THE
DOCTRINE OF SANCTIFICATION
T.P.
Simmons
We
have reference in this chapter to the sanctification of the believer. The
application of the word to other things will be referred to
only to throw light upon the sanctification of the believer.
I.
THE MEANING OF TERMS
The
noun "sanctification" is the translation of the Greek "hagiasmos." The Greek,
verb is "hagiazo." The corresponding Hebrew verb is "qadash." The Greek noun is
used ten times in the New Testament. Five times it is translated
"sanctification," and five times it is translated "holiness." The Greek verb is
used twenty-nine times in the New Testament. Twenty-six times it is translated
"sanctify." Twice it is translated "hallow." Once it occurs in the passive voice, and is translated "be holy." "Hagios" is another Greek
word derived from "hagiazo," and is used both as an adjective and as a noun. As
an adjective it occurs ninety-three times with "pneuma" (Spirit) to designate
the Holy Spirit. In sixty-eight other cases it is used as an adjective, and is
translated "holy." As a noun, it is translated "holiest" twice; "holiest of all"
once; "Holy One" four times; "holy place" three times; "holy thing" once;
"sanctuary" three times; and "saint" or "saints" sixty-two
times.
Thayer's
Lexicon defines "hagiazo" as meaning "to render or acknowledge to be venerable,
to hallow, to separate from things profane and dedicate to God, to consecrate;
to purify," either externally-whether ceremonially (1 Tim. 4:5; Heb. 9:13) or by
expiation (Heb. 10:10; 13:12), or internally. The meaning of
"hagiasmos" and "hagios" follow from the meaning of "hagiazo," according to
their proper use.
II.
THE BELIEVERS PAST SANCTIFICATION
There
is a sense in which saved people have been sanctified already.
1.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES TO IT
Acts
20:32; 26:18; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Thess. 2:13; Heb.
9:14.
2.
THE NATURE OF IT
The
past sanctification of the believer is a three-fold sanctification:
The
believer has been consecrated or dedicated to the service of God. We have the
type of this in the sanctification of the tabernacle and temple with their
furnishings and equipment. See Ex. 29:37; 30:25-29; 40:8-11; Lev. 8:10,11; Lev.
21:23; 1 Kings 7:51; 2 Chron. 2:4; 5:1; 29:19. Sanctification
similar to that which is now under consideration may be seen in Gen. 3:2; Joel
1:14; Jer. 1:5; John 10:36.
Sanctification
in this sense is a formal and external setting apart for or separation unto God.
There is no thought of inward holiness.
(2)
Legal Cleansing.
This
is the kind of sanctification referred to in 1 Cor. 1:30; Eph. 5:26; Neb. 10:10;
13:12. In the eyes of the Old Testament law, the believer is holy; because
Christ, by His death, has paid the penalty of the law, and,
by His blood, has washed away all guilt (1 Cor. 6:11; Gal. 3:13; Rev. 1:5;
7:14).
(3)
Moral Cleansing of the Soul.
We
have already, in another chapter, pointed out that regeneration removes all
depravity from the soul, or spiritual nature of man; so that the only sin that
remains in man is the sin of the fleshly nature, which is often referred to as
the body. We believe this kind of sanctification is referred to in 2 Thess. 2:13
and 1 Pet. 1:2; also 1 Cor. 6:11.
So
far as the removal of the presence of sin from the soul is concerned, the
believer has a perfect moral sanctification, as well as a perfect formal and
legal sanctification. There remains in the believer, as we shall see, the need
of further sanctification; but this further sanctification does not have to do
with the removal of sin from the soul. The soul is made sinless in regeneration;
and in this sense is perfectly sanctified.
3.
HOW IT IS ACCOMPLISHED
(1)
God, of course, is the Author of it.
He
is the author of everything good.
He elected us to it. He
purposed and planned it.
(2)
The Holy Spirit is the Agent of God in the Accomplishment of
it.
(3)
The Death of Christ is the Basis of the Holy Spirit's Work. See the passages
given above under legal cleansing.
(4)
Faith is the Means. Acts 26:18. Faith is the means by which the soul is cleansed
(Acts 15:9; 1 Pet. 1:22).
(5)
The Word of God is a Secondary Means.
This
is true because "belief cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ
(Rom. 10:17).
III.
THE BELIEVER'S PRESENT SANCTIFICATION
There
is a sense in which the believer is being sanctified.
1.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES TO IT
John
17:17,19; Rom. 6:19-22; 15:16; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 2:11; 10: 14; 12:14; 1 Pet.
1:15. We have listed here only passages where "hagiasmos," "hagiazo," or
"hagios" appear in the original. There are many other passages which indirectly
refer to the believer's present sanctification.
2.
HOW IT IS ACCOMPLISHED
(1)
God is the Author of It.
(2)
The Holy Spirit is the Agent.
Rom.
15:16. The Holy Spirit accomplishes our present sanctification by leading (Rom.
8:14), transforming (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 2:18), strengthening
(Eph. 3:16), and making fruitful (Gal. 5:22,23).
(3)
The Death of Christ is the Basis.
The
death of Christ provides the basis for all of the Holy Spirit's Work.
(4)
The Word of God is the Instrument of the Spirit.
John
17:17. This is proved by all passages which teach that the truth promotes
obedience, prevents and cleanses from sin, makes us hate
sin, and causes us to grow in grace. See Psa. 119:9, 11, 34, 43, 44, 50, 93,
104; Heb. 5:12-14; 1 Pet. 2:2.
(5)
Faith is the Chief Means.
It
is through faith that the instrumentality of the Word is made effective. Faith
is at once the result of the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the chief means
for His further sanctifying work.
(6)
Our Own Works Are Also A Means In Our Present
Sanctification
Rom.
6:19. As physical exercise is necessary to physical growth, so spiritual
exercise is necessary to spiritual growth. Physical exercise develops an
appetite for food, from which we receive nourishment that produces growth.
Spiritual exercise develops an appetite for the Word of God, from which we
receive spiritual nourishment that produces growth in grace.
(7)
Other Less Direct Means. Among other less direct means in our present
sanctification may be named prayer, God's ordained ministry (Eph. 4:11,12),
church attendance and association with believers in church capacity, observance
of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper, the keeping of the Lord's
day, and the chastening and providences of God.
All
of these things help toward our present sanctification, not because of any
intrinsic virtue of their own, but only as, in one way or another, they bring us
in contact with divine truth, enlighten our minds with regard to it, and bring
us to a higher appreciation of it and fuller obedience to it. It is only in this
way that baptism and the Lord's Supper contribute to our present sanctification. They are not grace-giving sacraments.
The grace received through the ordinances is not received ex opere operato--from
the mere act of observance.
3.
THE NATURE OF IT
It
is "that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit, by which the holy disposition
imparted in regeneration is maintained and strengthened" (Strong, Systematic
Theology, p. 483). In spite of the quibbling arguments of Mr. Finney, the
immanent preference of the will established in regeneration can be strengthened.
A.
It is not an improvement of the flesh.
Our
present sanctification includes the body (1 Thess. 5:23), but not so as to
essentially alter the sinfulness of the flesh. The flesh
always lusts against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17). Even in an aged and seasoned
soldier of the cross, such as the Apostle Paul was, we see that the flesh was
still unaltered (Rom. 7:14-24). The body is included in that the soul is, by
means of sanctification, given greater control over it; and thus it is kept back
to some extent, from overt acts of sin. But its essential sinfulness is
undiminished.
B.
It is not a gradual elimination of sin from the soul.
As
we have already noted, the soul is made sinless in regeneration and is united
with the Holy Spirit. No sin remains in the soul therefore, to be eliminated by
our present sanctification.
(2)
What Is It.
A.
It is a progressive maintenance and strengthening of the soul in holiness.
By
means of our present sanctification the holy bent given to our faculties in the
new birth is strengthened. The mind is taught. By beholding more fully the
beauty of the Lord, we are constrained to love Him more fervently. Thus the will
is strengthened (we get will power) and enabled to put forth more effective
executive volition in the interest of its immanent preference. If this were not
possible, then there is no conceivable way in which we could grow in grace.
In
regeneration, the faculties of the soul are all set upon God in the fullness of
the strength possessed at that time. But that strength can be increased. This is
all beautifully set forth in Eph. 3:16-19, which the student is urged to read at
this point.
B.
It is wholly subjective.
Our
past sanctification is partly objective, but our present sanctification is
wholly subjective.
Although
it is inward, yet it manifests itself outwardly in practical Christian living.
D.
It is experimental.
Our
past sanctification may be only very dimly experiential at the time it occurs,
but our present sanctification is definitely experiential. The believer feels
and knows the working of the Spirit in his heart, strengthening him,
transforming him from grace to grace (2 Cor. 3:18), moving him to prayer, Bible
study, and other Christian exercises and activities. And this work of the Spirit in the believer is the source of his
assurance. It is in this way that the Spirit witnesses with our spirits that we
are the children of God. Rom. 8:16.
E.
It is always in the life.
The
new life never gains perfect control over the fleshly nature. This leads us to
consider-
IV.
THE DOCTRINE OF SINLESS PERFECTION REFUTED
A
study of the Bible doctrine of sanctification is not complete without a
consideration of the teaching that sinlessness is attainable
in this life. We urge the following-
1.
OBJECTIONS TO THIS DOCTRINE.
(1)
The Apostle Paul, whom God set forth as a human example for believers (1 Tim.
1:16), and in whose life we are not sure that any fault may
be seen, had not, even in his old age, attained sinless perfection.
This
is evident from Rom. 7:14-24. It is absurd to refer this to Paul before
regeneration. With the fourteenth verse there is a significant change from the
past tense to the present. To make the verses beyond verse
fourteen refer to Paul's life before regeneration is to make of them a
grammatical monstrosity. The latter part of verse twenty-five shows that the
victory over sin through Jesus Christ does not come in this life. This is shown
also in Rom. 8:23-25. The victory comes only with the redemption of the body,
which will take place in the resurrection.
Again,
the language of Rom. 7:14-24 shows that it refers to a saved man. "No
unregenerate man can truly say, 'I consent unto the law that it is good'; 'To
will is present with me; 'For I delight in the law of God after the inward man;'
'So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God'" (Pendleton, Christian
Doctrines, P. 301).
The
idea that in Rom. 7 we have the experience of Paul after having been saved but
before he was sanctified, while in Rom. 8 we have his experience after having
been sanctified, is also absurd. As we have pointed out, the eighth chapter of
Romans no more teaches sinless perfection than the seventh chapter. In the
eighth chapter Paul teaches that believers still groan under the sinfulness of
the body and are waiting for its redemption (Vs. 23), being saved by hope (Vs. 24,25). All talk about the believer, in his
experience, getting out of the seventh chapter of Romans into the eighth is
senseless. Every believer lives all his life in both chapters, for both chapters
are but parts of one connected discourse. The "therefore" of verse 1, chapter 8,
directs us back to the latter part of the seventh chapter for the basis of what
is said in the eighth.
The
epistle to the Romans was written before Paul's trip to Rome. After having been
taken to Rome, and while a prisoner there, he wrote some epistles. One of them
is the epistle to the Philippians. In this epistle Paul still disclaims absolute
perfection. He said that he did not consider himself as having been made perfect
already. Phil. 3:12.
(2)
The model prayer given by Christ to His disciples implies continued sinfulness
on the part of saved people.
As
is well known, Christ taught His disciples, in the model prayer, to confess
their sins. Nor did He at any time or in any way insinuate
or imply that there would ever be a time when they could properly dispense with
this confession of sin and petition for forgiveness.
(3)
The fact that all of God's children are chastened of him shows that all of them
sin (Heb. 12:5-8).
"If
ye are without chastening, whereof all are made partakers, then are ye bastards,
and not sons" (Heb. 12:8). There can be no chastening without sin. God might
deal with us in a providential way if we were perfect, but His dealings could
not be called chastisement.
(4)
James Declares That All Sin.
"In
many things we all stumble" (Jas. 3:2). This cannot be confined to teachers; but
if it could, the principle would be the same.
(5)
John Declares That One Who Professes Sinlessness Is Deceived
"If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1
John 1:8). "We" certainly refers to believers. And the present tense shows that
the passage refers, not to a denial of former sin, but to a denial of present
sin. And this passage tells us that professors of sinless
perfection are self-deceived. They are self-deceived as to at least four things;
viz.,
A.
The nature of God's law (the law of Christ-1 Cor. 9:21) for believers.
Instead
of viewing God's law for believers as a transcript of His holiness, a perfect
standard of righteousness, they view it as a sliding scale
that accommodates itself to our ability. "This view reduces the debt to the
debtors ability to pay, -a short and easy method of discharging obligations. I
can leap over a church steeple, if I am only permitted to make a church steeple
low enough; and I can touch the stars, if the stars will only come down to my
hand" (Strong).
