Sanctification part 1

In this article, we will discuss hermeneutical principles for understanding the Christian walk, Lordship Salvation, if there is such thing as a carnal Christian or a sinful nature, what a disciple is, Christian maturity and immaturity, the believer’s rest in Hebrews 3-4, what level of sanctification is normal for a Christian and how high a believer can go in their victory over sin, hinderances towards such a sanctification, God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in sanctification, the meaning of salvation, what level of faith and devotion are necessary to be saved, how to understand some of the Pentecostal, Wesleyan, or Keswick higher-life teachings, and what kinds of people and situations that enable sanctification to more easily take place.

First, let’s address some presuppositions and hermeneutical principles. I generally do not concur with the present hermeneutic of theologians to look at biblical texts which are narrative texts and then use them to say that salvation or sanctification is always and at every time unequivocally a certain way simply because it is only stated that way in one or multiple occasions. But just because salvation or sanctification is described a certain way and the experience of people in the text were a certain way, that doesn’t mean that at every time and in every case, it is unequivocally always that way for every person who will ever live. I do not find such a hermeneutic to be logically sound. Therefore, when theologians present many prooftexts to support their position with textual analysis, I do not find such an argument convincing. Proof-texting proves nothing and correlation does not prove causation or absolute truth. All it takes is one Bible passage that shows a different viewpoint of those prooftexts with careful interpretation to prove salvation and/or sanctification does not happen exactly the same for everyone. On top of this, even without such differing passages, a margin of error remains for the very fact that the church today is not what it was at its very birth. There are so many varying doctrines within the church about God, hell, and the atonement that could have a significant impact on one’s salvation or sanctification experience which would differ from the experience of early Christians. I think that it is very possible and am also convinced that the early church experienced more initial sanctification with their salvation than what is the common experience today among many Christians. I think that it is at least partially because of this that many differing doctrines about sanctification have developed in the modern years and why there is so much disagreement. This may also be partially why many Christians experience a crisis moment of sanctification later on in life like the Pentecostal understanding of the Second Blessing (Baptism of the Spirit) or the Wesleyan understanding of Entire Sanctification. But whatever our understandings are, we must acknowledge the reality of people’s experiences and find a way to fit them into our own understanding of the Bible. We can’t simply ignore people’s experiences altogether and pretend that they aren’t real or never happened. Something surely happened and something that they claim helped them in purifying their hearts, to have victory over sin, and to draw near to God. What we must ask ourselves as a result of this is how those things came about and why.

Preachers constantly teach that way though, don’t they? They point to a passage in Scripture and say that Paul or whatever author was addressing the believers and for that reason, if you are a believer, then that passage is about your position or situation. However, I find that hermeneutic approach too simplistic and unhelpful. Just because you are a believer and the people in the text are believers, that doesn’t mean you are in the exact same situation as them or have experienced what they have experienced. It doesn’t mean that you have reached the same level of sanctification as them from one degree of glory to another. It doesn’t mean that your faith has been tried and proved as theirs has. If then there are differences in experience, faith, maturity, and situations, it would not always be right to give a carte blanc application to every single Christian in existence. I do not think that is faithful interpretation. We must acknowledge that there are Christians from all kinds of walks of life.

It is important to rightly understand that although the Bible gives certain descriptions of Christians, not all Christians necessarily live according to those descriptions of power and freedom in Christ. Yet, this does not mean they are not saved though it could be a possibility. However, it’s dangerous to say that every Christian’s experience is the exact experience of those described in the New Testament. When the Bible is preached that way, it only leaves the possibility of saved people and unsaved people but nothing in between. Either you’re a radical and fully surrendered Christian or you are not a Christian at all. This is the kind of language of diametric opposites that Lordship Salvation doctrines often espouse.

