Holiness: For the Will of God Is Your Sanctification – 1 Thessalonians 4:3 [Annotated, Updated]

by J.C. Ryle

I have had a deep conviction for many years that practical holiness and entire self-consecration to God are not given adequate attention by modern Christians in this country. Politics, controversy, party spirit, or worldliness have eaten out the heart of lively piety in too many of us. The subject of personal godliness has sadly fallen into the background. The standard of holy living has become painfully low in many places. The immense importance of learning to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour (Titus 2:10) and making it lovely and beautiful by our daily habits and character has been far too much overlooked.

No well-taught child of God will dream of disputing that a life of daily self-consecration and daily communion with God should be aimed at by everyone who professes to be a believer, or that we should strive to attain the habit of going to the Lord Jesus Christ with everything we find a burden, whether great or small, and casting it upon Him. But surely the New Testament teaches us that we need something more than generalities about holy living, which often affect no conscience and give no offense.

Have we ever seen holier men than the martyred John Bradford, Richard Hooker, James Ussher, Richard Baxter, Samuel Rutherford, or Robert Murray McCheyne?

Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor and author and was one of the members of the Westminster Assembly. A collection of his letters has been published (Letters of Samuel Rutherford) and has become a Christian classic. Charles Spurgeon said that Rutherford’s Letters were “the nearest thing to inspiration which can be found in all the writings of mere men.” Richard Baxter said of them that except for the Bible, “such a book as Mr. Rutherford’s Letters the world never saw the like.”

First, a scriptural view of sin is one of the best antidotes to that vague, dim, misty, hazy kind of theology that is so painfully current in the present age. It is vain to shut your eyes to the fact that there is a vast quantity of so-called Christianity today that you cannot declare positively unsound, but which, nevertheless, is not quite accurate or biblical. It is a Christianity in which there is undeniably something about Christ, something about grace, something about faith, something about repentance, and something about holiness, but it is not the real thing as it is in the Bible. Things are out of place and out of proportion. As Hugh Latimer would have said, it is a kind of “mingle-mangle,” and it does no good.[6] It does not influence one’s daily conduct, does not provide comfort in life, and does not give peace in death. Those who hold these beliefs often awake too late to see that they have got nothing solid under their feet.

People will never set their faces decidedly toward heaven and live like pilgrims until they really feel that they are in danger of hell.

Without thorough conviction of sin, people may seem to come to Jesus and follow Him for a little while, but they will soon fall away and return to the world.

A little child is easily quieted and amused with bright toys, dolls, and rattles as long as he is not hungry; but once he feels the cravings of nature within, we know that nothing will satisfy him but food.

Finally, a scriptural view of sin will prove to be an admirable antidote to those low views of personal holiness that are so painfully prevalent in these last days of the church. This is a very painful and delicate subject, I know, but I dare not turn away from it. It has long been my sorrowful conviction that the standard of daily life among professing Christians in this country has been gradually falling. I am afraid that Christlike charity, kindness, good character, unselfishness, humility, gentleness, patience, self-denial, zeal to do good, and separation from the world are far less appreciated than they ought to be, and they are far less common than they used to be in the days of our fathers.

I cannot pretend to enter fully into the causes of this state of things, and can only suggest speculation for consideration. It might be that professing religion has become so fashionable and comparatively easy in the present age that the streams that were once narrow and deep have become wide and shallow, and what we have gained in outward show we have lost in quality.

It might be that the vast increase of wealth in the last fifty years has insensibly introduced a plague of worldliness, self-indulgence, and love of ease into social life. What were once called luxuries are now comforts and necessaries, and self-denial ...

It might be that the enormous amount of contention that marks this age has insensibly dried up our spiritual lives. We have too often been content with zeal for orthodoxy and have neglected...

Whatever the causes may be, I must declare my own belief that the result remains. There has been a lower standard of personal holiness among believers lately than there used to be in the days of our fathers. The whole result is that the Spirit is grieve...

We do not need to go back to Egypt and borrow semi-Roman-Catholic practices in order to revive our spiritual lives. We do not need to restore the confessional or return to monasticism or asceticism.

We must simply repent and do our first works (Revelation 2:5). We must return to first principles. We must go back to the old paths (Jeremiah 6:16). We must sit down humbly in the presence of God, look the whole subject in the face, and examine clearly what the Lord Jesus calls sin and what the Lord Jesus calls doing His will.

We must then try to realize that it is very possible to live a careless, easy-going, half-worldly life, while at the same time maintaining evangelical principl...

The subject of sanctification is one that many Christians, I am afraid, greatly dislike. Some even turn from it with scorn and disdain. The very last thing they would like is to be a “saint,” or a “sanctified” person.

Others dismiss it as almost nothing, under the pretense of zeal for free grace, and practically neglect it altogether. Others are so much afraid of “works” being made a part of justification that they can hardly find any place at all for “works” in their religion.