They
would have us believe that "involuntary" transgressions are not sins. John
Wesley, one of the most prominent advocates of the doctrine of sinless
perfection in this life, said: "I believe a person filled with the love of God
is still liable to involuntary transgressions. Such transgressions you may call sins, if you please; I do not."
Involuntary
means: 1. Contrary to one's will or wish. 2. Not under the control of will. As
applied to moral acts, the word must have the first meaning. The second meaning
applies only to such things as digestion, the beating of the heart, and other
natural functions of the body. And the meaning of will or
wish in the first definition must be understood in the narrow sense of the
normal tenor of the will. In the broad sense one never acts contrary to his will
or wish, except when overcome by physical force. No saved person normally wills
to get angry and speak cutting words. But, under serious provocation, one loses
his temper and says things he should not have said. These are involuntary acts,
according to the only sense in which involuntary can be
applied to moral acts. Therefore, according to John Wesley and other
perfectionists, these acts are not sins. The same things may be applied to
David's murder of Uriah, and his adultery with Bathsheba.
C.
The power of the human will.
To
affirm that the human will, even normally, can put forth, at every moment,
executive volitions fully conformed to its immanent preference (ultimate end)
and the perfect will of God is to deny the conflict that exists always between
the two natures of believers, as set forth in Gal. 5:17. Charles G. Finney does
this. In his view, indwelling sin is merely a sinful choice. Now in regeneration, this sinful choice is reversed. Thus there
is no indwelling sin left. See pp. 254,294. Then he says: "When an end is
chosen, that choice confines all volition to securing its accomplishment, and
for the time being, and until another end is chosen ... it is impossible for the
will to put forth any volition inconsistent with the present choice" (p. 235).
This is glaringly false, both psychologically and scripturally, as is about
nine-tenths of all that is found in Mr. Finney's book. It
represents a miserable effort to effect a compromise between Calvinism and
Arminianism. As said before, special attention is being given to Mr. Finney's
theology because his book has been urgently and widely recommended to young
Baptist preachers, especially those who are Calvinists.
When
John says, "the truth is not in us," he refers not to abstract truth, but to the
"truth of the gospel, bringing the light of God into the soul, and so revealing
sins as the sunlight does the dust" (Sawtelle). "The truth is to be taken
objectively as the divine truth in Christ, the absolute
principle of life from God received into the heart" (Lange). This meaning is
confirmed by verse 10, which says: "If we say that we have not sinned, we make
Him (God) a liar, and His word is not in us." This passage reveals the truth of
verse "The persons supposed to say this are viewed at the point when they should
be offering their confessions confession of sins beginning in the past and
reaching down to the present; hence, the perfect tense"
(Sawtelle).
And
the expressions, "the truth is not in us" and "his word is not in us," deny the
Christian character of every professor of sinless perfection. According to these
passages, all of them are lost.
2. SCRIPTURES
EXPLAINED
We
take up the following Scripture passages which are advanced by sinless
perfectionists to prove their theory.
(1)
The passages that speak of the believer as being "perfect."
We
refer here to such passages as Luke 6:40; 1 Cor. 2:6; 2 Cor. 13:11; Eph. 4:11;
Phil. 3:15; Col. 4-.12; 2 Tim. 3:17.
The
perfection of these passages is not absolute. It is only relative perfection.
Sometimes the word "perfect" refers only to Christian maturity in contrast with
the weakness of babes in Christ. Sometimes it means only that those whom it
describes are free from any grievous fault. Thus we are told that "Noah was a
righteous man and perfect" (Gen. 6:9), even though he got
drunk (Gen. 9:21). And thus it is said that job "was perfect and upright" (Job
1:1).
The
use of the word "perfect" in Philippians 3:15 throws interesting and instructive
light on its usual meaning m Scripture. In verse 12, as we have already noted,
Paul disclaims perfection. Then in verse 15 he addresses an exhortation to "as
many as are perfect." It is quite evident, then, that in
verse 12 he has reference to absolute perfection, while in verse 15 he alludes
to those who are relatively perfect or mature. And he exhorts these to be "thus
minded." By this he means that they are to disclaim absolute perfection, as he
did, and press forward to higher things. Thus we see that "perfect," in the
light of the usual meaning of the term in Scripture, when applied to believers,
requires that believers disclaim absolute perfection and yet
press on to higher things. The individual that professes sinless perfection and
he who is not pressing on are not "perfect."
