Walter Marshall, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification
The recent reprint of Walter Marshall’s 1692 The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification is an excellent read. This work now comes in as my #1 book recommendation on the topic of growth/sanctification in Christ. Before you decide to buy the book, you can learn more here.
And, here are a few quotes I liked:
“This is the key error Christians fall into in their lives: they think that even though they have been justified by a righteousness produced totally by Christ, they must be sanctified by a holiness produced totally by themselves.”
“…stop debating about free will, and get to the real issue: in your natural state, all you ever want to do is evil.”
“Forgiveness is the horse that pulls the cart of good works. Don’t put the cart before the horse! Get rid of all other ‘works based’ methods of attempting to live a holy life! They simply won’t work.”
“The key to living a holy life is union with Christ.”
All the comments you quoted stand in direct opposition to the commandments of Christ. It is Christ who sanctifies, that is for sure…but only if the person is willing and co-operative with the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.
Look at His parable of the Kingdom, “Come to me you blessed of My Father” (Mt. 25:34-46). The unrighteous ask Him “Lord, when have we seen you…” (Mt.25:44). They believe in Him and call Him Lord. But they did not *act* in a manner that is congruent with their belief. And thus, they are unworthy of entering the Kingdom.
The process of sanctification is just that – a process. Christ said, “Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” This is a command for action. I have to walk with Christ that with His grace, through His redemptive work on the Cross, He may perfect me and return me to my First State.
Christ didn’t just say “Be perfect”, but He gave us the way to be perfect: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Mt. 19:21) Again, this is a call to act.
You can’t not co-operate with the Holy Spirit (and thus blaspheme Him) and then expect to be justified. Virtue is acquired through persistent watchfulness and spiritual training. But only through the Spirit of God can we be victorious.
One more thing: “in your natural state, all you ever want to do is evil.” This statement is not theologically correct. Our state of sinfulness is not our natural state, but a corruption of it. We in fact need to be restored to the original state, “in His image”, and that specifically is the definition of salvation.
Sherif,
“Natural” state is commonly used to refer to the state we humans are born into and find ourselves in–corrupted by sin and in need of grace, so it’s in this vein that Marshall uses this phrase.
Thanks for your concern for theological precision. But, I do find both of your comments to be both a bit confusing/contradictory and, if I understand the comments correctly, to be at odds with what Scripture teaches regarding Sanctification–that though we are most certainly active and responsible, God is the one who is at work in us to sanctify us and all such growth in Christ is only through our union with Christ via the gospel.
Hi Justin,
I agree with your statement “that though we are most certainly active and responsible, God is the one who is at work in us to sanctify us” The point of my comments was to emphasize that we must co-operate with God. I am not advocating action to win one’s own salvation – that would certainly be against the teachings of scripture.
Also, it’s kinda curious for you to say that my arguments are against scripture, when in fact I quoted Christ Himself from the Gospels. Which point did you disagree with?
What I chiefly disagreed with was your opening line: “All the comments you quoted stand in direct opposition to the commandments of Christ.” I do not think that those quotes I posted from Marshall stand in contradicition to the Scriptures, including the Scripture you quoted.
Well, I think clearly the third quote is against scripture when it says “Get rid of all other ‘works based’ methods of attempting to live a holy life! They simply won’t work.” Attempting to live a holy life does take a lot of active effort on the part of the believer. I explained my objection to the second quote already (“natural state”). As for the first quote, I think it can be construed as absolving the individual from personal effort on the quest to holiness, which is against scripture.
I guess that’s the fundamental question here: do you believe that the individual’s actions have a role in their sanctification?
Sherif, I think it’s time for us to bring this conversation to a close. I think most of our disagreement is stemming from 1) you having not read this particular book and therefore not having the ability to see the context in which the above quotes are placed, 2) I think we’re defining some key terms differently, and 3) I think you and I have some key theological differences.
To close up the discussion I’ll answer your question, YES, of course I believe that an individual’s actions have a role in that individual’s sanctification. And, like Walter Marshall says in those quotes above, I believe that the role we play in our sanctification is only in response to the gospel and only through the gospel. As Philippians 2:12-13 says, when it comes to our ongoing growth in Christ we Christians are about the business off working out what God works in–all of our working out is a response to what God is working in us.
Amen!
Glad you two have patched things up.
Iggy
From St. John Chrysostom:
Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God’s mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.
Sherif give it a rest my friend.
Let your your shine for Jesus
Galatians 6:9-10.
Titus 3:5-6
Iggy
Oh I definitely am…am quoting from St. John to emphasize on Justin’s point, not to argue against it :)
