22. Sanctification.
22. Sanctification.
As the image of God was reflected not only in knowledge and righteousness but also in holiness, so must the renewal of man restore him to a right relationship with God, renewing his inner being according to the holy demands of His law. Sin is both guilt and corruption; justification absolves the guilt, while sanctification cleanses the stain of sin. Through the former, his standing before God is restored; through the latter, his nature is renewed, enabling him to be and do good.
The term "holy" permeates the pages of Holy Scripture. The original meaning of the Hebrew term translated as "holy" is uncertain, likely derived from a root meaning "to cut off" or "to separate." Its introduction into the religious lexicon is debated: some assert that it first described things set apart from common use, while others argue it indicated a special relation to God. This latter view holds that persons and things are not inherently holy but become so through divine action. They cannot sanctify themselves; all holiness flows from God. Jehovah is holy, thus He desires a holy people, a holy priesthood, a holy dwelling (Ex. 19:6; 29:43; Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2). He designates who is His and who is holy (Num. 16:5).
In the Old Testament, God is repeatedly called the Holy One. This title is not a mere attribute but expresses His divine greatness, majesty, and transcendence. "There is none holy like the Lord," for He alone is God (1 Sam. 2:2). He is "God, not man, the Holy One"
(Hos. 11:9); none can stand before Him (1 Sam. 6:20). Exalted above all gods, He is "glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing
wonders" (Ex. 15:11). His name is great and terrible (Ps. 99:2-3); to swear by His holiness is to swear by Himself (Amos 4:2; 6:8).
Holiness, thus, signifies God's distinction from and exaltation above all creatures. Isaiah especially emphasizes this name (Isa. 5:16; 6:3;
29:23; 30:11; cf. Ezek. 37:28; 39:7; Hab. 1:12; 3:3).
God's holiness is revealed in all His relations with His people; the entire Mosaic legislation is founded on the holiness of Jehovah, aimed at the sanctification of His people. Holy is He in all His manifestations; holy is His name (Lev. 20:3), His arm (Ps. 98:1), His covenant (Dan. 11:28), His word (Ps. 105:42), His Spirit (Ps. 51:11;
Isa. 63:10, 17). Hence, He commands His people to be holy (Ex. 19:6; 29:43-46; Lev. 11:44; 19:2), especially the priests and Levites who serve in holy matters, consecrated by special rites (Ex. 29). All connected with God's service—places, times, sacrifices, priestly garments, the temple—must be holy to the Lord. The law's essence is that Israel shall be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex.
19:6). A people is holy when it adheres to the law given by the Lord.
Now, the law given to Israel encompassed not only moral directives but also civil and ceremonial commands. Thus, holiness for the Israelites entailed a comprehensive adherence to the law, encompassing moral, civil, and ceremonial perfection. However, the people frequently erred by focusing solely on external, Levitical purity, neglecting the law's moral essence.
In response, the prophets rose against such misinterpretations, proclaiming that obedience is better than sacrifice and that heeding the Lord surpasses the fat of rams (1 Sam. 15:22). They emphasized that the Lord delights in mercy, not sacrifice, and in the knowledge
of God more than burnt offerings (Hos. 6:6). The prophets underscored that the essence of holiness lies in doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8). They revealed that God's holiness is manifest in His moral purity and His distinction from all sinfulness (Isa. 6:3-7). When men profane His name and covenant, God sanctifies Himself through righteousness and justice (Isa. 5:16, Ezek. 28:22). As the Holy One, He punishes enemies to make them know that He is the Lord (Jer. 50:29, Ezek.
36:23, 39:7), but He redeems His people by cleansing them from all iniquity, establishing a new covenant, and giving them a new heart to walk in His ways (Jer. 31:31-34, Ezek. 36:25-29). He does this not for Israel's sake but for His great name's sake (Isa. 43:25, Ezek. 36:22,
32).
In the New Covenant, as God has provided righteousness in Christ for His people, He has likewise provided holiness in the Son of His love. Christ is our sanctification just as He is our wisdom and redemption. Firstly, Christ possessed personal holiness; otherwise,
He could not have sanctified us. What was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit was holy and called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). At His baptism, He received the Holy Spirit without measure and was full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22, 4:1). Those possessed by demons recognized Him as the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34), and His disciples, through Peter, confessed, "Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:69). Peter refers to Him as God's holy servant (Acts 4:27, cf. 3:14), and Christ
Himself declares in Revelation, "I am the Holy One, the True One"
(Rev. 3:7). Christ was aware of His sinlessness (Matt. 12:50, John 4:34, 8:46), and His apostles affirmed that He committed no sin, and
no deceit was found in His mouth (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 4:15, 7:26, 1 Pet.
1:19, 2:22, 3:18, 1 John 2:1, 3:5).
With Christ, we must distinguish between the holiness He possessed by nature and that which He acquired through perfect obedience. His holy conception and birth enabled Him to be our Mediator, covering the sin in which we were conceived and born before God (Heid.
Catech. Exh. 16, antw. 36). The holiness He was born into became part of the holiness He acquired throughout His life for His congregation. The Father sanctified Him by sending Him into the world (John 10:36), and Christ sanctified Himself, dedicating
Himself to the Father's will from conception to death. His incarnation was an act of sanctification. Thus, Christ's holiness was not only inherent but also earned through His life's perfect obedience.
As Mediator, Christ faced severe tests and trials, especially after His baptism when He was anointed with the Holy Spirit and began His public ministry. The temptations recorded in the Gospels marked the beginning of a life filled with struggles; the devil departed from Him only for a time (Luke 4:13). These temptations were real, for He was made like His brothers in every respect, tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 2:17, 4:15). He sympathizes with our weaknesses and comes to our aid in every temptation. Unlike us, who often succumb, He remained faithful to the end, obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). He did not pray to avoid death but earnestly prayed to endure suffering and achieve life through death, and His prayers were heard (Heb. 5:7).
But although He was the Son, He still had to learn obedience through what He suffered (Heb. 5:8). From the very beginning, He was obedient and desired to be so; doing the Father's will was His sustenance (John 4:34). Yet, in suffering, He found the occasion to manifest this obedience; through suffering, He had to transform His intention and will to obey into action. Thus, through suffering, He was sanctified (Heb. 2:11, 5:9)—not in a moral sense, but in the sense of being completed, brought to the goal He had set out for, and crowned with honor and glory because of the suffering of death (Heb.
2:9, 12:2). He was fashioned into the chief conductor of the salvation of God's children and the finisher of their faith (Heb. 2:10, 12:2). By enduring the cross and despising the shame, with an eye on the joy awaiting Him after His humiliation, He became the leader, the forerunner, the architect of His own salvation, and the one who initiates and completes faith in them. By perfecting Himself through obedience, seeking the glory at the right hand of the Father only through the deepest humiliation, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (Heb. 5:9). He sanctified Himself, offering Himself as a sacrifice in death, that His disciples might be sanctified in truth (John 17:19). Thus, He was given to us by God for our holiness (1 Cor. 1:30).
To rightly comprehend the sanctification of believers, it is crucial to recognize that Christ is our holiness in the same manner as He is our righteousness. He is a complete and sufficient Savior; He does not finish His work half-heartedly but fully and truly saves us. He does not rest until He has made us full partakers of eternal life and heavenly glory. Through His righteousness, He not only restores us to the state of the righteous, freeing us in the judgment of God, but also does not leave it to us to reform ourselves in God's image by
doing good works to earn eternal life. Christ has accomplished everything for us; He bore our guilt and punishment for sin, and He also kept the law for us and secured life. His obedience was both active and passive.
His resurrection is proof of this. God did not leave His soul in Hades (not the place of the damned, as Christ's soul was in paradise after His death, Luke 23:43, but the grave or the realm of the dead, to which Christ also belonged as long as He was in the state of death) and did not let His Holy One see corruption according to the body, but made known to Him the paths of life and filled Him with joy in His presence (Acts 2:27-28, 13:35-37). By the Spirit of holiness dwelling in Him, He was declared by God through the resurrection of the dead, appointed as His Son in power (Rom. 1:4), as a Prince and Savior to give Israel repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Acts
5:31), as a Prince who acquired eternal life and now distributes it to His own (Acts 3:15).
Yet, this holiness Christ acquired for His congregation does not remain external to us but is truly imparted to us. In justification, we are acquitted of guilt and punishment based on a righteousness that is outside us, in Christ Jesus, imputed to us by God's grace and accepted by us in faith. In sanctification, however, the holiness of Christ is genuinely infused in us by the Holy Spirit. Thus, when
Rome speaks of infused grace, we do not object to the concept itself; our objection is to considering this infused grace as a piece of righteousness on the basis of which we would be acquitted by God.
For then, justification and sanctification, liberation from guilt and the removal of stain, would be confused with one another; Christ would be deprived of the fullness of His righteousness, and the
believing soul of its comfort and security. However, there is indeed an infused grace, a Christ in us as well as a Christ for us, a renewal in the image of God as certain as a transition to the state of the righteous, a transformation in our moral condition no less than in our relationship to God.
Even this sanctification must be upheld with no less certainty and force than justification. Throughout history, there have been those who have regarded the forgiveness of sins as the sole significant act of Christ, neglecting or overshadowing the inner renewal of man into the image of God. They hold that if a man is justified and conscious of this in faith, nothing further is required of him; they argue that the consciousness of forgiveness transforms him into a new man, equating justification and regeneration as identical.
Indeed, it is undeniably true that a Christian who, with genuine faith, trusts that all his sins have been forgiven by pure grace through the merit of Christ alone, does indeed become a different person by this awareness. He feels freed from all guilt, having been justified by faith; he has peace with God, stands in the freedom Christ has granted, and can echo David's jubilance: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered; blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity!" Such a transformation may indeed be termed a rebirth in a certain sense, a renewal of consciousness.
