I am starting this thread with a bit of fear and trembling because I'm always nervous about the shape any discussion takes when the purpose is to have a discussion about the nature of sanctification in the Christian walk. It's going to be particularly difficult because I'm going to bring to bear a public dialog that has received some attention of late in Reformed circles. I want to point out this recent post by Rick Phillips and then encourage us to dialog respectfully without engaging in "verdicts" that have skipped past Ecclesiastical courts and already rendered judgment:
Oh to Grace How Great a Debtor -- A Reply to Tullian Tchividjian - Reformation21 Blog
Pastor Phillips points out that he is not trying anyone judicially but is attempting to stimulate useful thinking. That is often difficult in these dialogs due to the tendency of a party spirit on both sides of the equation to not only assume the worst in those with whom we disagree but to cheer, un-critically, any "points" we may score against those we think are not on our side. This isn't about condemning one side or vindicating another so that one comes out of the battle as the victor and the other the loser. The dialog is intended to provoke useful thinking. It is not because anyone believes that one party cannot think but because we believe we can think rightly by the Word that we hope to persuade.
I wrote an exegetical paper a couple of years ago on Romans 6:1-11: The PuritanBoard - Dead to Sin, Alive to Christ (Rom 6:1-11)
As I've grown in grace, I've come to many "A ha" moments in my Christian walk and believe those will continue as long as I'm being sanctified by Christ but studying the definitive nature of sanctification was one of those earth moving moments for me. Specifically, what comfort and assurance may the Christian learn from Romans 6:10 and the surrounding pericope?
Some thoughts:
But Paul is saying much more. He is stating, firstly, that sin, as power, was put to death on the Cross of Christ. The doctrine of total depravity does not merely teach that men are in need of a Savior. It also teaches that men are slaves to sin. Sin has power over unbelievers. They desire unrighteousness because their wills are enslaved to its power. The Cross of Christ defeats that dominion of sin so that the believer who has been vitally united to Christ by faith is vitally united to the death He died to sin once and for all. We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to Christ.
Now, what practical import does that have? Well, I believe your experience is similar to mine. I once believed that the only strength I had to resist sin in my members was gratitude for the work of Christ completed for me. That is certainly a good motivation but what does that also imply if I stop there? It implies that, within myself, I use the motivation and gratitude of the Gospel as the impetus to resist sin. If nothing has changed in me except gratitude then I am, in effect, using gratitude in my own strength as the means of my sanctification. On the other hand, if I agree with Paul that my union with Christ in His death means that the enslaving power of sin has been put to death then I may rightly appreciate that any resistance to sin is not only borne our of gratitude but that the real power to resist sin is because Christ has put the power of sin to enslave me to death on the Cross. That, beloved, is glorious!
There is something, therefore, really different about me and unbelievers. I am united to Christ and His power. They are not. Do I still battle indwelling sin? Of course. Romans 7 makes that clear. Yet, I understand as well that I am not enslaved to sin. I am not totally depraved, in the classical sense of the term, because to be totally depraved is to be enslaved to sin. Romans 6 tells me I'm not enslaved to sin. It doesn't tell me I'm perfect yet but it does teach me that I'm fundamentally transported in the Kingdom of the Age to Come and not a slave to the Kingdom of this Age.
What does Paul also teach about union with Christ? He teaches me that I'm united to Christ in His resurrection. I am united to the indestructible life of Christ and so am a slave to Christ and His righteousness. I'm assured that Christ's life is perfecting me in opposition to the temptations I experience that convince me I have no power to resist. Once again, if I never reflect upon these facts of Paul's "gospel" (as he repeatedly refers to the entire letter of Romans) then I'm missing out on an important truth that Christ has left in His Word to encourage and strengthen me.
Far from any notion of denying the Gospel and my utter need for grace by believing that Christ is improving me, I am given the assurance, through the Gospel itself, that I am vitally united to Him and all the power of the Son of God.
When I'm tempted to sin, the only victory I can be assured of is to pray a prayer like this: Father, I know that sin as power has been put to death in Christ. I pray for the life you have given me in Christ to resist temptation. It's a simple prayer but it's full of Gospel.
Consider what the Westminster Confession confesses about our Sanctification:
We ought not to be afraid of sanctification because of the errors of others who conflate sanctification with justification and claim that the verdict before a Holy God is based on our progress in sanctification. We are often victims of the excesses in our past and so think that we need to avoid thinking about sanctification until we purge the errors of our past. We believe, somehow, that the solution to one excess of our past (avoiding any real discussion of what Christ has done for us in our justification) is corrected by another excess (avoiding altogether any notion of our progress in sanctification). Christ has preached the Gospel into our hearts that we may fully embrace both and have no fear.
