Living Out Our Faith: The Process of Sanctification

He always lays down his Doctrine and then he applies it and whenever he comes to that application he always does so by using this word therefore so it's one of many many examples of the use of the word therefore by this great Apostle in other words we are facing an exhortation and an appeal on the basis of what has gone before. [00:01:48]

It isn't enough to take his Doctrine the Apostle always applies it as I say and it is because people fail to follow him when he comes to their to the application that they become guilty of what is called antinomianism which means a failure to put into practice what you claim to believe. [00:02:36]

Now here and for the first time in this chapter the Apostle has really come to the doctrine of sanctification all that has gone before is as I say nothing but a reminder in the form of a general description of the nature and the character of the Christian men and his whole position as he now is and what he will yet be. [00:06:01]

The perfectionist teaching is this it tells us that as the result of an experience which it is possible for us to have if we seek it sin can be totally eradicated out of us and out of the whole of our nature It generally puts it in terms of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. [00:09:51]

The second view with regard to sanctification is what calls itself that it is something that happens by the principle of counteraction now the second view in entirely rejects that first perfectionist view it says that's quite wrong sin is not eradicated in The Believer sin Still Remains in The Believer. [00:15:16]

He is not holding before us any new possible experience which we've got to receive indeed I must indicate once more that in what he does say in these two verses the Apostle is not telling us something that he has never said before he has said it all in chapter 6 in veres 11 12 and 13. [00:25:14]

Here is something that is addressed not to a man's will and you'll find that other teaching is always bombarding a man's will trying to get him to surrender is he willing to surrender is he willing to be made willing to surrend that's the always the emphasis on the will always on the will. [00:27:16]

Therefore in the light of all this brethren we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh for if you live after the flesh he shall die this is all reason but if you through the spirit do mortify the Deeds of the body there's your action you shall live action plus reason and deduction once more. [00:28:36]

He is not telling you that by the baptism of the spirit it's all done for you and taken out of you he is not telling you that if you hand it all over to the Risen Lord he'll do it for you he's telling you to do something you see it is the exact opposite of this other teaching. [00:29:49]

We have to go on mortifying the Deeds of the body we have to do it and we have to go on and on and undoing it yet you see the other teaching tells us that it is a crisis it is something that happens in a moment it puts it negatively not gradually but immediately. [00:31:00]

Therefore in view of what is true of of us as Christians that's what he's saying therefore in the light of all this brethren we who are Christians in this position are not dets to the flesh to live after the flesh for if he live after the flesh he shall die Etc very well the first thing we've got to do is to realize what is true of us as Christians. [00:32:52]

Therefore that's what I've got to do I'm not told to hand it all over to the Lord I'm no no I'm I'm what I'm told is this look here the trouble with you is that you don't realize the truth about yourself the truth about you is this that you are alive in the realm of the spirit that you are dead to sin dead to the law dead to the flesh that you are not in the flesh you're in the spirit. [00:34:38]