Many people will affirm that they are saved and are certain of it regardless, and so they certainly will not consider themselves to be unbelievers, even despite their struggles in sin. Yet to them, their struggles will be seen to them as the normal and expected Christian experience and they will believe that they can rise no higher than that in power over sin. As a result, they will find a way to interpret the Bible to see themselves as already living in the power of God though in reality, they are not. In turn, this will cause them to be complacent and strive no further towards victory over sin since they have apparently been told by the preacher that they must not seek anything further since all Christians have this power. Therefore, they will continue to live self-deceived and with little power. Every time they “slip-up” in sinning, they will view it as an inevitable consequence of living with the sinful flesh and in this way, they excuse their sin and their struggle to be normal, not knowing that they can actually overcome it. And therein lies the danger of preaching “Christian or not Christian” kinds of teachings. It does not help Christians to overcome the sin struggles in their lives. Instead, faith should be preached because whether the person is an unbeliever or if he is a Christian struggling with sin, the solution is the same—it’s faith.

I would also be of the opinion that Christians can be carnal or fleshly for a time. The time may be extended for even a very long time if they are not given the solutions to get out of their struggle. For those struggling, the solution is not to berate them with shame with Lordship salvation language, trying to convince them they’re not saved, but to help them along as a compassionate and loving shepherd, showing them the path to victory and reminding them of their faith in God for their salvation which they should cling all the more to and to remind them of the blood of Jesus. But simply guilt tripping them isn’t going to produce change. It may even have the opposite effect where shame weighs them down so much that it keeps them from exercising full faith. To this, I will say that Lordship salvation language and doctrines can be very destructive to the life of the church because it’s all about pointing out the problem rather than giving people solutions. It’s all about creating an atmosphere of fear and shame rather than one of love and compassion. It will be difficult to find healing and full restoration in such a church. Even if you disagree with me theologically, at least consider the dangerous pragmatic implications of such teachings which refuse to acknowledge the reality of carnal or immature Christians.

There is a difference between average Christians and normal Christians. Normal Christians would be those described in the Bible in the power and victory that they walk in. Average Christians would be whatever is the average behavior of Christians in a certain group, in the nation, or around the world. Currently, I believe that the average Christian is carnal in our day but in the days of the early church, that probably wasn’t the average Christian. Because of this understanding, we need to rightly appropriate biblical texts to the present situation we find ourselves in and not assume that the described experience of Christians in the Bible describe ourselves. Otherwise, we may deceive ourselves and never find victory. However, the contrast can also be true. There are many passages in the Bible addressed to believers struggling with sin and exhortations to walk in holiness. But just because that was their experience, that doesn’t mean that we should expect the normal Christian experience to be one of constant struggle, even if a majority of texts may incline one to believe that. The fact of the matter is, there are Christians who struggle with sin and there are Christians who have found rest in God and have ceased from their striving.

Generally, the Pentecostal method of sanctification, along with the Keswick, and Wesleyan model, or anything that resembles a type of higher-life Christianity, is strongly rejected by many Calvinists and Reformed Christians. Their main argument against it is that it creates a kind of two-tier Christianity of the “haves” and “have nots,” of the spiritual Christian and the carnal Christian, of which they say, they find no basis in Scripture. Of course, their bias and belief are also that the struggle against the flesh can never be overcome in this life but we must wait until our bodies are transformed in heaven to be changed. This bias comes from their own experience of which they themselves do not experience freedom over the struggle; and, since they consider themselves to be “mature Christians,” “filled with the Spirit,” “filled with joy,” and since they are pastors and teachers, they do not perceive that any greater victory can be had besides what they experience themselves. And so they consider anything higher than what they themselves have achieved to be impossible, a fringe movement, or pursuing something mystical outside of God’s Word. It would also be too much cognitive dissonance for them to even consider the fact that they could be carnal or immature in their faith in any way and so they would never accept such a proposition. They also think that such victory is too good to be true and that if it were true, everyone would be jumping on that boat or that they themselves would already be there. But I would argue that they are wrong about this and self-deceived. Their own self-evaluation is defective and invalid. Freedom from the war against the flesh can be had in this life.

Though, I would admit that for most Calvinists, this freedom is nearly impossible to ever attain on this earth because of their dark view of God the Father, their disparaging views of mankind, and other doctrines that severely stunt their faith on toward maturity, along with their pietism. Having previously been a Calvinist myself for fifteen years, I speak of what I know and what I found to be the particular problem. However, this isn’t a Calvinist only problem. Reformed Christians also have doctrines that stunt their faith. It turns out then, that new believers who aren’t heavily exposed to all these doctrines have a greater chance at finding this victory that I speak of. So that, ironically, churches that are less “theologically sound,” or less theological in general, have a better atmosphere to cultivate a deeper love for God and a higher faith in God. Furthermore, the extroverts, free-spirited, and simple-minded people, along with new believers who were saved with some kind of crisis experience are overall less disposed to having their minds and faith negatively impacted by certain doctrines so that their faith is able to prevail into victory. This means that those who are most vulnerable against said doctrines negatively impacting their faith would be the deep-thinkers, introverts, introspective people, and those who have grown up as Christians in the church under Calvinistic and Reformed doctrines without ever having any salvific crisis experience. Having said that, there remains a greater possibility for some people to have freedom and victory over the struggle of the flesh than others simply because of how certain people’s brains are naturally wired, and how they find it easier to be humble, to not try and fix all of their problems and find their own solutions, but to let go and let God. That is, to fully entrust themselves to God and use God’s methods. I believe it is mainly for these reasons that there remains many healthy and Spirit-filled individuals even within Calvinistic and Reformed churches whether or not they have attained victory over the fleshly struggle. Nevertheless, there also remains many pastors and teachers within the church who have not matured in their faith and that’s why we see so many moral failures among them and church fallouts.

I have even seen a Pentecostal pastor morally fail and commit adultery. No one would have ever suspected it because he was on fire for God, a passionate preacher, and he prophesied and spoke in tongues. But may I suggest that although the Pentecostals have the fire, they lack the wind of faith to which their faith has not yet killed the sinful inclinations in them. However, some might think the sinful inclinations are dead because they may not feel or experience sinful inclinations so long as they build themselves up in fire and joy through speaking in tongues, singing praise songs, reading the Word, praying, loving people, making Christ known, and exercising their spiritual gifts. However, take those means of grace away so that the fire starts to go down and the joy starts to fade and then you will see what is really in them and what is the nature that they operate by. Most often, the fire of the Holy Spirit merely suppresses the flesh but to be free of the sinful passions, they need to be crucified. The mind, also, needs to operate by great faith.

As a rebuttal to the argument that many reformed believers give of the haves and have nots, I would say this: the Scriptures do teach and describe believers in the church that are at various different places and various stages of growth. The first one that comes to my mind is 2 Corinthians 3:18 which says that we “are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” Here, we see that there are levels of glory, growth, maturity, and Christlikeness. No one can ever say that they have arrived at a final state of Christlikeness to which they cannot grow any further. Paul even prays for the Ephesians that they “be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:19). The breadth of God’s love and fullness is greater than what limited and finite creatures can contain all at once at salvation, and so we continue to grow and to be filled more and more with the likeness of Christ and with the love of God. Therefore, it would not be right to assume that we cannot climb any higher. Do not listen to any pastor who tells you to stop seeking more of God because it is possible to draw closer and closer to Him. What I teach and what the higher life movement teaches is not about haves and have nots, it is about climbing higher and reaching for all the life and power that Jesus won for us in His death and resurrection. Again, let us remember, that just because many passages in the Bible address some kind of Christian struggle and battle against the flesh, does not mean that this is what Christian maturity looks like or that all Christians should be that way. To think such things is logically fallacious since such passages were not addressed to those who had already overcome those things.

Secondly, the Bible does mention that there are immature believers and mature believers (Heb 5:13-14). It also mentions those who are spiritual and those who are fleshly, carnal (1 Cor 3:1-3). In 1 Corinthians 2, the immature Christians fit into the category of “the natural man” since they are operating naturally according to the body, the flesh, the natural mind, rather than according to the Spirit, the spiritual man, and spiritual mind. This is what milk is, it is language that is not “spiritually appraised.” We even see that Peter’s audience were drinking milk and so were by definition, not mature believers (1 Pet 2:2). Then we see also the believers in the book of Galatians who were trying to perfect obedience by the works of the flesh (Gal 3:3), who were once running well but had been hindered from obeying the truth by pursuing the law (4:9; 5:7). Yet Paul tells them to “become as I am” (4:12) and calls them his own children “with whom I am again in labor until Christ if formed in you” (4:19), indicating that Christ was not yet formed in them because they were immature, carrying out the desires of the flesh (5:16-17). And so, they were exhorted to “walk by the Spirit” and be “led by the Spirit” (v. 16-18). He shows them that this is the path of obedience rather than the pursuit of the law to obtain obedience and he explains to them many kinds of evil desires and sins and then says, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (v. 24). He tells them that if they have made a claim to be in Christ, then they need to live according to that profession, and live within the power and victory that Christ has obtained for them. Such victory over the evil passions and desires to which they are dead is the mark of a healthy, spiritual, and mature believer. He is not saying that every Christian has crucified the flesh with its passions and desires, only that this is the standard of normal Christianity. He also mentions that those who regularly practice such vices that he has just mentioned will not inherit the kingdom of God. Therefore, those vices and passions are marks of an unbeliever. He tells them to get out of anything that resembles that condition through the power of walking by the Spirit and through faith so that they can truly say of themselves and live in that condition where the fleshly passions and desires are dead.

