[April 7th, 1867.]
In this verse the words “by faith” do not qualify the preceding clause, but indicate the means by which the inheritance among the sanctified is to be obtained. Nevertheless as we are sanctified by faith, and as that is the subject intended for consideration, it may be best to consider the passage as teaching that doctrine. 1. What is sanctification? 2. How it is by faith. This latter includes two points: first, what is here meant by faith; and, second, how sanctification is by faith.
I. Sanctification morally, is cleansing, a cleansing from sin. And as sin includes guilt and pollution, sanctification includes both. The sanctified are those whose sins are pardoned, and whose souls are renewed.
Sanctification, therefore, includes far more than moral reformation. It includes the removal of guilt by expiation, or satisfaction of justice, and the renovation of the whole soul after the image of God. It is a radical change of nature, involving the death or crucifixion of the old man and the putting on the new man, which is renewed after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness.
II. The faith here intended is not 1. A mere belief that God is, that we are his creatures, dependent upon him, and accountable to him. It is not faith in the great principles of religion and morals. 2. Neither is it simply faith in the Scriptures. 3. Nor faith in the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. But it is, 1. Faith of which Christ is the specific object. 2. Which includes belief of the record which God has given of his Son, viz.: that he is all that he is set forth in the Scriptures as being, God manifest in the flesh, the Saviour of men, the prophet, priest and king of his people. And this faith is not a mere conviction of the understanding, not a speculative, heretical or moral faith, but a conviction founded on the demonstration of the Spirit. 3. It is not only this assent to the truth but confidence in Christ, reliance upon him as a teacher, as an atoning priest, and as an Almighty ruler, full of grace and truth.
III. This faith sanctifies—i.e., it secures deliverance or cleansing from sin. How this is, so far as the guilt of sin is concerned is familiar to all. The forgiveness of sin and imputation of Christ’s righteousness are promised to all who thus believe. The law demands perfect obedience and satisfaction of justice. This Christ has rendered. Those who renounce their own righteousness and believe that Christ has made a full satisfaction in their stead, and put their trust in what he has done, are immediately absolved from all guilt and accepted as righteous in the sight of God. Thus they are cleansed from guilt by faith in Christ.
As to the relation of faith to the spiritual cleansing of the soul from the presence and power of sin, the Bible teaches,
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That the favor of God is the source of spiritual life. So long, therefore, as men are under the law and consequently under the curse, they must be under the power of sin.
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When redeemed from the law and restored to the favor of God, they are immediately brought under the influence of his love and fellowship. When a man is condemned and confined to a dungeon, he is in darkness and misery. When pardoned and brought out into the light, he is brought under all the influences which are essential to his physical well-being. So it is with those who are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son.
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The effect of faith is union with Christ. The effect of union with Christ is the participation of his life and of his Spirit. We are in him as the branch is in the vine. And this is the indispensable condition of holiness. And not only the condition, but the cause or source of holiness.
This is one of a series of Scripture representations on this subject. There is another, very different, although consistent. What has been said relates, so to speak, to the passive effects of faith, i.e., to the effects produced upon us on the condition of faith. If we believe, we are justified, restored to God’s favor, receive his Spirit, are united to Christ, and he dwells in us. But the Bible also presents another view of the subject, or, so to speak, the active effects of faith; how it acts in promoting our sanctification.
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Faith is spiritual knowledge, or includes spiritual discernment. The effect of spiritual discernment is holy affections. 2. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. It brings us under the influence of the things unseen and eternal. It raises us above the world and makes us to walk with God and live in heaven, and therefore renders us spiritually-minded.
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It is a shield by which we quench the fiery darts of Satan.
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By faith we maintain constant intercourse with the Lord Jesus; seek his aid, his direction, the supply of his grace. We subdue sin by these acts, and call into exercise love, patience, meekness and all other holy affections.
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