However, if it is inferred from this that justification and rebirth are wholly identical, this conclusion is without foundation and stands in direct conflict with the testimony of Holy Scripture. True saving faith, which accepts Christ's righteousness and becomes assured of
the forgiveness of sins, does not originate from the natural man but is the fruit of rebirth, thus already presupposing a spiritual transformation wrought by the Holy Spirit. The heartfelt joy and peace the believer experiences through the certainty of forgiven sins are characteristics of the spiritual man, who, in fellowship with Christ, has risen from the death of sin.
Moreover, there exists a distinction between the state in which one is declared to be and the actual condition of one's being. These two can be so disparate that sometimes an innocent person is accused and convicted, while a guilty one is acquitted by the judge. Thus, a person's state in terms of legal standing does not change his actual condition, nor does the reverse. This holds true both in the natural and spiritual realms. Sin is not only guilt but also blemish; we are freed from the former in justification and from the latter in sanctification. Complete salvation encompasses not only knowledge and righteousness but also holiness and redemption. Therefore,
Christ provided both forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Scripture clearly distinguishes between justification and regeneration. The Old Testament promise was that under the new covenant, the Lord would forgive the iniquities of His people and also grant them a new heart, writing His law upon it (Jer. 31:33, 34;
Ezek. 36:25, 26). He would place His Spirit within them, enabling them to walk in His statutes and observe His decrees (Ezek. 36:27).
To fulfill this promise, Christ not only offered His soul as a ransom for many but also, after His exaltation at the right hand of the Father, sent the Holy Spirit to dwell and work within the congregation. As we have already seen, through the Spirit, Christ imparts Himself and all
His benefits to the church.
After Paul had thoroughly expounded the doctrine of justification in his epistle to the Romans, he naturally transitioned to the doctrine of sanctification in the sixth chapter. Even in his time, there were those who feared that the proclamation of free justification would lead to moral laxity. They suspected that advocating such a doctrine would encourage people to continue in sin so that grace might abound
(Romans 3:8, 6:1). Paul refutes this objection vehemently, asserting that those who have died to sin cannot continue to live in it (6:2).
Paul demonstrates that believers, having received the forgiveness of sins and peace with God through faith, are also, by virtue of their baptism, united with Christ in His death and resurrection, thus walking in newness of life (6:3-11). He consistently refers to believers as those who have not only embraced God's righteousness in Christ for the remission of their sins but have also personally died and risen with Christ, thereby being dead to sin and alive to God (Gal. 2:20,
3:27, Col. 2:12). Christ's death not only justifies but also sanctifies and gives life (2 Cor. 5:15); thus, true faith embraces Christ both as righteousness and as holiness, for one cannot be without the other.
Christ is indivisible, and His benefits are inseparable from His person. He is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption simultaneously (1 Cor. 1:30). Thus, God has made Him to be all these for us.
The sanctification we must partake in is fully available to us in Christ. However, many Christians, at least in their practical lives, often think otherwise. They acknowledge that they are justified by the righteousness Christ has wrought, but they act as though their sanctification depends on a holiness they must produce themselves.
This notion is contrary to apostolic teaching (Romans 6:14, Galatians
4:31, 5:1, 13). If this were true, we would not be living under grace and freedom but still under the law. Gospel sanctification is distinct from legal sanctification, not in its content but in its manner of communication. It involves God granting us perfect holiness in Christ, along with righteousness, and communicating this holiness inwardly through the regenerating and renewing work of the Holy
Spirit.
Sanctification, therefore, is God's work—a work of His righteousness and grace. He first imputes Christ to us with all His benefits and then communicates Him to us with all His fullness. It is He who circumcises the hearts (Deut. 30:6), who removes the heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26), who pours out His Spirit
(Joel 2:28), who instills a new spirit within (Ezek. 36:26), who writes His law in our hearts, making us walk in His statutes and thereby making us His people (Jer. 31:33, 32:38, Ezek. 36:27-28). The New
Testament affirms even more strongly that believers are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10), a new creation (2
Cor. 5:17, Gal. 6:15), His handiwork, His building (1 Cor. 3:9, Eph.
2:20, Col. 2:7, 1 Pet. 2:5); all things are from God (2 Cor. 5:18).
Having died and risen with Christ, they are also washed and sanctified in Him (1 Cor. 1:2, 6:2, Tit. 3:5), and they are continually sanctified (John 17:17, 2 Cor. 3:18, 1 Thess. 5:23, Eph. 5:26, Tit. 2:14,
Heb. 13:20-21) until they are fully conformed to the image of the Son (Rom. 8:29, 1 Cor. 15:49, Phil. 3:21). The chain of salvation is unbreakable because it is God's work from beginning to end; whom
He has foreknown, called, and justified, He also glorifies (Rom.
8:30).
On the foundation of this sanctifying work, which God accomplishes within the congregation through the Spirit of Christ, the believers are consistently referred to as saints in Scripture. Israel was designated as such in ancient times, as recorded in Exodus 19:6; it was set apart from the nations to be the Lord's possession, to walk in His ways,
Leviticus 20:26, Exodus 19:5. In the future, under the new covenant established by God, Israel would be even more rightly and profoundly known as the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord,
Isaiah 62:12, Joel 3:17, Obadiah 17. If, in the New Testament era, the High Priest sanctified Himself for His people so that they might also be sanctified in truth, John 17:19, believers are therefore immediately given the title of saints, Acts 9:13, 32, 41, 26:10, Romans
1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, etc. This designation does not imply that they are morally free from all sin and above all sins, but it signifies that the New Testament congregation has taken the place of old Israel and has become the Lord's possession, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Galatians
6:16, 1 Peter 2:5, because they are sanctified in Christ and are the temple of the Holy Spirit, John 17:19, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 3:16, 6:11,
19.
However, this holiness, given to the congregation in Christ and initially imparted by the Holy Spirit, imposes a profound obligation on believers. Sanctification is indeed a work of God, but it is intended to become a work in which believers themselves actively participate through God's power. In the Old Testament, it is sometimes said that the Lord Himself sanctifies His people, Exodus 31:13, Leviticus 20:8,
21:8, etc., and at other times that the people must sanctify themselves, Leviticus 11:44, 20:7, Numbers 11:18, etc. Sometimes it is stated that the Lord circumcises the heart, Deuteronomy 30:6, while at other times Israel is called to circumcise the foreskin of their
heart, Deuteronomy 10:16, Jeremiah 4:4. Repentance is sometimes described as a work of God, Jeremiah 31:18, Lamentations 5:21, and at other times as a duty of man, Jeremiah 3:12-13, etc. The New
Testament reflects this same duality. Sanctification is presented both as a gift of God in Christ and as a work of the Holy Spirit, through whom believers are sanctified, John 17:17, 19, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1
Thessalonians 5:23, etc., yet believers are repeatedly exhorted to be perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect, Matthew 5:48, to perform good works that glorify the Father, Matthew 5:16, John 15:8, to offer their members as instruments of righteousness leading to sanctification, Romans 6:19, to be holy in all their conduct, 1 Peter
1:15, 2 Peter 3:11, to pursue and perfect their holiness in the fear of God, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 1 Thessalonians 3:13, 4:3, for without holiness no one will see the Lord, Hebrews 12:14.
These exhortations are not in conflict with each other. Rather, the believers' efforts in their own sanctification are made possible precisely because it is God's work within them. Grace does not annihilate nature; it restores it. While sin rendered man incapable of walking in the ways of the Lord, regeneration reinstates the disposition and ability, at least in principle, to live sincerely according to all of God's commandments. When God, through the powerful working of His regenerating Spirit, penetrates the depths of man's being, He opens the closed heart, softens the hardened, and circumcises the uncircumcised. He infuses new qualities into the will, transforming it from dead to alive, from evil to good, from unwilling to willing, from obstinate to obedient. He moves and strengthens the will, so that it, like a good tree, can produce the fruits of good works.
When the Reformed Church expresses itself thus in its confession (Can. Dordr. Ill IV 11), it stands firmly upon the foundation of Holy
Scripture, finding particular support in the profound words of the Apostle Paul: "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" (Phil. 2:12-13). Just as in justification the forgiveness of sins, which is wholly available in Christ, can only be received and enjoyed by us through a living and active faith, so too God accomplishes sanctification in us through our own engagement; He does not annihilate our personality, but raises it up; He does not kill our intellect, will, or affections, but quickens them, revitalizing what was dead, and setting them to work; He makes us His fellow laborers and allies.
This sanctification of believers must be rightly understood; it must not devolve into a legalistic sanctification, but must remain a Gospel sanctification. It does not consist in believers sanctifying themselves by a holiness which they themselves must generate or acquire through their own efforts and good works. The holiness revealed by God in the Gospel is fully available in Christ and is applied and worked out in our hearts by His Spirit. Paul articulates this beautifully in Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Just as the first creation was brought about by the Word, so the re-creation is realized in fellowship with Christ: believers are crucified with Him, die with Him, are buried with Him, and are raised to new life in union with Him.
This re-creation has a specific goal; it finds its purpose in the good works produced by believers. God is not solely concerned with the tree, but with the fruit it bears, and in that fruit, His own glory is magnified. These good works are not produced independently by believers but are already completed and provided for them by Christ, who fulfilled all righteousness and the entire law on their behalf; and they are worked out in them by the Holy Spirit, who takes from what is Christ's and distributes it according to His will. The entirety of holiness and all good works of the church, both collectively and individually, do not originate first from the believers but pre-exist in the good pleasure of the Father, in the work of the Son, and in the application of the Holy Spirit. Hence, all glory is excluded from sanctification. Thus, God is never indebted to us and never owes us thanks for our good works; on the contrary, we are indebted to God and must thank Him for the good works we perform (cf. Belgic
Confession, Article 24).
