Today, many of God's professed people are more concerned with arguing the fine points of righteousness by faith than with allowing God to perfect His righteous character in them. They are often seeking to define the minute points of justification and sanctification, rather than acknowledge that both are the working of God, and they are simply to allow Him to work out His will in their lives.
"Many commit the error of trying to define minutely the fine points of distinction between justification and sanctification. Into the definitions of these two terms they often bring their own ideas and speculations. Why try to be more minute than is Inspiration on the vital question of righteousness by faith? Why try to work out every minute point, as if the salvation of the soul depended upon all having exactly your understanding of this matter?"[1]
Since we are counseled not to "try to be more minute than is Inspiration" in defining justification and sanctification, let us begin by considering an inspired definition. "Justification means the saving of a soul from perdition, that he may obtain sanctification, the life of heaven. Justification means that the conscience, purged from dead works, is placed where it can receive the blessings of sanctification."[2]
We are further informed that "the righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven."[3]
It is important to note that both justification and sanctification are the work of God and both are accomplished by faith alone. When the Lord sent Paul as the apostle to the gentiles, it was for the purpose of opening "their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me" (Acts 26:18). We are also told God has chosen us "to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14).
We are not only sanctified by the Spirit, but are also called "to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." What is this glory we are to receive through faith in the sanctifying power of the Spirit of God? Inspiration gives an unmistakable answer to this. "He has called us 'to the obtaining of the glory' -- character -- 'of our Lord Jesus Christ;' has called us to be 'conformed to the image of His Son' (2 Thess. 2:14; Rom. 8:29.)"[4]
The word of God also tells us "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). Is this possible? Can the glory of God be revealed in His people? Can the character of Christ be reflected in His people? The Apostle Paul firmly believed this and informs us how it can become a reality in our lives, as it was in his.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). It is essential that we be crucified with Christ, for if we do not die to self, He cannot live His life within us. "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 he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him" (Romans 6:6-8).
The "old man" is not to become weak, not to become sick, but he is to die, and when he is dead, we no longer serve sin. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1, 2). "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof" (Romans 6:11, 12). If we have truly been justified, have indeed died to self, then we will live a new life altogether. Our thoughts, our words, and our actions will all be heavenward.
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. ... Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Colossians 3:1-3, 9, 10).
The servant of the Lord expressed it in these words: "Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things unto Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, 'I delight to do Thy will, O my God.' (Ps. 40:8)"[5]
For this to be an ongoing experience we must be "always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (2 Corinthians 4:10, 11). We must always be delivered unto death that the life of Jesus might be manifest. This must happen daily, as Paul said, "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31). There must be a continual, daily dying to self. Our wills constantly surrendered to His, then the "thoughts," the "desires," and the very "mind" will be changed.
It is imperative that we "put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24). The "old man" will be "put off," and where does he dwell? Right between our ears, that's where. Therefore, the carnal mind is put away and there is a total change of mind. When this happens, Paul says, "you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight" (Colossians 1:21, 22). Unless we receive that new mind, we remain enemies of God, and the only way to receive that mind is to receive Christ.
"Holiness is the gift of God through Christ. Those who receive the Saviour become sons of God. They are His spiritual children, born again, renewed in righteousness and true holiness. Their minds are changed...they are adopted into God's family, and they become conformed to His likeness, changed by His Spirit from glory to glory."66
Our minds are to be changed, and as our minds change, our characters change. This is why we are constantly admonished "be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" and to "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Romans 12:1, 2; Philippians 2:5). Knowing what the will of God is "arm yourselves likewise with the same mind" that you no longer live "in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God" (1 Peter 4:1, 2).
We should shun anything that weakens the function of the mind. Until we begin to think like Jesus, we cannot begin to act like Him. Until we give Him control of our minds, we will be at enmity with Him. "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:6, 7).
In Galatians there is a passage that has often been misunderstood and misapplied. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Galatians 5:17). What things are these that can't be done: the good things or the bad things? Many believe that it is the good that we cannot do. What a terrible state that would be, not to be able to do good and forced to go through life doing only evil. However, the preceding verse makes it clear that what Paul is saying is if we walk in the Spirit, we will not do evil. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
We are so accustomed to running our own lives, we often ignore, resist, or reject the leading and promptings of the Holy Spirit, but if we allow the Holy Spirit to have control of our lives, we cannot do the works of the flesh. The Spirit of God will never lead anyone to lie, steal, cheat, commit adultery, etc. Having been crucified with Christ, the carnal mind is put to death, and being now spiritually minded we walk in the Spirit and "sin shall not have dominion over you" (Romans 6:14). "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" Romans 6:22). Those who reject and resist the Bible teaching that we can fully obey and do good works have never fully experienced the power of God's grace and His Spirit.
What it basically comes down to is which is greater, the Spirit or the flesh? If we believe, as the Bible teaches, that the Spirit of God is all powerful, then it stands to reason that the power of the Spirit can overcome the desires of the flesh. The assurance of God's word is "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). The question is "do you believe this?" Not only can we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, overcome the lusts of the flesh, we must overcome them, for unless we walk in the Spirit, we are in a state of disaster; we are under the condemnation of God. However, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1).
Being "in Christ" is not a one-time event, but a moment-by-moment choice -- a continual surrender of our will to His. If we are walking after the flesh, we are not in Christ and are under condemnation. "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. ... For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Romans 8:8, 9, 14).
It is walking in the Spirit rather than the flesh that distinguishes the "sons of God" from the "children of this world." Remember, "the Christian's life is not simply a modification of the old, but a total transformation, because the old man is dead. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit."[7]
"When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven."[8]
If only we would come to see how our Lord longs for us to put away all doubt, and in simple faith accept the promise of His Spirit that we might be "changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). Why do so many vehemently resist or reject the glorious good news that "By the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is to be perfected in the character. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ."[9]
Jesus says, "without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5), but God's people have yet to believe that as Paul, we "can do all things through Christ" (Philippians 4:13). Why do we find it so hard to claim that assurance? Why do God's people today feel this certainty applies only to Paul, or maybe even Peter, or John, but not to us living today? Our Lord says to us, "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27) and many of His professed people reply, "Yes, Lord, there is; You cannot keep me from sinning."
Let us, each one, claim by faith this promise from God. "The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat: we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come ... look to Jesus, your helper."[10]
Notes: