The Reality & Hope of Sanctification
Progressive Sanctification and the Continued Sexuality Debates within the PCA
As many of you know, presbyteries (and local sessions!) of the Presbyterian Church in America are again proposing amendments to our Book of Church Order that will be considered at this summer’s General Assembly. In the mass of those amendments there are three that are gaining the attention. Why you might ask? Well, it’s a pretty simple answer…they are pertaining to our continued sexuality debates that have dominated our Assemblies for the past number of years. That’s right! There is a continued push to add language to our Book of Church Order that would outrightly disqualify a man from serving as an officer if he identifies with a sinful desire (like the term, “Gay Christian”). By being on social media, I have seen the frustration (even to the point for calling for a fundamental “purge”) from the progressive side of the denomination.
They do not understand why we need to do this “song and dance” for another year.
However, I believe that these three overtures are of utmost importance concerning the orthodoxy of our Church. Overtures 9, 16, and 17 seek to make a clear statement, and at the same time, sets up needed guardrails for Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders.
Admittedly, out of the three overtures that will be considered in Memphis by the Assembly, I am a proponent of Overture 17 which comes from the Session of Meadowview Reformed Presbyterian Church. Let’s take a look at the wording for that overture,
“7-4. Men who refer to a particular sin struggle as descriptive of their personhood, being, or identity are disqualified from holding office in the PCA”
This is a clear and concise statement, and personally, I believe that this is an overture that we should all be able to get behind. I have written about the Christian’s identity with before. You can find that article here. However, the identity conversation flows naturally into the conversation that needs to be had regarding sanctification. From what I have witnessed throughout the debates in the PCA regarding sexuality and identity, here is the crux of the argument - there is a real denial of the reality and hope of progressive sanctification.
It needs to be noted that sanctification is a vital part of our understanding of the ordo salutis - the order of salvation. In fact, the Westminster Divines include a definition of sanctification in our Shorter Catechism, Question 35,
“Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.”
Sanctification is a work of God’s free grace. We know this, and yet, it has been consistently denied in many conversations circulating around our denomination. In fact, we even heard comments stated openly about how a former Teaching Elder’s sinful desires have not been sanctified…at all. That they are just as attracted to their sin now as they were when they were first converted. That flies in the face of what our catechisms, better yet, what the scriptures, teach.
Paul exhorts the believers in Ephesus to continuously “put on the new man” which is created in “righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:23-24) These words are reminiscent of the words that he writes in Colossians, and its a declaration that their identity has been changed through their justification and adoption; therefore, they are to take off the old rags of their sin and find the joy of putting on the clothes of Christ’s righteousness. And this happens, as our catechism states, “…more and more…” as the Spirit works within us. This is good news! Believer, by the power of God’s indwelling Spirit, we are going to be enabled more and more to die unto sin and pursue Christlikeness. The Spirit is sent by God as a part of his grand plan of salvation, to conform us to the image and likeness of His Son. Our salvation is much more than just a rescue mission; its a complete and total renovation! It is a transformation.
I love to play golf; therefore, the doctrine of sanctification always reminds me of a story about the famous golfer Greg Norman. Greg Norman might be a name you know. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001. He won close to 100 tournaments and spent 331 weeks as the number one golfer in the world in the 80s and 90s. Well, when he retired from playing golf full-time, he became an entrepreneur and started opening his own golf courses and restaurants.
As you can imagine, people became intrigued by this career change. Here was a great golfer who was now becoming a very successful business man. He was opening a clothing line, he was getting into interior design, he started dabbling in real estate, began opening highly rated restaurants, and of course, designing golf courses.
Designing golf courses was the endeavor that gained the most attention, and I can understand why, honestly. Greg Norman was very good at the game, but designing golf courses is a completely different undertaking. You have to be a little bit of an architecture, a little bit of an engineer, you have to understand turf-grasses and landscaping. This isn’t work you can just jump into is it?
Well, a reporter approached him as he was designing a golf course. Surely, some of these questions were rattling around in her mind. As she walked up to Greg Norman, he stopped and politely obliged to an interview, and she kicked it off with one question, “What is in your mind when you look at this rough terrain and begin planning to create a golf course out of it?”
Thinking he was about to give her a real technical answer, she quickly pulled out her pen and pad and readied herself for an answer. He then said, “I look at the rough terrain and I think, ‘I’ll remove everything that doesn’t look like a golf course.’”
That is profound isn’t it? I love that answer, and it gives a great look into what the Holy Spirit does in our life. The Spirit comes to help make us look more like Jesus Christ. He comes to help conform us to His image. He comes to help us put to death the sins that we often struggle with.
The sanctifying power of the Spirit is much like uprooting and killing all the weeds that threaten to overtake us. Without the sanctifying power of the Spirit, sin would overrun our lives and choke us to death, but since we have a Helper - One who comes alongside of us in our weakness - we can be sure that we will be sanctified. We will be conformed to the image of Christ; we will be enabled to put to death sin our lives.
That’s the reality and hope of sanctification, isn’t it? Just as our catechism says, we will be all the more enabled to die unto sin and pursue righteousness. You see, our sanctification is a progressive action. As we mortify the flesh, the Spirit of God is giving us success. Let me make that even better for you, if it is our God giving us the success, then we will be victorious! That means that we will see marked growth even on this side of Heaven. Furthermore, that means there will be a day that we see Christ in all of his splendor and holiness and on that day we will be like him in every single way. We will be glorified!
Here is how the Apostle John puts it in 1 John 3:2-3,
“Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
Notice here that there is a declaration of our victory over sin, “…we shall be like him…” But, at the same time there is a call to action, “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” This means, Christian, that we must be those who are growing in our Christlikeness. This means that, through the course of our life, we are going to see change in our behavior, desires, and temptations. We will see marked growth in our conformity to Christ’s image. Therefore, we cannot be those who claim that we are just as attracted to our sin now as we were when we were converted. You can fill in the blank with your sin; whatever it may be. As a Bible believing Christian, who is walking with Christ in your daily living, it is impossible not to grow in God’s free grace.
If this is your claim you are denying that God’s grace is not working in you! Impossible. God’s grace makes the foulest clean. Do you know how I know that? Because his blood availed for me!
So, as the progressives have asked, “Are we really going to do this again?” Yes, we are. Am I glad we are going to do so? Yes, without a doubt! I am in favor of tackling this same song and dance until we ratify one these helpful overtures because no officer in the Presbyterian Church in America should ever be able to deny the work of God’s free grace to die unto sin and live unto righteousness.