A Confusion of Sanctification with Justification: Institute for Nouthetic Studies Blog » Blog Archive » On Preaching the Gospel to Yourself

Unfortunately, The Institute for Nouthetics Studies appears to endorse a view of the Gospel that confuses Gospel with Law and that confuses sanctification with justification. Although the article tries to sidestep the issue, the fact that the author of the article thinks "mature" Christians no longer need to look to the cross for their salvation but rather to their own good works shows that he just does not get it. From the beginning to the end of the Christian life we are imperfect in our subjective experience of sanctification. (Philippians 2:12-13; 3:12; 2 Peter 3:18).

I get weary with having to reiterate the Gospel so often on the blog but when obvious errors like these statements by Lou Priolo over at The Institute for Nouthetic Studies blog are made then I feel compelled to respond:

To my way of thinking, the place of the doctrine of justification in the believer’s life is much like the operating system on a computer. I’m a PC guy. My personal computer operates under a Windows operating system. Windows is always up and running, but most of the time, it runs in the background. I don’t see it. I can go for days without looking at it (although I know it is functioning as long as the other programs are operating properly). Occasionally, I have to go to the control panel to troubleshoot a problem, make some minor adjustments, or defrag my hard drive, but I don’t give it another thought because I have faith that it is doing what it is supposed to do. So it is with my justification. It is always up and running.

Well, so far so good. That does not sound so bad, right? The trouble is that Priolo is taking justification for granted. Like most Pharisees he has forgotten that the objective basis for our faith is the cross, the atoning sacrifice of Christ, not our own level of sanctification or goodness.

The trouble is that taking justification for granted and forgetting about it unless and until we fall into a major sin leads to self-righteousness and an attitude of superiority over those who struggle with sins which are more obvious. How can we counsel others if we have become practical Pharisees?

To show that Priolo has this air of superiority it is not necessary to read very far:

But what about the growing number of those who say that we must (or should or ought to) “preach the Gospel to ourselves every day?” If by Gospel they mean the entire ordo-salutis: effectual calling, regeneration, faith, justification, adoption, sanctification,[1] and glorification—the whole enchilada—there is not a problem (other than the fact that the Bible doesn’t exactly command us to do this). But if, like so many seem to be espousing today, they take a reductionist view of the Gospel—reducing it to justification (or to adoption) alone—there is a problem.

So Priolo has a problem with the Gospel! He is basically saying that sanctification is part of the Gospel, which is to confuse the moral law with the Gospel. It is a confusion of sanctification (infused righteousness and subjective in the heart/mind of the believer) with justification (the objective work of Christ in His sinless life and His substitutionary, atoning death on the cross for the elect). Since the Nouthetics site claims to be Reformed in theology I will respond with the view of the Gospel espoused by the Westminster Standards, the Three Forms of Unity, and the Anglican Formularies.

The Westminster Confession defines the Gospel via the distinction between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace:

2. The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works,1 wherein life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity,2 upon condition of perfect and personal obedience.3

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1 Gal. 3:12.
2 Rom. 10:5; Rom. 5:12-20.
3 Gen. 2:17; Gal. 3:10.

3. Man, by his fall, having made himself uncapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second,1 commonly called the Covenant of Grace, whereby He freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved;2 and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life His Holy Spirit, to make them willing, and able to believe.3

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1 Gal. 3:21; Rom. 8:3; Rom. 3:20,21; Gen. 3:15; Isa. 42:6.
2 Mark 16:15,16; John 3:16; Rom. 10:6,9; Gal. 3:11.
3 Ezek. 36:26,27; John 6:44,45.

4. This covenant of grace is frequently set forth in the Scripture by the name of a Testament, in reference to the death of Jesus Christ the testator, and to the everlasting inheritance, with all things belonging to it, therein bequeathed.
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1 Heb. 9:15,16,17; Heb. 7:22; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25.

Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 7

Basically, those who depend on their own works are obligated to keep the law with absolute obedience and to justify themselves by law keeping. That is true of the unconverted and of everyone who names the name of Christ. If works are to justify us, then perfect and absolute obedience is necessary (Matthew 5:17-21, 48; Romans 10:1-6). The trouble is that this is impossible since we have all failed from birth onward. (Romans 3:23; Psalm 51:4-5; Romans 3:10-18).

The ordo salutis or "logical order of salvation" begins with unconditional election, not with sanctification. As Ulrich Zwingli noted, unconditional election shows clearly that salvation is absolutely a gift of God, not something that we "choose" when you boil everything down to the bottom line:

Since Paul wishes to show that God’s election is born of his free purpose, and not from those whom he is about to elect, he says that the free purpose is the cause why all things work for good to those who love God. Nothing is ascribed to man’s merit. For he adds: For whom he foreknew (pronunciavit) he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, etc. I have translated προέγνω by “pronunciavit,” which word has the same force as if you should say predetermined or foreordained. This is then the apostle’s meaning: I said that all will result in good for those who according to God’s purpose are of the called. This I would have understood thus: God freely with himself settles upon, prejudges and foreordains (for by this word the word for “purposing” is expounded) whom he will, even before they are born. Whom he thus foreordains he marks out beforehand, i. e., destines them to be conformed to the image of his Son. As if he should say: No one can be conformed to Christ unless he has been destined for this. ( On Election, Ulrich Zwingli).

Of course, we are free moral agents and we are fully accountable for our actions and choices. But that does not mean that salvation is ultimately based on us or our choices. No, salvation is predestined from before the foundation of the world and we get no credit for our obedience since even that is a gift of God. (Philippians 2:13; Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion are the confession of the Anglican Communion--albeit very few actually follow its literal and plain teaching today. The Gospel is stated several times in the Articles:

VII. Of the Old Testament. HE Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard which feign that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. . . . (2 Corthinians 1:20).

XI. Of the Justification of Man. E are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore that we are justified by faith only is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort; as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification.

XII. Of Good Works. LBEIT that good works, which are the fruits of faith and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins and endure the severity of God's judgement, yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.

Obviously, to forget that salvation is a monergistic work of God alone (Soli Gloria Deo!) is to become self-righteous in attitude and in theology (Romans 3:20-22). The Dutch Three Forms of Unity is in agreement with the other two Reformed traditions:

Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 6

Question 18. Who then is that Mediator, who is in one person both very God, and a real righteous man?

Answer: Our Lord Jesus Christ, 5"who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."6

Question 19. Whence knowest thou this?

Answer: From the holy gospel, which God Himself first revealed in Paradise;7 and afterwards published by the patriarchs and prophets,8 and represented by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law;9 and lastly, has fulfilled it by His only begotten Son.10
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1 Rom. 5:12, 15;

2 1 Pet. 3:18; Isa. 53:11;

3 1 Pet. 3:18 Acts 2:24; Isa. 53:8;

4 1 John 1:2; Jer. 23:6; 2 Tim. 1:10 John 6:51;

5 Matt. 1:23; 1 Tim. 3:16 Luke 2:11;

6 1 Cor. 1:30

7 Gen. 3:15;

8 Gen. 22:17-18; Gen. 28:14; Rom. 1:2; Heb. 1:1; John 5:46;

9 Heb. 10:7-8;

10 Rom. 10:4; Heb. 13:8;

Basically, the Gospel is not about what "we" have done. It is about the finished work of Jesus Christ and what He has done once and for all! (John 19:30; Hebrews 9:24-28).

