We need to clarify the "different" views concerning "Sanctification".  We do not intend on spending an inordinate amount of time discussing the history of the doctrine in the Church, yet when we are able to see all of the different viewpoints it helps us to fix in our minds the Scriptural truth about Sanctification.

     In the Roman Catholic view, there is "no difference" between "Sanctification" and "Justification". Catholics hold that the sacramental water of Baptism removes all the stain of original sin from man.  If a Christian commits a "mortal sin", the stain is placed back on his soul by the act of the sin.  "Mortal sin" can only be removed by an act of penance (a good work), preceded by confession to a Catholic priest.  The Catholic view holds that Sanctification is a "job of improvement" which enables God to Justify man while the job itself is done by man.  The Catholic view is equal, in essence, to that of the historical Pelagian view.

     Saint Augustine was the first person in the Church age to seriously ponder the acts of the Spirit in relationship to the Sanctification of the believer.  He held that Sanctification was a "supernatural infusion" of life newly acquired by the believer.  Augustine also held that Sanctification came by the Spirit and operated only "through" the Church and it's sacraments.

     Taking the teachings of Augustine along with Thomas Aquinas (a Roman Theologian), the Catholic Churches held to this as the true Doctrine of Sanctification ever since.  The Church never sought to define the detailed mechanics of the act, often confusing Justification and Sanctification as one in the same.

     In the Weslian View Sanctification is a "process of improvement" which may be completed while the believer is in the flesh.  Sanctification is a work which is a "partnership" between God and man. Weslians hold that man "may reach perfection" while in this life, if we walk the earth sinless and without blame.

The Reformed View of Sanctification is based on the Scriptural injunction:

II Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

     The Reformationists hold that Sanctification is a series of processes all accomplished by the Holy Spirit of God.  They believe that the work is "separate from the ability of man" because man is, in essence, unable to contribute due to the oppression of sin.

     With the rise of the Reformation movement, the act of Sanctification was seen as a different action from Justification.  Justification was taught as the legal action performed on the believer by God when he, by faith, accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.  Through Justification God placed our sins on Jesus Christ while placing His righteousness (imputed righteousness) in us.  Sanctification is viewed as a "continuing process" directed by Spirit of God whereby the believer is improved in maturity through study of the Word of God.  Justification is immediate, at the point of salvation.  Sanctification is progressive, an act that continues throughout believer's life.

     The Reformers also held that the sacraments were only a "lesser part" of Sanctification, but certainly not the entire act.  The sacraments (the Lord's Table, Water Baptism) are useful in that they help to conform the believer to the image of Christ.  But the sacraments do not bring total Sanctification on the believer.

The Biblical Terminology

     In order to fully understand all the "aspects" of sanctification we need to understand the word as it is found in the original language.

     In the Hebrew text we find the word KADESH, meaning "to withdrawal or to separate from a common gathering". The word does not have a moral connotation unless used with the Godhead.

Deuteronomy 23:17-18 "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God."

     In the Old Testament there were false religions in which worship consisted of having sexual intercourse with harlots. The above word, "whore", has no good moral definition.  Yet the root of the Hebrew word for "whore" (KADESHAH) is the same as the word KADESH. In other words, the temple prostitute was "set apart" to serve evil.

     Let me further illustrate the use of KADESH. If I have a box of pencils and take one out for use in "a specific task", it may be said that I KADESH the pencil. The word has no moral or religious meaning to it: it just means "to be set apart". It eventually became associated with holiness because of its frequent use with God, but in the beginning it was not so.

     In the New Testament there are two basic words used for Sanctification. The first is HAGIOS, which translated means "separated one, Saint". The word again carries no specific moral connotation. It merely refers to those whom God has set apart as a tool for a "specific purpose". The second of these words is HAGIAZO, which translated means "to set apart or sanctify". As it is with HAGIOS, the word in its original meaning had no specific moral connotation, yet gained one from its continual use in reference to God.

