Three Types: Definitive, Progressive, Climactic

Introduction: The Glory of God in the Salvation of Sinners

0:02 The glory of God, revealed and secured in the salvation of sinners, is the great theme of the Holy Scriptures. Now, that's not just a convenient introductory statement. It's a fact. The glory of God, both revealed and secured in the salvation of sinners, is the great theme of the Bible.

0:32 That theme is enunciated in the very familiar words, at least familiar at this season of the year, when the angel of the Lord, having told the shepherds that a Savior was born, is joined by a chorus of angelic hosts who say, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace towards men in whom God is well pleased. The glory of God. in the salvation of sinners who are the objects of grace is indeed the great theme of the Scriptures. And we are engaged these Lord's Day mornings in a study of the cardinal blessings of this great salvation which reveals and secures God's glory as well as meets every need that sin has created in the heart and in the life of

1:30 of the people of God. Having examined the biblical teaching regarding the first two of those cardinal blessings of salvation, regeneration, and calling, we then examined those great blessings of justification and adoption which come to us immediately upon passing over the threshold of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light, and now our attention is focused upon another glorious provision of grace, that provision embodied in the biblical term sanctification. After a general introduction in which we examine sanctification in relationship to the problem of sin, in relationship to the plan of salvation, in relationship to personal concern, in our last study,

2:24 I tried to set before you something of the meaning and the significance of the biblical words used to describe this great blessing of God's grace. And we engaged in a word study and saw that the basic concept of both the Greek and Hebrew words used to describe God's mighty work in sanctification was

2:49 The basic concept is one which points in the direction of something being separated unto God. And from that basic concept we then saw the rich diversity of thought that opens up to us in the Scriptures with respect to the subject of sanctification. So that we must not, whenever we see the word sanctify, sanctification, holy or holiness, assume that it is speaking holy. only or even primarily of that sanctification which we're treating in this series of studies, that work of God by which sinners are actually set apart from the bondage and defilement of sin unto a life of holiness, but the term is richer in its significance, and I try to arm you with a tool by which to handle the word of God accurately in your own study of it.

3:46 Now today we begin to take up our study of sanctification as it relates to this actual work of God in separating sinners from sin unto Himself. That is, the sanctification of sinners by God through the Spirit based upon the work of Christ the Redeemer. And we're contemplating that work in which God is dealing with us not as a judge, as in justification, but

4:16 or as a father, as in adoption. But that work of God in redemption, in which God is dealing with us as a physician, He's doing something in us. Not something for us legally, but something in us powerfully and inwardly. We are going to consider then what God does in actually breaking in sinners the bondage of sin,

4:46 cleansing them from the pollution and the defilement of sin, and restoring in them the image of God that was lost by sin. Now that's the sanctification we are concerned to examine in the coming weeks. Now what I propose to do today is simply to give you a broad overview of the major elements in the doctrine of sanctification.

The Wide-Angle Lens Illustration

5:13 And I'm going to do so under a figure that I'll return to again and again in our study today. Imagine a man who has both the time and the money to be a world traveler. And he's arrived some place in Switzerland, and he's hiked into the midst of some of those majestic Swiss Alps. And of course he wants to capture as much as he can of the memory of this visit, and so he's loaded with all kinds of photographic gear.

5:42 And he notices one particularly striking mountain that as he looks at it, he's very conscious that it has three major peaks on that one mountain. Well, he takes out his standard 35 millimeter single lens reflex camera with its standard lens, and he peeks through from his vantage point, and he notices that that lens only takes in about a half of the mountain, about one and a half of the three peaks. major peaks. And he says, this will never do. I can't back up further to take in more. I can't, I don't want to get closer to taking less. So he reaches into his camera gearbox and he pulls out a lens that's called a wide angle lens. And the particular function of this lens is that instead of taking in that much of the scenery, it'll take in this much. And when he pops in his wide angle lens and looks through his viewfinder,

6:38 He sees exactly what he wants. The entire mountain is now framed in his viewfinder, all three peaks. And so he takes several shots that will capture the majesty of that one mountain and its three great peaks. But then he's concerned that he will also see something more of the distinguishing majesty of each particular peak. So when he takes out his wide-angle lens, he replaces it not with his standard lens...

