Lesson 19

Discipleship 202: Sanctification and Perseverance

Romans 8:28–39 ESV

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Justification precedes. By faith, the sinner is first transferred into the state of righteousness. Following on this righteousness, the state of holiness appears, produced through the work of sanctification. The legal ground for sanctification lies in justification. Sanctification is a gift. God is committed to our holiness. Ephesians 1:4 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love”

Sanctification

Sanctification—specifically progressive sanctification—is the cooperative work of God and Christians by which ongoing transformation into greater Christlikeness occurs. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;”

Holy in the Greek world spoke more to sacredness and venerability. It completely lacked the moral element. The word ἅγιος is not used by the Greeks for either gods or men. However, this is the word used to translate qā·ḏôš from the Old Testament, which expressed being “set apart,” “separated.” Something becomes holy because God sets it apart as holy and for His use. God in the first place is called the “Holy One,” and only from that does it follow that holiness can also be ascribed to other things apart from Him. Thus we say that the concept of holiness came from above to below, not the opposite.

Set Apart Nature

Whatever is holy is set apart from the unholy world, and dedicated to God. Holiness means a relationship with God, a dedication to God. Nothing is holy apart from God. Something is dedicated holy by God to serve God’s glorification not the object or person themselves. 1 Peter 1:16 “since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”” To be holy, one must be rooted in God.

Holy Spirit

Holiness occurs in an official sense for those who have been set apart for a special service: Holy prophets, holy apostles, holy men of God, holy covenant, holy Scriptures.

Holiness is used in an ethical sense. 1 Peter 1:15–16 “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

Sanctified: This word means “dedicate to God,” “take up into the fellowship of God.”

John 10:36 “do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

The sanctifying of people, that is, performed by people, occurs partly with respect to something that is already holy. 1 Timothy 4:5 “for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

Monergism: Monergism (from the Greek monos, “sole”; ergon, “work”) refers to a sole source that works. God is the single agent that operates regeneration, justification, and so on.

Synergism: (from the Greek syn, “with”; ergon, “work”) refers to two (or more) sources that work together in salvation. God and believers together operate in sanctification.

Positional Sanctification:

God’s work of setting apart believers from sin and for his purposes.

Takes place at the beginning of salvation.

Ephesians 5:26 “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”

Hebrews 10:10 “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Sanctifying here amounts to obtaining an objective state through sacrifice. Believers are therefore sanctified in principle by the satisfaction of Christ; their sanctification is firm in Him.

God grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of God. In Christ, we are holy before God.

It is primarily an immediate work at conversion.

Is equally true of all believers

Biblical Support

1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Acts 20:32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Progressive Sanctification:

Cooperative work of God and Christians by which ongoing transformation into greater Christlikeness occurs.

It occurs from the beginning to the end of salvation.

Long Time

Through Suffering

God’s providence

supernatural work of grace to strengthen and increase holiness

God is killing sin and the new life is grown. God is suppressing the root system that produces sin.

Completed at the moment of death

To the whole man

The mind

Thought life

John 6:45 “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—”

The will

opposed to the holiness of God

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Ezekiel 36:25–27 “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

The Passions

selfish desires

Galatians 5:24 “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

The Conscience

Impervious to sin

Titus 1:15 “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.”

Hebrews 9:14 “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

To the body

The organ of the sinful soul

1 Corinthians 6:15 “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!” 1 Corinthians 6:20 “for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Romans 6:12 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”

Is greater in some believers and lesser than others.

God empowers believers to overcome temptation and to mature in Christ through God given means:

Holy Spirit

1 Peter 1:2 “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

The Word of God

1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Community of Faith

Hebrews 10:24–25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Corporate Worship, Preaching, ordinances, exhortation, discipleship, accountability

Biblical Support

Philippians 2:12–13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Holy Spirit

John 16:8–11 “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

2 Peter 1:3–4 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

1 Corinthians 2:14–16 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

Romans 8:26–27 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

1 Corinthians 12:6 “and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Yielding to God: Passive

Faith: Luke 6:43–44““For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.”

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Romans 6:13 “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”

Active Engagement with the Means of God: Active

Obeying Scripture: 2 Peter 1:19 “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,”

Praying: Philippians 4:6–7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Confessing Sin: 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Resisting Satan: James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Fleeing Temptation: 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Putting to death sinful tendencies: Rom. 6:1-14

Romans 6:1–14 (ESV) What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Perfected Sanctification:

God’s final work of completing salvation.

We can say that there is no progressive sanctification after this life.

