Loveland Protestant Reformed Church
709 East 57th
Street; Loveland, CO 80538
Services: 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. June through August)
Vol. 5, No. 15 Pastor: Rev. G. Van Baren Phone: (970) 667-9481
Homepage on Internet: http://www.prca.org
Contents:
In the previous article we spoke in passing of sanctification. Sanctification is one of the last steps in the order of salvation but is not last in importance.
In sanctification the divine purpose of our salvation, the glory of God, begins to be fulfilled. Sanctification as to do with holiness (the word means "to make holy"), and in the holy lives of God's people, they beginning to show the glory of God and of His grace.
Sanctification, then, is the life-long work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of believers by which they are made holy, delivered from the filthiness and power of sin, and begin to live in obedience to God and to His Word. It begins with regeneration and ends with death and glorification.
In distinction from justification, sanctification is (1) a work of Christ in us (justification is Christ's work for us); (2) a life-long work (justification is once only); (3) a work in which we become active (in justification we are passive); and (4) a work that removes the depravity of our sin (justification removes its guilt).
Justification is like an immigrant becoming legally a citizen of another country. Having become a citizen, however, he begins to learn the language, wear the clothing, eat the food, and adopt the customs of his new land - to live like a citizen of that country. That is like sanctification. In it God's people learn to live the life of heaven.
Yet, sanctification is all of grace. We learn nothing of ourselves but are "taught of God" in sanctification. Though we become active in holiness and good works, it is always God who works in us "both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).
When we are sanctified, our salvation is not turned over to us, so that we become alone responsible for it. In sanctification we do not suddenly begin to cooperate with God, so that our salvation is no longer wholly of grace.
Though we do good works (Eph. 2:8-10) in sanctification, there is still no merit in them. Though we obey, we still have no reason to boast. Our holiness, too, is a gift of God and all the glory and praise of our sanctification belongs to Him.
Nor is sanctification optional. Some seem to think so. They speak of "carnal Christians" and deny the Lordship of Christ in the life of Christians (that Christ is Lord in our lives means that all of our life belongs to Christ). They are wrong.
Sanctification is different from justification but follows necessarily from it. When a person is found innocent of wrongdoing, he must be released from prison. So, having been found innocent before God through our justification, we must in the justice of God be released from the prison of depravity and sin. In sanctification we are!
Hebrews 12:14 shows us the impossibility of a Christian remaining unsanctified. Without holiness "no man shall see the Lord!" Let us not think, then, that holiness is optional or unimportant. It is that work of grace by which God is glorified in His people. As we read in Isaiah 43:21, "This people have I formed for myself; they SHALL show forth my praise." Grace guarantees it. Rev. Ronald Hanko
(Continued from the previous issue)
The reprobate who come under the preaching of the gospel are, as we noticed last time, addressed by the gospel.
We saw that they are not only addressed incidentally; i.e., that they are addressed because they happen to be present when the gospel is preached. They are specifically addressed by God Himself.
One question remains to be answered, however.
That question is this: What does God Himself say to them when He addresses them in the gospel?
That is an important question.
In order to answer that question, we must once again, though briefly, return to the question which we answered earlier: What specifically are the contents of the gospel?
You will recall that we said, when we discussed this question, that, in general, the contents of the gospel were the revelation of God in Jesus Christ as the God of all salvation.
We said that that revelation of God in Jesus Christ as the God of salvation included promises and threats, warnings and admonitions, exhortations and callings.
When we mentioned all these things which are included in the gospel, we did not, at that time, say anything more. Now the time has come to say more about that.
The warnings and threats, the exhortations and admonitions, of the gospel are not separated from the truth of the gospel. They all belong together. The truth must be proclaimed in all its fullness. And the warnings and threats, the admonitions and exhortations, all must be connected with the truth.
God, in revealing the truth, reveals the truth concerning Himself. He speaks always of Who He is, What kind of a God He us, and what He does as the sovereign Lord. And especially He speaks of the fact that He reveals the infinite perfections of His own being by revealing Himself as the God of salvation.
But -- and here we come to the very heart of the gospel -- part of that truth concerning Himself is His own absolute sovereignty in the work of salvation; and that sovereignty is revealed nowhere so much as in the truth of election and reprobation.