7:07 but with his zoom lens. And now what he does is he focuses on the first peak and he zooms in and it brings it forward until all that's framed out in his viewfinder is one peak. And then he does the same with the second peak and then with the third. Now when he returns home to tell people about his wonderful visit to Switzerland and this majestic mountain that he saw, he first of all then takes out the shot that was taken with his wide-angle lens. He says, now there's the overall majesty of the mountain. And everyone can see that it's a massive structure with these three peaks. Then he goes on to say, now would you like to see something more of the detail of the first peak? And I hope that the person's sane and has any appreciation of God's handiwork, he'll say, sure, of course I would. Well, then he takes out the pictures that were taken with his zoom lens.

7:59 And now you see details in peak number one that could never be seen with the wide-angle lens. Details of peak number two, details of peak number three. Now, what in the world does that little lesson in photography have to do with the doctrine of sanctification? Well, just this. What I propose to do with you this morning is to put in the wide-angle lens and stand off at a distance and simply view this majestic mountain of God's grace with its three soaring peaks, the doctrine of sanctification as a whole. And then in subsequent weeks, we're going to put in our Zoom lens, and we're going to focus upon peak number one, probably for several Lord's Day mornings, peak number two, and then peak number three. So all I propose to do this morning is to look with you through the viewfinder of the Word of God upon the doctrine of sanctification as a whole

Peak One: Definitive Sanctification Defined

8:59 sanctification in its three major perspectives or dimensions or facets, or to use the illustration, sanctification in its three great mountain peaks. And the first one is what I will call definitive sanctification, and I'll explain what I mean, and we'll look at several scriptures that are pivotal with respect to this. Then we'll consider progressive sanctification, and

9:28 and I'll explain what I mean by that and buttress it with the Word of God, and then thirdly, climactic sanctification, and likewise, I'll define and describe what is meant by that terminology and demonstrate from the Scriptures its validity. First of all, then, as we look through our viewfinder at the whole mountain of sanctification, we see peak number one, definitive sanctification.

9:57 or sanctification begun by a radical cleavage with the dominion, power, and service of sin. When I speak of definitive sanctification, I am simply seeking to give verbal expression to the biblical teaching that when God sanctifies a sinner, And He never justifies or adopts a sinner without also sanctifying the sinner. So whenever God saves a sinner, justifying, adopting him, and sanctifying him, He begins the work of sanctification by effecting a radical cleavage with the dominion, the power, and the service of sins.

10:50 When the gospel comes to us as sinners, it finds us not only guilty and alienated, therefore in need of justifying grace and adopting grace, but it finds us polluted and in bondage to sin and to the devil. Now, this has never been a popular doctrine, but it's the teaching of the Word of God and the experience of every Christian.

11:18 When the gospel comes to us, it finds us not only guilty and alienated, but it finds us in chains, in bondage, defiled, and polluted. In the language of our Lord in John 8, whosoever commits sin is the bond slave of sin. Or in the language of Romans 6, Paul says, ye were the slaves of sin. of sin. Now the same God who in grace and mercy justifies and adopts us on the grounds of the work of Christ is the God who also breaks the bondage that ties us to our sin and sets us free. He liberates us unto Himself and to His service. Now all those who are brought into union with Christ

12:17 and thereby justified and adopted, are also identified in Scripture as men and women who have been sanctified. And they are described in such terminology as to place the emphasis upon a definitive, that is, a completed, a radical dimension of sanctification.

12:48 so that their sanctification is spoken of in the same terms of finality as is their justification and their adoption. In other words, there are certain texts in Scripture, and we shall look at them momentarily, which do not give any suggestion that sanctification is progressive.

