Just as God sovereignly justifies His people through the blood of Christ, so too it is God alone Who sovereignly
sanctifies them by the mighty working of the Spirit of Christ. While justification has to do with our legal state before God, sanctification has to do with our
actual condition. We are freed from the
guilt of sin by justification, but we are still sinners. Sin still abides within the child of God so that even the best of his good works are defiled by it. In sanctification, however, God's people are delivered from the
power and
dominion of sin. The Spirit of God gives grace to "put off the old man" and "put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." (
Col. 3:9-10). The apostle Paul speaks of this in
II Corinthians 3:18. He says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Although the believer will never be perfect in this life, in sanctification he is more and more changed into the image of Christ.
It can not be denied, therefore, that the justified sinner
must perform good works. It is not true that you can live like the devil because you are justified. Even though in justification the believer is sovereignly freed from the guilt of every sin, his justification is
not the ground for a wicked life. That is the lie of the devil. We who believe in the sovereignty of God's grace believe that God so works in the hearts of His people that
He causes them more and more to flee sin and seek that which is good and right. Good works are an essential part of the Christian life. Thus the apostle Peter exhorts us, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so
be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy." (
I Pet. 1:15-16). Jesus tells us that we manifest the fact that we are followers of Him by bearing much fruit. He says, "Herein is my father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples." (
John 15:8). Those who are the objects of God's grace are to glorify God by showing the world the good works which that grace has wrought in them. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (
Matt. 5:16).
In fact, if a man says that he is a believer and yet lives a wicked life of continual sin and debauchery, he shows us that he is
not the object of God's grace. The faith which is given by the grace of God is a faith that seeks God and the righteousness of the kingdom of God. James teaches us that when he says, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?...Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." (
James 2:14,17). True faith always manifests itself in good works. Indeed, the believer is far from perfect. Nevertheless, his sanctification implies that he does seek to do that which is good and well-pleasing to God.
But are these good works the product of the believer's own strength? Do they contribute anything to salvation? May they be considered man's part in salvation? No, never! That is impossible, for all the good works that any believer performs are solely
the product of the grace of God. Apart from God's work of sanctification His people can do nothing. Thus we read in
Philippians 2:13, "For it is
God which worketh in you both to
will and to
do of his good pleasure." The believer does what is pleasing to God only because God sovereignly works that good work in him. He makes the believer want to do what is right and He makes him do it too. In fact, all of the good works which His people perform have been
determined by God from before the foundation of the world. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (
Eph. 2:10). The Christian's life of sanctification is so much in the hands of God that individual believers do all the good works which God has ordained for each one to do. Thus sanctification, even as justification, is totally the work of God. Just as Christ is said to be our justification, so too He is said to be our sanctification. "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification..." (
I Cor. 1:30). Sanctification is the result of the sovereign work of the Spirit of Christ based upon the blood of Christ. It is only in the power of the blood of Christ that the believer can ever conquer sin and do that which is good. The Holy Spirit teaches us this in
Hebrews 10:10, "By the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Indeed, Christ Jesus our Lord, Who died for His people, is all of salvation. From beginning to end salvation is based upon His precious blood.
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Originally Posted by DG
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