This underscores the vital role of faith in sanctification. Just as in justification, faith alone is instrumental in sanctification. For we cannot receive Christ and His benefits in any other manner, nor make them our own, except through faith. If righteousness and holiness were of the law, we would need to achieve both by our good works. However, in the Gospel, they are gifts of God, given to us in the person of Christ; in Him is the fullness of grace and truth, John
1:17, of wisdom and knowledge, Colossians 2:3, of righteousness and holiness, 1 Corinthians 1:30; all spiritual blessings are contained in Him, Ephesians 1:3, and the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily, Colossians 2:9. This Christ communicates Himself to us by the Holy Spirit, and unites Himself as closely and intimately with us as the vine with the branches, John 15:2ff., as the head with the
body, Ephesians 1:22, 23, as the husband with the wife, Ephesians 5:32, and as He Himself, as Mediator, is united with the Father, John
14:20, 17:21-23. The faithful are one spirit with Him, 1 Corinthians 6:17, and one flesh, Ephesians 5:30, 31. Christ lives in them, and they live in Christ, Galatians 2:20. Christ is all in all to them, Colossians
3:11.
If Christ in us is the worker of our holiness, then our work of sanctification can only be accomplished by faith. For holiness, like all other benefits, is so indissolubly linked with the person of Christ that we cannot receive it apart from fellowship with Christ Himself, which on our part can only be obtained and enjoyed through a true faith. It is by faith that Christ dwells in our hearts, Ephesians 3:17, and that we live in Christ, Galatians 2:20, that we become children of God,
Galatians 3:26, and receive the promise of the Spirit, Galatians 3:14, that we receive the forgiveness of sins, Romans 4:6, and eternal life,
John 3:16. To live by faith means that Christ is in us, 2 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 2:20. Just as the saints of old are presented as heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, we too are admonished to live by faith,
Hebrews 10:38, to walk by faith, 2 Corinthians 5:7, to let faith work through love, Galatians 5:6, to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one with the shield of faith, Ephesians 6:16, and to overcome the world, 1 John 5:4. All these exhortations align with those given to believers, to walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, Romans 8:4ff., to put off the old man and put on the new man, Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:10, Romans 6:4ff., to receive
Christ Jesus and walk in Him, Colossians 2:6, 1 Peter 3:16, to put on the Lord Jesus and do everything in His name, Romans 13:14,
Colossians 3:17, to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, Ephesians 6:10, 2 Timothy 2:1, to grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior, 2 Peter 3:18. In sum, sanctification in the evangelical sense is a continual activity and exercise of faith.
Many people object to this teaching of Scripture; they consider it one-sided and dangerous for the moral life. Sometimes they may concede that in justification the law is excluded and faith alone intervenes; but when they speak of sanctification, they believe that faith alone is insufficient, and that the law, with its commandments and prohibitions, with its rewards and punishments, must be added to spur one on to a holy walk and to the doing of good works.
Although it is indeed true that the law remains the rule of life for Christians, the Gospel never derives its exhortations to a holy walk from the terrors of the law, but from the high calling to which believers in Christ are summoned. "Be ye perfect, even as your
Father in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). Jesus is the vine, the disciples are His branches; those who remain in Him bear much fruit, for without Him they can do nothing (John 15:5). The faithful have died to sin with Christ, but have become alive to God in Him
(Romans 6:11). They are not under the law, but under grace, and therefore sin does not have dominion over them (Romans 6:14).
They have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that they may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that they may bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4, Galatians 2:19).
The night has passed, the day has come; the works of darkness must therefore be laid aside, and the armor of light put on (Romans 13:12).
The bodies of the believers are members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit; they must therefore flee from sexual immorality (1 Cor.
6:15-20). They have been bought with a price, so they must glorify God in their bodies and minds, which are God's (1 Cor. 6:20). They
stand in the freedom with which Christ has set them free, and in Christ nothing has any power except faith working through love (Gal.
5:1, 6). Of this Christ they have heard, and through Him they have learned, that they must lay aside the old man and put on the new man, who was created after God in true righteousness and holiness
(Eph. 4:21-24). As beloved children, they are to be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1). They must walk in love, as Christ loved them (Eph. 5:2).
They are light in the Lord, and therefore must walk as children of light (Eph. 5:8).
In short, one would have to write off all the moral exhortations in the New Testament to fully enumerate the reasons why believers must walk in holiness. But the words quoted are sufficient to show that they are all derived from the Gospel, and not from the law. Whether the apostles are addressing men or women, parents or children, masters or servants, wives or husbands, rulers or subjects, they exhort them all in the Lord (Eph. 5:22-6:9, Col. 3:18-4:1, 1 Pet. 2:133:7). The solid foundation of God stands and bears this seal:
Everyone who calls on the name of Christ must depart from iniquity (2 Tim 2:19).
Thus faith is the one great work that the Christian must accomplish in sanctification according to the principles of the Gospel (John
6:29). Although it operates differently in sanctification and is viewed from a different angle than in justification, in both it remains the sole and sufficient means by which we partake of them. The Gospel demands nothing else than faith, trust in God's grace in Christ; this faith not only justifies us, but also makes us holy and blessed. The sanctifying power of faith is manifest in several ways.
First, true, unfeigned faith dismantles false self-confidence, topples pride from its pedestal, and ends all reliance on our own righteousness. If we set aside those who care nothing for God or His commandments and who indulge in sin without restraint, as well as those who outwardly do good only out of fear of punishment, harm, or disgrace, there remain those who earnestly strive to fulfill the commandments of the moral law in their own strength. Yet they can never find the right attitude towards the moral law, nor the proper starting point for its fulfillment. They either place themselves above it or beneath it; they either make the law subservient to themselves or make themselves subservient to the law. In the former case, they claim that good must be done for the sake of the benefit and happiness it brings to individuals or the community. In the latter case, they elevate the moral law above man, yet make its fulfillment all the more impossible the more seriously they take it. The natural man oscillates between Sadduceeism and Pharisaism, between freedom and authority; he cannot find harmony between the commandment of God and his own will.
But faith puts an end to this vacillation. It makes us realize that the moral law stands high above us, demanding unconditional obedience, and yet it cannot be fulfilled by us in truth, nor can it bestow eternal life. In that seemingly irreconcilable contradiction, true faith surrenders itself to God's grace, trusting in His mercy, and glories in the righteousness that He Himself has provided. The true believer relinquishes any attempt to fulfill the moral law by his own efforts; he acknowledges the moral ideal in all its splendor but gives up the hope of ever achieving it through his own strength. Thus, he clings to God, who has revealed His righteousness in the Law and in the Gospel. This faith is therefore the mother of numerous virtues; it
breeds humility, dependence, trust—qualities that are of the greatest importance for the moral life. Doing good, thus grounded in faith, becomes a firm foundation and an unconquerable strength.
These virtues are immediately accompanied by others. According to the order that God Himself has established in the Church, the promises of the Gospel precede the commandments of the law. First,
He assures us of His favor, the forgiveness of our sins, and our inheritance among the saints; then He leads us into the path of His testimonies and statutes. The good tree precedes the good fruit; we do not live by, but for, good works; we do not fulfill the law to obtain eternal life, but out of the eternal life that has been planted in our hearts through faith. Only in this order can we attain a truly moral life. Whoever tries to reverse this order and derive comfort, security, and salvation from his works will never reach the goal, will be tossed to and fro by doubt, and will be in constant fear. God follows a different path; in the Gospel, He gives us everything freely—the forgiveness of sins, the atonement of guilt, the remission of punishment, salvation, and glory. He tells us that by faith we may completely rely on His grace and gives us the certainty of this through the witness of the Holy Spirit. By its very nature, faith brings comfort, peace, joy, and happiness—all of which are of inestimable value for the moral life. They together form the principles and reasons for a holy walk. The cleansing of the conscience from dead works has its end and goal in serving the living God (Heb. 9:14).
Those who are comforted by God are afterward strengthened by Him in all good words and works (2 Thess. 2:17). Joy in the Lord is the strength of His people (Neh. 8:10).
Faith turns the prodigal son from his sinful life and returns him to the father's house; it brings us into the fellowship of Christ's death and resurrection; it crucifies us and raises us up to a new life. He who truly believes in Christ dies to sin; he feels heartily sorry for it, because it has angered God, and begins to hate and flee from it; he brings about a separation between himself and sin, so that he can honestly say: I want to do what is good, though I do not do it; and I do not want to do what is evil (Rom. 7:19). On the other hand, faith appropriates Christ with His righteousness and holiness; it makes
Christ Himself live in the heart and become more and more firmly established in His fellowship; it shapes Christ in us and reforms us more and more into His image.
Finally, faith is often and rightly compared to a hand. But a hand is not only the organ through which we accept something and make it our property; it is also the instrument through which we express our thoughts and our will. Thus, faith is not only a receiving organ but also an active force. Faith that justifies and saves is not a dead faith, but a living faith; it naturally produces fruits of good works; it is active in love (Gal. 5:6). Man is not justified by love, but the faith that justifies him manifests its living, active power in love. Without love, faith is not true, saving faith (1 Cor. 13:1); and with true faith, the work of love is always connected (1 Thess. 1:3), because the goal of the commandment (of the whole apostolic preaching) is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith (1 Tim. 1:5).
This love, as the fruit of faith, is a perfect love, which casts out all fear (1 John 4:18), and it is also the perfect fulfillment of the law
(Matt. 22:37-40; Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14; Jas. 2:8).
The Gospel does not nullify the Law but rather restores and confirms it. Its demands and curse have been fulfilled and borne by Christ, who put Himself under the Law, thus ending its curse for us, Matt.
3:15, Gal. 3:13, 4:4. Consequently, we are no longer servants but are set free to walk in the Spirit, Rom. 7:1-6, Gal. 4:5, 26ff., 5:1. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, 2 Cor. 3:17, Gal. 5:18. This freedom of faith does not abolish the Law; on the contrary, it fulfills it. The righteousness demanded by the Law is fulfilled in those who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, Rom. 8:4.
While the flesh renders the Law powerless, unable to submit to it, Rom. 8:3, 7, the Spirit of Christ quickens man, 2 Cor. 3:6, enlightening his mind to discern God's good, acceptable, and perfect will, Rom. 12:2, Eph. 5:10, Phil. 1:10.
This will of God, as understood by Jesus and the apostles, remains consistent with the Old Testament, even though the Law, in its previous sense, has been abolished. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them, Matt. 5:17. He spoke of the Law's abolition only concerning the fall of the city and temple, civil governance, and worship, Matt. 24, John 4:21-24. Yet, He purified the Law, returned to the prophets' understanding of it, emphasized the internal over the external, placed mercy above sacrifice, Matt.
