The Doctrine of Sanctification is of such vast importance, occupies so large a place in the Word of God, and is so many-sided in its scope, that we deemed it well to write thereon at length, especially as it is so little understood today. It seemed necessary to approach the subject from various angles, to distinguish between its several parts, and to consider separately its different aspects. Having done so, perhaps we can help the reader most in this conclusion by briefly reviewing the ground we have covered, summarizing the explanations and expositions given, and endeavouring to further clarify one or two points which may not yet be quite clear to the interested reader after which we would strongly advise those who desire to get a clear grasp of this blessed truth to re-read the book--setting aside all other reading while he does so.

Sanctification is an act of the Father, then of the Son, and then of the Holy Spirit, whereby God's people are set apart for His delight and glory. It is a cleansing of their persons so that they may be fitted for God's use; while it is also the adorning and making meet of those who are going to dwell with God forever. He not only accounts the believer holy in Christ, but He makes him so in himself, by communicating to him a principle of holiness and by the Holy Spirit's making his body His temple. The sanctification of the believer must be considered under its three tenses: he has already been sanctified, he is now being sanctified, and he will yet be fully sanctified in the future.

The sanctification of the believer is a moral quality imparted to him at regeneration, which is the same in its nature as that which belongs to the Divine character. It is the image of God--lost by the first Adam, restored by the last Adam--stamped upon the heart, consisting of righteousness and holiness. It is the very antithesis of sin: as much so as light and darkness, death and life, God and the Devil. As all sin is a transgression of the Law, true sanctification brings its possessor into conformity to the Law. Sanctification is, therefore, an integral and essential part of salvation, being a deliverance from the pollution and power of sin, causing its recipient to love what he once hated, and to now hate what he formerly loved.

In order to get a clear grasp of the whole subject, it is very necessary to distinguish sharply between its two principal aspects: the positional and practical holiness of the believer, that is, the status and state which the meritorious work of Christ has given him before God, and the response which this calls for from him. This vitally important distinction will be best observed by us as we view the subject under its two chief aspects: the Divine inworking of holiness and the human outworking thereof. This outworking, or performance of practical holiness issues from the principle of grace received at the new birth, and proceeds along the lines of mortification and vivification or denying unto sin and living unto God.

There are two great dangers against which we must be continually on our guard: that of dwelling so much upon the believer's perfect sanctification in Christ that he has little or no concern about the cultivation of practical holiness, and that of being so occupied with the practical holiness and our failure to measure up to God's standard of the same that we lose sight of and cease to live in the joy and power of that holiness which we have in our Covenant Head. Some are more prone to the one, some to the other. It is most essential that we preserve a balance between the objective and subjective sides of the Truth, yet this is far from being an easy attainment. On the one hand, the renewed soul can only enjoy real peace by looking away from self with all its failures unto the One who has met every requirement of God for us. On the other hand, the heart can only be kept right before God as we make conscience of all known sins, judge ourselves unsparingly for them, and penitently confess the same.

Each part of our sanctification is inseparably connected with the other. The elect were first sanctified by God the Father before the foundation of the world, when by an act of His will they were blessed with all spiritual blessing in Christ and much graced in the Beloved. Second, they were sanctified by the incarnate Son of God, who, by His infinitely meritorious work has set the elect before God in all His worthiness and Surety perfections. A perfect holiness is as indispensable as a perfect righteousness in order to have access to and communion with the thrice holy God, and in Christ we have the one as truly as we have the other, for by His one offering He has perfected us forever. Yet is it absolutely necessary to mix faith therewith if we are to live in the power and enjoyment of the same, and that is not possible until we are, third, sanctified by the Spirit.

It is only by means of the Spirit's sanctifying us that we obtain personal proof that we are among the favoured number of those sanctified by the offering of Christ, for it is by His operations alone that we are capacitated to enter into the good secured for us by the Redeemer. But it is this aspect of our subject which presents the acutest problem to the conscience of the believer, who, conscious of such an ocean of corruption still raging within, finds it so difficult to be assured that a supernatural work of grace has been wrought in his heart. It is therefore of great importance that we should be quite clear upon this branch of our theme, and ascertain what the sanctification of the Spirit consists of, and what is not included therein--i.e., it does not involve the eradication of the carnal nature in this life.

Positionally, our sanctification by the Spirit results from our being vitally united to Christ-for the moment we are livingly joined to Him His holiness becomes ours, and our standing before God is the same as His. Relatively, our sanctification of the Spirit issues from our being renewed by Him--for the moment He quickens us we are set apart from those who are dead in sins. Personally, we are consecrated unto God by the Spirit's indwelling of us, making our bodies His temples. Experimentally, our sanctification by the Spirit consists in the impartation to us of a principle or "nature" of holiness whereby we become conformed to the Divine Law. Thus, our sanctification by the Spirit is the outcome of that supernatural operation whereby we are "created in Christ Jesus," which radically distinguishes us from the ungodly, and capacitates us to walk in faith and obedience.