Paul says that “the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal 5:17). By this, he is not contradicting verse 24 about the fleshly passions being dead. Rather, he is speaking to those Christians who are in the struggle who have not yet crucified those passions and desires because they have not reached maturity in Christ to this place where Christ is formed in them (4:19). That is why the struggle is great because they have not fully learned how to walk by the Spirit and walk by faith. But once they learn to live in that condition, Christ will be formed in them and they can say with great confidence that they belong to Christ Jesus because they have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires and they can confidently and fully say with Paul that “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (2:20). What Christ did for us is not just an objective fact but a reality that we must choose to live in and that reality is accessed and infused to us through faith. Those who are spiritual and mature have learned how to do this and have grown in their obedience through faith so that they have consistent victory over the flesh.

We find then that we have at the very least these two categories of believers in the book of Hebrews, 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, and Galatians. The very existence of these two categories disproves the validity of arguments against believers being at different levels or stages in their walk.

However, some might argue against this and say that these are just immature believers who were just recently saved and they have behavioral problems that they would soon outgrow in time. But is outgrowing that immaturity an inevitable scenario? I don’t think so. Paul speaks of the Corinthians saying that he gave them milk to drink rather than solid food because they were not yet able and then he adds, “even now you are not yet able,” indicating that their immaturity continues to persist while they should have outgrown that already. Then to the Hebrews, the author writes that the Hebrews had become dull of hearing, also still needing milk though they should have already been teachers as this point yet they still needed someone to teach them the basics all over again. Then, he tells them to “press on to maturity” (Heb 6:1). We see then that this wasn’t just an issue regarding time where it would resolve itself if they waited long enough. It was a persistent state of immaturity and/or carnality that they were stuck in. In Hebrews 3-4 the author exhorts his readers to strive toward and enter into God’s rest. This rest is something they had not attained yet because they were still immature in their faith. But if they were mature, they would be in that rest. The rest the author speaks of is entering into a state of strong faith so that peace resides in the heart and dispels all evil inclinations so that the Christian life in stiving against sin is one of victory and rest rather than one of striving. The sinful passions and desires of the flesh ought to be dead according to Galatians 5:24 but if they are moving around within you, then they are not dead but still need to be killed. They are killed through faith and through depriving the flesh of its power by making no provision for those desires.

This rest and maturity cannot be attained through money or through seminary degrees but only through the discipline of faith and a true knowledge of God and of the truth. There are many Christians who have been believers their whole lives who have not yet entered this rest, even well-known pastors who have not yet entered this rest and it still remains for them to enter. But at this point someone might make the argument that all Christians already have this rest because Hebrews 4:3 says, “For we who have believed enter that rest.” But this belief is not the salvific belief, it is the faith that continues on to sanctification whereby the heart is purified through faith and the love of God so that the evil is cleansed away and peace remains and continues to reside in the soul. It describes the normal standard of Christian living, not the average Christian condition. In this way, the believer then operates from a place of peace rather than from a place of striving. A place of peace rather than a place of fear, anxiety, lust, anger, envy, or greed. Where God’s rest is, strivings have ceased. This is the place of maturity attained through faith which is the belief that verse three speaks of. It may even be the state of some new believers who had an extraordinary salvation experience so that their initial sanctification experience was also great enough to enter that rest from the very beginning.