Scriptural Evidence for Definitive Sanctification

13:11 they give the clear impression that sanctification is a once-for-all definitive act of Almighty God in separating sinners from sin unto Himself. That's what I am calling definitive sanctification, using the language of Professor Murray, or sanctification begun with the radical cleavage with the dominion, power, and service of sins. Now let us look at several passages in the Word of God which clearly teach this. Turn, please, to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Remember now what we're doing. We're looking through the viewfinder to catch a distant overall picture of the three great peaks of the doctrine of sanctification, peak number one, definitive sanctification, a radical cleavage with the dominion of

14:11 power, and service of sin. Now, the apostle is writing to the church at Corinth, having received information from the household of Chloe, as he indicates in verse 11 of chapter 1, that all was not well at Corinth. There were many, many problems in the realm of progressive sanctification. The saints had problems Godward, they had problems manward, and

14:39 They had problems of the head and problems of the heart, all kinds of problems. And Paul was very much aware of them, because as he unfolds the book, he takes them up one after another, now concerning, now concerning, now concerning. But with all of those problems standing out in his mind, with the resolution of those problems burning in his heart and about to burst through his pen,

15:05 As he picks up his pen to address the Corinthians, notice the language he uses. Paul called an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God and Sosthenes, our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth. Now notice, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called saints

15:34 or literally called holy ones, called sanctified ones, with all that call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours. Now, isn't that an amazing statement? The church at Corinth is standing visibly before the apostles' mind as a church filled with problems.

15:59 There are problems of dissension, problems of irregularity and the exercise of gifts, problems with one brother going to law with another brother, problems concerning marriage, problems concerning the doctrine of the resurrection, all kinds of problems. And in that sense, they were a very unsanctified people in terms of progressive sanctification. Yet notice how he addresses them. He addresses them as the church of God which is at Corinth,

16:30 them that are sanctified, literally, them that have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. And therefore the apostle indicates that when he conceives of the church at Corinth, he conceives of them with all of their problems as a body of people who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. Not who shall be, who ought to be, who may be, but who have been sanctified. Now in what sense had they been sanctified? In this sense of definitive sanctification. When they passed over the threshold of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God's dear Son, they experienced a radical breach with the power, the bondage, and the service of sins.

17:30 describes this in chapter 6, which is the best commentary on 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 2. How did they become the church sanctified in Christ Jesus? 1 Corinthians chapter 6, beginning with verse 9. Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,

17:59 nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But ye have been washed, ye have been sanctified, ye have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God. Now notice what he says. He says their washing and their sanctification is as definitive and accomplished as is their justification. You see how he brings the three together? The washing, the justifying, and the sanctifying are all spoken of as accomplished, completed acts of God. That's definitive and

18:57 sanctification. He is speaking of that radical breach with the power, the dominion, and the service of sin that occurred on the threshold of their Christian experience. It is precisely in this sense that Paul describes the people of God in general in two very pivotal texts in the book of the Acts. Acts chapter 20 and

19:24 as he is drawing to a close his charge to the Ephesian elders. He says in verse 32, I now commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance, notice now, among all them, that are, or again, literally translated, among all those that have been sanctified. He describes the people of God not as those who are being sanctified, but who have been sanctified. They have already experienced a definitive work of sanctification. We find a similar expression in Acts chapter 26 and verse 18.

20:11 where Paul is recounting the commission given to him by the exalted Christ after his conversion, his task, verse 18, to open their eyes, that is, the Gentiles and his fellow Jews, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.

20:41 So you see these repeated usages of the concept of a sanctification that has occurred in the past, the effects of which last until now, but there is no thought of process. Something has happened definitively, radically, dramatically in the lives of those who are sanctified.

21:05 Now, into this same category of definitive sanctification, though the word itself is not used, the concept is there in such passages as Romans 6, as we shall study when we take our Zoom lens, God willing, next week. The whole concept of dying to sin. Ye died to sin, Paul says of the Roman Christians. Or, in Romans chapter 8, ye are not in the flesh alone.

21:33 but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. The concept that we've been delivered from the realm of flesh into the realm of Spirit. And there the Apostle is not speaking of degrees. There is a definitive, a radical dimension of sanctifying grace. Or in the language of Galatians 5.25, they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and the lusts thereof. Or in the language of Colossians 3.4, ye die.

