How Does Sanctification Work? E-Book

David Powlison

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 131

Beschreibung

Many popular views try to reduce the process of Christian growth to a single template: Remember past grace. Rehearse your identity in Christ. Avail yourself of the means of grace. Discipline yourself. But Scripture portrays the dynamics of sanctification in a rich variety of ways. No single factor, truth, or protocol can capture why and how a person is changed into the image of Christ.  Weaving together personal stories, biblical exposition, and theological reflection, David Powlison shows the personal and particular ways that God meets you where you are to produce change. He highlights the variety of factors that work together, helping us to avoid sweeping generalizations and pat answers in the search for a key to sanctification. This book is a go-to resource for understanding the multifaceted, lifelong, personal journey of sanctification. 

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“There’s nothing more invigorating in your walk with Jesus than getting up every morning and getting actively engaged in your own sanctification. To partner with the Spirit of Christ in your own change, growth, and maturity is a wonderful way of ‘making it your ambition to be pleasing to him.’ And I’m so excited that David Powlison shows the reader how to do just this in his remarkable new book How Does Sanctification Work? I give it a hearty thumbs-up!”

Joni Eareckson Tada, founder and CEO, Joni and Friends International Disability Center; author, A Spectacle of Glory and Beside Bethesda

“Every Christian leader, writer, or pastor should have David Powlison whispering in his ear, ‘God’s Word is deep and rich . . . don’t just sit on one paradigm—teach the full counsel of God.’ This book will do that for you.”

Paul Miller, executive director, seeJesus; author, A Praying Life and A Loving Life

“To know David Powlison is to know a man who is growing in the sweet fruit of sanctifying grace. To witness his ministry is to see one whom the Lord is using to sanctify many. That is why I am so grateful for How Does Sanctification Work? One of the most crucial areas of debate among Christians today concerns the doctrine of sanctification. David’s is a voice of sound, biblical wisdom in the midst of much confusion. If you are looking for a book on sanctification that is profoundly personal, biblically balanced, and deeply relevant, then this is it.”

Heath Lambert, associate pastor, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville; executive director, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors; author, A Theology of Biblical Counseling and Finally Free

“In this book, David Powlison sets out a case against simplistic statements that sanctification can be reduced to a ‘just do this’ or ‘just believe that’ kind of process. Doing what he always does so brilliantly, he shows us how the riches of Scripture get applied to the details of life. Personal, practical, and bursting with fresh and important insights, here is a book to help God’s people become more like Christ.”

Steve Midgley, executive director, Biblical Counselling UK; senior pastor, Christ Church Cambridge

“When I think about wise men who have shaped my life and thinking, David Powlison consistently rises to the top. His thoughtful and incisive insight into the human heart and what makes sanctification work is something each of us desperately needs. David recognizes that for all the conversation and writing which have taken place on the topic of sanctification, what seems to be left out is you! David helps bring his personal story and others’ narratives into the discussion surrounding sanctification, and in so doing reminds us of the multifaceted way God works in people’s lives. Grab this book today, read it and soak it in, and join David and many others in the process of becoming more like our Savior.”

Jonathan Holmes, pastor of counseling, Parkside Church, Uniontown, Ohio; author, The Company We Keep: In Search of Biblical Friendship

“Sanctification is a very long word. Though many Christians would be able to give a simple definition such as ‘growing in holiness’ or ‘becoming like Jesus,’ few have given much thought to the dynamics of how it happens—how it works. In How Does Sanctification Work?, Powlison helpfully identifies five ways our growth in holiness happens. The principles are grounded in Scripture and illustrated by a transparent look at how it has ‘worked’ in his own life. And this is an encouragement for us to see how it—no, how God’s Spirit—is at work in our lives, too.”

Timothy Witmer, professor of practical theology, Westminster Theological Seminary; pastor, St. Stephen Reformed Church, New Holland, Pennsylvania; author, The Shepherd Leader and The Shepherd Leader at Home

“Sanctification is essential to fulfilling our greatest calling in life: namely, to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves. David has not only set forth the essential themes of this process but also described many of the spiritual nuances that guide our steps through this blessed transformation.”

