salvation. But obedience to God requires our willing and active participation. It is therefore distinct from the perfect sanctification we have in Christ.

We don't add to Christ's "It is finished" work of redemption.

True. Also true of Christ’s finished work of sanctification.

But we get to share in its benefits, one of which is a new heart and will that loves righteousness and looks and desires to be obedient. And by the work of the Holy Spirit in us, God effects that in his people.

I agree. But one must observe that the LEGAL/POSITIONAL sanctification we have in Christ is monergistic and perfect, while the ETHICAL/PRACTICAL sanctification to which we are exhorted in obedience is synergistic and imperfect. That which is monergistic and perfect cannot also be synergistic and imperfect. It follows that the bible speaks of sanctification in two ways: one relative to Christ’s perfect and eternally saving work of setting us apart, the other relative to the imperfect and temporal obedience to which we are exhorted.

Galatians 5:22-23 terms our new obedience in Christ as "fruit of the Spirit" not works or fruit of the believer.

I don’t question that our works are fruit of the spirit. I question the perfection of one’s ETHICAL sanctification in obedience during their natural lives.

But as to our sinful deeds, Paul terms them as "works" (vs. 19-21). So we choose and we work as disciples of Jesus but see and know, according to Scripture, that our good works are the fruit of God alone who produces freely by his Spirit all the growth of goodness in us, yes in conjunction with our always imperfect labors.

When the bible speaks giving credit to God alone (I Corinthians 15:10) it is NOT suggesting that our works of obedience are monergistic acts of God. It is speaking in deference to the necessary benefactor, apart from which the work would have been utterly impossible. That is an important distinction. All the works of righteousness we perform are synergistic in nature as they involve both the Holy Spirit’s enablement as well as our willing, active obedience. To draw this out more explicitly, I would ask the following questions:

  1. Do our works of righteousness have any participatory involvement in the work whereby we are eternally saved? Clearly they do not. (Romans 11:6)

  2. If a regenerate man chooses to obey God by avoiding fornication is this a work of righteousness? Undeniably, yes. It is obedience to a direct command of God.

  3. If a regenerate man chooses to obey God by avoiding fornication is this an act of sanctification in the I Thessalonians 4:3 sense? Absolutely it is.

  4. Does it have any participatory involvement in the finished work sanctification that was completed by the body of the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:10) whereby we are “perfected”? (Hebrews 10:14) No, it does not because that was a monergistic act of God.

  5. If a regenerate man disobeys God by committing fornication is this an act of sanctification in the I Thessalonians 4:3 sense? No. Such disobedience is unsanctified behavior.

  6. Does this act of disobedience in any way affect the sanctification we have in Christ in a LEGAL/POSITIONAL sense? No. It does not because LEGAL/POSITIONAL sanctification is a past, perfect, monergistic accomplishment of Christ that does not involve our works at all.

It unavoidably follows from these observations that our acts of obedience have no participatory involvement in the work whereby we are LEGALLY and POSITIONALLY sanctified and eternally saved. But our acts of obedience are materially involved in the degree to which we are set-apart from the world in our behavior – our ETHICAL/PRACTICAL sanctification. This sanctification is not involved in the work that brings us eternal life. It is an imperfect, ex post facto evidence that Christ’w work was on our behalf.

So we say with Paul regarding all of our salvation, it is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Please answer these two questions directly:

  1. If you fornicate are you sanctified in the Hebrews 10:10 sense?

  2. If you fornicate are you sanctified in the I Thessalonians 4:3 sense?

Correct answers to those questions establish the distinction between the sanctification we have in Christ and the sanctification to which we are exhorted in obedience beyond any reasonable dispute.

- Elder Daniel Samons

Daniel Samons