“He leads none to heaven but whom he sanctifies on the earth. This living Head will not admit dead members.” –John Owen
Sanctification is war. Justification is the ushering in of a new Sovereign into the life of a human being. Justification is the inauguration of a new King into the dominion of our lives. It is the Lord taking his rightful place on the throne of our heart. In contrast to this, sanctification is God sending forth his army into our lives to root out those last pockets of rebellion. The soldiers in his army are those trials that seem to march almost daily into our lives. They war against those traits in us that struggle against God. God means to preserve us by destroying those things in us that seek to destroy God’s authority over us. Thus, William Jenkyn writes, “There is nothing destroyed by sanctification but that which would destroy us.” [A Puritan Golden Treasury, 139.] David’s days of distress and his subsequent cry for relief illustrate his passing through the crucible of sanctification. (Read Psalm 4:1.)
David knew the crushing experience which the crucible afforded him. He also knew that “the Lord has set apart the godly for himself.” (Psalm 4:3) The people of God are precious to God. They are his own personal treasure. They truly are “the precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold.” (Lam. 4:2) The process of sanctification is God’s means of developing a people for himself. Trials heighten our awareness of who God is and how much he cares. The grapes must be pressed before they will yield their juice. God presses us in order that he might produce a heavenly nectar—a life yielded to him. And so, David after experiencing a definite trial and acknowledging our sanctifying God would write, “the Lord hears when I call to him.” (Psalm 4:3)
Sanctification’s crucible becomes our place of confession, not only of sin but also of our confidence in God. For God, this crucible is where he cares for us and confesses his ownership of us. God, through Zechariah, concludes:
“And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
(Zechariah 13:9)
Have a blessed week and we will see you this Sunday at The Cotillion.
Yours in the surest band of Christian affection,
Pastor Dale