9:13, 12:7, and summarized the Law and the Prophets in the commandment of love towards God and neighbor, Mark 12:28-34,
Matt. 7:12. The moral commandments thus retain their power.
The apostles adopted the same attitude towards the Law and the Prophets. For them, the Old Testament retained divine authority, being inspired by God, 2 Tim. 3:15, written by holy men under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 2 Pet. 1:21, for our instruction and
comfort, Rom. 15:4, 1 Cor. 10:11, 2 Tim. 3:15, 1 Pet. 1:12. The Old Testament is frequently quoted to convey God's will to the Christian congregation. For instance, Paul appeals in 1 Cor. 14:34 to Gen. 3:16 for the subordination of women to men, in 2 Cor. 9:9 to Ps. 112:9 for the duty of generosity, and in 1 Cor. 1:31 to Jer. 9:23 for the exhortation to glory only in the Lord. The moral law in the Old and New Testaments is essentially the same, summed up in the commandment of love, Rom. 13:8-10, Gal. 5:14, Jas. 2:8. Christ refers to the disciples' mutual love as a new commandment, John
13:34, Acts 15:12, 1 Thess. 4:9, 1 Pet. 4:8, 1 John 3:23, 4:21, 2 John 5.
Yet, He does not imply that this commandment was unknown previously, as Lev. 19:18 and Ps. 133 affirm the sweetness of brethren living together.
In the New Testament, however, this love gains a new character.
During the Old Testament, church and nation were one, so brotherly love could not be clearly distinguished. In the New Testament, the church became separate from Israel's national existence, becoming an independent community with its own life principle in the Holy
Spirit. Thus, a distinction was made between brotherly love and love for all, Gal. 6:10, 1 Thess. 3:12, 2 Pet. 1:7. Brotherly love binds believers together against the world, making it a new commandment.
However, there remains one religion and one moral law in both Testaments. There is clarification, different effects, and application, but no external addition or mechanical supplement. Christ was not a new lawgiver besides and above Moses. He fulfilled the Law in His life and death and, through His Spirit, brings it to fulfillment in all
His disciples.
Because Christ and His apostles always traced the moral law of the Old Testament back to the love of God and neighbor, the practice of explaining man's virtues and duties on the basis of the Ten
Commandments gradually developed in Christian ethics. This approach was particularly esteemed among the Reformers, who held that good works must be done according to God's will. This stance was taken in opposition to the Roman Church, which considered as good works those actions rooted in human tradition and effort
(Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 91).
Rome distinguishes between commandments and counsels, asserting that the latter were added to the Law of Moses by Christ as a new and higher lawgiver. In the early days of the Christian Church, this distinction was not yet known. However, when the times of persecution ended, and people of all sorts joined the Church, seeking fellowship for honor and appearance, the moral standard diminished. Many devout families withdrew into solitude, giving rise to monasticism, which sought to uphold the moral ideal in a manner unattainable for ordinary Christians living in their families and professions. Thus, a distinction gradually emerged between monks
(clergy) and laity, and consequently between a higher and lower morality, between commandments and counsels.
The commandments, contained in the Ten Words, are obligatory for all Christians, while the counsels are set at everyone's discretion.
Among these counsels are chastity or the unmarried state, based on Matt. 19:11-12 and 1 Cor. 7:7ff; poverty or the renunciation of all worldly possessions, appealing to Matt. 19:21 and 1 Cor. 9:14; and absolute obedience to the superior under whose guidance one is placed, in imitation of Matt. 16:24 and Luke 14:26-27. In monastic
orders, these counsels often extend to various forms of abstinence, chastisements, and self-torture, following Matt. 5:29, 39, 42, etc.
Rome maintains that the ideal of moral perfection is the same for all believers and must be pursued by all through obedience to the commandments. However, those who follow the counsels take a quicker and safer path to reach the goal and receive greater dignity and richer rewards. While the ordinary believer, who obeys the law, remains an unprofitable servant who has only done what he was obliged to do (Luke 17:10), the Christian who follows the counsels hears Jesus commend him as the good and faithful servant, who has been faithful over little and is appointed over much (Matt. 25:21).
It goes without saying that the Reformation did not agree with this distinction. Deeply convinced of the corruption of human nature, it taught that even the regenerated cannot keep the law completely, that their best works are still tainted with sin, and that the most holy can attain no more than a small beginning of perfect obedience
(Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 62, 114). The believer can never get around to following counsels, as he already has enough to do with fulfilling the commandments. Moreover, God demands in the moral law that we should love Him with all our mind and all our strength, and our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:37, Luke 10:27). How can there be any room for counsels with such a commandment? If God claims us entirely, at all times and everywhere, for His service, then nothing is left over for us to dispose of at our own discretion.
There is, therefore, no ground for asserting that Christ added counsels as the law of freedom to the necessary commandments of the Mosaic law. While there may be instances where one must abstain from marriage, divest oneself of possessions, and retreat
from usual environments and occupations, these are not special counsels that one may freely choose to follow or ignore. The rich young man did not receive mere advice from Christ, which he could accept or reject at will; rather, he received a command to sell all his possessions and give to the poor. This was a test of the sincerity and firmness of his heart, to reveal whether he was truly willing to sacrifice everything for Christ and His kingdom. Thus, it is essential to distinguish between law and duty; the law is universal, but duty is the specific way each person must act according to the general moral law, tailored to his nature and situation.
The Reformers rejected all works based on human will or ecclesiastical precepts and returned to the will of God as the standard of good works. They found this will concisely and objectively expressed in the Ten Commandments. However, the Law of the Ten
Commandments does not stand alone; it exists within a rich context.
Originally written in the heart of man, made in God's image, it is partly preserved there, as all men by nature do the things of the law, thereby showing that the work of the law is written in their hearts
(Romans 2:14, 15). Every person is conscious of being bound by certain moral rules for existence and actions, and when these rules are transgressed, one feels accused by one's conscience. In Israel, the law was restored to its purity by special revelation, made subservient to the covenant of grace, and incorporated into a body of rights and statutes governing the entire life of the people. Moreover, in Israel's history, it was explained, elaborated, and applied by the psalmists, proverbs, and prophets, so that Jesus could say the whole Law and the prophets depend on the two commandments of love of God and neighbor (Matt 22:40).
When Christ brings about the fulfillment of all Old Testament salvation-promises, He does not abolish the Law but fulfills all its righteousness. He paves the way by His perfect obedience and gives the Holy Spirit's power, by which His disciples can and will walk according to all the commandments of the Law. It may be said that the whole Gospel is directed towards the fulfillment of the law in those who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The spiritual life of regeneration is made available for the restoration of the moral life. The long series of exhortations with which the apostles generally conclude their epistles extend and apply the holy law of the Lord, aiming to cause believers to live according to God's will and glorify His name in all their relationships and situations.
The Law of the Ten Commandments cannot be separated from this rich context; it must be considered and explained in light of God's entire revelation in nature and Scripture.
Thus understood, the Ten Commandments are a concise summary of Christian moral teaching and an excellent rule for our lives. There are many other laws by which we are bound. God also gave laws for our thinking, for our enjoyment of beauty, for our dealings with others, and for our use of the materials of nature; He laid down rules for all creatures, for heaven and earth, for the sun and moon and stars, for day and night, summer and winter, seedtime and harvest
(Genesis 8:22, Jeremiah 31:28). But the moral law goes far beyond all these orders, for it is directed to man's will, or rather to man himself as a willing being, reaching the innermost part of his existence, to the core of his personality. It demands complete conformity to its rule, not only in words and deeds but also in thoughts and desires, in essence and being. The law is spiritual (Rom
7:14); we must be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew
5:48); the tenth commandment goes to the root of sin, to lust, rendering it guilty and unclean before God.
Furthermore, the Law addresses all relationships in which man finds himself: with God, his fellow beings, himself, and all of nature. It pertains to God in His essence, service, revelation, and day; to fellow beings in their various ranks and positions, in their life, honor, and property; to oneself in the truth of mind and purity of heart; and in all this, to the entirety of surrounding nature, encompassing one's office and calling, work and leisure, all living and lifeless creation.
The moral law demands that man perform all actions to the glory of God, as stated in 1 Cor. 10:31 and Col. 3:17.
Understanding the law in its profound, spiritual sense may initially instill fear and doubt about its fulfillment. Without knowledge of any righteousness apart from what the law demands, we would be unable to fulfill it or even desire to do so. This would lead us to diminish the law's spiritual content, externalize it, align it with our fallen condition, and deceive ourselves into thinking we can meet its demands through civil and honorable living. The natural man is irked by the spiritual nature and perfection of the law, feeling internally vexed by its absolute righteousness and holiness. However, once we come to know the righteousness and holiness that God grants in Christ through faith, our relationship to and thoughts about the Law transform. We may lament with Paul that we are still sold under sin, yet we uphold the law in its glory, no longer attempting to diminish it. We honor it as holy, righteous, and good because it is
God's law. We love it for its spirituality, delighting in it according to the inner man, and we thank God not only for His Gospel but also for His law, for His holy, righteous, perfect law. It too becomes a
revelation and a gift of His grace to us. "Oh, how I love Thy law; it is my meditation all the day."
Although believers receive an inner desire and love to live according to God's will and perform good works from the moment of regeneration, they do not attain perfection instantly and never achieve it fully in this life. Sanctification is inseparable from justification. The latter is a divine acquittal completed at once; it is reiterated and applied to the conscience but is not supplemented or increased. The life of sanctification, like all life among creatures, follows the law of development; it begins in rebirth, needs nourishment for strength and growth, and reaches its culmination when fully revealed with Christ.
In the Old Testament, it is said of the Messiah that He will shepherd His flock, gather the lambs in His arms, carry them in His bosom, and gently lead the nursing ewes (Isa. 40:11). Elsewhere it is even more extensively stated that the Lord has anointed Him to bring glad tidings to the meek, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to captives, and open the prison for the bound. He will comfort all who mourn, provide for those who grieve in Zion, giving them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for His glory (Isa. 61:1-3, cf. Ezek. 34:16).