In Wesleyanism, they call this Christian Perfection or Entire Sanctification. But by this they don’t mean that Christians will never sin again (cf. 1 Jn 1:8), that is a commonly misunderstood thing about these terms. The Bible actually uses the word “perfect” to describe Christian maturity (Mt 5:48; Phil 3:15; James 1:4). Though, that certainly can be confusing since our English definition of perfect means to be flawless. But nonetheless, perfect is a biblically used term describing a Christian. Entire Sanctification comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:23 which says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is basically a state of maturity through faith which a person has entered into God’s rest and has sanctified their entire being through the power of the Holy Spirit so that when Christ returns, they can stand before Him without blame, without guilt, and with no shame. There is nothing in their conscience that condemns them since their hearts have been actually/practically sprinkled clean from evil and sanctified (Heb 10:22). John echoes a similar sentiment, saying, “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming” (1 Jn 2:28).

Wesleyans also call Entire Sanctification a state of perfect love which comes from 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” There is no reason for us to fear the Father whose love has been revealed to us through Jesus Christ. Our faith in His love ought to be so strong that it casts out all fear of being judged by Him and such a faith ought to also cleanse the heart from the darkness so that all that is left to be seen is the light of God’s love. God’s love was also the culmination of Paul’s gospel and the solution to having victory in Christ as it is spoken of in such a great way in Romans 8. This comes right after the struggle mentioned in chapter 7 because faith in God’s love is the key to victory. But if you are still afraid of God or of Him punishing you, then you must strive with all the more diligence in your faith to reach that state of perfect love, rest, and peace.

At this point, someone might argue that the higher life teachings originated from John Wesley’s laboratory. But as I have just shown, these things are in the Bible. Additionally, early church father, Athanasius, also believed that the normally expected Christian life is to be in this mature state where sinful inclinations have ceased. He did not believe that Christians had a sinful nature. This is what Athanasius said:

In the beginning wickedness did not exist. Nor indeed does it exist even now in those who are holy, nor does it in any way belong to their nature. But men later on began to contrive it and to elaborate it to their own hurt.

Athanasius believed that for the Christian, the old sinful nature was done away with so that now, the Christian ought to be in a state of holiness where wickedness is not found, even as it was not found in Adam before he sinned. This means that through Christ, the hearts of believers come back to a state of innocence like Adam before the Fall. There is temptation and the possibility for sinning in that state and people do sin, but there is no human nature bent toward evil. Therefore, Athanasius did not believe that Christians had two competing natures—one good and one evil. There is only one nature for the Christian mature in faith—the new nature in Christ. For this reason, the “higher life” ought to be the normal life and this was the kind of life that Athanasius believed in and practiced. Also, listen to Dan Mohler and see how this is a present reality in his life as well.

Though this belief endured long before the days of John Wesley, the majority of Christians don’t actually reach this kind of faith and we are in need of another reformation. I personally believe the reason for not believing with this kind of faith is because of all the wrong doctrines we have of God like Calvinism, divine exhaustive determinism, the reformed view of God’s glory, Penal Substitutionary Atonement, and Eternal Conscious Torment. Jesus did tell us that if we know the truth, the truth will set us free (Jn 8:32). But if we’re not free, perhaps we don’t believe the truth; and maybe the root problem lies within our theology and our wrong concept of God. That was certainly the case for me and leaving those doctrines are what set me free. You can look on the resources page of this website to help deconstruct some of those beliefs. Even if I cannot convince you of that, at least observe the fact of how the Wesleyan doctrine of Entire Sanctification coincides with the rest of the doctrines found in Wesleyan-Methodism. Consider that in light of the fact that knowing the truth sets people free. However, this does not in anyway endorse everything they teach, either. I’m just suggesting we look for patterns, for correlations. By the way, all the things I have said so far are not out of pride in any way but out of a desire to see people set free and to live in God’s rest. In order to do that, it has required me to be a little more forthright in my speech and to speak bluntly about these things.

