Yes, Richard, I agree.
Let me expand on this a bit more for everybody's benefit so you all don't think I'm just completely missing Robert.
Let me quote WLC 77 so people can read what is stated very elegantly:
Quote:
Q. 77. Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?
A. Although sanctification be inseparably joined with justification,330 yet they differ, in that God in justification imputeth the righteousness of Christ;331 in sanctification of his Spirit infuseth grace, and enableth to the exercise thereof;332 in the former, sin is pardoned;333 in the other, it is subdued:334 the one doth equally free all believers from the revenging wrath of God, and that perfectly in this life, that they never fall into condemnation335 the other is neither equal in all,336 nor in this life perfect in any,337 but growing up to perfection.338
330 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. 1 Corinthians 1:30. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.
331 Romans 4:6, 8. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.... Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
332 Ezekiel 36:27. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
333 Romans 3:24-25. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.
334 Romans 6:6, 14. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.... For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
335 Romans 8:33-34. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
336 1 John 2:12-14. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Hebrews 5:12-14. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
337 1 John 1:8, 10. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.... If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
338 2 Corinthians 7:1. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Philippians 3:12-14. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
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Notice how the Confession distinguishes so the reader can see how justification fixes a person's status in Christ so that the person may understand how he is also made holy therein. Here you will see how one complements the other:
- Justification imputes the righteousness of Christ while in sanctification, the Spirit infuses grace into the believer and enables him to exercise righteousness.
- In justification, sin is pardoned, while in sanctification sin is subdued (put to death).
- Justification equally frees all believers from the revenging wrath of God perfectly in this life so that they will never fall into condemnation. Sanctification is not equal in all, nor in this life is it ever perfect, but it still grows up toward perfection.
Whatever else one may say of this, it is impossible to lay at the feet of the Reformed position this idea: "...I get a good stretch of obedience, let's say 30 years of perfection, does God look at me as more holy?" Anyone with an elementary reading comprehension ability knows that this is a
gross mischaracterization. I will not abide this sloppy comparison again.
The question is whether or not when God purposes to save a man that He also sanctifies in between justification and glorification. It is indisputable that He does. The Apostle Paul (and especially the General Epistles), labor the point that we are justified by Christ and that, if we truly are, then our status as children has a transformative effect upon our entire lives.
When I began this thread, I very precisely cautioned all to divorce this discussion from the discussion on modesty. There are some people that are still confusing the two. I purposefully split this discussion off because Stephen had actually made an orthodox point about the nature of sanctification but it became associated with some "baggage" from the previous thread, fairly or unfairly and the discussion on the nature of sanctification with respect to justification deserved its own discussion.
I was (and remain) concerned that Robert had completely dismissed this vital connection between justification and sanctification and had inappropriately attached Arminian or Roman Catholic ideas of sanctification to the Reformed view, which was highly improper.
I've gotten some backchannel correspondence that is still causing some confusion in some people's minds about the nature of sanctification. Everybody is certainly right to be cautious to view sanctification as a process of infused habits that leads to an ontological change in human nature. The RCC view of infused habits merges justification and sanctification because of their idea that human nature itself needs to be changed and, on a scale of being, infused by cooperating habits until it improves itself to a level that is worthy of justification.
The Reformed view grounds our justification in a forensic declaration of justification laid hold of by faith alone. Human nature is not changed in its being but, rather, the unrighteous are declared righteous by God on the basis of Christ's righteousness alone. Humanity does not then improve in its constitutional being upward in a plane of metaphysical perfection but the transformation is ethical in nature. Men who were once enemies of God become His children and remain men, remain creatures but are united to Christ in His death and resurrection. They die to the Curse on the Cross and rise in newness of
life with Him. That newness of life is what we're trying to nail down: what does it look like.
Because they are children and receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God reforms their consciences. Surely everyone must appreciate the idea that there are novices and elders in the faith. It's called spiritual growth. Spriritual babes just like real babes need their consciences trained in the same way the intellectually immature need the same. The process is not instantaneous and declarative as in justification but progressive as the believer grows in grace.
Just as a healthy child that comes out of the womb will surely grow if fed and nourished and loved, so a spiritual child of God will grow under the Word and the means of grace. To use an unfortunate analogy, if a child came out of the womb stillborn they would never grow - so someone who appears to have been born again (profession of faith) but never shows any spiritual vitality and growth is spiritually stillborn.
Justification is the beginning of life and the surety of life, sanctification is the inexorable maturation that occurs to those that have spiritual life.
Now, some will say: "Yes, we agree, that's what we've been talking about, we keep saying 'We live by
faith but some other guys keep talking about looking at the Law so they're going back to the Law to try to be justified by it.'"
I say that you're missing the point. Yes, there are people (like the Judaizers) that began in the Spirit and then get confused and think they are going to be made perfect and acceptable before God by the deeds of the Law. Paul calls this idea a false Gospel. I always think I'm explaining that and dealt with that but then it still comes up so I need to be more explicit I guess.
But, the solution to a Judaizer is not to ignore the Law of God. The Judaizers weren't approaching the Law as a third use, they hadn't ever been confronted by the Curse in the first place, never despised of their ability to save themselves, never fled to the Cross. Indeed, such men never receive eyes to see the third use. They are incapable of truly reading the third use of the Law because they're blind.
Those who simply say, "We now live by faith", as if
any use of the Law undermines that program, miss how Paul and the other Apostles go back to the Law to tell us to look anew at the Law with our re-created eyes. The Spirit does not just impress upon our minds the things that please God apart from the Word. I tried to warn against that above. Haven't you guys ever met people that talk about "...being in the perfect will of God..." as if the goal of "walking by faith" is to have an inner divining rod that gives the urge to go right or left, wear this shirt or that shirt, buy this car or that car, etc. If you're going to talk about "living by faith" apart from the Word then that's really just another version. It may sound more sophisticated and pious because you're not talking like a modern Charismatic or speaking in tongues but the error is essentially the same. It's always the Word and Spirit.
Rather, we really need to appreciate afresh how freely the Apostles could look back in the Law, after being freed from its Curse, and seeing the character of God therein. We need to understand how David could delight in the Law of God and meditate on it day and night. It certainly wasn't because he was delighting in the Curse but was delighting in his Savior because He was saved just like we are. I've said it over and over that the Law was not given to us to end in the "Thou shall nots" but the end of the Law is love of God and love of neighbor. That pursuit only begins when we become children of God (justification) and that pursuit never ends or is perfected while we're waiting for the hope set before us. But, Beloved, if you say you have faith but yet still look at the Law of God as a Curse then something is wrong.
Indeed, if you say you are born again and still only see the Wrath and Curse there then I urge you to consider whether you have first believed the Gospel. Indeed, beloved, can you understand how the author of Hebrews is able to say that our spiritual forebears fell in the desert because they failed to believe the Gospel?