During His earthly ministry, Christ addressed not only the adults among Israel but also the children, proclaiming to them the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:1-6, 19:13-14). He called not only the inhabitants of Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Jerusalem but also tax collectors and sinners to repentance, inviting all the weary
and burdened to Himself for rest. He described the heirs of the kingdom with various names, referring to them as poor, mourning, hungry, thirsty, meek, and peaceful (Matthew 5:3-10), and distinguishing between those who are less and those who are more, the first and the last in the kingdom (Matthew 11:11, 20:16). He often lamented the small faith, fearfulness, and unreadiness of His disciples (Matt. 6:30, 8:26, 14:31, 16:8, Luke 24:25), rejoicing when
He found great faith in some (Matt. 8:10, 15:28). Towards all, He proved Himself to be the Good Shepherd, who gathers all His sheep into one flock, gives them life and abundance, keeps them, and does not let any perish (John 10:1-30).
Similar distinctions are found among believers in the apostolic churches. The Old Testament believers were infants under guardians and caretakers, not differing from servants in this respect (Gal. 4:12). In contrast, New Testament believers are free sons and daughters, adopted by God as His children and heirs, standing in the freedom with which Christ has made them free (Gal. 4:4-7). Yet, even among them, there are various differences. The faith given to the congregation's members is the same in essence but varies in measure according to each individual (Rom. 12:3). The gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit are diverse (Rom. 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:4-11). There are differences between those who are still fleshly and those who are spiritual (1 Cor. 3:1-3, Gal. 6:1), between children who need milk and the mature who can handle solid food (1 Cor. 3:2, Heb. 5:12, 1 Pet.
2:2). There are young people who have overcome evil but must remain vigilant, and fathers who have gained deeper knowledge of Christ (1 John 2:12-14). Additionally, even in apostolic times, there were congregations or believers firm in faith, abounding in love, and enduring in tribulation, while others were misled by error and guilty
of various sins. The letters of the Apostles, especially Christ's letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor (Rev. 1-3), detail these differing situations.
All this teaches us that in the spiritual realm, as in the natural, man is born small and weak, in need of help, and must continually grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2
Peter 3:18). If the spiritual life develops healthily and normally, feeding on spiritual food and drinking spiritual drink, which is Christ
(John 6:48, 1 Cor. 10:3-4), there is a continual strengthening and confirmation in grace, a continual renewal in the image of Christ
(Rom. 12:2, 2 Cor. 3:18, 4:16, Eph. 3:16, 1 Pet. 5:10). Yet, all kinds of obstacles hinder this normal development; the life of the Christian is not a quiet growth, but a constant struggle against enemies from without and within.
To understand this battle properly, we must first note that even the unregenerate often engage in a battle. However, this is not a spiritual battle but a rational one—a struggle between man's reason and conscience on one side, and his will and affections on the other.
Through reason and conscience, man remains bound to the moral law and the realm of unseen and eternal things; the command "thou shalt" still echoes in his heart. When he desires to do evil, his better judgment resists, warns, and tries to stop him. No man is so far astray or so deeply sunk that he knows nothing of this discord within his being. In this struggle, man can, under favorable circumstances, gain the victory; he can use reason to counteract his desires, suppressing and silencing them, thus becoming a good, virtuous man leading an honorable life. But this is not true morality, nor Christian sanctification. The natural man's struggle is only between reason and
lust, duty and inclination, conscience and passion; it is not waged against all sin but only against some, and usually only against some external, annoying sins. It is not against sin as sin, because it offends
God, but against certain sins that are despised by the world and bring damage or disgrace. It suppresses and at best curbs the evil inclination but does not eradicate it, nor does it bring about any inner change in the heart of man.
The spiritual battle that believers wage in their souls is of an entirely different nature. This battle is not between reason and lust but between flesh and spirit, between the old and the new man, between the sin that still dwells in the believer and the spiritual principle of life planted in his heart. These two forces are not locally separated in believers, as if one part of him—such as the intellect—had been reborn, while another part—such as the heart—had not. Instead, they both extend to the whole person and all his powers and faculties, so that each can be called a man—the old man and the new man.
Paul often expresses this contrast in his writings, but in Romans 7, he uses different terms: he refers to the spiritual, new man as the will, which loves and desires to do good, as the inner man who delights in God's law. The old man, on the other hand, he calls the flesh, the sin that dwells within, the law in his members that wars against the law of his mind and imprisons him under the law of sin that resides in his members. While this is a difference in expression, it is not a difference in substance. For Paul often uses "flesh" to describe all sinful inclinations remaining in the believer, which dwell within his soul, heart, and mind. The works of the flesh are not only uncleanness and fornication but also idolatry, enmity, strife, and wrath. By the "inner man," the Apostle does not refer to something
hidden and inactive within man, for he explicitly states that believers walk according to the Spirit and make their members instruments of righteousness. He calls it the "inner man" because, in the bitter struggle against the flesh, the new man is often undermined and rarely comes to full expression.
The struggle between these two forces consists of the Spirit of Christ, who dwells in believers, striving to awaken good thoughts, deliberations, affections, and movements (such as love, joy, peace, etc., Gal. 5:22) within their minds, hearts, and wills. Meanwhile, the flesh immediately raises its voice against this and seeks to defile them with evil lusts and desires (Gal. 5:19-20). The flesh always proves so powerful that believers do not, or do not fully, do what they desire to do (Gal. 5:17). When they want to do good, evil is present with them (Rom. 7:21); the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak
(Matt. 26:41).
The battle is therefore not between reason and will, duty and inclination, but rather between will and action, between the inner mind and the sinful power that opposes it, between the inner man of the heart, recreated in true righteousness and holiness, and the old man, who, though driven from the center, still strives to maintain his existence, fighting more fiercely as he loses ground. This battle is not waged between two faculties or parts of man, as if it were between head and heart, reason and lust, soul and body; but across the entire expanse of man's personality, these two forces stand armed against each other.
Within the same mind of the same person, there is a struggle between faith and unbelief, between truth and lies; in the same heart,
a conflict rages between pure and impure motives and qualities; in the same will, evil desires contend with good and pure inclinations. It is indeed a struggle between two natures within the same individual.
From a spiritual perspective, this can be explained by the fact that in the field of consciousness, two sets of ideas and in the realm of the heart and affections, two series of desires have taken root and are struggling with each other. We often speak of the old and new man within the believer, indicating that the new life has fundamentally transformed the whole person, while the power of sin still dwells in all his faculties and members. Yet, in reality, these are two sets of dispositions, ideas, inclinations, and qualities in conflict with each other, with neither being able to completely drive out the other from any aspect of humanity. If the truth of God fully occupied the believer's consciousness, there would be no room left for error and lies; if the love of God filled the whole person, there would be no place for hatred, envy, wrath, and the like. However, as experience and Scripture testify, such perfection is not to be expected in this life.
There remains a struggle to the end because faith, hope, love, and all Christian virtues are never perfected in this life and therefore leave room for unbelief, doubt, despondency, and fear.
The extent to which both the old and new man are present in any thought or deed varies greatly, but in all conceptions and actions, there is something of both. All thoughts, words, and deeds are thus tainted with sin; they require reconciliation and purification, yet may still be called good works insofar as they are mixed with faith. For these reasons, we must be vigilant against antinomianism, which separates the old and new in the believer and opposes them to each other, much as spirit is opposed to matter and soul to body.
Such a view leads to the pernicious doctrine that sinful thoughts and deeds are the responsibility of the old man and have nothing to do with the new man. In contrast, Scripture and experience clearly teach that the believer is not an external union of two people but remains one person, with one self, one consciousness, one heart, one will, and that not two independent beings, but two sets of qualities and characteristics battle within him.
The seriousness of this struggle suggests that it will take a long time before victory is achieved by the new man. Nevertheless, many
Christians believe that the faithful can attain perfection on earth and overcome all sinful acts and tendencies. The Pelagians taught this;
Rome expressed the same spirit at the Council of Trent, and many Protestant circles hold the same view. They point to the splendid terms in which Holy Scripture speaks about the Christian position, e.g., 1 Peter 2:9, 10, 2 Peter 1:4, 1 John 2:20. Paul, in particular, is fully assured of his salvation after his conversion and only recalls his sinful past. The exhortations to a holy and blameless walk are as complete as possible, e.g., Matt. 5:48, and presuppose the attainment of perfection, Phil. 2:5, 1 Thess. 2:10, 3:13. They argue that the grace of God, obtainable through prayer, can accomplish all things, John
14:13, 14, Eph. 3:20, 2 Cor. 12:10, Phil. 4:13. They claim that to consider moral perfection unattainable in this life would be an understatement of the omnipotence and riches of God's love and would deprive the faithful of a powerful incentive to strive for it with all their might.
Indeed, there is no doubt that Holy Scripture extols the privilege and status of God's people in the most exalted terms. In the Old
Testament, Israel is called a priestly kingdom, chosen by God from
among all the peoples of the earth as His own, the object of His love, His treasured possession, His son and servant, His bride, adorned and perfected with the glory He bestows upon her (Ex. 19:5-6; 29:43;
Deut. 7:6 ff; 32:6 ff; Isa. 41:8 ff; Ezek. 16:14). Likewise, the New Testament believers are termed the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13), the light of the world (v. 14), children of God, born of God and adopted by Him (John 1:13; Gal. 4:5), chosen, called, saints and sanctified (1
Cor. 1:2), a chosen generation and royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9-10), partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), anointed with the Holy
Spirit (1 John 2:20), made kings and priests by Christ (Rev. 1:5), heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered the heart of man, God has prepared for those who love Him in these New Testament days (1 Cor. 2:8).
Those who reject the scriptural teaching on sin and grace may view this as gross exaggeration, denying the necessity or possibility of the radical transformation that justification and rebirth entail. Yet, for the Scriptures, the change wrought in faith and conversion is a transition from darkness to light, from death to life, from bondage to freedom, from falsehood to truth, from sin to righteousness, from the expectation of God's wrath to the hope of His glory. The believers who appear in the Old and New Testaments, aware of this transformation, glory in the God of their salvation and rejoice in His fellowship. How far behind we lag in this joy of faith!