The modern state of the church is overall very far from where it is supposed to be in their sanctification. But to those who listen to this message, this may sound like a conspiracy theory, like, how is it actually possible for this to happen on such a grand scale and for most believers to never enter into God’s rest and be released from their sinful inclinations? The things I say sound like a fairy tale to some of you. But consider in the days leading up to the Reformation in the sixteen-hundreds, how the state of the church had become so corrupt and how they had strayed from the truth that a huge correction was needed through the reformers. To everyone at the time, such things that were suggested surely sounded conspiratorial and like a strange path and they may have asked themselves the same question of what the possible odds could be that the church could ever stray that far from God and the truth and because of that fact, they disbelieved the reformers. Yet, the changes the reformers made to the church in their day are now the new norm with Protestantism today. But to those of you who are reformers at heart, consider the possibilities that I am presenting to you today. Lay aside years and years of church tradition and teachings in search for the truth. Understand that we are in need of a new reformation, an overhaul of theology, to return to our first love, to return to the early church fathers, to return to the truth and true powerful Christian living. I am not presenting an alien doctrine.

Some might see the view I present here as possibly causing harm to the body of Christ, of discouraging many people, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Instead, this ought to enliven faith within the believer to pursue faith all the more diligently and deprive the flesh of every passion so that it may be finally put to death. There is a great hope of freedom and victory to attain here. You don’t have to stay stuck in your sin or wait till you die to be liberated from the sinful passions. You can enter into God’s rest right now in this life. But this isn’t supposed to be some far-reaching, unattainable thing either, it is completely within reach to those who are humble enough to learn, to reform their beliefs, and to diligently pursue faith in God. Freedom is possible so be strong and courageous to pursue it. You can live consistently free from all volitional-intentional-conscientious sin because when the nature inclined towards sin is finally crucified, you will live in God’s peace without inclinations towards willfully sinning. The world will no longer draw you and pull you towards itself since you will have no desire for it but only for pleasing God. This is the victory Christ has won for every single one of us if we choose to walk in it by following Christ’s example to deny ourselves daily and take up our crosses. Jesus showed us the way to the fullness of this salvation and His life and death procured the new nature for us to receive by faith (Recapitulation). Therefore, we need to stop resisting the process God uses to refine us of our impurities through trials and difficulties in this life. We need to stop bucking up against everything that doesn’t go our way. We need to stop complaining. We need to stop our sexual immorality. We need to stop our idolatry. We need to stop doubting, because those things were what prevented Israel from entering into the promised land (1 Cor 10). But their failure was given to us as an example to not do likewise, unless we too want to circle around in the wilderness forever and die there. But this is an opportunity of great faith and hope because we can learn from their mistakes and overcome where they failed. We can enter into the promised land of God’s rest in this life by fixing our hope upon it and we can remain there through faith. This very hope we have to enter into God’s rest has power to sanctify us. Therefore, do not let go of hope. Have faith to strive against sin so that you may enter this promised land of rest through the faith and hope which sanctifies you, for this is a very great reward and you will receive it through diligence and by not giving up or growing weary.

When I used to be a Calvinist, my view of sanctification was much different than it is now. I certainly placed a greater emphasis on God’s sovereignty over my sanctification and did minimize my own responsibility and view of participation. I acted responsibly and did what I could but my mind tended to think in terms of, “I’m just here to be taken along for the ride.” Like, it was all automatic, it was inevitable that my sanctification would grow at the rate that it would grow and I could not actually do anything to make it grow faster than what God had ordained it to be. So, there was a sense in which I could have striven harder but didn’t because of the logical conclusions of God’s sovereignty under Calvinism. I even put my faith in the verse, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6), thinking that God was responsible for making everything happen in His way and timing and I’m just here to participate. However, such a passive view of sanctification seems to contradict the exhortations in the Bible that tell us to overcome and endure to the end to be saved (Mt 10:22; 24:13; 2 Tim 2:12; Rev 2-3). There is a very real sense in which this enduring to the end is up to us. Of course, God helps us and provides the grace to endure, to overcome, but there remains the possibility of not enduring to the end. In this particular situation in examining Philippians 1:6, we can use the particular hermeneutic I mentioned earlier. Just because Paul says that he believes the Philippians would endure to the end, that doesn’t mean he believes that every single believer everywhere will endure to the end. Paul even says to the Galatians, “I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain” (Gal 4:11). Paul was worried for them, thinking that they might abandon the one true faith by going back to their former lives—that they might not endure to the end. Do you seen then how all this seems to contradict a Calvinist Reformed understanding of Philippians 1:6? This is because that verse has not been interpreted correctly. Paul does not apply that verse to every Christian everywhere to ever live. He applies it specifically to the Philippians and the situation that they were in, and Paul’s particular knowledge of their strong faith and joy in the Lord and perseverance through trials and maturity that they would make it unto the end to eternal life. This is not an authoritative cart blanc statement from God for all Christians but rather, Paul’s personal opinion of what he was confident that the Philippians would achieve through their perseverance in abiding in Christ. He says that this is the way he feels and thinks about them personally, and therefore, this is not a promise that every Christian can bank on. Therefore, sanctification is God working in us but it is also about us working. It is not all automatic but requires diligent effort on our part to bring about as we cooperate in God’s grace through faith and the Holy Spirit.