22:03 And your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians chapter 4. Ye have put off the old man. You have put on the new. He's not saying you ought to. He says you have. And then when we come to the language of Peter. Peter uses similar terminology in 1 Peter 2 and in 1 Peter 4 when he speaks of our having died to sin. And the book of 1 John, particularly chapter 3. He that is born of God does not sin.

22:32 doesn't mean sinless perfection. It cannot. For in the context of that passage, and in every passage I've just quoted, Romans 6, Romans 8, Galatians 5, Colossians 3, Colossians 4, there are exhortations to Christians to deal with specific sins. There are admonitions to grow in particular graces. And yet in the midst of that, it is growth from the basis of a radical breach with sin.

23:02 And there is no way to handle these many, many passages unless we place them in a category that I find finds its most accurate expression in the language I'm using with you this morning, definitive sanctification. When we say to someone, please give me a definitive answer, what we mean is a fully developed, a final answer. definitive sanctification then is that dimension of sanctifying grace in which there is a fundamental, a basic, a radical break with sin and the sinner is set apart unto God. This is not to suggest sinlessness. Every passage in which this concept is taught militates against it.

23:52 The very Paul who writes to the church at Corinth as those who have been sanctified is the one who deals with all kinds of problems and sins yet resident in those who have been sanctified. Now I know you have a lot of questions. What is the precise nature of this definitive sanctification? On what basis are we definitively sanctified? By what means? Those must await the zoom lens. We're simply looking...

Peak Two: Progressive Sanctification Defined

24:22 at the whole picture this morning. Move with me then to peak number two, and it's what I'm calling progressive sanctification. As we seek to absorb the biblical testimony concerning this grace of sanctification, there are certain portions which cannot be understood in the category of definitive sanctification. They can only be understood in the framework of progressives.

24:51 sanctification, or sanctification continued as a gradual process of purification from sin, that's the negative, and of increasing conformity to the likeness of Christ, that's the positive. So when I speak of progressive sanctification, what am I speaking about? I am speaking of that which the Bible sets before us as a continuous or gradual process of purification from sin and of gradual conformity to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Now, when the cleavage from sin is wrought in definitive sanctification, we are rendered in the language of the Bible new men and new women in Christ. But though we are new men in Christ, we are not

25:48 perfect men in Christ. Though the fundamental bondage to sin has been broken, the presence of sin has not been eradicated. And though our willful servitude to sin has been repudiated, and in that sense sin no longer lords it over us, the reality of iniquity dwelling, sin is not extirpated and utterly purged from us. It yet remains. Though sin does not reign, as has often been said, it still remains. And there's all the difference in the world between reigning sin and remaining sin. And therefore, sanctification is set before us in the Bible, not only as a definitive act, but as a process. Consider with me the evidence.

Progressive Sanctification as Mortification and Fruit-Bearing

26:44 First of all, there are those passages in which a process of continuous mortification or putting to death of sin is set before us as our duty. Romans 8 and verse 13. In a very passage that teaches definitive sanctification, you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. Paul goes on to say, verse 13, if ye live after the flesh ye must die, but

27:14 If by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. And this putting to death the deeds of the body is in a present tense verb. If you are continually putting to death the deeds of the body, which is called in verse 14, being led by the Spirit. It's a process. It can't be understood as a definitive once-for-all act.

27:41 it can only be understood as a process of continuous mortification of sin. Furthermore, sanctification is set before us as a process of continuous fruit-bearing unto holiness. Romans 6 and verse 22. And again, it's interesting because Romans 6 says, is the watershed of the teaching of the New Testament on definitive sanctification. Ye died to sin. There's been a radical breach with sin. Sin shall not have dominion over you. Yet, it's this very chapter that teaches a process. Look at verse 22. But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, definitive sanctification, you are having, present tense verb,

28:29 You are having your fruit unto holiness and the end eternal life. So you see, the process of sanctification is set before us in the language of this text. We find the same in 2 Corinthians 7.1. Having therefore these promises dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves of all defilement of the flesh and the spirit, continually perfecting holiness, another present tense verb, continually perfecting holiness in the fear of God. No way to understand a text like that, but to think of sanctification as a process. And then in addition to the concept of sanctification as a process of continuing mortification, continuing fruit bearing, we also have those texts in which

