Spirits Work, Sanctification

As we continue here in Romans chapter eight, Paul is summing up this section on sanctification, and particularly he is introducing the Holy Spirit and the Spirit's work in sanctification and what the Holy Spirit does in the life of the believer in his work of sanctification. As we talk about the work of the Holy Spirit, let me just say a couple of things here, a couple of preliminary things. The Holy Spirit is a he, not a what. You say that again, the Holy Spirit is a he, not a what, not a who, not an it. So when we talk about what the Holy Spirit does, we don't talk about what it does. We talk about what he does. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is not merely a force. He is a person. So we do not use it when we refer to the Holy Spirit. Amen, repeat after me. I will not use it in reference to the Holy Spirit, just like I will not put an s on the end of revelation. All right, there you go. Okay, now we got those out of the way, all right, And so as we talk about what he does. Now, sure as I just did that, There's going to come a time in this sermon where I'm gonna say it, okay. As we speak about what he does, it's also important that we sort of move away some of the clouds in our culture, because there is a tendency in which we either talk about what the Spirit does as though he is the only member of the trinity, or at least the most important member of the Trinity, or we don't talk about what he does at all. And there's a ditch on both sides of that road. Amen. Another thing that we have a tendency to do is sort of reduce the work of the Holy Spirit to that of signs and wonders. That's it. And either you're a signs and wonders person or you're not a Holy Spirit person at all. That is simply not the case, Amen, somebody, okay. And so the Holy Spirit is very active in the salvation process. His work is crucial in the work of both regeneration and the work of sanctification, but particularly here we're looking at sanctification. We're also going to sort of touch on this issue of regeneration as well. Let's read the entirety of that first paragraph. Remember we broke up that first paragraph. Today we're looking at that second paragraph, but the second half of The first paragraph is really a link between paragraph one and paragraph two, So we'll read all of paragraph one into paragraph two. If you remember we looked at verses one through four on last week. Let's begin verse one. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There just needs to be an amen at the end of that verse. Then they're just written right in there. For the law of the Spirit of life set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done with the law weakened by the flesh, could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. That's where we left it off last week. Don't miss that link. The idea there is that we do keep the righteous requirements of the law. Now we are not able in our flesh to keep the righteous requirements of the law. Yet the law is not bad. If you remember, the law is good, the law is holy, and the law is righteous. So we're condemned because we don't keep God's law. We can't keep God's law. We are saved by grace, not by keeping the law. However, a result of our salvation by grace is that now we are enabled and empowered to keep the righteous requirements of the law, not in order to be saved, but as a byproduct of our salvation. Amen, But what is the mechanism for that? The mechanism for that is the person of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of the believer. That is the mechanism for holiness and righteousness, the person of the Holy Spirit at work in the life of the believer. Look at verse five. Now, for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death. But to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. That verse seven and eight. You just need to underline that because it is of critical importance, not just to what we're talking about today, but also it is of critical importance in us understanding Chapter eight at all. It's of critical importance. I'll explain that a little bit later. It is also of critical importance for a number of doctrinal and theological reasons. This makes necessary a number of doctrinal positions to which we hold again, I'll explain that momentary that next paragraph. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the spirit. If, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His spirit. Who not that who dwells in you. Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. This is just good, folks. This is good because if we're going to understand sanctification and how it is that we are made righteous, not just positionally, but actually we have to understand this critical doctrinal juncture. First, as we talk about the role of the spirit and sacification, the role of the spirit and sagrefication is contrasted with the role of the flesh. Now that at the end of that first paragraph, let's look at that again. Those who live according to the flesh verse five, set their minds. Rather than read it that way, let me do it this way. I have a chart. We'll take those two paragraphs and put them together and listen to the contrast. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. On the other side is the spirit. Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Then we see that to set the mind on the flesh's death. To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. He goes on that the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. On the other side of the equation, there we have if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. Again, we go on the flesh side of the equation, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. On the other side of the equation, if the spirit of Him who's raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ, Jesus from the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. There is this contrast between the life of the flesh and the life of the spirit. Now we already saw in chapter seven that we still wrestle with the flesh. Understand that contextually here he is not talking about this idea of us living in bodies made of flesh. He is talking about two realms that are mutually exclusive. So when he says to set the mind on the flesh, that we live according to the flesh, he is not merely saying that there is a flesh part of you. It's the idea that there is one realm that is the realm of the flesh, and another realm that is the realm of the spirit, and that they are mutually exclusive, and that we cannot live in accordance with both of those realms simultaneously. Listen to this from James Edwards. The antithesis of spirit and flesh is to this day often mistaken as a dichotomy in morals good and bad. Hear that, don't we The flesh is good the spirit and the flesh is bad. The spirit is good. Do more of this and less of that? Or in religion dues versus don'ts or in personality mind and body, spirit and matter, etc. But spirit and flesh are not descriptive of a theological or ethical schizophrenia, or of higher and lower principles in the same person, one Christian, the other Unchristian, or one saved the other unsaved. Spirit and flesh are rather two exclusive realms, two authorities or governing power. One is either in the spirit or in the flesh, but not both at the same time. Yeah, but I thought we wrestled with the flesh. Yes, that's because we're in spirits. Amen, That's why we wrestle with that residue, because we are citizens of another realm. Now, every man is born into the realm of the flesh. Every man is born in the realm of the flesh. It's the doctrine of original sin. We are born in sin, We are shaped in iniquity. That is who we are. Every man is born in this realm, if he's in chapter two Versus one in three one through three alludes to this. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. We lived in that domain. We were under the domain of darkness, under the domain of sin, in the domain of the flesh, and we lived in accordance with our desires, which were our fleshly desires, and they were the only desires that we had. They were the only desires that we could have. Look again there at verse six, for to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. You can't do both of those at the same time. Verse seven. For the mind that is set on the flesh is number one hostile to God. The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. That is where we are by nature we are hostile to God. That is how we are born hostile to God. None of us, none of us, not one of us, is born with any inkling of loving God. Not one of us is born with any inkling toward desiring to satisfy God, to please God, or to obey God. There is none righteous, No, not even one. We've already read that here he reiterates it, but he reiterates it in order to explain how sanctification works. He talks about it in chapter three in order for you to understand the depth and breadth of the guilt of every man. Now he wants you to understand how sanctification works. This is incredibly important. Look at the next verse, the next part of the verse, for it does not to submit to God's law. Indeed it cannot. Why are you hostile to God because you do not submit to God's law? Indeed you can not. Now, whenever we talk about this, there is always that same question that is raised, and that question that has raised this. Yes, but what about the heathen? The unbeliever that does things that are good doesn't exist. There's not a lost person who's ever done anything good. They may do things that appear to be good, but there's not a lost person that's ever done anything good. Why because they're hostile to God. They do not oh big God law. Indeed, they cannot obey God's law. Well wait, wait a minute. There are people out there who are lost, but they work really hard. Yes they do. Go back with me if you will. We've preached through this, but let's look at it again. Go back to Matthew chapter five, and let me explain this from a theological perspective, because again we do. We say, no, there are lost people out there, and they do things that are good. In fact, I've heard people say there are lost people out there who live better lives than believers do. Man looks on the outward, God looks at the heart. And if you do what you do for wrong motives, what you do is wrong. Matthew chapter five. Listen again. You have heard that it was said to those of old you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. And we say, yeah, there's lost people out there who make a decision not to murder. They think murder is bad, so they won't murder. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, And whoever says you full will be liable to the hell of fire. You cannot murder a person physically and spiritually still violate the sixth Commandment, not my words, Christ's words. Let's look at another one verse twenty seven. You have heard that it was said you shall not commit adultery. That's right. There's unbelievers out there who've been faithful to that spouses. Therefore they're righteous. Right. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Those who are in the flesh do not obey the law of God. Indeed, they can not. They cannot. Their behavior can be modified such that they conform to the rules, roles, norms, and morays of the society in which they live. But there is a tremendous chasm between behavioral modification and spiritual transformation. And you simply cannot get there from here. Look at the last verse. Those who are in the flesh can not please God. There's where we have a problem, because we say, this person who's not even a Christian is doing things that are good. Nothing is good unless God says it is good. And the Bible says that the person who is in the flesh cannot please God. Therefore nothing he does is good. By the way, on the flip side, the only reason that anything that I do is good is because I am in Christ and His Spirit is in me. Amen, I am no better. I am no better than the heathen. I'm better off, but I'm not better. Amen. You know they're saying, but for the grace of