Ken Sande, founder, Peacemaker Ministries and Relational Wisdom 360

“Sanctification is a life-and-death matter. What David Powlison offers in this book is no mere how-to manual on having your quiet time. Instead, behind this straightforward title lies an explosively powerful and practical theology of human transformation. This book is deep enough to instruct those who have spent their lives agonizing over how sanctification really works, and accessible enough to guide those who have never had the question cross their minds. In short, this book will leave you fundamentally changed for the better.”

Alasdair Groves, director of counseling, CCEF New England

How Does Sanctification Work?

David Powlison

How Does Sanctification Work?

Copyright © 2017 by David Powlison

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Kevin Lipp

Cover image: Shutterstock

First printing 2017

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NASB is from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-5610-4ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-5613-5PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-5611-1Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-5612-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Powlison, David, 1949– author.

Title: How does sanctification work? / David Powlison.

Description: Wheaton : Crossway, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016035995 (print) | LCCN 2016040166 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433556104 (tp) | ISBN 9781433556111 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433556128 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433556135 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Sanctification—Christianity. | Spiritual formation.

Classification: LCC BT765 .P69 2017 (print) | LCC BT765 (ebook) | DDC 234/.8—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016035995

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2021-03-17 10:06:30 AM

To Paul Miller—

faithful friend, wise counselor,

and mere Christian

Contents

Introduction

 1  God Meets Us with His Promises

 2  Is There One Key to Sanctification?

 3  Truth Unbalanced and Rebalanced

 4  God Meets Us with His Commands

 5  We Are Sanctified by Remembering Our Justification

 6  What Changes You?

 7  My Story (1)

 8  My Story (2)

 9  The Story of Charles

10  The Story of Charlotte

11  The Journey

Notes

General Index

Scripture Index

Introduction

At the close of his Gospel, John stands back and considers all that he has witnessed over a lifetime: “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). I love the juxtaposition of those two sentences. The fact that John left out innumerable stories prompts a cosmic leap of insight and imagination. He has just finished a sixteen-thousand-word book—slightly shorter than the short book you are holding. But the whole earth could not hold all the other books that could be written about what Jesus did!

What would all those unwritten books say? We know with certainty that they would contain the same kinds of things as the book that John did write. His Gospel largely consists of scenes selected from Jesus’s encounters and conversations with various followers, foes, inquirers, and “undecideds.” John gives glimpses into the life stories of different people as their lives intersect with Jesus. We do not witness Jesus’s life story in isolation from other people. His loving actions are not a theological abstraction. We learn of Jesus by seeing and hearing how he interacts with others. Those countless books that could be written would tell of innumerable personal encounters.

When did all these other things take place? Some stories John left out were about encounters before Jesus ascended. And the unwritten books would include what the Spirit did in carrying Jesus’s work forward during the subsequent fifty years of John’s life—things he witnessed personally, things he heard from other people, and things he never knew happened because they occurred outside his purview. And, no doubt, these books would also tell all that the Lord is continuing to do ever since John’s death. The unwritten books would include your story and mine.

And why are there so many possible books, and why are the books so voluminous? The world cannot contain life stories of events more numerous than grains of sand on the seashore. The details matter. Every person, in every circumstance, in every moment displays never-to-be-repeated specifics. God considers them all—every careless word, every hair on your head, every tear. What Jesus does in each of our lives works with the particulars.

Amid this variety there are commonalities, of course. The common denominator is Jesus Christ and how he works out his saving, sifting, sanctifying purposes. But the variety of personal stories is as significant to God as the common themes. The unique moments are the touch points where the Lord gets specific. So as John writes about the Lord, the camera repeatedly zooms in, slows everything down, lingers on a snippet of conversation, notes a situational detail. John (like all the Gospel writers) invites us to watch Jesus interact, person by person, situation by situation. He invites us to notice how and what Jesus notices. He lets us hear the questions Jesus asks, and how he answers those who question him. We learn how Jesus sizes up people. We watch how he finds the point of engagement, and then how he enters in, reacts, helps, rattles, invites, irritates, teaches, argues, clarifies, perplexes, saves, warns, encourages. When Jesus crosses paths with you, he reveals you for who you are. He precipitates decisive choices. In response to him, people change, either making a turn for the better or taking a turn for the worse.