Consider what the Larger Catechism states about Christ as the mediator of the New Covenant.
In brief, Christ as Prophet converts our hearts through the powerful Word of God. Christ, as Priest, makes continual and perfect intercession for us. Christ, as King, conquers every hindrance to our full salvation! Is it not glorious to consider such things?!
In conclusion, I don't want us to degenerate in this discussion to believe we need to vindicate one combatant over another. We are all in this race together. There is no You, there is only Us and so I consider how I may spur you on in this race set before us. Let us, then, reflect and discuss what the Gospels teach about what Christ has done for us in His death and resurrection.
Oh to Grace How Great a Debtor -- A Reply to Tullian Tchividjian - Reformation21 Blog
Pastor Phillips points out that he is not trying anyone judicially but is attempting to stimulate useful thinking. That is often difficult in these dialogs due to the tendency of a party spirit on both sides of the equation to not only assume the worst in those with whom we disagree but to cheer, un-critically, any "points" we may score against those we think are not on our side. This isn't about condemning one side or vindicating another so that one comes out of the battle as the victor and the other the loser. The dialog is intended to provoke useful thinking. It is not because anyone believes that one party cannot think but because we believe we can think rightly by the Word that we hope to persuade.
I wrote an exegetical paper a couple of years ago on Romans 6:1-11: The PuritanBoard - Dead to Sin, Alive to Christ (Rom 6:1-11)
As I've grown in grace, I've come to many "A ha" moments in my Christian walk and believe those will continue as long as I'm being sanctified by Christ but studying the definitive nature of sanctification was one of those earth moving moments for me. Specifically, what comfort and assurance may the Christian learn from Romans 6:10 and the surrounding pericope?
Some thoughts:
That is to say that Paul is trying to note what Christ's death and resurrection means for the Christian believer. We are not merely spectators who have read or heard about the work that Christ performed on the Cross to pay for sin or how He rose again for our justification. It's certainly glorious that the wages of sin have been paid and so we no longer stand in judgment before a Holy God. It's certainly glorious that Christ has risen again and we too will rise with Him.This is one of the most significant statements regarding the full meaning of Christ’s death – that Christ died to sin. “Without the assurance that Christ’s death was a once-for-all death, believers would lack the comfort they need for this and the future life.” (Hendriksen 200) The Apostle has already noted that Christians are forever freed from the bondage of sin and death and now presents it again to demonstrate that they are no longer subjects of its rule. He proves this by noting the purpose for Christ’s death – He died that He would destroy sin. Christ not only dealt with the guilt of sinners in a vicarious manner on the cross but also with the power of sin. Death ruled over him in the grave until He broke its power. “So sin may be said to have ruled over him in that his humiliation stat was conditioned by the sin with which he was vicariously identified. He was made sin (2 Cor 5:21) and sin as power must be taken into account in this relationship.” (Murray 225).
In other words, it is common to emphasize only the propitiatory nature of Christ’s death to put away the wrath of God for Sin. This is certainly central but another aspect of Christ’s death to Sin must be reckoned, which is essential to the understanding of the power of sin: Christ’s death on the Cross was purposed that He should put Sin as power to death on the Cross.
This truth, then, forms the basis for what is emphasized both in verses 2 and 11. “Because Christ triumphed over the power of death, those who are united to Him in in death died to the power of sin and become dead to sin (vs. 2, 11).” (Murray 225). Once again, the motivation and power of a Christian’s struggle with Sin is grounded in what Christ has definitively accomplished once-for-all.
But Paul is saying much more. He is stating, firstly, that sin, as power, was put to death on the Cross of Christ. The doctrine of total depravity does not merely teach that men are in need of a Savior. It also teaches that men are slaves to sin. Sin has power over unbelievers. They desire unrighteousness because their wills are enslaved to its power. The Cross of Christ defeats that dominion of sin so that the believer who has been vitally united to Christ by faith is vitally united to the death He died to sin once and for all. We are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to Christ.