This is the view of Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” We are not passive observers in sanctification but active participants. What we do or don’t do matters, makes a difference, and changes things for better or worse. God provides the power and guidance from the Spirit to work sanctification in us and for us while at the same time, it is our responsibility and continuous conscience choice to “work out” our salvation. As free-will creatures, we are responsible for allowing God to operate through us by continually yielding to Him and pursuing obedience in the Lord. That is the balance we ought to have in our understanding of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in the role of sanctification.

I think people often confuse salvation with sanctification or salvation from hell to be the same thing as salvation from the present influence of sin because some people preach that the gospel message is to come and die and so their main emphasis is on turning from sin and total surrender to God as the way into heaven. I believe that sanctification is part of salvation but the level of sanctification that God demands of us is not a necessary condition to be saved from hell. Though, sanctification in general is a condition to eternal life. Consider the example of Moses. The Bible says that he broke faith with God at the waters of Meribah-kadesh when he was angry at the Israelites (Num 20:12; Dt 32:51). His sin was unbelief and as a result, he died in the wilderness with the rest of the Israelites and never entered into God’s promised land (Dt 3:27; 34:4). But does that mean he perished forever? No, because we see later that at the transfiguration of Jesus, Moses is there with Him (Mt 17:3). He was also mentioned in Hebrews 11 in the great hall of faith. And so, we see that although Moses had great failure and had unbelief, his belief was still in God and he had true repentance, and so by this he would enter into God’s eternal rest and eternal promised land.

For these reasons, I do not believe in this all or nothing approach to salvation. I do not think that in order to be saved from hell, you have to be completely surrendered to Jesus in everything or deny yourself in every way at every moment in your life or from the very beginning of making a profession of faith in Christ. Our surrender to God is part of ongoing salvation and part of the total plan of salvation which is called sanctification. Such surrender, however, is necessary to enter God’s rest in this present life and that is certainly a safeguard against eternal damnation and God’s will for all believers. The disciple life of following Jesus is something every believer is called to. Therefore, every believer is a disciple. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that every believer is a strong disciple. Again, I don’t believe in this idea that you’re either fully surrendered in every way or you are not a true Christian or that in order to be saved from hell, full surrender is necessary. Because, how many people constantly live in that condition or can honestly say that there is not a single thing that they’re holding back from God? The disciple life is a journey, not a destination. In the command to be filled with the Spirit, it is a command to submit to the Spirit rather than to the influence of wine (Eph 5:18). Therefore, it is a daily choice for believers to submit to the Spirit and there remains the possibility in which some days or occasions, a Christian does not submit to the Spirit. Such disobedience on occasion will not send someone to hell but neither is it reflective of the life of a disciple either. I believe that an effectual faith is the only thing necessary for a person to be saved from hell but to be saved more fully from the influence and presence of sin, it is necessary to surrender one’s life, ambitions, desires, and future to God to do with you as He sees fit.

Therefore, a gospel message of faith in Jesus is sufficient for salvation from hell but a gospel message of faith plus surrender can bring about a greater work of initial sanctification which is part of the total salvation plan. Jesus ultimately wants disciples—not just followers or acquaintances. For this reason, in either scenario, it is necessary to disciple each believer on to maturity. A greater emphasis should be placed on faith in God and knowing the truth of His Word than on turning from sin because it is through faith that we are empowered to turn from sin. An effectual turning away from sin can only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit through faith. Therefore, those who have put simple faith in God for salvation but have not made great efforts at surrender to God, must be led through understanding the Word of God so that faith is stirred up in them and activated more fully so that turning from sin will take place, not from their own effort but through the conviction and power of the Holy Spirit. In this way, we might see salvation as less of a one-time decision or commitment once-for-all, and more of a process of growing in faith or activating faith to bring about the disciple life of surrender and denial of self.