Whenever a person makes a turn for the better, sanctification is happening. That five-syllable word which forms part of the title of this book needs some defining. What are we talking about when we ask, “How does sanctification work?” First, to be most accurate, we are discussingprogressive sanctification. Like the word save, sanctify has a past tense, a present tense, and future tense:

In the past tense, your sanctification has already happened. You are a saint—an identity for which you get no credit! God decisively acted by making you his very own in Christ. You have been saved.In the present tense, your sanctification is now being worked out. God is working throughout your life—on a scale of days, years, and decades—to remake you into the likeness of Jesus. You are being progressively sanctified. You are being saved.In the future tense, your sanctification will be perfected. You will live. Your love will be perfected. You will see God’s face when he decisively acts to complete his work of conforming you to the image of Jesus. You will participate in the glory of God himself. You will be saved.1

That present-tense inworking of faith and outworking of love is the focus of this book. But we should always bear in mind that what God is doing now in your life builds on what he has done and leads to what he will do.

Second, the words sanctification, saint, holy, and holiness frequently conjure up a variety of odd, hyper-spiritual images. But these words intend to communicate earthy, practical realities. To be sanctified is to have your faith simplified, clarified, and deepened. You need God. You know God. You love God. You see life, God, yourself, others more truly. And to grow as a saint is to grow in actually loving people. How other people are doing matters increasingly to you. You care. You help.

Becoming more holy does not mean that you become ethereal, ghostly, and detached from the storms of life. It means you are becoming a wiser human being. You are learning how to deal well with your money, your sexuality, your job. You are becoming a better friend and family member. When you talk, your words communicate more good sense, more gravitas, more joy, more reality. You are learning to pray honestly, bringing who God really is to the reality of human need.

And to grow in holiness does not mean you now talk in hushed tones and every third sentence quotes the Bible. It means you live in more clear-minded hope. You know the purpose of your life, roll up your sleeves, and get about doing what needs doing. You are honestly thankful for good things. You honestly face disappointment and pain, illness and dying.

Sanctification, saint, holy, and holiness—they speak of daily life. There is nothing more practical than to live with an ever-growing love, joy, and purposefulness. There is nothing more eyes-open and helpful than to be maturing in wisdom, hope, and faith.

These two clarifications of the language of sanctification are meant to help us keep oriented. Clear-minded, true theology tracks the big themes. But most of this book will come down to street-level living. The variety, freshness, and complications of stories are what make the Gospels, life, people, and ministry so interesting. The details make both your life and God’s Scripture interesting. The details matter because Jesus finds each one of us in our particulars.

And it is noteworthy that, in finding us, Jesus never ministers by rote. Because people and circumstances are not clones, there is no boilerplate in his conversations, friendships, or preaching. No distilled formula. No abstract generalizations. No “Just do x” sorts of advice. Because situations and persons come unscripted, fluid, and unpredictable, Jesus engages each person and situation in a personalized way. It is no truism to say that Jesus really does meet you where you are. Always. Scripture does the same. No boilerplate. The Holy Spirit makes words personal.

This book will revel in the variety of how Jesus Christ works to change lives. And it will probe in order to establish the deeper patterns that are operating within all the variations.

The chapters that follow will drill down into how growth in grace actually works, and thus how ministry works to promote growth. I will interweave personal stories and exposition. The Christian life can be expressed biographically or described theologically. Both have their place, and ideally they come hand in hand—as they do in the Bible! Scripture weds stories and interpretation, and I hope that my attempt to do likewise will prove faithful to the message and the method of Scripture, and helpful to you.2