In carrying on His work of grace in the believer, God does not set aside his accountability and deal with him as a mechanical robot--no, He enforces the believer's responsibility by enlisting his cooperation and by blessing his use of the appointed means. The Christian life is a vigorous warfare, and holiness is only prompted in his heart and life by his watchfulness and alertness, striving and contending against his spiritual foes. The life of faith and the race of holiness cannot be maintained except by diligent attention, earnest effort and perseverance. Carelessness and slothfulness are dangerous, and if persisted in are fatal. Mortification and vivification are absolutely necessary.

Sanctification, then, is a blessing which the elect have received from God the Father, a blessing which includes their being eternally set apart or consecrated for His pleasure, the cleansing of them from all that would unfit, and the adorning of them with all that is necessary to make them meet for His use. It is a gift which they have in and through Christ: a perfect, inalienable, and eternal gift. It is a moral quality, communicated by the Holy Spirit, an holy principle or new nature. It is also a duty which God requires from us. To insist that the pursuit and practice of holiness is our obligation, in nowise clashes with God's free grace, for while it is true that we can perform no part of our duty except by Divine grace, it is equally true that God's grace is given to us for no other reason than that we may rightly perform our duty. Divine grace and our obedience are opposed in justification (Rom. 11:6), but not so in our sanctification (Phil. 2:12, 13).

If there be one verse in the New Testament which comes nearer to furnishing us with a complete outline of the essential features of our subject, perhaps it is, "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" (2 Cor. 7:1). This is an exhortation unto the practice and performance of holiness. Four things in it are to be duly noted. First, the basis of the appeal, namely, the fact that God has made precious promises unto the believer--the particular reference being to those given in the closing verses of Chapter 6. Second, the task set before us, namely, to cleanse ourselves from all that defiles, outwardly and inwardly. Third, the aim or design of this, namely, the effecting of holiness. Fourth, the dynamic for the same, namely, the fear of God. Let us enlarge a little upon these points.

The duty here enjoined is that we "cleanse ourselves," and this not in order to win God's regard for us, but because we are already His "dearly beloved." It is the response which we ought to make unto the wondrous grace which has been shown unto and bestowed upon us. The emphasis is thrown upon the Christian's responsibility and the discharge thereof. A prayerful pondering and an earnest effort to obey this call is very necessary if we are to be preserved from that deforming lopsidedness which is so prevalent in Christendom today. "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit" is as much a part of Holy Writ as is "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin"; yet for every time 2 Corinthians 7:1 is quoted, probably 1 John 1:7 is cited a hundred times. That ought not to be!

Sin is polluting and defiling and is no more to be tolerated by the saint than is physical filth: if we are careful to keep our bodies clean, much more diligent should we be in seeing to it that the soul be kept pure. Just so far as we entertain the idea that sinning is unavoidable, that it is an inevitable part of our daily lot, will we lose sight of its heinousness, cease judging ourselves, and become the prey and sport of the Evil One. "Awake to righteousness, and sin not" (1 Cor. 15:34) is the standard which God has set before us, and at which we must constantly aim. We are duty bound to cleanse ourselves from all that defiles us, both inwardly and outwardly, and to "keep ourselves unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).

Let it be remembered that holiness of heart is the chief part of our conforming to the spiritual Law of God, for no outward work is considered by Him as holy unless the heart be right before Him, for it is the heart which He sees and tries. Inward purity--that is, the disallowing, resisting, striving against the motions of sin within us--is absolutely necessary for maintaining external purity of practice, integrity, and righteousness. "Out of the heart are the issues of life": what most prevails there is what comes forth into more or less open manifestation. When sin in general, or any lust in particular, is entertained in the heart, it will be likely, some time or other, to force an eruption. Hence the tremendous importance of "keep thy heart with all diligence" (Prov. 4:23). Cleanse yourself from pride, unbelief, impatience, covetousness, an unforgiving spirit, levity, hypocrisy, everything contrary to true piety.

"Perfecting holiness in the fear of God" is to be the believer's aim and design: to walk worthy of his high calling, to act consistently with his standing and state in Christ. Having been made a saint by the sovereign and effectual call of God, saintly conduct is to be his constant endeavour. Sanctified condition is both the starting point and motive of practical holiness. "Perfecting holiness" does not mean that the holiness which the believer now has before God is defective and incomplete and needs to be augmented by his own efforts. No indeed. He has already been "perfected forever" by the one offering of Christ (Heb. 10:14). The meaning of this word "perfecting" is that we are to carry out to its proper issue the Gospel which is ours in Christ, and this we are to do by cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. But as this term is much misunderstood in other passages, we will add a few remarks upon it.