Click here to read the post by Lou Priolo at: Institute for Nouthetic Studies Blog » Blog Archive » On Preaching the Gospel to Yourself

See also, Jack Miller's excellent response to this issue:

This broad understanding of the gospel is a potential recipe for weakening faith and increasing works-righteousness as one seeks to measure up in thought, word, and deed to "the good news" he is supposed to be exhibiting. It inserts progressive sanctification into the “gospel proper” by considering everything in the Word (promises, laws, threats, admonitions, works) as the good news of the gospel. Certainly we agree it is “good news” that the Spirit is working in us, conforming us to Christ as God predestined. But that is not part of the good news that the New Testament writers proclaimed. (The World's Ruined: The Gospel, Sanctification, and Faith).

John Piper Confuses Sanctification with Justification

"We pursue sanctification because without it we will not see the Lord. We will not be acceptable. We will not have the infinite, eternal joy of seeing God's beauty in heaven, nor will we have the highest pleasures of this life, namely, seeing the grace of God conquer our rebellion and conform us to the likeness of Christ."  --John Piper

Is it any wonder that the Piperites think salvation is up to them and their obedience.  Piper's Arminianism shines through here since Piper not once mentions the doctrine of justification which IS the Gospel.  All the Protestant Reformers, including Luther and Calvin, say that the ONLY basis for our standing before God in the last judgment is our righteousness in Christ, not our sanctification.  Sanctification is our testimony before men, not the basis of our salvation as Piper here says. [You can read Piper's sermon on sanctification here].

You will also note that not once does Piper mention justification by faith alone in this sermon.  He simply says that the basis of our acceptance before God is our "imperfect sanctification":

Summing up: 1) Sanctification is obedience to our Commander-in-Chief. Not perfection but a growing consistency and fervor of obedience. 2) The way we attain it is by the grace of God. We open ourselves to the power of the Spirit in prayer and we seek to fill ourselves with his word in study. We pray, we pursue, we study, we work, for it is God who is at work in us to will and to do his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13). 3) We pursue sanctification because without it we will not see the Lord. We will not be acceptable. We will not have the infinite, eternal joy of seeing God's beauty in heaven, nor will we have the highest pleasures of this life, namely, seeing the grace of God conquer our rebellion and conform us to the likeness of Christ. --John Piper

If that is not Arminianism, I do not know what is.  In fact, it might even go as far as outright Pelagianism.  Any Arminian can say that "sanctification is all of grace".  But do they believe that sanctification is 100% what God does (monergism)?  If not, then I can only conclude that Piper is here preaching a synergistic view of sanctification AND a conditional view of election and perseverance.

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Reasonable Christian Blog Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost; Answer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen. 1662 Book of Common Prayer

Sanctification Is No Part of the Righteousness that Is by Faith Alone

Justification is not only by grace alone and by Christ alone; it must also be by belief alone. That which God has done outside of us in his Son must be believed. Faith comes by hearing this message of Christ (Romans 10:17). Faith does not bring salvation into existence. It does not produce the righteousness by which God justifies us. Faith does not make; it takes. It is assenting to an arrangement already made by God. The object of faith is completely objective. It is not faith in what the Holy Spirit has done within us. It is not faith in our sanctification or in some past experience of being born again. It is not faith in our faith. It is not faith in the church. It is not faith in baptism. Faith is focused on what is in Heaven, on what we have in Christ at God’s right hand (Colossians 3:1-4). Therefore, we must decisively say that sanctification, being on Earth, being in the believer, is no part of the righteousness that is by faith alone. --John Robbins-- Quoted from: The Relationship between Justification and Sanctification

Sanctified by Sacraments? or Justified by Faith Alone? John Robbins Responds

[The following is an excerpt from the late John Robbins of The Trinity Foundation.  Robbins gave a talk on the presuppositional apologetics of Gordon H. Clark.  Amazingly, he mentions the issue of sanctified by sacraments, which had come up in a discussion I had with someone offline.  To read the original article click on, An Introduction to Gordon H. Clark. Charlie.]

Salvation is by faith alone. Faith is belief of the truth. God reveals truth. Faith, the act of believing, is a gift of God. “By his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many.”