Now, what practical import does that have? Well, I believe your experience is similar to mine. I once believed that the only strength I had to resist sin in my members was gratitude for the work of Christ completed for me. That is certainly a good motivation but what does that also imply if I stop there? It implies that, within myself, I use the motivation and gratitude of the Gospel as the impetus to resist sin. If nothing has changed in me except gratitude then I am, in effect, using gratitude in my own strength as the means of my sanctification. On the other hand, if I agree with Paul that my union with Christ in His death means that the enslaving power of sin has been put to death then I may rightly appreciate that any resistance to sin is not only borne our of gratitude but that the real power to resist sin is because Christ has put the power of sin to enslave me to death on the Cross. That, beloved, is glorious!
There is something, therefore, really different about me and unbelievers. I am united to Christ and His power. They are not. Do I still battle indwelling sin? Of course. Romans 7 makes that clear. Yet, I understand as well that I am not enslaved to sin. I am not totally depraved, in the classical sense of the term, because to be totally depraved is to be enslaved to sin. Romans 6 tells me I'm not enslaved to sin. It doesn't tell me I'm perfect yet but it does teach me that I'm fundamentally transported in the Kingdom of the Age to Come and not a slave to the Kingdom of this Age.
What does Paul also teach about union with Christ? He teaches me that I'm united to Christ in His resurrection. I am united to the indestructible life of Christ and so am a slave to Christ and His righteousness. I'm assured that Christ's life is perfecting me in opposition to the temptations I experience that convince me I have no power to resist. Once again, if I never reflect upon these facts of Paul's "gospel" (as he repeatedly refers to the entire letter of Romans) then I'm missing out on an important truth that Christ has left in His Word to encourage and strengthen me.
Far from any notion of denying the Gospel and my utter need for grace by believing that Christ is improving me, I am given the assurance, through the Gospel itself, that I am vitally united to Him and all the power of the Son of God.
When I'm tempted to sin, the only victory I can be assured of is to pray a prayer like this: Father, I know that sin as power has been put to death in Christ. I pray for the life you have given me in Christ to resist temptation. It's a simple prayer but it's full of Gospel.
Consider what the Westminster Confession confesses about our Sanctification:
Chapter XIII
Of Sanctification
I. They, who are once effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart, and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified, really and personally, through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection,1 by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them:2 the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed,3 and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified;4 and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces,5 to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.6
II. This sanctification is throughout, in the whole man;7 yet imperfect in this life, there abiding still some remnants of corruption in every part;8 whence arises a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.9
III. In which war, although the remaining corruption, for a time, may much prevail;10 yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part does overcome;11 and so, the saints grow in grace,12 perfecting holiness in the fear of God.13
We ought not to be afraid of sanctification because of the errors of others who conflate sanctification with justification and claim that the verdict before a Holy God is based on our progress in sanctification. We are often victims of the excesses in our past and so think that we need to avoid thinking about sanctification until we purge the errors of our past. We believe, somehow, that the solution to one excess of our past (avoiding any real discussion of what Christ has done for us in our justification) is corrected by another excess (avoiding altogether any notion of our progress in sanctification). Christ has preached the Gospel into our hearts that we may fully embrace both and have no fear.
Consider what the Larger Catechism states about Christ as the mediator of the New Covenant.
Q. 42. Why was our Mediator called Christ?
A. Our Mediator was called Christ, because he was anointed with the Holy Ghost above measure,161 and so set apart, and fully furnished with all authority and ability,162 to execute the offices of prophet,163 priest,164 and king of his church,165 in the estate both of his humiliation and exaltation.
Q. 43. How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
A. Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in his revealing to the church,166 in all ages, by his Spirit and Word,167 in divers ways of administration,168 the whole will of God,169 in all things concerning their edification and salvation.170
Q. 44. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
A. Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering himself a sacrifice without spot to God,171 to be reconciliation for the sins of his people;172 and in making continual intercession for them.173
Q. 45. How doth Christ execute the office of a king?
A. Christ executeth the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself,174 and giving them officers,175 laws,176 and censures, by which he visibly governs them;177 in bestowing saving grace upon his elect,178 rewarding their obedience,179 and correcting them for their sins,180 preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings,181 restraining and overcoming all their enemies,182 and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory,183 and their good;184 and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel.185
In brief, Christ as Prophet converts our hearts through the powerful Word of God. Christ, as Priest, makes continual and perfect intercession for us. Christ, as King, conquers every hindrance to our full salvation! Is it not glorious to consider such things?!
In conclusion, I don't want us to degenerate in this discussion to believe we need to vindicate one combatant over another. We are all in this race together. There is no You, there is only Us and so I consider how I may spur you on in this race set before us. Let us, then, reflect and discuss what the Gospels teach about what Christ has done for us in His death and resurrection.