Progressive Sanctification as Renewal and Purification

29:22 It is set before us as a process of continuous renewal into the image of Christ. 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 18. Sanctification is described in terms of this continuous renewal into the image of Christ. 2 Corinthians 3, 18. But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image. Present tense again. We are being continually transformed into the same image from glory to glory. That is, one stage of glory to another, even as from the Lord the Spirit. So there is no notion here that we have one great coat of many colors experienced and we are boom, zapped into the likeness of Christ. No, no. There is this

30:18 process that goes on continually. Furthermore, sanctification is set before us in the New Testament as a process of continually purifying ourselves. 1 John 3, 3, every man that hath this hope in him, present tense verb again, continually purifies himself even as he is pure. Well, I thought we were made pure. We were sanctified. Yes, we were. But we must continue to be sanctified. The definitive gives birth to

30:48 the progressive. Now then you must add to this testimony of this fourfold process all of the verses that speak about the Christian life under the figure of growth. Be continually growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians, I'm sorry, 2 Peter 3.18.

31:12 Ephesians chapter 4, where the body of Christ is pictured as a human organism that is growing up unto the fullness of the stature of Christ. That can only be understood in terms of a process. Then you take all the verses that speak of the Christian life and its progress under the figure of walking. Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Take all of the verses that liken the Christian life to a race.

31:42 Assembling, Hebrews 12, running with patience, the race that is set before us. You see the whole concept there is process. We're in a race. It's not enough to get in the starting blocks. It's not enough to be found at the end saying, I ought to have the prize. You must demonstrate that you got from the starting blocks all along the prescribed course. And then you take that concept of abiding in Christ that is found in John 15 and again in the epistle verse.

32:10 first epistle of John. Well, what does abiding mean? Well, it speaks of process, of continuance. Now again, you have many questions. Questions that have to deal with how do I engage in the process? What are the means? What are the motives? What are the agents? What are the dynamics? That must await. One thing is clear, that when we look at the biblical mountain of the doctrine of sanctification, we not only see peak number one, A definitive, radical breach with sin. But we see peak number two. A continuous process. Negatively, purification from sin. Positively, conformity to the likeness of Christ. But there's a third peak as we look through our wide-angled lens and frame out the biblical doctrine of sanctification. And it's what I'm calling climactic sanctification. And what do I mean by that?

Peak Three: Climactic Sanctification Defined

33:08 nothing less or more than sanctification completed in the final deliverance from all sin and the perfection of the image of Christ in every believer. You see where we've come now? Sanctification begins with a radical cleavage. It continues with a gradual process. It will be completed in the final deliverance from all sin and the perfection of the image of Christ in every believer. Now you have been told many times from this pulpit and been directed to such passages as Romans 8, 29, that this is the ultimate goal of God in redemption. Whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he, Christ,

33:56 might be the firstborn among many brethren, that God might have one family with Christ as the elder brother, and everyone in that family will bear perfectly the family likeness. No one will scratch his head and say, where did that kid come from? He doesn't look like the elder brother. You see? He will be the firstborn among many brethren. We will be perfectly conformed to his likeness, not the likeness of Solomon's head of Christ.

34:25 or any other physical representation of Christ, but to his moral likeness. We'll maintain our individual identity, our physical characteristics. I doubt I'm going to have a hooked nose in heaven. I'm convinced that I'll be recognized, and one of the points of recognition will be a nose that turns upward. But I will be conformed to the image of Christ, and so will you. That is, in your moral constitution, your whole

34:54 will be brought into perfect conformity to the law of God. Now that's God's great goal. That's why Christ died. He loved the church, gave Himself for the church. Why? That He might present it to Himself, a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish before Him.

Climactic Sanctification in Two Stages: Death and Resurrection

35:22 Well, that's going to be accomplished, but not until climactic sanctification. When the process which began with the definitive sanctification is brought to its completion. Now, for most people it will come in two stages. Because most of God's people will die. There will be but one generation of Christians who will be like Enoch.