The Biblical Breakdown of The Aspects of Sanctification
" PRIMARY SANCTIFICATION "

     In our study of Grace we briefly mentioned "Primary Sanctification". We should fully explore this subject so that this Bible truth will be fully fixed in your mind, as you will need this "foundation" doctrine later in our other studies.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

     Remembering that "sanctification" or HAGIAZO means "to set apart", Primary Sanctification is that act of God whereby He "set apart" the human race within the Plan of Salvation. God "chose" to offer us a way out of the mess that Adam led us to, chose to offer up His only Son in substitution for the punishment that we so richly deserved. God also chooses to "offer each person" on earth salvation through the Spirit of God at least one time in their life. Notice the wording:

".. God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit ."

     This "choosing" or setting apart does not "guarantee our salvation", but guarantees that salvation "will be offered" at least once. God's act of Primary Sanctification made it possible that we be saved. This is a recurring theme in Scripture:

1 Peter 1:2 "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."

     We are "Elect" or "Chosen Ones" because we were chosen to participate in the Plan of Salvation from eternity past. The Angels who fell do not have that luxury, for they will be cast into Hell in the latter days without chance of penance. We are also Elect for, once we accept Christ as Savior, we are "set apart for God's use" from the moment of salvation on.

1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"

     The believer is a "chosen" vessel, set apart for God's use. We only chose God because He first chose us.

Ephesians 1:4 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: "

Mark 13:20 "And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days."

     Calvinism takes the "choosing out" of God to the extreme: They teach that only the Elect will be saved, and only the Elect were chosen by God. We do not believe that Primary Sanctification extends so far as to completely rule out all human free will. However, there is Biblical evidence that God maintains humanity on this earth for the sake that the Elect all be gather to Him. We can interpret this to mean that:

1. God has sanctified or "set apart" a specific people to Himself in the Plan of Salvation, or

2. God has sanctified or "set apart" a specific "number" of people to be within the Church in His Plan of the Ages.

     We honestly do not know the right interpretation to these texts other than to say, "Let God be God". Primary Sanctification (Election) and the FreeWill of man are like two rails on a railroad. When viewed up close they seem forever separate, forever disunited from one another. Yet as they approach the horizon (eternity) they seem to merge together as one. When we meet Him face to face we will understand the solution to this age old dilemma. ( Check out our three part series on the "Doctrine of Election" for more on that subject. )

POSITIONAL SANCTIFICATION

     After the believer enters the Plan of God by faith in Jesus Christ, he enters a state called "Positional Sanctification".

1 Corinthians 1:2 "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:"

     ..to them that are sanctified (in the above verse) is better rendered from the Greek, "To them who 'have been' sanctified". Positional Sanctification is found described in:

Hebrews 2:10-11 "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,"

     Positional Sanctification is a "finished work of separation" done to the believer because he was "justified" through the sacrifice of Christ. We who believe are now separated from the unbeliever in the eyes of God because we accepted what Jesus did for us. Primary Sanctification is an act of setting apart "because God chose us". Positional Sanctification is the state of being separate "because of the finished work of Christ". In Primary Sanctification we were chosen, but not yet born again as Children of God. In Positional Sanctification we are regenerated, set apart because of the work of Another.

Hebrews 10:10, 14 "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

     Positional Sanctification "runs hand in hand" with Justification. Positional Sanctification is "entirely Spiritual": Spiritually we are perfect and sinless because of the Blood of Christ; physically we are imperfect, still sinful, because of the flesh that we still reside in. Positional Sanctification is, in reality, below the level of human consciousness, non experiential. We are set apart "in God's eyes" because of Christ, not because we are good or moral creatures.

PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION

2 Corinthians 7:1 "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

     The words "perfecting holiness" are literally, from the Greek, "maturing in Sanctification". "Progressive Sanctification" is that work of God whereby we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, grow in Christian maturity. We become "more set apart" on a daily basis if we are obedient to His will.

