Guess what? Next semester we get to study the book of 1 John in Greek class. I love how simply this letter describes the process of sanctification. I think there's a parallel with physical fitness. We know how to get the most out of our physical bodies because the rules for physical fitness haven't changed literally for centuries. The do's and don'ts of exercise science are well-established. Likewise, we also know the basic principles of spiritual growth. These too are well-established. For models, we can look to the spiritual giants God raises up in every generation. One of these was James Packer. As providence would have it, my generation grew up with men of that caliber. And what it takes to grow in holiness is well laid out in a lecture Packer once gave to group of seminarians.
According to Packer, there are 5 basic principles of the believer's sanctification.
1. Being is basic to doing.
2. Knowing is basic to acting.
3. God's work of justification for us underlies God's work of sanctification in us.
4. God's work in sanctification is basic to our obedience.
5. The purpose of pleasing God is basic to the purpose of avoiding sin.
I am so eager to pass these principles on to my students in the spring. Through justification, the new birth, and the power of the Holy Spirit, these principles become realities in the life of everyone who has been born again. Renewed inwardly by the Spirit, we embrace Christ not only in justification but also in sanctification. And as the Holy Spirit moves us to embrace Christ in that way, a new vitality is implanted within us. As a result, we have in ourselves new desires. We have a desire, as Packer says, to know God. We have a desire to love God. We have a desire to please God. And we have a desire to serve God. Obviously this does not mean sinless perfection. Sanctification is a process. What it does mean, however (quoting Packer here), is "we are not penally liable for our sins" as believers. God is never going to require us to pay for our transgressions because Christ has already paid for them. The retribution for all of our sins has already been inflicted on the Lord Jesus, born by him at Calvary. As a result, we don't have to face any possibility of condemnation. "God," says Packer, "is going to treat us for all eternity as righteous persons, sinners though we are." See how clearly this is spelled out for us in 1 John 2:1-2 (my paraphrase):
"I'm writing these things to you my precious children so that you do not sin. And yet if anyone does sin, we have an advocate in the most intimate presence of the Father, Jesus Christ, one who is perfectly righteous. And it is he and he alone who is the atoning sacrifice that satisfies God's wrath for our sins, and not only for our sins, but for the whole world's."
As Lewis and Demarest put it in their magnificent work called Integrative Theology, "Sanctification assumes that the forensic status of justification is permanent" (p. 205). They add: "Sanctification is a response to the Holy Spirit's initiatives much as conversion is" (p. 209).
This is magnificent theology!
Incidentally, I really want to commend to you Integrative Theology. The authors cover each doctrine of the Bible under 5 basic headings: historical theology, biblical theology, systematic theology, apologetic theology, and practical theology. I've never seen anything like it. If nothing else, this unique approach will make you a student of the history of theology and the church fathers!