35:52 And like Elijah, who never saw death, even the Son of Man did not go as they went. All but that generation that is alive at the return of Christ are going to pass through the portals of death. And may I say, there needs to be a balancing out of the biblical teaching here. Though the great hope of the Christian is not death, the hope of the Christian is the return of Christ.

36:19 when redemption will be consummated for the whole body of the redeemed all at once. The realistic preparation of the Christian is for death. His great perspective and longing is the return of Christ. His great preparation is for the inevitability of death. And we have too little talk amongst God's people about preparing to die. That you're going to die, and I'm going to die.

36:47 Unless we happen to be here when the Lord returns and are part of that generation. So our climactic sanctification will come in two stages. Stage number one, and to me this is what strips death of the element of the dreaded. There are elements of the dreaded that will never be stripped from death until death is conquered at the return of Christ. But it can keep us from fearing death while we still may be afraid of dying.

37:17 It's not unchristian to be afraid of dying. Dying is an experience. I've never had it. Nor have you. You wouldn't be listening to me if you had. And all of us has a fear of the unknown, especially an experience that will take us into a state for which we were not created. We were created to be a body-soul entity. Death is the violent wrenching of those two elements of our constitution as human beings. It is unnatural.

37:45 And therefore we fear the experience of dying, but we need not fear death. Why? Because the Scripture teaches that at the moment of our death, God is pleased, in a way He has not revealed to us, to bring to bear upon the departing soul of every believer such dynamism of spiritual reality based upon the redemption of Christ that from the time the Spirit leaves the body...

38:16 and looks upon the face of Jesus. It is a spirit made perfect. That's the language of Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 23. Look at the language of that text. Ye are come unto, you the people of God, are come unto certain spiritual privileges. And what are they? Among them, verse 23, "...their to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. And that's all I can say. The Bible does not give me materials to answer all the questions that you may have, and I'm sure for everyone you have, I probably have three. But this much we know

39:12 that our climactic sanctification will come for many of us and for everyone who is not part of that living generation at the return of Christ. Stage number one, when there is that final wrenching of soul from the body, which is the essence of death in biblical terminology, the spirit will be made fit to go into the presence of a God of perfect light.

39:41 Then the body, of course, goes to the earth and awaits the resurrection at which time Philippians 3.21 will be fulfilled. And I love this text among all of the texts which describe God's gracious work in climactic sanctification as it pertains to the body. This is to me the most precious. Verses 20 and 21. For our citizenship is in heaven.

40:08 from whence also we wait for the Savior. See, there's the great perspective. We wait for the Savior. Yet the same Paul can say in 2 Timothy, I'm ready now to be offered the time of my departures at hand. He was prepared to die. He didn't have this irresponsible idea that, well, since some will be alive when the Lord returns, that's all I need to think about. I don't need to think about death. He thought about death. He looked out of his Roman prison and he could see the guillotine and he could meditate as he looked upon his shining blade and know that that blade was going to take off his head. And he says, I'm already being offered. I'm already being poured out like a drink offering. The time of my departure is at hand. My house is in order. I'm ready to go. And now he says the great hope and perspective of the Christian is what? Waiting for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

41:04 Now notice in what capacity he describes his Savior. Who shall fashion anew, not our vile body, that's a bad translation. Who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory. Now that's all I need to know about the resurrection body. Conformity to Christ will touch not only my spirit when I die,

41:35 resurrection. This very body will be conformed to the body of His glory. And what is that? That's complete sanctification. We believe in complete sanctification, total sanctification, the complete eradication of sin. Body, soul, and spirit. But it's going to come in that final climax, which for most of us may be in two stages, death and the resurrection. And for those that are alive at the return of Christ, God will just squeeze the time span. And according to 1 Thessalonians 4, 14 and following, and 1 Corinthians 15, 51 and following, those who are alive unto the coming of the Lord, at the moment God imparts the resurrection body to the living, He will at the same time do what He's done for every saint who's passed through the portals of death.

