from Preaching Grace (Independent Presbyterian Church)
God’s grace instructs us not only that we are forgiven, not only that we are accepted, not only that we are safe and secure, but it also “instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Ti. 2:11, 12). Grace teaches us that. Not law. Grace has everything to do with freedom, not merely from guilt, but from sin’s controlling power. The message of grace cannot be reduced to words of forgiveness and acceptance. Grace instructs and enables us to put sin to death, to mortify the flesh (Rom. 8:12, 13).
The certainty of sanctification is a great encouragement to believers. Our spiritual development may be slow. The fruit of the Spirit may grow slowly. However, we will be sanctified. It cannot but happen. God promises it. Christ ensures it. Grace enables it. It is a special grace of God that delivers us from bondage and enables us to live holy lives.
At the same time, the absence of sanctifying graces raises doubts about the authenticity of one’s conversion. Thomas Watson (1620-1686), a representative English Puritan divine, expresses the historic Reformed view when he says, “Sanctification is progressive, if it does not grow, it is because it does not live.”[5] The Reformed have always insisted on the role of “signs of grace” (note the title: signs of grace) in confirming the authenticity of justifying grace. This is why the warnings of Scripture can be so sharp while still teaching eternal security.
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