"But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected" (1 John 2:5). This expression "the love of God" is made sufficiently definite and emphatic in this Epistle to forbid any thought that it could possibly refer to our love to Him: it is the contemplation of the wondrous love of God which furnishes the most influential motive to move us to the performance of practical holiness. But it may be asked, How can it be said that the love of God is "perfected"? Was it ever imperfect? And if it were, how could it be perfected by a believer's keeping His Word? The answer is that by our obeying His commands the design of God's love in us is reached. "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:12). The same explanation holds good of this statement: the love of God toward us reaches its proper result and its end is accomplished in us when Christians love one another.

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment" (1 John 4:17, 18). The R.V. more correctly renders this "Herein is love (namely, "the love" spoken of in the preceding verse) made perfect with us, etc." i.e., has attained its end. Verses 9 and 10 show clearly the object which the love of God had in view concerning us, and now this design is accomplished, for "because as He (Christ) is, so are we in this world"--we are before God in all the perfection and acceptableness of His son's propitiation, viewed not as sinners, but as made the righteousness of God in Him. If, then, we really know and believe the love God hath to us, and see what wonders it has accomplished, the result must be "that we may have boldness in the day of judgment."

The face is that in John's Epistle "the love of God" always expresses His love to us, and never ours to Him. Nothing but a spirit of delusion could cause any man to boast that his love for God was "perfect"--without defect in nature, manner, or degree. But the one verse which settles once for all the meaning of this term "made perfect" is, "And by works was (Abraham's) faith made perfect" (James 2:22), for obviously this declaration cannot mean that the patriarch's faith itself was thereby perfected, but rather that in his acts of obedience faith reached its designed end and achieved its proper result. So, in like manner, by cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit we are "perfecting holiness," that is, God's design in sanctifying us in Christ is now realized.

A word upon the dynamic for this task. The design of our holiness in Christ--namely the cleansing of ourselves from all filthiness, is to be realized "in the fear of God." That does not signify a servile horror of incurring His wrath, but a filial awe of His majesty and a dread of grieving Him. Alas, this is something which has well-nigh disappeared from modern religion. Fifty years ago it was a common thing to designate a believer "a God-fearing man," but today, were one so described, the majority of professing Christians would shun him as a melancholy Puritan. The love of God has been so disproportionately emphasised and His awe-inspiring sovereignty and holiness so ignored, that instead of His being an Object to be feared, people prate about God as though they were His equals--and consequently, as the principal dynamic for it be lost, practical holiness or personal piety is now at such a low ebb everywhere.

Of the wicked it is written "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. 3:18): they are not afraid of trifling with Him and treading His commands beneath their feet. But with the saints it is otherwise, for "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10) and they have been "made wise unto salvation." "By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil" (Prov. 16:6): it was so with Joseph, for when tempted to evil, he declared "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Gen. 39:9) O to live day by day in the realization "Thou God seest me," for how else shall we "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling"? Then beg God, my reader, to place His holy fear within you, and to make your heart stand in awe of His majesty.

Our task is completed. Those who followed us carefully through this book will have perceived that the writer felt he was sailing through deep waters, and at times much caution was needed so as to avoid being wrecked on dangerous rocks. Yet we have not, consciously, avoided any difficulty, but sought to grapple fairly with each one that was presented. How far we succeeded, the reader must decide. We have sought diligently to enforce the standard of holiness God sets before us, while we have studiously maintained that none fully measures up to it in this life; yet such failure rests wholly on us and is highly culpable. The fullness there is in Christ (John 1:16) is available for us to draw upon--the grace of God is sufficient for every need. We do not, we dare not justify the Christian for walking, in any measure, after the flesh.

No sin is to be allowed by us. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, (and not other people!) and the truth is not in us" is among the "These things write I unto you, that ye sin not" (1 John 1:8, 2:1). We entreat those who are panting after the perfected likeness of God's Son, not to be deceived as to their present condition and attainments; and on the other hand, not to be discouraged because of their difficulties and defeats. The narrow way of holiness is not an easy down-slope, winding through flowery fields. It lies through an Enemy's country, and though faith may always rejoice that far more is He that is for us than all who can be against us, yet the believer cannot say in the presence of the Enemy, as His Lord could, "The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me" (John 14:30).

We are called to ceaseless vigilance, yet faith's fight is one in which the issue is not doubtful. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4), yet this necessarily implies that the victory will be changed unto defeat if the eye be turned from the Object of faith to regale itself on the proofs of victory won. Believers are to shine as lights in the world, but they only shine by reflected light, so that to do so they must be ever turned toward the Sun of righteousness, occupied not with their shining, but with its Source. Nothing is further from practical holiness than to boast of it, for the closer one walks with Christ, the more conscious will he be of his own unchristlikeness, and hang his head in shame. Keep short accounts with God; seek to hide His Word in your heart that you may be kept from sinning; let your chief petition be for enabling grace; look forward to that Day when your sanctification will be consummated by glorification--when you will be done with sin forever.