Furthermore, Scripture always sets before believers the highest moral ideal. Today, many strive for a moral life that Christianity seems to lack—one excessively religious, almost exclusively oriented toward heaven, averse to worldly interests, hostile to culture, comforting the poor and wretched with visions of eternity but
indifferent to their temporal well-being, rich perhaps in passive virtues such as submission and patience but poor in active virtues capable of transforming the world. Thus, many seek a different, higher morality that makes service to mankind its highest goal and limits its scope to this earthly life.
However, the protection of earthly interests is not in conflict with Christian morality but is rather founded and secured in the creation of man in God's image. Man was and remains in a certain sense an image-bearer of God, called to subdue the earth and exercise dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all creatures (Genesis 1:26, 28; Ps. 8). No book opposes nature more freely than Holy Scripture.
Paganism vacillates between overconfident abuse of the world and slavish, superstitious fear of its mysterious power. Yet Moses and the prophets, Christ and the apostles, exhibit complete freedom from the world, elevated above it by their communion with God. While early Christians, being a small flock, had to withdraw from many worldly circles and abstain from many activities permeated by heathen spirit, Christianity, in principle, embraced all elements granting it not only the freedom but also the right and calling to conquer and subdue the earth.
Christian moral teaching, encapsulated in the Ten Commandments and expounded throughout Scripture, is no different. Love of God stands foremost, but love of neighbor is equally paramount. Within this love of neighbor lies the duty of mission, reformation, and culture, provided it is understood in its active, Christian character rather than a passive, Buddhist sense. Mission extends the religious and moral riches of Christianity to all people and nations still deprived of them. Reformation, not confined to a single period or
moment, must continue unceasingly, renewing hearts, lives, families, and societies according to the Lord's will. Culture involves subjugating the earth, the dominion of spirit over matter, reason over nature.
The kingdom of heaven, which must first be sought, brings with it all other things, as stated in Matthew 6:33. Godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the present life and that which is to come, as expressed in 1 Timothy 4:8. Nothing is unclean in itself, for all of God's creatures are good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer, according to Romans 14:14 and 1 Timothy 4:4. Christianity, grounded in the creation of man in the image of God and advocating the restoration of all culture through the resurrection of Christ, exhorts its faithful to consider whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable, if there is any virtue and anything praiseworthy, as Philippians 4:8 teaches.
There is no higher morality, nor a higher religion, conceivable than that which is preached to us in the Gospel. One may seek another, but such a pursuit leads astray. The times in which we live provide the strongest evidence of this. The morality of Scripture is rejected, yet what replaces it contradicts the simplest rules of moral life.
The first step is to remove from moral teaching all those commandments concerning the love of God. Love for God, His name,
His truth, His service, is almost dismissed: how can one love God when one doubts and disputes His visibility, His revelation, even His existence? This undermines the basis for the commandments of the second table, for if there is no God who obliges me to love my
neighbor, what grounds can there be for such love? Proponents of a moral doctrine independent of religion are hopelessly divided over the principle from which love for one's fellow man can and must derive. Some attempt to base it on self-interest, others on happiness, pity, or conscience, but all fail to establish a binding duty without divine authority.
Consequently, every commandment detailing love for one's neighbor becomes problematic. It is often claimed that people, despite religious differences, remain united in moral principles. While nature may indeed be stronger than doctrine and the work of the law is written in everyone's heart, reality tells a different story. No commandment in the second table of God's law remains unchallenged today. The authority of father and mother, and of all those appointed over us, is openly contested and rejected.
Manslaughter is increasingly trivialized, suicide is often condoned, and the deprivation of life is frequently defended. Marriage is viewed as a contract entered into arbitrarily, and adultery and fornication find protection and advocacy among many. Property is regarded by some as merely another form of theft. Truth is made subservient to utility, thought is deemed dependent on development, and is distinguished from falsehood only by context, form, and degree. And as for covetousness, it finds its triumph in the Mammonist spirit of this age.
Against all these corrupted forms of morality, Scripture upholds the moral ideal in its unaltered and uncompromised sense. It never aligns with anything less than the holiness of God and His law, presenting them in all their majesty to the consciences of men. The command Jesus gave to His disciples, "Be perfect, as your Father in
heaven is perfect," is echoed by all the apostles in their exhortations to the faithful. Sin is never permitted to exist, not even in those who bear the name of Christ. The demands of the moral law may never be abandoned, even by those who have died to sin with Christ and risen to new life. If, then, according to God's order, the old man in believers only gradually dies away, and the new man only gradually matures and reaches perfection hereafter, this reflects God's great forbearance and tolerance. This patience is possible because Christ covers the sins of the community with His righteousness and holiness, guaranteeing its perfection.
While the moral law, which serves as the rule for the life of the faithful, demands nothing less than perfect love for God and neighbor, it is equally evident that, according to Scripture, no believer has ever achieved such perfection in this life, nor can any hope to do so. The saints of the Bible are all people who stumble in many ways, and sometimes, like David and Peter, fall into grievous sins, only to confess them in deep humility. Whenever you listen to them, you will never hear the claim, often heard from some
Christians, that they are without sin. On the contrary, Abraham (Genesis 12:12), Isaac (Genesis 26:5), Jacob (Genesis 26:35), Moses
(Numbers 20:7-12, Psalm 106:33), David (Psalm 51), Solomon (1 Kings 8:46), Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5), Daniel (Daniel 9:4), and others all acknowledge their transgressions and confess their sins and errors.
The Apostle Paul himself, though crucified with Christ and walking in newness of the Spirit, standing righteous before God and fully assured of his salvation, bearing the pride of his apostolic work and being conscious of his faithful fulfillment of his office, attributes all this to God's grace. He confesses that no good thing dwells in his
flesh (Romans 7:18), that the flesh always desires to oppose the Spirit (Galatians 5:17), that his will and his actions are continually in conflict (Romans 7:7-26), and that he is in pursuit of perfection but has not yet attained it (Philippians 3:12).
Moses and the prophets testified similarly to the people of Israel, Christ to His disciples, and the apostles to the churches under their care. Jesus calls His disciples to perfection (Matthew 5:48), yet He also teaches them to pray for the forgiveness of their debts (Matthew
6:12). The Christians in Rome, though raised with Christ to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3ff), are exhorted to make their members servants of righteousness leading to sanctification (Romans 6:19).
The Corinthians were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:11), yet they were still fleshly (1 Corinthians 3:1-4).
The Galatians had received the Spirit through the preaching of faith (Galatians 3:2), yet they were tempted to disobey the truth
(Galatians 3:1). In the Philippians, the good work had begun but was not finished (Philippians 1:6). In all churches, there are situations, errors, and vices that are not in accordance with the Christian life.
The apostles themselves were convinced that sin remains with the believers as long as they are in this life. "We all stumble in many ways" (James 3:2). "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).
However, even though perfection is not attainable in this life, the exhortations to a holy walk are not useless or devoid of seriousness.
Those who advocate the perfectibility of the faithful in this life raise objections, claiming that exhortations that cannot be fully obeyed
lose their power and cause the faithful to lose their zeal. But they are guilty of false reasoning: the obligation does not follow the ability; one who must pay a debt does not always have the means to do so but remains obliged nonetheless. Similarly, the moral law can never relinquish its demands, even if man is incapable of fulfilling them due to sin. Conversely, it can be more rightly asserted that those who teach the perfectibility of the faithful must invariably come to a lowering of the moral ideal and a less serious view of sin.
Who, after all, who thinks of sin not only in terms of external sinful acts but also in terms of all sinful thoughts and inclinations, would dare to claim that the faithful can be fully freed from it in this life?
Perfection can only be asserted by disregarding the sinful nature of humanity, by overlooking sinful thoughts and inclinations, and thus by disregarding the absolute holiness of the law. In the sacrament meeting form of the Reformed churches, it is declared that no sin or weakness that remains in us against our will can hinder us from accepting God's grace. There has been much debate over whether sins can still occur in the regenerate that are not merely out of weakness but have an intentional character and must therefore be called sins of wickedness. Two things, however, are certain: first, that in those who have truly been born again, not only the conscience but also the new life, the disposition and the will resist these sins to a greater or lesser degree; and second, that sins committed against our will, even actual sins of weakness, are indeed sins and are contrary to the holiness of the law.
Furthermore, the exhortations to a holy walk are not in vain; they are precisely the means by which God applies and works out in believers the righteousness and holiness bestowed in Christ. Jesus Himself
prays in the high priestly prayer that the Father may sanctify His disciples in the truth, that is, through His Word, which is the truth
(John 17:17, cf. 15:3). The Word that God has given us is indeed the primary means of our sanctification; the blessing that has flowed not only from public preaching but also from reading, examining, and contemplating that Word in solitude or in the domestic circle for the cultivation of a Christian life is simply incalculable. To this Word as a means of sanctification should be added prayer in Jesus' name (John
14:13, 14; 16:23, 24), which opens the door to divine majesty and fills us with confidence because there is no one, either in heaven or on earth, who prefers us to Jesus Christ (Col. 1:26); furthermore, the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19;
Colossians 3:16), which has a profound effect on the mood of the heart and the readiness of the will; and then also vigils and fasts
(Matt. 17:21; 26:41; Ephesians 6:18; 4:3), which have fallen almost entirely into disuse. All these means of sanctification prove that in this His work, God does not neglect the way of means.
Of course, God, who is the Almighty, could have made all His children completely holy at the moment of rebirth. But apparently, that has not been His will; in the re-creation, He does not deny
Himself as Creator. All creaturely life is born, grows up, and gradually reaches its peak. Because spiritual life is real life, it arises and develops in the same way. God does not pour Christ's righteousness and holiness into us mechanically, like water into a vessel, but He works them out organically in us and through us.
Thus, the one does not conflict with the other if Scripture always presents it in such a way that believers must become what they are.