To see the Lord as He is involves being like him. 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!””

They are perfectly sanctified from their disembodied life in heaven.

There is no sin or misery in heaven.

All sin will be removed from the soul.

Takes place at the end of salvation

Is will be equally true of all believers.

Biblical Support

Hebrews 12:23 “and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,”

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

Errors

Overemphasis on the divine role

Exaggerated emphasis on the human role

Any view that insists that, whereas justification and the beginning of salvation is according to the Spirit, by grace, and through faith, sanctification is according to the law, by good works, and through human effort.

Reformed Dogmatics (Chapter 6: Sanctification)

First of all, Roman Catholics, because they hold that through regeneration all sin, properly speaking, is eradicated from a person, and that there is thus no further need for a supernatural action for removing sin. They therefore must have sanctification turned into a purely human work, the performing of good works. And insofar as these good works flow from a purified nature, a meritorious character can more easily be ascribed to them.

When “Once saved, always saved” is used to justify sinful actions.

Sanctification is indispensable. Sanctification is the source out of which good works come; good works are the waters that flow from this source. Good works are also in response to the holy disposition that is implanted in man by God

Hebrews 12:14 “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Romans 6:22 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”

Perfectionism: sanctification in this life is complete, so that all the defilement of sin is removed from the believer.

1 John 3:6–7 “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.”

1 Kings 8:46 ““If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,”

James 3:2 “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”

Matthew 6:12 “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Applications

Cooperating with God in sanctification

Making steady progress toward greater Christlikeness, while accounting for divergences from this general pattern

Creating a safe environment in which all church members are cared for well and appropriately to become holy

Perseverance

Will the operation of divine grace begun in a true believer’s life certainly continue and be brought to completion such that a genuine Christian can never fall away from Christ and fail to obtain eternal salvation?

Can you lose your salvation?

Those, who believe that a believer can lose their salvation, confuse the state of believers in the covenant of grace with the state of Adam before the fall.

Reformed Dogmatics (Chapter 6: Sanctification)

They confuse the state of believers in the covenant of grace with the state of Adam before the fall, as if these two were completely the same. The difference lies precisely in this: Adam possessed a perfect but mutable holiness, since he was in a covenant of works in which the decision is suspended from the will of man; the believer is in a covenant of grace, in which God has made all things secure so that there is no longer any thought of vi-cis-si-tude. For this reason, believers have a holiness that is imperfect but is still incapable of being lost.

A Mighty Work By Which God Preserves Believers in Christ forever. True believers will certainly persist in exercising faith and engaging in good works. Moreover, perseverance is a continuing divine work, and hence the future salvation of genuine Christians does not ultimately depend on their ability to resist temptation, withstand assaults, and hold themselves in Christ. And this divine power engages their continuing faith, which includes perseverance as a constitutive element: genuine faith perseveres, and when people do not persevere, they do not (and did not) have saving faith.

1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:8–9 “who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

John 6:37–40 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.””

John 3:3–8 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.””

Ephesians 1:13–14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

1 John 5:11–13 “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”

God has made provision of persevering grace for the church, but this grace is conditional with respect to each individual Christian. A believer is protected by divine power, but she can resist this grace, apostatize, and lose her salvation. Ultimate salvation, then, depends on the believer persevering in the faith. Therefore, it is not possible to know if a particular Christian will persevere to the end. Key to this position is its notion of human free will: no causal condition can decisively incline a person’s will in one direction or another. In choosing or acting, the person could always do otherwise. This view means that though a person cooperated with divine grace and was saved, that person can exercise that same free will to deny Christ and resist the divine grace once experienced.

Hebrews 2:1–3 “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,”

Hebrews 3:12 “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”

Hebrews 10:26–31 “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

2 Peter 3:17 “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.”

Colossians 1:21–23 “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

Matthew 10:22 “and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Case Studies

Matthew 7:21–23 ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Hebrews 6:4–6 “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

1 John 2:18–19 “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

2 Peter 2:1–2 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.”

Judas

Acts 5:1–11 (ESV) But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

1 Timothy 1:19–20 “holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” 2 Timothy 2:16–18 “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”

Errors

Abuse of the motto “Once saved, always saved.” 1 John 2:6 “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

Shaking the proper confidence of genuine Christians who love, trust, and obey God by warning them about losing their salvation.

A view of assurance that leads to presumptuousness, pride, laxity, and complacency.

Applications

Great Comfort and Encouragement in God for the assurance of our salvation

Trust and Hope in God’s provision for assurance