(2)
Matt. 5:48— "Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
In
this passage Jesus set for His disciples the ideal of absolute perfection. He
could have set nothing less than this without condoning and encouraging sin. But
there is nothing here or elsewhere to imply that the followers of Christ win
ever reach this ideal in the flesh. In fact, it is impious to affirm that they
do reach this ideal; for the perfection held out is the perfection of God
Himself.
(3)
1 Thess. 5:23-"And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your
spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ."
This
passage must be understood in the light of Paul's own experience, and in the
light of Scripture as a whole. If Paul prayed for the
complete sanctification of the Thessalonians in this life, then he prayed for
something for them that he himself had not experienced, or else he later lost
his complete sanctification; for when he wrote to the Romans much later, as we
have noted, he did not profess sinlessness.
The
sanctification that Paul prayed for God to work in the Thessalonians was indeed
complete sanctification, as evidenced by the Greek "hototeles"; but he does not
indicate that it was to be fulfilled in this life. Scripture very definitely
condemns the notion that he expected it to be fulfilled in this life. And the
mention of the coming of Christ suggests that he looked forward to this time as
the time when His prayer was to have a full answer. Paul prayed for the carrying on of progressive sanctification, just
as Christ prayed for the same for His disciples (John 17:17), which progressive
sanctification would, at the second coming of Christ, issue in complete
sanctification.
(4)
1 John 2:4--."He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in
him."
Along
with this passage we may class other similar passages such as John 14:23; Rom.
8:12; 1 John 1:6.
These
passages have reference to the normal tenor of the Christian life. They cannot
be held to teach that one who is saved keeps the commandments of God perfectly
at every moment, because other passages deny this.
The
Mississippi River affords an excellent illustration of the Christian life. If
one is asked which way the Mississippi River flows, he will
answer that it flows southward. But the fact of the matter is, this river
sometimes flows in a northerly direction. But, despite this fact, we go on
saying that it flows southward. We speak thus because we view the river as a
whole. We see the main trend of the river. Thus it is with the Christian life.
When it is viewed as a whole, or as to its main trend, it is seen to be a life
of righteousness. But the current as to its main trend is
not as swift near the edges as it is in the center. And it will not always keep
its usual direction. It will strike obstructions that will turn it aside
temporarily, but always it will again assume its normal course by and by.
(5)
1 John 1:7-"The blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us from all sin."
Some
have the idea that this passage means that the blood of Jesus Christ renders us
sinless as to state. But not so. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us only as
to our standing before God. This passage has reference to justification and
legal sanctification, but not to progressive, practical sanctification.
The
need for the constant cleansing of recurring defilement was taught by Jesus when
He washed the disciples' feet. He said: "He that is bathed needeth not save to
wash his feet, but is clean every whit" (John 13: 10). The remainder of this
passage, "and ye are clean, but not all," which is explained in the next verse
as meaning "Ye are not all clean," and as referring to
Judas, shows that Jesus was drawing an analogy between physical cleansing and
spiritual cleansing. Just as one who had bathed the body would not need to bathe
it again, but would need to wash away the dust from the feet; so one who has
been bathed in Christ's blood will not need that bath again, but, nevertheless,
he will be in daily need of the cleansing away of the defilement that attaches
itself to him in his contact with the world. He "is clean every whit" as to his standing before God, but in need of daily
confession and forgiveness that he may maintain fellowship with God.
(6)
1 John 3:9-"Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his (God's) seed
abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of
God."
Concerning
this passage we have the following to say:
A.
It refers to the actual standard of Christian living, and not to a mere ideal
standard.
The
passage speaks of what the Christian really is in conduct, and not merely of
what he ought to be. This is evident from the next verse, which says. "In this
(that is, in this inability to sin) the children of God are manifest, and the
children of the Devil."
B.
It refers to the whole man, and not merely to the new
nature.
It
is evident that the "seed" in this passage refers to the new nature. The Greek
here is "sperma." It is used forty-four times in the New Testament. In forty-one
of the forty-four instances it means, not seed for planting, but progeny,
offsprings. When the Word of God is called "seed" the Greek has not "sperma,"
but "spora" or "sporos." See Luke 8.11; 1 Pet. 1:23.
Another
weighty objection to the view that "seed" here represents the Word of God and
the "whosoever" the new nature, is that it is not the Word of God that makes it
impossible for the new nature to sin. It is the quality of the new nature that
makes this impossible. If the new nature were sinful, then
the Word of God would no more prevent its sinning than the Word of God prevents
the flesh from sinning.