The kingdom of heaven is a gift of God (Luke 12:32), and yet a treasure of great value that must be sought after (Matthew 6:33;
13:46). The believers are branches on the vine, who can do nothing without Christ, and yet are admonished to remain in Him, in His word, in His love (John 15). They are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and yet must hasten to make their calling and election sure (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Peter 1:10). They are sanctified by the one sacrifice of Christ, and yet must pursue sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 10:10; 12:14). They have put on the new man and still have to put him on (Ephesians
4:24; Colossians 3:10). They have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires and still have to mortify their earthly members
(Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:5). It is God who works in them, both to will and to do according to His good pleasure, and yet they must work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians
2:12, 13).
All this is not contradictory; rather, the one is the basis and guarantee of the other. Because sanctification, as well as all salvation, is God's work, we are admonished, obligated, and also enabled to new obedience. He gives us abundant grace, not so that we can suddenly and at once be holy and rest in this holiness, but so that we can persevere in the struggle and remain steadfast. He hears and answers prayer in accordance with the order and law He has set for spiritual life. Therefore, we always have good courage, because
He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. The faithful can and will become holy because they are holy in Christ.
Is it not somewhat presumptuous to assert that believers, once engrafted into the body of Christ, shall infallibly remain therein forever? This contention is often challenged by those who uphold the
perfectibility of the saints and the possibility of their apostasy, for both doctrines spring from a common root—the belief that sanctification is primarily the work of man's will. If a believer, through the aid of grace, utilizes his will rightly and exercises all his strength, he may attain perfection in this life; conversely, if he falters, he can forfeit the grace in which he once stood, revert to ungodliness, and ultimately perish. This erroneous view of human will in sanctification breeds the fear that teaching the perseverance of the saints will undermine moral effort, as it seemingly grants a license to sin under the assurance of eternal security.
Were our confidence in the perseverance of the saints to rest on human will and strength, we would indeed stand on precarious ground, for all the saints possess but a small measure of perfect obedience. They remain inclined toward evil, stumbling daily. If their perseverance depended solely on themselves, none would endure to the end. Those who dispute the doctrine of perseverance escape this conclusion only by distinguishing between sins, suggesting that while believers may sin, they do not commit the kind of transgressions that lead to apostasy. However, all sins, flowing from the same corrupt source, lead to death, and yet all sins—save the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—are forgivable through God's grace in Christ Jesus.
Moreover, who can truly discern whether a sin is "mortal" or "venial"? Sins deemed trivial by men may be grievous in the sight of God, who judges the heart and mind. This uncertainty leads believers to doubt continually whether they have lost grace through a mortal sin or rely on false assurances from a priest.
These uncertainties are resolved when we understand that the perseverance of the saints is not an act of human will but a work of God, carried out from beginning to end. It is God's preservation that undergirds man's perseverance. Scripture affirms this abundantly, highlighting the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the covenant of grace.
The Father chose believers in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), predestined them to eternal life (Acts 13:48), to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). This election is unchangeable (Rom. 9:11, Heb. 6:17), and in due time, it brings about calling, justification, and glorification (Rom. 8:30). Christ, in whom all God's promises are affirmed (2 Cor. 1:20), died for those given to Him by the Father (John 17:6, 12), that He might grant them eternal life and lose none of them (John 6:39-40) John 6:39-40,
10:28, 17:2 declare that the Holy Spirit, who regenerates the faithful, abides with them forever, John 14:16, sealing them until the day of redemption, Eph. 1:13, 4:30. The covenant of grace is unbreakable and confirmed by an oath, Heb. 6:16-18, 13:20, akin to a marriage,
Eph. 5:31-32, or a testament, Heb. 9:17. By virtue of this covenant, God calls His chosen ones, inscribes His law upon their hearts, instills His fear within them, Heb. 8:10, 10:14-17, does not permit them to be tempted beyond their capacity, 1 Cor. 10:13, and ensures the completion of the good work He has begun in them, 1 Cor. 1:9,
Phil. 1:6, preserving them for Christ's return, to partake in the heavenly inheritance, 1 Thess. 5:23, 2 Thess. 3:13, 1 Pet. 1:4-5.
Through His intercession with the Father, Christ continually works on their behalf, so their faith may not fail, Luke 22:32, they may be kept from evil, John 17:11,20, may be fully saved, Heb. 7:25, receive the forgiveness of sins, 1 John 2:1, and one day behold His glory,
John 17:24. The benefits of Christ, imparted by the Holy Spirit, are irrevocable, Rom. 11:29, and inseparably bound; he who is called is justified and glorified, Rom. 8:30; he who is adopted as God's child is an heir of eternal life, Rom. 8:17, Gal. 4:7; he who believes has eternal life, John 3:16. This eternal life is indestructible; it cannot sin, 1 John 3:9, nor die, John 11:25-26.
Just as sanctification, the preservation of the believers is wrought by the Holy Spirit, such that they themselves persevere in the grace granted by God. God never coerces but works with man in a reasonable manner. In regeneration, He instills new qualities and transforms the will, making it willing to do good. Similarly, He continues to work in believers' hearts, not rendering them weak, but raising them up to walk in the good works prepared for them. To this end, He employs His Word as an instrument in His hands.
He persistently exhorts them to persevere to the end, Matt. 10:22, 24:13, Rom. 2:7, 8; to abide in Christ, His word, and His love, John
15:1-10, 1 John 2:6, 24, 27, 3:6, 24, 4:12-16; to watch and be sober, Matt. 24:42, 25:13, 1 Thess. 5:6, 1 Pet. 5:8; to keep the faith and remain faithful to the Lord unto death, Col. 1:23, Heb. 2:1, 3:14, 6:11,
Rev. 2:10, 26. He warns against pride and threatens severe punishment for unfaithfulness, John 15:2, Rom. 11:20-22, 2 Tim.
2:12, Heb. 4:1, 6:4-8, 10:26-31, 2 Pet. 2:18-22, yet He also attaches rich promises of reward to sanctification and perseverance, Matt.
5:12, 6:4, 10:22, 16:27, 24:13, 25:21-23, 31-46, Rom. 2:7, Rev. 2:7, 1011, 22:12. Examples of profound falls, such as David and Peter, and cases of apostasy, like Hymenaeus, Alexander, 1 Tim. 1:19-20, 2 Tim.
2:17-18, Demas, 2 Tim. 4:10, Heb. 6:4-8, 1 Tim. 4:1, 2 Pet. 2:1, serve as warnings.
These exhortations and warnings do not prove the apostasy of the truly sanctified. For such cases, John's words apply: they went out from us, but they did not belong to us, 1 John 2:19. The examples of David and Peter demonstrate that God's grace did not abandon them in their fall but preserved and led them to repentance. They serve as both warnings and comforts, ensuring that if we fall into sin out of weakness, we do not despair of God's grace but strengthen ourselves with the assurance of His everlasting covenant. In the path of that covenant, God causes His people to walk by His word and Spirit.
Teaching the apostasy of the saints undermines God's faithfulness, makes perseverance and salvation uncertain, and misjudges the unity and continuity of spiritual life. Conversely, believing in the preservation of the saints rests on God's grace, boasts in His faithfulness, and upholds the coherence of spiritual and eternal life.
Though the life in the believer is subject to change, it is inherently indestructible; the seed God has planted remains, 1 John 3:9.
Thus, far from leading true believers to arrogance and negligence, faith in God's preservation fosters genuine humility, filial fear, true piety, perseverance in all trials, fervent prayer, steadfastness under the cross, and unwavering confession of the truth. It also engenders firm joy in God, prompting earnest and continuous gratitude and good works, as attested by Scripture and the examples of the saints
(Canons of Dordt, V, 12).
For this precious fruit to flourish, the doctrine of the saints' perseverance must be embraced as God intends. Has He not revealed it in His Word to be accepted merely as doctrine and taught to others as sound teaching and pure truth? Indeed, this is part of God's intention, for truth holds intrinsic value. Yet, this is not the sole or
primary purpose. Embracing the perseverance of the saints with true faith entails confessing that God continues to work in this manner with His children. The preservation of the saints is not merely a historical fact or a scientific truth like a mathematical result; it is an eternal truth, upheld by God through the ages and manifest in the lives of all His children.
Believing in the preservation of the saints in this manner necessitates personal experience of its reality. Thus, anyone who truly believes in this preservation cannot misuse their confession to justify fleshly indulgence. Just as it is impossible for someone genuinely united with Christ by faith to fail in producing fruits of gratitude.
Moreover, if the preservation of the saints is a divine work continually performed in the hearts and lives of all believers, then assurance of this preservation must eventually be imparted to their consciousness. Without the preservation of the saints, no believer could ever be completely assured of their salvation, constantly fearing that they might lose God's grace through serious sin.
However, if God indeed preserves His own, the believer can and will attain firm assurance of this in their heart. Without such certainty of salvation, the doctrine of the saints' perseverance would hold no practical value for the believer. What profit would this doctrine offer the children of God if they could never be certain of their status as His children? The preservation of the saints and assurance of salvation are inseparable; the latter makes the former a support for believers and a comfort for their hearts.
All the saints who appear before us in the Old and New Testaments share this assurance of salvation. Not only an Abraham, who
believed the Lord, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:18ff), or a Jacob, who waited for the salvation of the Lord (Genesis 49:18), or a David, who declared the Lord as his rock and fortress (2 Samuel 22:2ff), or a Habakkuk, who rejoiced in the God of his salvation even amidst desolation
(Habakkuk 3:17-19), but also all the faithful, whose trials and tribulations are recorded by psalmists, prophets, and sages. They often found themselves in deep distress, oppressed by their enemies, mocked and persecuted: "Where is your God now? Let Him deliver you if He delights in you" (Psalm 22:8, 42:3, 71:11). Sometimes doubt gripped their souls, wondering if God had forgotten them, or if His mercy had ceased in His anger (Psalm 10:1, 13:1, 28:1, 44:9, 77:7-9).
Yet, they acknowledged the righteousness of God's judgments, confessing their sins (Psalm 51:4, Nehemiah 9:33, Daniel 9:14).
