Living Out Our Faith: The Process of Sanctification
Summary
In our study of Romans 8:12-13, we delve into the Apostle Paul's profound teaching on sanctification. These verses serve as a pivotal point in understanding the practical application of Christian doctrine. Paul uses the word "therefore" to transition from doctrine to application, emphasizing the importance of living out what we believe. This is crucial to avoid the pitfall of antinomianism, where belief is divorced from practice. Paul warns against having a purely intellectual interest in Christian truth without applying it to our lives.
The passage marks the first practical application of sanctification in Romans 8. Up until this point, Paul has been describing the Christian's character and position. Now, he addresses how Christians are to live out their faith, particularly in battling sin. This is not about a new experience or doctrine but about understanding and acting upon what is already true of us as Christians. Paul contrasts two prevalent views on sanctification: the perfectionist view, which claims sin can be eradicated through a specific experience, and the counteraction view, which suggests victory over sin is possible through reliance on Christ. Paul refutes both, emphasizing that sanctification is a continuous process of mortifying the deeds of the body through the Spirit.
Paul's teaching is not about a sudden, dramatic experience but a call to ongoing action based on understanding our position in Christ. We are not debtors to the flesh but to the Spirit, and our obligation is to live according to the Spirit. This involves a continuous, habitual action of mortifying the deeds of the body. The Apostle's argument is rooted in reason and understanding, not in a call for a new experience or surrender. It is about realizing the truth of our identity in Christ and living it out daily.
Key Takeaways:
1. Doctrine and Application: Understanding Christian doctrine is essential, but it must be applied to avoid antinomianism. Paul emphasizes the importance of living out our beliefs, warning against a purely intellectual approach to faith. This application is crucial for genuine Christian living. [03:04]
2. Sanctification as a Process: Sanctification is not a one-time experience but a continuous process. Paul teaches that we must habitually mortify the deeds of the body through the Spirit, emphasizing ongoing action rather than a sudden, dramatic change. [31:46]
3. Rejecting Perfectionism: The perfectionist view, which claims sin can be eradicated through a specific experience, is refuted by Paul. He emphasizes that sin remains in the believer, and sanctification involves a continuous battle against it. [11:28]
4. Understanding Our Identity: Realizing our identity in Christ is crucial for sanctification. We are not debtors to the flesh but to the Spirit, and our obligation is to live according to the Spirit. This understanding is foundational for Christian living. [33:42]
5. Action Based on Understanding: Paul's teaching is rooted in reason and understanding, not in a call for a new experience. We are to act based on the truth of our identity in Christ, continuously mortifying the deeds of the body through the Spirit. [28:34]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:12] - Introduction to Romans 8:12-13
- [00:48] - The Significance of "Therefore"
- [02:01] - Exhortation and Appeal
- [03:24] - Warning Against Antinomianism
- [04:40] - Practical Application of Sanctification
- [06:35] - The Christian's Battle Against Sin
- [08:30] - Addressing False Teachings
- [09:41] - Perfectionist View on Sanctification
- [15:24] - Counteraction View on Sanctification
- [22:21] - Paul's Teaching on Sanctification
- [28:34] - Argument and Action in Sanctification
- [33:42] - Realizing Our Identity in Christ
- [39:39] - Obligation to the Spirit
- [42:41] - Closing Prayer
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
- Romans 8:12-13
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Observation Questions:
1. What does Paul mean when he says, "we are debtors not to the flesh" in Romans 8:12? How does this relate to the concept of living according to the Spirit? [00:12]
2. In Romans 8:13, Paul talks about mortifying the deeds of the body through the Spirit. What does the term "mortify" imply in this context? [00:32]
3. How does the use of the word "therefore" in Romans 8:12 serve as a transition in Paul's argument? What is its significance in the context of the passage? [00:48]
4. According to the sermon, why is it dangerous to have a purely intellectual interest in Christian truth without application? [03:04]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does Paul's teaching in Romans 8:12-13 challenge the perfectionist view of sanctification, which claims sin can be eradicated through a specific experience? [11:28]
2. What does it mean to live according to the Spirit, and how does this understanding impact the process of sanctification as described by Paul? [33:42]
3. How does the sermon describe the relationship between understanding our identity in Christ and the practical application of sanctification? [33:59]
4. In what ways does the sermon suggest that sanctification is a continuous process rather than a one-time event? [31:46]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your own life: Are there areas where you find yourself living according to the flesh rather than the Spirit? What steps can you take to address this? [30:27]
2. How can you habitually mortify the deeds of the body through the Spirit in your daily life? Identify one specific action you can take this week. [30:59]
3. The sermon warns against having a purely intellectual interest in Christian truth. How can you ensure that your faith is actively lived out in your daily actions and decisions? [03:04]
4. Consider the perfectionist view of sanctification. Have you ever felt pressure to achieve a sinless state through a specific experience? How does Paul's teaching offer a different perspective? [11:28]
5. Understanding our identity in Christ is crucial for sanctification. How can you remind yourself of this identity daily, and how might it change your approach to challenges you face? [33:42]
6. The sermon emphasizes the importance of ongoing action in sanctification. What are some practical ways you can incorporate this continuous process into your spiritual routine? [31:46]
7. Think about a time when you relied on a dramatic experience for spiritual growth. How can you shift your focus to a more consistent and habitual practice of faith? [31:46]
Devotional
Day 1: Living Out Our Beliefs
Understanding Christian doctrine is essential, but it must be applied to avoid antinomianism. Paul emphasizes the importance of living out our beliefs, warning against a purely intellectual approach to faith. This application is crucial for genuine Christian living. [03:04]
James 1:22-24 (ESV): "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like."
Reflection: Identify one belief you hold that you struggle to live out. What practical steps can you take today to align your actions with this belief?
Day 2: The Continuous Journey of Sanctification
Sanctification is not a one-time experience but a continuous process. Paul teaches that we must habitually mortify the deeds of the body through the Spirit, emphasizing ongoing action rather than a sudden, dramatic change. [31:46]
Philippians 3:12-14 (ESV): "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you can commit to ongoing growth and transformation? How can you invite the Holy Spirit into this process today?
Day 3: Rejecting the Illusion of Perfectionism
The perfectionist view, which claims sin can be eradicated through a specific experience, is refuted by Paul. He emphasizes that sin remains in the believer, and sanctification involves a continuous battle against it. [11:28]
1 John 1:8-9 (ESV): "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Reflection: Consider a sin you struggle with. How can you approach this struggle with humility and reliance on God's grace rather than seeking a quick fix?
Day 4: Embracing Our Identity in Christ
Realizing our identity in Christ is crucial for sanctification. We are not debtors to the flesh but to the Spirit, and our obligation is to live according to the Spirit. This understanding is foundational for Christian living. [33:42]
Galatians 2:20 (ESV): "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Reflection: Reflect on your identity in Christ. How does this identity influence your daily decisions and actions? What is one way you can live more fully into this identity today?
Day 5: Acting on the Truth of Our Identity
Paul's teaching is rooted in reason and understanding, not in a call for a new experience. We are to act based on the truth of our identity in Christ, continuously mortifying the deeds of the body through the Spirit. [28:34]
Colossians 3:9-10 (ESV): "Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."
Reflection: What is one practical action you can take today to align your life more closely with your identity in Christ? How can you rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you in this action?
Quotes
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]
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