Stewart: Justification Sanctifies
[S]anctification is not a new thing, but simply the unfolding, by the operation of the Spirit, of something already present. It is God's justifying verdict itself which sanctifies. . . .
It is precisely because God waits for no guarantees but pardons out-and-out, because He dares to trust a man who has no claim or right to trust at all--it is because of this that forgiveness regenerates, and justification sanctifies.
--James S. Stewart, A Man in Christ: The Vital Elements of St. Paul's Religion (New York: Harper, 1935), 258, 259-60
It is precisely because God waits for no guarantees but pardons out-and-out, because He dares to trust a man who has no claim or right to trust at all--it is because of this that forgiveness regenerates, and justification sanctifies.
--James S. Stewart, A Man in Christ: The Vital Elements of St. Paul's Religion (New York: Harper, 1935), 258, 259-60
amen to that! Praise God that sanctification is his work. I can't remember who said it, but I once heard sanctification described like this -
ReplyDelete"Becoming who we are in Christ"
Isn't that it? Who we are, in Christ is what we are to become. I love it!
I tell my wife, "be who you are, honey". I don't think it could be any simpler than that. It needs to be unpacked to be fully understood and guard from error, but if understood correctly, that summarizes it well for me.
grace to you!
paul