Thayer
makes "seed" in this passage refer to the divine energy of the Holy Spirit
operating in the soul, by which we are regenerated. But this is a purely
arbitrary interpretation. We have no reason to believe that
either the Holy Spirit or His energy is ever referred to as "sperma."
Therefore,
taking the "seed" to refer to the new nature, we necessarily interpret
"whosoever" as referring to the whole man; for it is "he," the whole man, in
whom the "seed," the new nature, abides, that cannot sin.
C.
It affirms, not that a regenerated person cannot commit a single sin, but that
he cannot follow a continuous course of sin; he cannot live in sin.
We
adopt this interpretation of this passage for the following reasons:
(a)
It is the only view that is in harmony with the context. It is manifest from the
context, as already remarked, that John was speaking of that which is outward
and actual, something that makes a manifest difference in and of itself. Then,
too, this passage evidently means the same as verses six and eight, and, if
possible, they are less favorable to the other interpretations.
(b)
While it is true that the whole man is not born of God, yet in such general
passages as the one under consideration the Scripture makes no distinction
between the two natures of the believer; but loosely refers to the man as a
whole. The Scripture says: "Except ONE be born anew," and
not "except one have a new life born within him," "if any man is in Christ, HE
is a new creature," not "he has a new creature in him;" "hath quickened US with
Christ" not 'hath quickened a new life within us," "he brought us forth by the
word of truth," not "he brought forth something within us by the word of truth."
(c)
It is the only view that takes account of the present infinitive "sin"
(Greek-"hamartanein") in the latter part of the passage. The present infinitive
always signifies durative, linear, progressive action-action in its continuance.
Because of this meaning of the Greek infinitive, Weymouth translates the
passage: "No one who is a child of God is habitually guilty of sin. A God-given
germ of life remains in him and he cannot habitually sin."
And Sawtelle explains "doeth no sin" and "cannot sin" as meaning; "Does not do
it as the law of his life, as the ideal tendency of his being; does not belong
to the sin sphere."
D.
Let sinless perfectionists note the following facts about this passage:
(a)
Its affirmation applies to all saved people; not just to some that have reached
a supposed high plane of living. Thus this passage kills the "second-blessing"
theory. This passage is talking about what the believer is by virtue of
regeneration; not what he is by virtue of a supposed "second work of
grace."
(b)
The passage affirms that the character referred to cannot sin. Thus, according
to their own theory, they would have to interpret the passage as teaching that
one who has attained sinlessness can never lapse back into sin. This they will
not admit. Thus they show that their only interest in this passage is to bolster
up their ignorant, senseless heresy.
V.
FRUITS OF PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION
We
think it well here to list four things which J. M. Pendleton, in "Christian
Doctrines," gives as evidences or fruits of the gracious influences of the Holy
Spirit in our progressive sanctification.
"I.
A DEEP SENSE OF UNWORTHINESS"
No
person in whom the Holy Spirit has done any considerable work has any
disposition to boast of his goodness. For examples of the sense of unworthiness
on the part of God's saints see Job 38:1,2; 40.4; 42:5,6;
Eph. 3:8; Isa. 6. Also Phil. 3:12-15.
"2.
AN INCREASING HATRED OF SIN"
No
saved person loves sin; that is, love of sin is not the dominant affection of
his life. The sins he commits are not the result of a
normally dominating love of sin, but of an occasional rising up of the flesh or
of the constant friction between the flesh and the spirit.
"3.
A GROWING INTEREST IN THE MEANS OF GRACE"
The
more the Holy Spirit works in one the more he appreciates the Word of God,
prayer, worship, and the like; and the more he avails himself of the benefits of
these.
"4.
AN INCREASING LOVE OF HEAVENLY THINGS"
This
love replaces the former love for sin; and causes the child of God to seek those
things which are above.
All
of these fruits of the sanctifying process prevent the fact that one cannot
attain sinlessness in this life from encouraging sin. The presence of sin in the
life of the Christian affords him no consolation. Instead it
affords him grief. He would fain be free of his earthly weight and soar upward
that his soul might bask itself in the sunlight of righteousness. Every saved
person can say with Paul: "Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of
the body of this death?" (Rom. 7.24). He wishes that he might be sinless; but is
unwilling to wrest the Scripture and practice self-deception in order to fancy
that he is sinless. His very desire for sinlessness prevents
his practicing hypocrisy and perpetrating a sham, as all sinless perfectionists
do.