God they grow I. Amen, I may be better off, but I'm absolutely no better apart from the Spirit of God in me and me being in Christ. Secondly, the role of the spirit and sacification is to transfer us from the realm of the flesh. The role of the in sacification is to transfer us from the realm of the flesh. Look at this in verse eight. You, however, there's the problem. There are individuals who do not keep God's law, who cannot keep God's law, who cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. Remember what we said about those two mutually exclusive realms. You are not in the flesh. You're in the spirit, by the way. That's the again, that's the only way you can war against the flesh, because you are in the realm of the Spirit. You are not in the flesh. You are in the spirit. If in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Pause here for a moment. The role of the spirit is to transfer us from one realm to another. Yet there are people out there Christians out there who say, who believe in the idea of a spirit less Christian and a spirit filled Christian, the idea of the second Blessing. If you will, there is being saved, and then there's the second Blessing, and then the second Blessing. That's when you get the Holy Spirit. Okay, there's even saying save sanctified, filled with the Holy ghost You hear that in Pentecostal circles, say sanctified filled with the Holy ghosts, as though those are three mutually exclusive occurrences in the life of the believer. There is no sanctification without the feeling of the spirit. In fact, there is no justification without the spirit of God. Look at what he says, he completely obliterates any idea of a second blessing, any idea of a Christian who doesn't have the Holy Spirit. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. You cannot be a Christian without having all of the spirit. And people have the audacity to call this blasphemy full gospel. The only got part of the Gospel over there. We got the full Gospel over here, And it is absolute blasphemy the idea that there are some Christians who are without the Spirit of God, and that there are other Christians who have the Spirit of God. By the way, the evidences are that there's just one. Usually it's speaking in tongues. Hold on, God gives us the spirit of God in order to conform us to the image of Christ, that we might be sanctified. And yet we are saying what you really ought to be after is babbling that no one can understand but you, or not even you for that matter. How deceived can a person be, How utterly deceived can a person be? If you don't have the Spirit. You don't belong to him. If you don't have the spirit, you haven't been born again. If you don't have the spirit, you are not a Christian. And if you think the spirit is something that you need to go and get after you were justified. First of all, you don't understand justification. If you believe in a spiritless justification, you believe in an unbiblical justification. You're not even His. Apart from the Spirit. Here's the second thing. The spirits work in the life of the believer is about so much more. The spirit's work in the life of the believer is about, first and foremost, transferring you from the realm of the flesh to the realm of the Spirit. You're His. In fact, go with me to the right and look at the Book of Ephesians again Fijians, chapter one, beginning of verse eleven. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, when you heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. To the praise of His glory. You are sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit. When you believe the Gospel. You're His. You are baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit. That's the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You're baptized into Christ. We say that we're in Him, how do we get in Him? We're baptized in Christ by the person of the Holy Spirit. You are sealed by the Holy Spirit when you believe, and your justification is actualized through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. And the enemy has us running around looking for the Holy Spirit like a man for a check for a million dollars in his pocket on the corner, begging for change to go get something to eat. It is absolutely and utterly ridiculous. God is sanctifying you and conforming you to the very image of Christ. Or if I could just make noises with my mouth that people couldn't understand. God has united you with the person of Christ, and you seeking what you are in Christ and the Spirit endwells you, and he empowers you to be conformed to the image of Christ. Listen to this and Galatians five point twenty four. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires? Is that not good news? Crucified the flesh, nailed it to the cross with Christ. But then listen to Galatians chapter three and verse three. This is Paul is upset in the book of Galatians. And here's one of those areas, Oh, are you so foolish? Having begun by the spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh? That makes no sense that somehow you began by the spirit and now you are going trying to be sanctified by works. You're trying to be perfected by the flesh. Absolutely not. That's an entirely different realm. You don't belong to that realm anymore. You have been transferred from darkness into His marvelous light, and you're trying to get darkness to make you more like de light. It is the Spirit of God who sanctifies. It is us being in Christ, baptized into Christ by the Spirit, and it is Him being in us the Spirit of God in dwelling. Those of us who believe the role of the spirit and the sactification also gives us the greatest hope possible that we will be sanctified. Look at the next part of this text. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the spirit who dwells in you. Please get this. Who is this holy spirit who dwells you. He is the one who raised Christ from the dead. That's who he is. I don't know what you're facing in your life, but there's probably something in your life, and there are days in your life when you believe that you cannot be sanctified beyond that point, beyond whatever this thing is. I just can't be sanctified beyond this thing. I just can't overcome this thing. Listen to me. I've asked this question before, I'll ask it again. Is that thing bigger than a dead Jesus? Because the power that is resident in you is powerful enough to raise Christ from the dead. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's more powerful than whatever that thing is that you think you can't be sanctified from. Yes, but you don't know what I'm addicted to. Yeah, but he was dead. Yeah, but you don't know my past and my background. Yes, but he was dead. Yeah, But but but you don't know how long I've had this struggle. Yes, but he was dead. You mean to tell me that being addicted to drugs or alcohol, or pornography, or anger, or violence, or selfishness or pride of whatever else is more significant than being dead. It is not in that same power that overcame the grave resides in you to empower you to keep the righteous commandments of the holy and righteous law of a holy and righteous God, to the praise of His glory. That's who you are. That's what's in you. By the way, this is what makes it so inappropriate for us to expect unbelievers to act in righteousness. It's finally the role of the spirit and sanctification explains the doctrine of total depravity and the necessity of the new birth. This doctrine explains the doctrine of total depravity, and it explains the necessity of the new birth. Why back up with me, if you will look again in verses six and seven, Go go back to verse five. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death. But to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Now again, to set the mind on the Spirit is not something that you can do. So you don't have access to that life and peace by something you can do. You don't volunteer to go from one realm to the other. Here, you are taken from one realm to the other. Here. How do I know that liive verse seven? For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it can not, It cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Now we're going to get ahead of ourselves just a little bit, and we'll do more explanation of this passage later on. But remember what I said, this doctrine in understanding the spirit's work in sanctification, helps us, helps us explain the doctor the total depravity and the necessity of the new birth. Go with me, if you will, down to verse twenty eight or for twenty nine. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Those who he predestined he also called. Those whom he called, he also justified. Those whom he justified, he also glorified. Here's the argument, okay, that is made from the semi Palladian side, from the Armenian side, those whom he foreknew. That phrase means the God looked down the corridor of time, and he saw the people who would choose him, and he chose them because he foresaw that they were going to choose him. Now that comes just a few verses after. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. Yes, but there are some out there who are not hostile to God, and God sees them before they for it does not submit to the law of God. Yeah. But God looked down and he saw some people who would. Indeed, it cannot. Yeah, but God was looking and he saw some those who are in the flesh cannot please God. And yet the Armenian argues that election happened because God foresaw those who would please him. Even though no one can. That dog won't hunt. The necessity of the new birth, being born again, is not something that you work up toward. It is something that the spirit of God does. So here's the spirit of God. You are dead in your trespasses and sins. He makes you alive together with Christ when you're dead. Well, he does that because you want it. No, dead men don't want anything. Well, he does that because you take the first step. Dead Men don't take steps. In order for you to want it, or to take steps, you would have to please God. When you're in the flesh, you can't please God. So you have to be taken out of the flesh before you can do anything to please God. Therefore, the necessity the doctrine of regeneration before faith, not as a result of faith. Why is all of this important? I believe that the spirit of God awakened me in my sinful state when I was hostile to God, and he gave me a new heart and gave me faith. I placed that faith in Christ and turned from my sin. I was born again. He sealed me until the day of Redemption, baptized me into Christ, so that now I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. He in dwells me that same power that raised Christ from the dead. And yet there are some Christians who come to the other end of the spectrum and say, I'm just not sure if I'm gonna make it all the way through. Why he jerked me by the neap of my neck, burned me again. When you're a preacher, you get to make up words. He burned me again, shield me, baptized me into Christ, fills me, only to then leave it up to me as to whether or not it's seen through. No, those whom he justified, he also glorified. He is going to conform you to the image of Christ, because that's what he does. He is going to see you through because that's what he does. Well, what do I do? Believe it that like you believe it, Live like you believe it, Live like you know this to be true. Walk in holiness and righteousness because it has been prepared for you, and trust Him to bring it to pass, because that's what he does. A couple of passages here to look at. Look at John three. We talk about this new birth sty if we could just read all of John, but look at John three. Look at those first eight verses there in John three. Now, when there was a man in the Pharisees named Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher, come from God. For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see. Then say he cannot enter. He cannot see the Kingdom of God. Nicodine said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus said, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you you must be born again. The wind below where it wishes, and you hear the sound, but do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. Go to chapter six and look beginning at verse sixty three. Let's go to let's go to sixty When many of the disciples heard it, they said, this is a hard saying. Who can listen to it? But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, do you take offense at this? Then? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before. It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all. How about that it is the spirit who gives life. The flesh is no help at all. The words that I've spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. The flesh is no help at all. What are the implications of this. There's several implications of this, but let me just give you a couple. As we look at Romans chapter eight and the Doctor. In sanctification, we've talked about some of the implications of our sanctification, how we view our sanctification, and how we live in light of the Spirit's work in our sanctification. But there are a couple of other peripheral areas where this is important, Area number one in our evangelism. In our evangelism, evangelism today has turned into manipulation designed to get men to exercise His will. Because we believe that men can exercise his will toward God, this changes the way we view evangelism. We are not about getting men to exercise their wills. We are utterly dependent upon the Spirit of God. By the way, one of the reasons that people are so afraid to evangelize is because we really believe that effective evangelism is contingent upon our ability to say the right words in the right order and answer the questions the right way, so that as a result of our words, we can bring a person to new life. In other words, we believe that we can do the spirit's job. I can't say amen, you ought to say ouch, and so we don't do evangelism. Argue, well, if you believe that God is sovereign over people being saved, why would you do evangelism at all? Because I believe that God is sovereign, and therefore my evangelism is guaranteed to be successful. Amen. In spite of me, It's guaranteed to be successful. So what's the goal. The goal is not to be as convincing as possible, though we do need to be convincing. The goal is to be as clear as possible. I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel, and so we share the gospel. There is another implication here, and that is the implication of how we treat the unconverted and what we expect of the unconverted. How many times do we talk to people who say, well, yep, I'm going to go to church, but I just got to get my life right first. Really, because if you could do that, you wouldn't need the church. Amen. And yet don't we do the same thing. We tell the alcoholic to stop drinking, but we don't tell him the gospel, which is his only hope of ever overcoming that sin in the truest sense, because the alcoholic can stop drinking and still in his heart be an alcoholic. Poor God. We tell the homosexual stop being a homosexual, but we don't tell him the gospel, which is his only hope of ever being healed from that sin and doing anything that pleases God. Want to tell people around us to do the right thing, but we leave off the other side of the equation, which is why it's the right thing and why you can't do the right thing apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And chief among those sinners whom we do a disservice in this regard is our children. Teaching our children that right behaving is to be all to end all, and not reminding them of the Gospel and what it is that is in them that causes them to misbehave in the first place. You didn't do this because you forgot what mommy and Daddy told you. You did this because you're a sinner and you want to do it and you need to be saved because Christ died for sin and he's your only hope. Amen, this is our only hope. And when we're evangelizing, we need to keep this in mind. Dealing with sinners over the sin, we need to keep this in mind. We also need to keep this in mind when we're dealing with believers who need to be counseled. Amen, there's an anger problem in your marriage, Well you need to go to anger management. No, See, that anger problem is a sin problem. You don't manage a sin obliterated with the Gospel. Amen, that's the answer. It's the Gospel. We're having problems with ABC or XYZ, whatever it is. What council do we give and what's the foundation upon which we base our council. Our approach to counseling people has everything to do with what we understand about sanctification. Because here's an area of life that needs to be brought into conformity with Christ. How do we get from here to there? Is it the Gospel and the power of the Spirit that sanctifies or is it some other tool or ideology that gets to behavioral modification? The answer for most of chris Ritianity in our culture is the latter and not the former. And all of this hinges on our understanding of the role of the Spirit in the sanctification of the believer. Doctrine matters not just so that we can say we know doctrine, but because our doctrine dictates the way we live, or in other words, our orthodoxy gives rise to our orthopraxy, and in very few places it's that clearer than in our understanding of sanctification. This is absolutely critical, and again there are others who try to work towards sanctification without coming to God in repentance and faith. You can't get there from here because you're in the flesh and you cannot please God. What is your only hope? Christ is your only hope. Turn from your sin and turn to Christ. Embrace him the death that he died. Embrace him and the price that he paid. Embrace him and the resurrection that he experienced. Embrace Him who is now seated at the right hand of the Father forever making intercession for those who are his. Embrace Him as your only hope, and stop trying to be sanctified without first being justified. Trust Christ and him alone.