42:30 was a feeling, you see, that you were some kind of a super saint if you were around and being part of that. And Paul says, hey, wait a minute. I don't want you grieving for those who've had to get it in two stages. Don't grieve like those who have no hope. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord. We who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not go before those that are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise again.

43:03 Don't pity your dead loved ones. They'll be in the first ranks you're going to follow. So you see, there is a preoccupation with the any moment theory of the Lord's return and the idea we won't have to go. That it's unbiblical. It's got elements of an unbiblical nature in it. And I think we ought to be aware of that. Blessed be God, if it is our privilege to bypass the end result is exactly the same. We just get the installments back to back.

43:30 instead of perhaps, as for some of the saints, millennia, in between the perfecting of the Spirit and the perfecting of the body. But that climactic sanctification will find the fulfillment of Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians. Look at it now in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. The only text in the New Testament that speaks definitively of entire sanctification,

43:59 The term that our Methodist brethren like to use when they teach their unbiblical doctrine of the eradication of the sin nature. Here's entire sanctification that is entire. Verse 23 of 1 Thessalonians 5. The God of peace himself sanctify you wholly.

44:22 And may your spirit and soul and body, and these are not technical categories to split man up into three compartments. The same apostle uses the terminology indiscriminately. He's simply piling words together to speak of the entirety of our humanity. May your spirit, soul, and body be preserved entire without blame when,

44:48 At the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's when our entire sanctification will occur in that climactic dimension, that third peak in that great mountain of sanctifying grace. And then this wonderful text, Faithful. Faithful is He that calleth you. Have you been effectually called into a state of grace?

God's Faithful Commitment to Complete Sanctification

45:17 In your calling have you been justified and adopted? In your calling have you experienced definitive sanctification? And because of that, are you experiencing progressive sanctification? Ah, if you are the called ones, listen, faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it.

45:41 Almighty God is as committed to a complete sanctification as He is to a complete justification. Now though with our justification it is complete the moment we believe, then we'll be no more justified a billion years into eternity than the first moment we believe. The fact that God is ordained to stretch out the grace of sanctification into these three great segments its radical beginning, its process, and its climactic ending. It is still God who sanctifies. It is still God who has made this provision of grace. And we must never, in holding firmly to the distinction between justification and its once-for-all objective provisions,

46:34 And the process and the different dimensions of sanctification, we must never, never allow a mentality to develop wealth. Justification is all of God, but my sanctification is all my work. No, no, my friend. Though we are active and enter into the process of our sanctification, as we shall see when we take the zoom lens, sanctification is a saving grace of Almighty God.

47:04 to look upon it in the light of this text, faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it. Well, we've looked through our wide-angle lens this morning at the great mountain of the biblical doctrine of sanctification. We've seen the three peaks, sanctification begun, definitive sanctification, progressive sanctification, climactic sanctification, and

Four Conclusions and Closing Appeal

47:29 Now as I try to bring this to a conclusion, I ask the very simple question, what in the world does this say to you? What does it say to me? Well, it says several very vital things, and I trust you'll listen as I announce those conclusions. First of all, it tells us there is no biblical salvation without sanctification as an integral and indispensable aspect of that salvation.

47:56 As surely as the Bible recognizes no Christless, crossless salvation, it recognizes no salvation that does not sanctify the sinner, that does not set him apart from sin unto holiness, and ultimately make him into the very likeness of Christ, body, soul, and spirit. Second thing it says to us is this, There is no biblical sanctification without all three of its dimensions. God's great mountain of sanctifying grace never has but one peak or two. It always has three. Always. Every sinner whom God has ever justified and adopted, He has brought to a definitive breach with sin.

48:52 He has put him on the road to a progressive cleansing from sin and progressive conformity to Christ. And he will ultimately, in that climactic dimension, perfect him in spirit and in body at the return of the Savior. There is no salvation without sanctification. There is no sanctification without all three aspects.

49:20 That we've considered this morning. And thirdly. There is no sanctification. Apart from union with Christ. Paul says God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. In Christ. Ephesians 1.3. 1 Corinthians 1.30. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus. Who of God is made unto us. Wisdom. Righteousness. Sanctification. And redemption. And redemption.

