Faith and Sanctification

"In the bond between faith and sanctification we perceive, no less than in the bond between faith and justification, the pulsebeat of the Gospel. If faith will but lift its blossoms to catch the sunlight of God's grace, the fruit will be a life imbued with holiness."

~ G.C. Berkouwer, Faith and Sanctification

John Piper: "Die to the Law for Justification and Die to the Law for Sanctification."

"This brings us to our text in Romans 7:7-12. Paul is defending the Law. Verse 7: "What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be!" The reason he is defending the Law is that he has said some things about the Law that would shock some of his readers. In essence he has said: If we make the Law the decisive means of justification or sanctification (being declared righteous, or becoming righteous) we find that its effect is exactly the opposite.

• It does not justify from sin; it reveals sin. Romans 3:20, "By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." If we try to make it a means of justification, it becomes a means of condemnation.

• Neither does it sanctify; it stirs up more sin. Romans 7:8, "But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead."

"The Law reveals sin and stirs up more sin. Therefore, the holy, just, and good Law of God is not the decisive means of justification or sanctification. It is not the first and decisive way to get right with God, and it is not the first and decisive way to bear fruit for God.

"Instead, Paul says – shockingly – that, if we are going to bear fruit for God, we must die to the Law. Romans 7:4, "Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God." If you are going to bear fruit for God, you must die to the Law and be united to the living Christ. Again, Romans 7:6, "But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter."

"In other words, Paul is saying that getting right with God in the first place as an undeserving sinner, and then learning to serve him and bear fruit for him as a justified sinner, must be pursued in an entirely new way having to do with the Spirit of the risen Jesus Christ, not in the old way, having to do with the letter – the writings, the Law written on stone. Becoming a Christian and becoming Christlike (justification and sanctification – declaration and transformation) must be pursued in a way that does not make Law the decisive means or agent.

"How then is it to be pursued? Paul answers at two levels. He says pursue justification and sanctification by faith alone apart from works of the Law. That's one level. And he says pursue justification and sanctification in the newness of the Spirit, not the oldness of the letter. That's the other level. Die to the Law for justification and die to the Law for sanctification. And in the place of the Law as a means of justification and sanctification, put faith in Jesus Christ and the Spirit of Jesus Christ."

~ Jesus Christ and the Law of God

Ray Ortland: Justification v. Self-Justification

Ray Ortland's talk from The Gospel Coalition conference is now available on-line -- "Justification versus Self-Justification."

Free Chapter: Doug Moo on Justification in Galatians

Crossway has made available Doug Moo’s essay, “Justification in Galatians” (PDF) from
Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century: Essays in Honor of D. A. Carson on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday, ed. Köstenberger and Yarbrough.

(You may need to download the file first, and then open from your computer.)

(HT:JT)

Luther: Justification by Law is like Eating from an Empty Dish

“…trying to be justified by the Law is like counting money out of an empty purse, eating and drinking from an empty dish and cup, looking for strength and riches where there is nothing but weakness and poverty, laying a burden on someone who is already oppressed to the point of collapse, trying to spend a hundred gold pieces and not having even a pittance."

~ Martin Luther, Lectures on Galatians: Chapters 1-4 (as quoted in Schreiner, Galatians)

Galatians 2:17-21 – The Life-Giving Gospel

© Eric M Schumacher – Preached November 21, 2010 at Northbrook Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Audio available here.

Most of us will gather this Thursday with family and friends to celebrate “Thanksgiving,” a day that we set aside to give thanks to God for his merciful blessings to us.

With that in mind, let’s work our way through a very difficult passage full of very wonderful truth, where we find five reasons to be thankful.

Galatians 2:15-16 – The Justifying Gospel

© Eric M. Schumacher – Preached November 7, 2010 at Northbrook Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Audio will be available here.

[note to readers: I am grateful for the work of Tom Schreiner in his commentary, Galatians, from which I have gleaned much wisdom for this entire series. I highly recommend it!]

The Most Important Sentence Ever Written

Sentences are powerful things. A sentence can change your life.

• “I do.”
• “I’m pregnant.”
• “You have cancer.”
• “The jury finds the defendant…”

A sentence can change history.

• “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
• "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'"
• “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

This morning’s sermon text is one sentence. And, I pray, that it will transform you, and transform this church, and transform this city, and transform this world, for the glory of God alone.

This text is one sentence. But, this one sentence is at the center of Paul’s rebuke of Peter. This sentence is the center Paul’s argument in Galatians, it is the text that Paul will expound throughout the rest of the book. This sentence is the center of all of Paul’s writing. More than that, it is the Gospel of Christ, and therefore the New Testament, and thus the center of the Bible – and so, of all of Creation.

Yes, this is the most important sentence ever written.

If you do not understand this one sentence, then you cannot and do not understanding the book of Galatians, the New Testament, or the Bible itself. You do not know God. And, you do not know Jesus Christ. You are lost and dead in your sins.