Simply put, where there is no sanctification of life, there is no real faith in Christ. True faith works by love. It compels a person to live unto the Lord from a deep sense of gratitude for redemption. It makes him feel that he can never do too much for Him who died for him. Being forgiven much, he loves much. He whom the blood cleanses walks in the light (1 John 1:7). He who has real lively hope in Christ purifies himself, even as he is pure (1 John 3:3).

Sanctification is the outcome and inseparable consequence of regeneration. He who is born again and is made a new creation receives a new nature and a new creed, and he always lives a new life. If someone claims to be regenerated yet lives carelessly in sin or worldliness, it is a regeneration invented by uninspired theologians, but is never mentioned in Scripture. On the contrary, John directly says that he who is born of God does not commit sin, does righteousness, loves the brethren, keeps himself, and overcomes the world (1 John 2:29; 3:9-14; 5:4-18). Basically, where there is no sanctification there is no regeneration, and where there is no holy life there is no new birth. This is, no doubt, a difficult saying to many people, but difficult or not, it is simple Bible truth. It is written plainly, that he who is born of God is one whose seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God (1 John 3:9).

The Spirit never lies dormant and idle within the soul. He always makes His presence known by the fruit He causes to be borne in heart, character, and life. The fruit of the Spirit, says Paul, is this: Charity, joy, peace, tolerance, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, and such like (Galatians 5:22-23). Where these qualities are to be found, the Spirit is there. Where these qualities are lacking, people are spiritually dead before God.

It is foolish to think that we have the Spirit if we do not also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We can depend on it as an absolute certainty that where there is no holy living, there is no Holy Spirit.

A person who professes to be a true Christian, while sitting still, content with a very low degree of sanctification (if indeed he has any at all), and calmly telling you he can do nothing, is a very pitiful sight and a very ignorant person.

For all this, however, the Bible distinctly teaches that the holy actions of a sanctified person, although imperfect, are pleasing in the sight of God. With such sacrifices God is well pleased (Hebrews 13:16). Obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord (Colossians 3:20). We . . . do those things that are pleasing in his sight (1 John 3:22). Let this never be forgotten, for it is a very comfortable doctrine. Just as a parent is pleased with the efforts of his little child to please him, even though it is only by picking a daisy or walking across a room, so our Father in heaven is pleased with the poor performances of His believing children. He looks at the motive, principle, and intention of their actions, and not merely at their quantity and quality. He regards them as members of His own dear Son, and for His sake, wherever there is a single purpose of obeying and glorifying Him, He is very pleased.

Sanctification is something that will be absolutely necessary as a witness to our character in the great day of judgment. It will be utterly useless to plead that we believe in Christ unless our faith has had some sanctifying effect and has been seen in our lives. Evidence, evidence, evidence, will be the one thing needed when the great white throne is set, when the books are opened, when the graves give up their tenants, and when the dead are arraigned before the judgment seat of God. Without some evidence that our faith in Christ Jesus was real and genuine, we will only rise again to be condemned. I can find no evidence that will be admitted in that day, except sanctification. The question will not be how we talked and what we professed, but how we lived and what we did. Let no one deceive himself on this point. If anything is certain about the future, it is certain that there will be a judgment; and if anything is certain about judgment, it is certain that our works and actions will be considered and examined in it (John 5:29; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:13). Anyone who thinks that works are of no importance because they cannot justify us is a very ignorant Christian. Unless he opens his eyes, he will find, to his harm, that if he goes to the judgment seat of God without some evidence of grace, it would have been better for him to have never been born.

We must be saints before we die if we are to be saints afterward in glory. The treasured idea of many that dying people need nothing except a quick confession and forgiveness of sins to make them ready for their great change is a profound delusion. We need the work of the Holy Spirit as well as the work of Christ. We need renewal of the heart as well as the atoning blood. We need to be sanctified as well as to be justified.

True sanctification does not consist in merely talking about Christianity and the Bible. This is a point that should never be forgotten. The vast increase of education and preaching in these latter days makes it absolutely necessary to raise a warning voice. People hear so much of preaching and Christian beliefs that they acquire an unholy familiarity with its words and phrases, and sometimes talk so fluently about its doctrines that you might think they are true Christians.

In fact, it is sickening and disgusting to hear the indifferent and superficial language that many pour out about conversion, the Savior, the gospel, finding peace, free grace, and more, while they are notoriously serving sin or living for the world. Can we doubt that such talk is abominable in God’s sight and is little better than cursing, swearing, and taking God’s name in vain?

