First Quarter 2005 Adult Sabbath School Lessons:
"His Wondrous Cross"
The Story of Our Redemption

Insights to Lesson 12:
The Cross and Sanctification
March 12-18

(Produced by the Editorial Board of the 1888 Message Study Committee)

The question is asked this week: “What is cheap grace?” The answer is that cheap grace is a figment of the imagination. There is no such thing. All anyone has to do is look to the Cross of Christ to see how infinitely costly grace is.

It is most appropriate for the Quarterly to consider the subject of sanctification in the context of the cross. Some believe that justification was what Christ accomplished at the cross, and sanctification is what we do. Philippines 2:12 is frequently cited as support: “. . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” But Paul explains in the next verse: “For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (vs. 13).

Because that last verse and many others throughout the Bible are sometimes ignored, it is easy to think that sanctification occurs because of “things” we do. Perhaps that is because we don’t understand the meaning of the Hebrew words, kadosh or hakodesh, which are often translated as the verb form “to sanctify;” also “dedicated,” “hallowed,” or “consecrated.” A check of the references that use the two Hebrew words, and their Greek close equivalents, hagaizo and hagios, gives the overall impression that these words are used to imply “separateness,” something that is “set apart.” One of the best examples is that the Lord at creation “blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Ex. 20:8-11). But in Genesis 2:3, the wording is that “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it . . .”

It would be silly to expect the Sabbath to try to do something to “sanctify” itself. That was done by the word and will of God; the day itself need do nothing to add to what God has done. It is just as futile to think that we have any more capability to change our hearts into “set apart” or “holy” than a portion of time has. But, does that mean sanctification is a passive process, in which we have no part?

What does Philippines 2:13 mean by saying we should “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling”? We are told: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (Prov. 16:9). To plan our “course” means that we make the choice to follow the Lord. Then He takes over and plans the detailed steps we are to take in our lives. God told Jeremiah: “‘For I know the plans I have for you, . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jer. 29:11).

When Jesus was living on this earth, He made no plans, but allowed His Father to direct His day. We may think that would come naturally for Him since He was God. He was, but Philippines 2 tells us He voluntarily laid that aside, choosing not to use that part of Him. He was operating as a human, using the same “operating system” you and I have. Could Jesus trust His Father to competently direct His life? The answer seems obvious, but why do human beings find it so hard to believe He will do the same for us?

When a person hears and accepts the gospel truth, the natural inclination is to want to change. We sense that our past life was futile, and have a sincere desire to turn away from that past. It is easy to fall into the trap that we are now responsible for straightening out our life.
The folks in Galatia thought that too. Paul asked them: “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish to think that having begun in the Spirit, you are now made perfect by the flesh, or the works of the flesh?” (Gal. 3:2, 3). We cannot expect to make ourselves sanctified (set apart) by our own “works of the flesh.” It is usually early in the Christian walk that we start making promises, only to eventually realize sadly that we cannot keep them. Discouragement and doubt about the genuineness of our “conversion” is inevitable when we see little change in our performance. If you have had an experience like this, consider this familiar quotation from Steps to Christ (SC):

“Many are inquiring, ‘How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?’ You desire to give yourself to Him, but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you; but you need not despair” (p. 47).

Now at this point in the quotation, most of us would finish the paragraph something like this: What you need to do is buck up and quit whining. Straighten up and fly right! You can if you just try harder! But the way Ellen White finished that paragraph had to be inspired by a gentle and loving God:

“What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, your thoughts will be in harmony with Him” (p. 47).

To have our “whole nature” brought under the control of the Holy Spirit is to have the law of God written in our hearts. Many times the Bible writers use this metaphor to describe the process of “setting apart,” or sanctification. Many believe this cannot even begin to happen until Christ’s second coming. But Hebrews 10:16 teaches otherwise: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.”

This all sounds so simple, as if all we have to do each day is wake up in the morning, and it just happens. It would be that easy, except for something Paul called “the old man” which does things that he hates because of “another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind” (Rom. 7:23). It is because of this, that there is a struggle. The daily “good fight of faith” is to crucify self so that it is God’s will, not ours, that reigns in us. In the garden, Christ said to His Father: “Not My will but Yours, be done.” Paul said, “I die daily.” It isn’t an exaggeration to say, “I die minute by minute.”

But the question always arises, “So, is there no place for good works?” Care must be taken on this point. Good works will naturally flow from the person who exercises genuine faith. But the opposite can never be true. Genuine faith never flows from the self-centered doing of good works. Sinful human nature always wants to be reassured, and the best way to do that is to look at our “good” works. Our assurance of salvation cannot be based on a never-ceasing list of works, no matter how important “works” are. If you are feeling insecure about your salvation, re-read John 3:16. You’ll notice there is nothing about “works” in that verse. Your assurance rests entirely in God’s promises.

Another trap is to wish for victory from a besetting sin to be assured of salvation. There are those who think, “If God will just give me the victory, I know I’ll get to heaven.” This is a subtle point. If you are relying on victory from sin for your assurance that you will get to heaven, God cannot give you that victory. That would be leading you into the temptation of relying on it for your assurance of salvation. Our salvation can rest on nothing but the promises God has made to us. Our assurance must be based on what God has done, not what we do or don’t do.

The person who is struggling for victory in order to be assured does not understand the purpose of sanctification. Some believe that the sanctification process is to produce ever more complete righteousness, so that eventually the individual’s righteousness is so complete as to merit his place in heaven.

E. J. Waggoner explains: “This righteousness cannot be attained by our own individual effort. Of ourselves we can do nothing, . . . And so the command to know that God will bring us into judgment for every secret thing, includes the command not only to know that the law of God is to be the standard of that judgment, but also that through Christ alone can we attain to that perfect righteousness which the law demands . . . for if we have Christ in the heart we must have the law there also” (“Things We Should Know,” No. 2, Signs of the Times, Feb. 10, 1887, p. 86). It is this concept of writing the law on our hearts that encompasses the concept of “cleansing the sanctuary.” When we open our hearts for God to show us our sin, we are given that Laodicean “eyesalve,” and God uses the standard of His law to reveal sin. As we submit our minds and hearts to this process, the law becomes part of us, which in turn produces “continual obedience, as if carrying out our own impulses.” We have “let this mind be in us” that was in Christ Jesus.

There is another paradox that shouldn’t be missed. Most believe that it will be readily apparent that we are getting better and better as we progress in the Christian walk. Ellen White penned these words in the chapter entitled, “The Test of Discipleship” (ibid., pp. 64, 65):

“The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature, . . . No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in the heart that does not realize its own sinfulness. The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire His divine character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the beauty and excellence of Christ.”

The best assurance that God is sanctifying you, setting you apart, is when you see your own sinfulness, and the best place to see that is at the foot of the cross.

—Arlene Hill

Read the study notes for lesson 13