49:49 You cannot be sanctified out of Christ any more than you can be justified or adopted outside of Christ. Every blessing that God has ever conceived and provided for needy sinners is in Christ. And that brings me to my fourth point and final point. There is no union with Christ without a voluntary divorce from sin and a voluntary marriage to the Son of God.

50:18 God never wrenches a man from sins from which he does not want to be wrenched and delivered. Do you hear me? Some of you sitting there waiting for God to do something that will wrench you from your chains. No, no, my friend. Until you come saying, Oh God, these chains are my greatest burden. Break them by almighty power and by sovereign grace.

50:50 why the call to union with Christ is the call of repentance and of faith. Repentance with its plea. Oh God, I want my servitude to sin to be broken. I do disavow all my allegiance to the flesh, to the world, and to the devil. Sin without, sin within. Sin of mind, sin of heart, I renounce it all. And I would be mad the Son of God. That's faith that lays hold of Christ in a covenant of unreserved commitment to His person and work. You'll never be sanctified as well as justified and adopted until you're in Christ and you'll never be in Christ until you repent and believe. You say, Pastor Martin, you get everything back to that. How do you do that? Because that's where the Bible takes us.

51:48 And as long as I stick by this book, that's where you'll be brought again, again, again and again. And I plead with you who sit here this morning unsanctified, still in bondage to your sins, still wallowing in the pollution of your sins, I plead with you, I call upon you to repent, to turn your back upon the most darling sin of your bosoms,

52:17 And flee to Christ, the great Deliverer, who will not only, on the basis of His work for sinners, clothe you with a perfect righteousness, so that all the demands of the court of heaven are met in your substitute. That's justification. Who will not only, on the grounds of His gracious work, the Father will then adopt you into His very family and call you His Son and give you the spirit of adoption.

52:46 But the Gospel also calls you to a Savior who demands that you turn from your sin, give yourself up to Him, to be delivered from the bondage and the pollution and the defilement of your sin, to be put into a way of holiness, to be made like the Son of God. Some of you struggle and say, why can't I believe? It's because you won't repent. That's why some of you can't believe. It's because you've got a controversy with God. An

53:18 Conflict with your sovereign. You'll go to the place of eternal burnings. With questions about faith. Because you've got a moral conflict in the heart. In terms of a love for some darling sin. Just like that rich young ruler. He was awakened. He was interested. He was seeking. He was longing. But he didn't want it bad enough to deal with the darling sin of his heart.

53:47 And he went away sorrowful. What a tragedy to have people who sit here under the preaching of the word, whose consciences are disturbed and awakened, and there is an interest and at times even an earnest longing for the realities that are spoken of. And yet you go away and by Friday you're full of sadness. Why? Because Jesus goes to the depths of your heart and puts his finger upon that darling sin and says, that's the thing you must deal with if you would have eternal life.

54:19 Oh, my friend, you'll never get to heaven unless you're sanctified. You can't be sanctified if you're not in Christ. You can't be in Christ unless you repent and believe. Oh, that this day you would repent and believe the gospel and find Christ to be the one who is able to sanctify even you. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

54:55 Our Father, we marvel when we try to contemplate the magnitude, the vastness, the manifold glory of salvation in Jesus Christ. How we bless you that you have made every provision for every dimension of sins, guilt, and bondage. We thank you that all of it is wrapped up and offered to needy sinners in the gift

55:25 of your dear Son. O God, this morning, this morning, in this place, in this hour, bring some to embrace that offered Savior and the full salvation that is in Him. We pray that you will likewise help us as your people to think clearly and biblically concerning this great gospel privilege of sanctification

55:51 this great responsibility to progress in sanctification. Lord, help us in the weeks to come, if you spare us all, that as we bring, as it were, the zoom lens in upon these various aspects of your truth, that the Holy Spirit himself will open up the Scriptures and move our hearts into the way of faith and obedience. We thank you for this hour together. We pray that the blessing of your presence will rest upon us and abide with us

56:21 Hear our cry and be pleased to continue to crown this day with the felt presence of our Savior. We ask in His name. Amen.