Quotes about Sanctification

[Toasty]

Here are some quotes about sanctification from Barbara Duguid's book, Extravagant Grace:

"Let’s be honest: if the chief work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification is to make Christians more sin-free, then he isn’t doing a very good job." p. 30

"Think of what this means. God thinks that you will actually come to know and love him better as a desperate and weak sinner in continual need of grace than you would as a triumphant Christian warrior who wins each and every battle against sin. This makes sense out of our experience as Christians. If the job of the Holy Spirit is to make you more humble and dependent on Christ, more grateful for his sacrifice and more adoring of him as a wonderful Savior, then he might be doing a very, very good job even though you still sin every day." pp. 30-31

Throughout the book, Duguid emphasizes the point that the Holy Spirit's main job in sanctification is to make Christians more humble and dependent upon Christ. There is a good reason why God ordained that sanctification is progressive and that we would not attain a state of sinless perfection in this life.

Does the Holy Spirit have a secondary work of changing the lives of believers so that they are no longer dominated by sin? It is true that Christians are not going to arrive at a state of sinless perfection, but Paul does teach in 1 Corinthians 6 that some of the Corinthians used to be sexually immoral, drunkards and the like. Moreover, Paul teaches in Ephesians 2, that the Ephesians are no longer walking as they used to walk.

 

[MW]

the Holy Spirit's main job in sanctification is to make Christians more humble and dependent upon Christ.

Please note: I have deliberately detached the authoress' name so as to examine the doctrine on impartial and common ground. The following comments pertain to the OP, not to the original work.

For what are Christians humble and dependent upon Christ? It is for their sanctification, among other things. That being the case, sanctification itself cannot mainly consist in humility and dependence. Sanctification, as the Shorter Catechism summarises it for us, involves being renewed in the image of God, dying unto sin, and living unto righteousness. Humility and dependence are qualities of that work, and may even be regarded as important aspects of distinguishing the genuine work from a false one. Obviously pride and independence are characteristics of a counterfeit form of holiness. At the same time, who can claim to be altogether free from pride and independence? If one looks closely and honestly enough at themselves they will have cause to be humble that they are not humble enough, and see their need of dependence on Christ to make them more dependent. The lesson is to make sure we do not make any particular grace THE work of sanctification. Good growth means developing proportionately in all the graces, not singling out the ones which might have a singular appeal to an individual at a particular time. We should remember that we are growing up into Christ as well as growing by the grace of Christ.

 

[mvdm]

Dr. Mark Jones' review of her book observes the false dichotomy presented:

Duguid also presents a misguided view of the Holy Spirit's goal in our sanctification. She contends that if the Holy Spirit's "chief work" in sanctification is making us more and more sin-free, "then he isn't doing a very good job"; after all, she claims there are unbelievers who are "morally superior" to Christians (p. 30). This view makes a mockery of the New Testament's teaching on the moral difference between Christians and non-Christians (see Col. 1:21-22; Eph. 2:1-10; Rom. 6; 8:1-14), and it says things about the Spirit's work that I certainly would not. She contrasts this (wrong) view of the Holy Spirit's role in sanctification with her idea that if "the goal of sanctification is actually growing in humility and greater dependence upon Christ, then the Holy Spirit is doing an excellent job" (p. 61). So what if I am not living in great dependence upon Christ? Am I doing a bad job or is the Holy Spirit doing a bad job or is it both our fault (i.e., the "mysterious math")? Her book is written because people do not seem to be depending on Christ or growing in humility. But why write a book on this topic if the Holy Spirit is doing an excellent job in this area? Again, the two views of sanctification she contrasts become false dichotomies. They are actually the same thing, viewed from different angles.

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http://www.reformation21.org/shelf-life/housewife-theologian-and-extravagant-grace.php

 

[iainduguid]

Dr. Mark Jones' review of her book observes the false dichotomy presented:

Duguid also presents a misguided view of the Holy Spirit's goal in our sanctification. She contends that if the Holy Spirit's "chief work" in sanctification is making us more and more sin-free, "then he isn't doing a very good job"; after all, she claims there are unbelievers who are "morally superior" to Christians (p. 30). This view makes a mockery of the New Testament's teaching on the moral difference between Christians and non-Christians (see Col. 1:21-22; Eph. 2:1-10; Rom. 6; 8:1-14), and it says things about the Spirit's work that I certainly would not. She contrasts this (wrong) view of the Holy Spirit's role in sanctification with her idea that if "the goal of sanctification is actually growing in humility and greater dependence upon Christ, then the Holy Spirit is doing an excellent job" (p. 61). So what if I am not living in great dependence upon Christ? Am I doing a bad job or is the Holy Spirit doing a bad job or is it both our fault (i.e., the "mysterious math")? Her book is written because people do not seem to be depending on Christ or growing in humility. But why write a book on this topic if the Holy Spirit is doing an excellent job in this area? Again, the two views of sanctification she contrasts become false dichotomies. They are actually the same thing, viewed from different angles.

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http://www.reformation21.org/shelf-life/housewife-theologian-and-extravagant-grace.php

The quotes in question are essentially an exposition of WCF 5.5:
The most wise, righteous, and gracious God often leaves, for a season, his own children to various temptations, and the corruptions of their own hearts, to chastise them for former sins, or to reveal to them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, so that they may be humbled; and, to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for various other just and holy ends.

If you read the whole book, you'll find that she does address the need for human effort in sanctification. Unfortunately some readers seem not to have read the latter chapters but have read into her work their own concerns. Her experience is that many people, whether in Reformed or evangelical churches, have never thought about what God is up to in our failures, or that sanctification is not merely a steady progress towards perfection. If you have never met people in that situation, you may not realize the importance of her book.

A more balanced review from the OPC magazine may be found here.
http://www.opc.org/os.html?article_id=412&issue_id=93