I just finished reading Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God by John Piper (the Kindle version is on sale for $2.99 at Amazon by the way). In this book, Dr. Piper centers his thesis around two passages of Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:7, "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." and Proverbs 2:1-6, which basically boils down to "If you ... raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver ... then you will ... find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding". His point is that we as Christians should be making intellectual effort; we should be thinking. And the reason given for this is that God gives understanding and wisdom. It is essential that we do the effort of thinking, but it is God who gives the knowledge. In Dr. Piper's words, "They go together - our seeking understanding and God's giving it. Seeking it like silver is essential to finding. But finding is a gift of God".
It strikes me that this same principle applies in the question of sanctification. We often discuss whether we should be making effort in our sanctification, or if it is God who produces holiness in us. It seems to me the answer to this question is "yes". We should be making an effort in our own sanctification and the reason, at least in part, is that God provides growth in holiness. This principle is portrayed in Philippians 2:12b-13: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." The latter part of verse 12 here, "work out your own salvation" is referring to our effort in sanctification; striving to produce character and outward behavior in consonance with our already achieved salvation. The "for" that I have underlined gives the reason for this effort just as it does in 2 Timothy 2 and Proverbs 2. The reason given is that God works in us both to produce the will to work and the work itself. The "for his good pleasure" clause could be taken as referring either to God's work in us or to our work. I think both are appropriate. It pleases God to work in us; and, our work in sanctification should be to please him.
So, they go together - our striving for holiness, and God's giving it. Working for holiness is essential to growing in it. But, growing in it is a gift of God.
Thanks for the heads-up about Dr. Piper's book in the Kindle store. Your points in this blog remind me of the central theme in Jerry Bridges' work, "The Pursuit of Holiness", and are, as always, a great reminder. (Eric from Phoenix)
ReplyDeleteHey Eric, thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteYes, this idea isn't new. An aspect of it became much more clear in my mind though. It is not just that we work at our sanctification and God ultimately provides the end result. In fact the reason we work at it is because God provides the end result. As I think about it, this principle also runs like a thread through other aspects of the Christian life such as evangelism and church growth.