Romans 8:13 "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;"

     Through Progressive Sanctification the believer is gradually "pruned" by the Spirit until he becomes a fit vessel to serve the Will of God. It is a "steady process of renewal" by the Spirit of God to the body and soul of the "believer", a process that "only ceases" at death. The work is experiential, yet only within the grasp of human consciousness "after the fact". Progressive Sanctification may be described by relating it to the hour hand of the clock. You may not see the hand move by watching it, yet if you come back later you definitely "know" that it has moved.

     "We may not notice the effects of Progressive Sanctification until one day we reflect back on the way we used to be".

PROSPECTIVE SANCTIFICATION

     The fourth act of spiritual separation is called "Prospective Sanctification". Prospective Sanctification, better known under the theological term "Glorification", is the state in which both the spirit and body of the believer is totally separated unto God.

Romans 8:17-18 "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Hebrews 12:14 "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:"

     "Holiness" in our Hebrews passage above is the Greek word HAGIASMOS, translated "sanctification, being set apart". Without Prospective Sanctification man is never fully cleansed in both body and spirit. Without Prospective Sanctification we can not enter into Heaven. It is written:

Revelation 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall ave their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

Revelation 21:27 "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

     Prospective Sanctification is that stage of the believer where both "Positional" and "Progressive" sanctification meet.

The Misconception of Perfectionism

     The orthodox reform faith has always held that Sanctification is a "steady growth period which touches the whole man at once, 'through and by' the Spirit of God". The orthodox Church also holds that the work "never reaches full maturity" while we are in this life.

     Just as you may take a tomato and ground, pulverize, or burn it, it will always chemically be a tomato. For man to reach perfection there must "first" be a work of God in "recreating" the old flesh into one that is completely new and "untainted by sin". We as "tomatoes" must be turned into "butterflies" by God in order to reach perfection.

     Sanctification can be likened to the physical growth of man. We are physically born once, then move through different stages of growth. From infant to tot, from tot to child, from child to puberty, from puberty to adult. Yet there is never a time in the life of man where we cease growing, for we are never fully developed, never know all there is to know.

The Scripture most perfectionists (Pelagians) use to prove their Theology is:

Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

The text is better rendered from the original language as:

"YE SHALL BE perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven IS perfect."

Alford (Alford's Greek Testament) states: ".. It is not altogether imperative in meaning, but including the imperative sense: such shall be the state, the aim of Christians .."

Alford further says that the Historic idiomatic translation of the word "perfect" should be: ".. complete in your love of others, not one sided or exclusive, but all embracing and God like." "No countenance is given by this verse to the ancient Pelagian heresy of perfectibility in this life. Such a sense of the words would be utterly at variance with the whole of the discourse (see especially verses 22,29, 32) in which the imperfections and conflicts of the Christians are fully recognized."

     The text does not offer the possibility of Christian perfection in this life, but points out that this is the long-range goal of every Christian at the end of his earthly walk.

Another verse which the Pelagians use to support their doctrinal view is:

Philippians 3:15 "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."

     The word "perfect" should have been translated "mature". Paul was speaking in reference to maturity "in the Christian life, not perfectionism in the flesh". If he was referring to the latter (perfectionism) then he is doing so in contradiction to his earlier statement:

Philippians 3:11-12 "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."

     Paul states that he was not "perfect". Who among us can say that they have surpassed Paul in their spiritual walk? If Paul could not reach the Pelagian mystique of "perfectionism", then why do you think we can?

Pelagians also call on 1 Peter 1.16 in support of their false doctrine:

1 Peter 1:16 "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

     The Greek word for "holy" should have been translated "sanctified, separated unto God". God calls all His children to separate themselves from the world, to avoid the lusts of the flesh. He does "not" call us to perfectionism in this life, for He knows that this is an office we cannot occupy while in the flesh. All that we are, we owe to our Heavenly Father. We are fallible, He is faithful. If we remember these absolutes, recognize our weaknesses, we will be better able to walk at peace with our God and our world.

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