If one is to be free from the blood of all men (as Paul tells the Ephesian elders), one must preach the whole counsel of God. And that counsel of God includes sovereign election and reprobation. That is the heart of the gospel.
And so, God reveals Himself in all His truth as the God Who saves His elect only; and He reveals Himself as the God Who damns the reprobate in the way of their sin.
* * * * * * * * * *
But there is more.
He reveals Himself as the sovereign God Who saves the elect in the way of granting them repentance and faith. In fact, so true is this, that God even calls His elect by such names: laboring and heavy laden; those who have no money; repenting ones; people with broken spirits and contrite hearts; those who call upon the name of the Lord; poor in spirit; etc. etc.
And because these spiritual characteristics are the names by which He calls His own, they are also, at the same time, the demands of the gospel. They are the exhortations, the admonitions, the requirements for salvation.
But, the opposite is also true of the reprobate. They are called by their spiritual names: covetous, fornicators, despisers of God and of His Word, those who reject the gospel and crucify the Son of God afresh.
And these spiritual characteristics of the reprobate become the threatenings and warnings of the gospel.
And they become the means in the hands of a sovereign God to accomplish His sovereign purpose in the reprobate.
And so, the address of the gospel is always very particular. It is the promise of salvation to those who flee from sin and repent of their iniquity. The promise of salvation is never to anyone but these.
And the warnings of the gospel are also never to anyone but the rebellious and hard of heart. Promises and threats, commands and warnings, all come together to all that hear. But already in the proclamation of the gospel, both are particular: promises to the believing; warnings to the unbelieving.
And thus God accomplishes His purpose. Prof. H. Hanko
We are answering here the second question introduced in the last issue: "What I'm concerned with is whether we should tell people to forsake sins and repent to be a Christian. I believe Calvin wrote this: 'Now it ought to be a fact beyond controversy that repentance not only constantly follows faith, but is also born of faith'. . . . But when we preach to nonbeliever, should we be telling a person that to be saved, he has to forsake his sins? Would that not be legalistic? . . . Faith results in repentance . . . so logically the call to repentance will be made to a Christian and not a non-Christian. So is it misleading to tell a person to forsake sins or be willing to forsake sins to be saved?"
The question suggests that bringing the call to repentance to an unbeliever would be a denial of sovereign grace in that it would imply some ability on the part of the sinner to respond. That part of the question we have already answered by insisting that the call to repentance is itself the power by which God produces repentance in the hearts of His elect people.
As far as the order of repentance and faith is concerned, we believe that in one sense it is true that faith must precede repentance as Calvin points out. A person must be regenerated and must therefore have the beginning or seed of a true faith before he is able to repent of his sins. He certainly cannot repent in his own strength or by the choice of his own will.
Yet, insofar as faith also involves our "receiving and resting upon Christ for salvation" (Westminster Confession of Faith, XIV, 2), there is a sense in which a person must repent before he believes, i.e., he must see his sin even to see His need for Christ and by way of coming to Christ and finding rest in Him. Unless we know our sins and desire to be delivered from them, which is part of repentance, we will not seek and come to Christ (which is part of believing).
This is only to say, therefore, that there are different acts involved in saving faith - different parts to it. It is a complex and wonderful gift! Thus it is not possible to reduce saving faith to a single act that either precedes or follows repentance.
The two go together and cannot be separated. One cannot truly repent without also at the same time believing, nor can one truly believe in Christ for salvation without also at the same time repenting of his sins. To turn from the one is to turn to the other, and to turn to the one is to turn from the other.
This is an important point. Some teach that one can feel sorrow for sin without EVER coming to faith in Christ, but this is impossible. Grace is one, and the same grace that produces repentance also grants faith. Thus only can it be said with assurance that those who seek shall find, to those who knock it shall be opened.
Our salvation, therefore, is not some mechanical process involving certain clearly distinguishable steps (though we may for our better understanding distinguish such steps). It is one great work of grace that brings the sinner out of darkness into marvelous light and translates him from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son.
And so, because, repentance and faith are inseparable, it is not wrong to call the unbelieving and unrepentant sinner to believe and repent. God will use that call to grant the gift of faith and to give repentance to those whom He has chosen.
Rev. Ronald Hanko
Last Modified: 02-Jun-1999