In the way Jesus ministered to people when He walked upon this earth, it might be said that He had an all or nothing approach to either fully surrender to Him or to perish. As I said before, this is because Jesus wanted true and dedicated followers who would live and die for Him rather than just yes-men and yes-women. The totality of salvation is also found in full surrender along with the security of salvation. We see that those who followed Jesus for wrong motives for self-seeking pleasure to eat bread or to be entertained by miracles ultimately fell away and no longer followed Jesus. Their level of dedication was so shallow that they broke faith with Jesus and so their fate will become eternal death. They perished because faith was not fully formed in them and did not produce works and after their falling away, they did not repent. Therefore, when Jesus advocates total surrender, He advocates total salvation, full activation of faith, healing from sin, and endurance by faith unto the end. Another thing Jesus was doing was showing people how far they fall short of God’s perfect standard of obedience so that they are humbled to enter into eternal life by the grace of God alone through faith. If people do not see their sin and their need for God, then they cannot be saved because they will not turn to trust and rest in God’s forgiveness or to trust in God’s love and goodness so that their hearts may be purified and that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith. Therefore, Jesus gave the highest standard of obedience and surrender so that we see our sin and imperfection to cling to His forgiveness and mercy to save us along with abiding in His grace and power to help us ascend in our obedience to God as the true disciples that He desires to have so that we can obtain the totality of salvation that God has planned for us. Therefore, I do not believe Jesus was preaching a Lordship Salvation message in such terms as John MacArthur has spoken of. I do not think that Jesus was saying, “Do this or else you cannot be saved from hell,” but rather, “do this to receive the totality of salvation I have prepared for you and to live worthy of the price I paid.”

Now, surely, it is necessary to participate in sanctification as a true believer because that’s what true believers do and those who do not participate in sanctification are not true believers or disciples and will not be saved from hell. Sanctification is a necessary condition (Heb 12:14). But for the believer, there are various levels of dedication and consecration to God. I do not believe that Jesus preached that only strong disciples would be saved but rather, it is these fully surrendered disciples to God who lived in such a way that was worthy of the salvation Jesus purchased for them and this is what is pleasing to God. Jesus may also have been speaking of those who were called to be His twelve disciples and later apostles for the church and unto Christendom. To be prepared and endowed with such power, authority, and responsibility, full surrender and dedication to God is necessary. Without such surrender, God cannot use us mightily for His kingdom. Therefore, to live as that kind of disciple worthy of the kingdom and worthy of Jesus, full surrender (surrender without reservation) is necessary; and to endure to the end so as to reach final salvation in heaven, full surrender can bring you there whereas there is a great risk with half-hearted Christianity and complacent living that many will fall away from the faith and not endure to the end. It is for this very reason we are warned, “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mk 8:35). The one without faith who never surrenders anything to God, does not have sanctification and does not have salvation but will perish in the end. But those who surrender to God their life and belongings by faith, they will see their reward; and those who give more of themselves will see even greater rewards (Mt 19:27-30). But those who live only for this life and not the life to come prove that they do not have saving faith. These are the ones who seek to gain the whole world yet forfeit their souls. Therefore, we see that a level of faith and obedience to God is necessary for salvation yet varying degrees of dedication may co-exist with faith. Being worthy is not about being saved from hell but about walking in the footsteps of our Master, suffering the afflictions He suffered, and enduring the things He endured so that we may finish the race well and God can truly say to us in the end without any reservation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” In this way, having suffered alongside Jesus, God can consider us worthy of eternal life and worthy of having been His disciples (though it was all by the grace of God for us and living through us).

Here are some other related articles to check out:

The Gospel of the Kingdom

Piety or Pietism?

Romans 7 is Not What You Think

How to Walk by Faith

Also, check out Dan Mohler on YouTube