Nevertheless, they knew God as their Father, and themselves as His people, the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 95:7, 100:3, Isaiah 63:16,
64:8). God could not forsake them for His name's sake, for His covenant's sake (Psalm 79:8-9). His anger was momentary, but His favor was for life (Psalm 30:5). He did not deal with them according to their sins nor repay them according to their iniquities (Psalm
103:10). He forgave their transgressions and covered their sins (Psalm 32:1). The Lord was their rock and fortress, their stronghold and deliverer, their shield and the horn of their salvation, their light and their joy, their all in all (Psalm 18:2, 73:25).
Equally certain is the tone in which the apostles and the faithful of the New Testament speak of their salvation. They know that God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for them all, and with Him will graciously give them all things (Romans 8:32). They are justified by faith, have peace with God, and can no longer be accused by
anyone (Romans 5:1, 8:33). They have been born again to a living hope and have passed from death to life (1 Peter 1:3, James 1:18, 1
John 3:14). They have received the Spirit of adoption, who testifies with their spirit that they are children of God (Romans 8:15-16).
This knowledge pertains not only to the present but also extends to the future. For those whom God has foreknown, called, and justified,
He also glorifies (Romans 8:30). If they are children, then they are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). They have already received eternal life by faith and cannot lose it (1 John
3:9, 5:1). They are born again to a living hope and are kept for salvation by God's power (1 Peter 1:3-5). The good work begun in them is brought to completion by God until the day of Jesus Christ
(Philippians 1:6). In a word, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a pledge and guarantee until the day of redemption (Romans 6:23, 2
Corinthians 1:22, 5:5, Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30).
There would be more power and influence emanating from the believers if they always stood in this firm assurance of faith. But often they are not sure of their own standing; how then can they speak with enthusiasm, and by their joyful testimony arouse the envy of the world? In the Roman Church, even faith lacks certainty; the believer can only be absolutely sure of his salvation by a special revelation given to only a few; all other believers can come only to a suspicion, a hope, a probability. And Rome considers this uncertainty an advantage, believing it preserves a salutary fear and awakens an aspiration for sanctification. The Roman Christian does not rely on the testimony of the Holy Spirit in his own heart but on the judgment of the priest and the guarantee of the church for his salvation; and with that, he generally feels secure.
The Reformation held a fundamentally different understanding of justification, faith, and thus the security of salvation compared to Rome. For Rome, faith is merely assent to the doctrines of the Church; justification is the infusion of supernatural grace, enabling mankind to perform good works and thereby earn eternal life.
Consequently, faith under this system cannot provide absolute certainty of salvation; any assurance must be derived from love and good works, resulting in only a relative and fluctuating presumption and hope. However, the Reformation attributed an independent significance to justification, viewing it as the restoration of man's relationship with God, thus redefining faith as a personal trust of the heart in God's grace in Christ Jesus.
This faith inherently included security. However, while the Lutherans and the Remonstrants limited this certainty to the present
—asserting that a believer could be sure of their faith now but not necessarily of their perseverance to the end—the Reformed tradition extended this certainty to the future as well. Consequently, the quest for assurance of salvation became a significant aspect of the spiritual life among the Reformed. In the early days, when a vibrant and robust faith was flourishing, such an intentional quest for assurance was less necessary; believers spoke and lived from the abundance of their hearts, as evident in their confessions, forms, and prayers. But as faith waned, introspection and the search for signs of faith grew.
Instead of finding assurance, this often led to deeper entanglement in doubt. True assurance of faith cannot be obtained through reasoning and deduction; it emerges naturally from faith itself. If faith is strong, it brings certainty with it; if it wanes, certainty also diminishes and cannot be artificially restored.
The Dordrecht Confession beautifully articulates this: the elect become assured of their eternal and unchangeable election to salvation in due time, albeit in varying stages and degrees; not through curious investigation into the mysteries of God, but by recognizing the infallible fruits of their election as indicated in the Word of God (such as true faith in Christ, filial fear of God, godly sorrow for sin, hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc.) within themselves, with spiritual joy and holy delight (I 12).
In the fifth chapter, §§ 9 and 10, this is further expounded: believers may be assured of the preservation of the elect in salvation and of the perseverance of true believers in faith, according to the degree of faith with which they truly believe they are and will always remain living members of the Church, having forgiveness of sins and eternal life. This assurance does not arise from some special revelation outside or apart from the Word, but from faith in the promises of God abundantly revealed in His Word for our comfort; from the testimony of the Holy Spirit, who bears witness with our spirit that we are children and heirs of God; and finally, from the earnest and holy practice of a good conscience and good works.
Thus, the security of salvation does not come to the life of faith from external sources but blossoms from the life of faith itself, being integrally connected to it and varying with its strength.
Consequently, the degree of security fluctuates; in this life, believers must contend with various fleshly doubts, undergo severe temptations, and therefore do not always feel the full confidence of faith and assurance of perseverance (T.a.p. V 11).
But all this does not alter the fact that the beatific faith, as the Scriptures describe it and as the Reformation restored it, is, according to its inner nature, certainty, and increases in certainty as it grows stronger. It does not stand against knowing and being known, but it is opposed to all doubt; doubt does not arise from the new man, but from the old man, not from the Spirit, but from the flesh. Faith says yes and amen to all of God's promises, embraces them, and rests on them. And when it does this, and as it does this, it gives the believer the boldness to apply all God's promises to himself and to appropriate them for himself; it becomes a firm trust that not only others, but also I, have been granted forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation by God, through pure grace, solely because of the merit of Christ.
This confidence extends naturally, not through artificial reasoning, but according to its nature and essence, also to the future. It would be a strange kind of faith to say: I am a child of God, but I do not know whether I will still be one tomorrow. If faith is real and powerful, then it will jubilate: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for Thou art with me. And so faith testifies and rejoices, not because it trusts in itself, but because it trusts in God's vows. Those vows also include: I will be your God now and forever; I have loved you with an everlasting love and will never leave you or forsake you. Faith, which is not a certainty for the present and the future, does not do justice to the truth of God's promises and the faithfulness of His love.
Now, in the second place, there is the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the great and almighty Witness to Christ, who
takes up the cause of Christ in our hearts, leads us to faith in His name, and makes us know the things that are given to us by God in His Christ, John 15:26, 16:13-15, 1 Cor. 12:3, 2 Cor. 4:3-6, etc. This
Spirit of Christ makes us know the truth of God's promises and His faithfulness to us. He also reveals ourselves to us, not only in our guilt and impurity but also in our fellowship with and participation in Christ. He reveals our faith to us. Having first convinced us of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and having worked faith in us as the Spirit of faith, 2 Cor. 4:13, He then assures us of our faith. He becomes a Spirit of adoption, Gal. 4:6, a Spirit as befits children and dwells in them, Rom. 8:15, and makes us aware of our childhood.
He does this in various ways and by various means. By awakening a new life in us, by guiding us continually, and by filling our souls with a joy previously unknown, Rom. 8:10, 11, 14:17, 15:13; He does it, to mention no more, by sealing us up to the day of redemption, Eph.
1:13, 4:30.
Sometimes sealing is employed to secure persons or things (such as letters) from being tampered with or violated, as seen in Deut. 32:34,
Song of Solomon 4:12, Isa. 8:16, 29:11, Dan. 6:18, 12:4, Ezek. 9:1-6, Matt. 27:66, Rev. 5:5, 6, 7:1-4, 20:3, 22:10. At other times, it serves to authenticate persons or testimonies as genuine, to confirm them, as in Esth. 3:12, 13, 8:8, 10, 1 Kings 21:8, Neh. 9:38, Jer. 32:10, John
3:13, 6:27, Rom. 4:11, 1 Cor. 9:2. In this latter sense, believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a pledge until the day of redemption,
Rom. 8:33, 2 Cor. 1:22, 5:5, Eph. 1:13, 14, 4:30. The Holy Spirit, given to the believers, who plants faith in them and constantly sustains it, testifies within them, leads them, and in doing all this, also serves as a pledge and guarantee for believers that they will be
preserved until the day of redemption and will inherit heavenly salvation. This Spirit will never depart from them but remains with them forever, John 14:16. He who has this Spirit belongs to Christ, is
His property, Rom. 8:19, and is preserved by Him for eternity, John 17:24. Christ in heaven and the Holy Spirit on earth guarantee the salvation of the elect and assure them of it in their hearts.
These two ways by which the assurance of salvation arises in believers are not actually two distinct paths but one way viewed from different perspectives. The Holy Spirit does not work, testify, and seal apart from or through faith, but always in and through faith.
However, this faith is not dead but living, revealing its essence and demonstrating its power through good works.
Therefore, along with faith in the promises of God and the testimony of the Holy Spirit, these good works may be considered as a means by which God assures believers of their adoption, as noted in the Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 86, and the Canons of Dort V, 10. But it should be noted that one cannot begin the search for assurance with these good works, as faith can never firmly rest on them, and they cannot be performed with the intention of gaining assurance through them. All good works are imperfect, and their perfection varies with the strength of the faith from which they proceed. However, insofar as they result from faith, they can serve as means of assurance. As faith manifests and proves itself in them, it is also confirmed and strengthened by them. And when men see our good works, they glorify the Father who is in heaven.
Study Questions for Reflection
1. What is the primary difference between justification and sanctification according to Bavinck?
Reflect on how justification addresses guilt and sanctification deals with the stain of sin.
2. How is the concept of "holiness" understood in the Old Testament context?
Consider the root meaning of "holy" and its implications for the relationship between God and His people.
3. In what ways does the holiness of God manifest in His relationships with His people?
Examine how God's holiness is revealed through various aspects such as His name, covenant, and commandments.
4. Discuss the dual role of sanctification as both a work of God and a work in which believers actively participate.
Reflect on the balance between divine action and human responsibility in the process of sanctification.
5. How does the New Testament present the concept of believers being called to be saints?
Analyze the significance of believers being referred to as saints and what it implies about their identity in Christ.
6. What are the means of sanctification mentioned in the chapter, and how do they function in a believer's life?