Journal: Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Volume: JOTGES 06:1 (Spring 1993)
Article: We Believe In: Sanctification Part 2: Past Sanctification
Author: Robert N. Wilkin

---

JOTGES 6:1 (Spring 93) p. 3

We Believe In: Sanctification
Part 2: Past Sanctification

Robert N. Wilkin

Associate Editor
Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society
Dallas, Texas

I. Introduction

When most authors or speakers write or speak about sanctification, they almost always mean progressive (or present) sanctification.1 In fact, many of the books and articles on sanctification never even mention past sanctification.

One wonders why there is such a neglect of the subject of past sanctification.

It is not because the Scriptures are silent on the subject.

One might well think that the reason for this lack of attention is because many more passages speak of present sanctification than speak of past (or future) sanctification. Before embarking on this study, I thought that way. However, after doing a study of all NT passages dealing with sanctification, I found that over three quarters deal with past sanctification! By comparison only 20% deal with present sanctification. See Appendices 1–4 for a listing of the actual percentages and passages.

One reason for the lack of attention to past sanctification may be a desire to oversimplify biblical concepts. That is, there is a tendency to

JOTGES 6:1 (Spring 93) p. 4

want to reduce concepts like salvation and sanctification to one basic meaning. This tendency is misguided since both salvation and sanctification are complex concepts which have a wide range of meaning in Scripture. Another possible reason for this neglect of past sanctification is the understandable desire to focus on external transformation. Pastors, and often theologians as well, tend to be more interested in behavioral changes than in constitutional, legal, or positional changes.

A third reason is the failure to see a clear separation between justification and progressive sanctification. Lordship Salvation teachers believe that perseverance in the faith—and hence in personal holiness— is a condition of eternal salvation. Anyone who fails to persevere is said to have never been saved in the first place.

According to Lordship thinking, if progressive sanctification is not in clear evidence in a person’s life, then past sanctification probably never really occurred. This naturally leads Lordship teachers to view progressive sanctification as the sine qua non of past sanctification (rather than the other way around)!

A.W. Pink, himself a strong Calvinist, decried the tendency in Reformed circles to ignore past sanctification and to link assuran...

visitor : : uid: ()