Richard Sibbes (Works, V. 4, pp. 222, 223):
[By] the Spirit of Christ in sanctification we are made kings, to rule over our own lusts in some measure; not kings to be freed altogether from them, but kings to strive against them. It is a liberty to fight, and in fighting to overcome at last. When the Israelites had a promise that God would give their enemies into their hands, the meaning was not that he would give them without fighting a blow, but I will give them into your hands. You shall fight; and be of good comfort, in fighting you shall overcome. So this liberty of sanctification, it is not a liberty that we should have no combat with our corruptions, but a gracious liberty to keep them under, till by subduing them by little and little, we get a perfect victory. What greater encouragement can a man have to fight against his enemy, than when he is sure of the victory before he fights, of final victory! You see then how the Spirit brings a liberty into the soul. It brings us out of that cursed kingdom of Satan and sin. It brings us out of the curse of God and the law in justification; and it brings us from the dominion and tyranny of sin, by a spirit of sanctification.