What practical reflections should this matter raise in our minds? For one thing, let us all awake to a sense of the perilous condition of many professing Christians. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord; without sanctification, there is no salvation (Hebrews 12:14). What an enormous amount of so-called Christianity, then, is perfectly useless! What an immense proportion of church attenders are on the broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13)! The thought is dreadful, crushing, and overwhelming. Oh, that preachers and teachers would open their eyes and realize the condition of souls around them! Oh, that people could be persuaded to flee from the wrath to come (Luke 3:7)! If unsanctified souls can be saved and go to heaven, the Bible is not true. Yet the Bible is true and cannot lie! What must the end be! For another thing, let us be certain of our own condition and never rest until we feel and know that we are sanctified ourselves. What are our tastes, choices, likings, and inclinations? This is the great test question. It matters little what we wish and hope and desire to be before we die. Where are we now? What are we doing? Are we sanctified or not? If not, the fault is all our own.

Believers who seem to be at a standstill are generally neglecting close communion with Jesus, and so are grieving the Spirit.

Finally, let us never be ashamed of making much of sanctification and contending for a high standard of holiness. While some are satisfied with a miserably low degree of holy living, and while others are not ashamed to live without any holiness at all – content with a mere routine of church attendance, but never getting anywhere, like a horse in a mill – let us stand fast in the old paths, follow after eminent holiness ourselves, and recommend it boldly to others. This is the only way to be really happy. Let us be convinced, no matter what others may say, that holiness is happiness, and that the person who gets through life most comfortably is the one who is sanctified. No doubt there are some true Christians who, because of poor health, family trials, or other secret causes, enjoy little sensible comfort and go mourning all their days on the way to heaven, but these are uncommon cases. As a general rule, in the long run of life, it will be found true that sanctified people are the happiest people on earth. They have solid comforts that the world can neither give nor take away. The ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness (Proverbs 3:17). Those who love thy law have great peace (Psalm 119:165). It was said by One who cannot lie, For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30), but it is also written that There is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22).

A person may go great lengths and yet never reach true holiness. It is not knowledge, for Balaam had that. It is not a bold profession of following Jesus, for Judas Iscariot had that. It is not doing many things, for Herod had that. It is not just having zeal for certain aspects of God’s Word, for Jehu had that. Holiness is not morality and outward respectability of conduct, for the young ruler told about in John 3 had that. It is not simply taking pleasure in hearing preachers, for the Jews in Ezekiel’s time had that. It is not even in keeping company with godly people, for Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that. Yet none of these people were holy! These things alone are not holiness. A person may have any one of them and yet never see the Lord.

Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing with God’s judgment – hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely agrees with God is the one who is the most holy. A holy man or woman will strive to avoid every known sin and to keep every known commandment. He will have a decided inclination of mind toward God and a strong desire to do His will. He will have a greater fear of displeasing God than of displeasing the world, and he will have a love for all of God’s ways. He will feel what Paul felt when he said, For I delight with the law of God with the inward man

A holy person will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith in Him and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labor to have the mind that was in Him (Philippians 2:5) and to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). It will be his goal to bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgave us (Colossians 3:13). He will desire to be unselfish, even as Christ pleased not Himself (Romans 15:3). He will want to walk in love, even as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:2). He will aim to be lowly-minded and humble, even as Christ made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself (Philippians 2:7).

it was His meat and drink to do His Father’s will (John

He would continually deny Himself in order to minister to others

He was full of love and compassion to sinners

He was bold and uncompromising in denouncing sin

He went about doing good

He was separate from worldly people (John 17:16-19),

He continued instant ...

He would not let even His nearest relations stand in His way when God...

A holy person will try to remember these things. He will try to shape his course in life by them. He will lay to heart the saying of John, He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked (1 John 2:6), and the saying of Peter, that Jesus suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps (1 Peter 2:21). Happy is he who has learned to make Christ his all, both for salvation and for example! Much time would be saved and much sin prevent...

A holy person will follow after moderation and self-denial. He will labor to subdue the desires of his body – to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts (Galatians 5:24) and to restrain his passions and his carnal inclinations, lest at any time they break loose.

Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with excess and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares (Luke 21:34); and that of the apostle Paul, I keep my body under, and bring it into subjection, lest preaching to others, I myself should become reprobate

A holy person will pursue love and brotherly kindness.

He will be full of affection towards his brethren – towards their bodies, their property, their characters, their feelings, and their souls. He that loves his neighbour, says Paul, has fulfilled the law

He will strive to adorn his Christian life by all his outward appearance and conduct and to make it lovely and beautiful in the eyes of all around him. What condemning words are 1 Corinthians 13 and the Sermon on the Mount when laid alongside the conduct of many professing Christians!

A holy person will desire a spirit of mercy and benevolence toward others. He will not stand idle all day long. He will not be content with doing no harm, but he will try to do good. He will strive to be useful in his day and generation, and to lessen the spiritual needs and misery around him, as much as he can.

Leisure

A holy person will follow after purity of heart. He will dread all filthiness and uncleanness of spirit, and he will seek to avoid all things that might draw him into it. He knows his own heart is like kindling, and he will diligently keep clear of the sparks of temptation. Who will dare to talk of strength when David can fall?