Clark’s view of salvation, reflected in the Westminster Confession’s chapter on justification, is at odds with most of what passes for Christianity today. Popular Christianity decries knowledge. Clark points out that Peter says that we have received everything we need for life and godliness through knowledge. James says the Word of Truth regenerates us. Paul says we are justified through belief of the truth. Christ says we are sanctified by truth.

There are three popular theories of sanctification today: sanctification by works, sanctification by emotions, sanctification by sacraments. The first, sanctification by works, is sometimes expressed by those who claim to be Reformed or Calvinist: They teach that we are justified by faith, but we are sanctified by works. Calvin had no such view, and the Westminster Confession refutes it. The second view, sanctification by emotions, is the view of the Pentecostal, charismatic, and holiness groups. Roman Catholic and other churches that believe in the magical power of sacraments to regenerate or sanctify hold the third view, sanctification by sacraments. But just as we are regenerated by truth alone, and justified through belief of the truth alone, we are sanctified by truth alone as well.

Nota Bene:  Robbins rightly points out that the idea that communicants are "sanctified" by the sacraments is a Roman Catholic idea and not a Reformed view.  One has to wonder where this idea comes from in Reformed circles?

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Reasonable Christian Blog Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost; Answer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen. 1662 Book of Common Prayer

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Living Out the Gospel and the Sovereignty of God

Either God supernaturally intervenes or He does not.  He is both immanent in the world and transcendent above it.  In fact, God existed before all worlds and is the uncaused first cause of the whole creation.  Not only are miracles supernatural interventions by God into the natural creation but salvation itself is a supernatural breaking into the natural, material world.  Since the fall of Adam all human beings have been corrupted in their human nature and all freely and willing sin from the time of their birth.  The whole human race died spiritually in Adam and inherit a total corruption of their human nature or being directly from Adam.  Thus, only the supernatural rebirth or regeneration from above can bring individual men and women and children to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

 

This difference between the Gospel and salvation by works is so great that only a divine man, Jesus Christ, could live a completely sinless life for us and die for us on the cross and bear the divine wrath of God against us in our place.  Even our sanctification is imperfect because the corruption of Adam remains in our human nature even after we have been justified by faith alone.  So the process of sanctification is as much a supernatural gift of God as is our initial rebirth or regeneration.  God regenerates us and then we believe.  (John 3:3-8;  3:16-18; 3:36; 5:24; 6:44; 6:65).  We should never forget that salvation is all of God and is a monergistic work of God in us and not something we cooperate with as if God does His part and then we do our part.  God is not our co-pilot.  God is our King!   (Philippians 2:11-13).

 

God supernaturally provides for us through the secondary means of providence in this world.  He gives us all that we have--including our jobs and our homes and our food on the table.  For this we ought to give continual thanks.  Often at meal times we say a perfunctory prayer of thanksgiving, taking for granted that all God gives us is His. 

 

But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. (1 Chronicles 29:14 KJV)

I am currently out of work due to the economic down turn.  The home where I was renting burned to the ground and I now find myself with limited options.  Although God continues to provide through unemployment compensation, I am literally at God's mercy.  It is times like these when we learn to trust God completely even when things look impossible.  I even had a job offer which was withdrawn due to problems in my past which occurred more than ten years ago.  The Lord gives and the Lord takes away and we must continue in faith without complaining and grumbling.

 

When I finish the race it will not be because I endured in my own strength but because God Himself gave me everything I needed to get there.  (2 Timothy 4:7).  It is not a matter of cooperation but of trusting God to do it all.  God does not help those who help themselves.  God gives us faith and everything else.  Salvation is truly all of God and we contribute absolutely nothing no matter how holy we think we are.  God could justly cut my life short but I trust in His promises for His eternal salvation through the covenant of grace established in Genesis 3:15 and Genesis 17:1-7.

 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. ³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:28-32 ESV)

 

  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost;
    Answer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.

 

http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/

 

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All of Our Obedience Is a Gift From God