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

by J.C. Ryle

It will cost him the favor of the world. He must be content to be thought poorly of by others if he pleases God. He must not think it is a strange thing to be mocked, ri...

He must not be surprised to find his beliefs and Christian lifestyle despised and held up to scorn. He must accept that many people will consider him to be foolish, fanatical, and overzealous. He must understand that his words will be twisted and his actions mis...

The Master says, Remember the word that I said unto you, The slave is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept ...

The cup that our Master drank must be drunk by His disciples. They must be despised and rejected among men (Isaiah 53:3). To be a Christian will cost us the favor of the world.

I admit that the list is a heavy one, but what item could be removed? Bold indeed must that person be who would dare to say that we may keep our self-righteousness, our sins, our laziness, and our love of the world and yet be saved!

I admit that it costs much to be a true Christian, but who in his right mind can doubt that it is worth any cost to have one’s soul saved?

Trouble is, one must believe their eternity really is at stake. That professing Christ is not a guarantee of heaven.

Surely a Christian should be willing to give up anything that stands between him and heaven. A Christianity that costs nothing is worth nothing! A cheap Christianity without a cross will prove in the end to be a useless Christianity without a crown.

I could easily settle this question by laying down the principle that no duty established by Jesus Christ can ever be neglected without damage. I could show how many close their eyes throughout life to the nature of saving Christianity and refuse to consider what it really costs to be a Christian. I could describe how at last, when life is flowing away, they wake up and make a few erratic efforts to turn to God. I could tell you how they find, to their amazement, that repentance and conversion are not such easy matters as they had supposed, and that it costs a great deal to be a true Christian. They discover that habits of pride, sinful indulgence, love of ease, and worldliness are not as easily laid aside as they had thought. And so, after a small struggle, they give up in despair and leave the world without hope, without grace, and unfit to meet God! They had flattered themselves all their days that Christianity would be easy work when once they took it up seriously. But they open their eyes too late and discover for the first time that they are ruined because they never counted the cost.

The people I speak of are not thoughtless about Christianity; they think much about it. They are not ignorant of Christianity; they know the basic beliefs pretty well. Their great defect, though, is that they are not rooted and grounded in their faith. They have too often picked up their knowledge secondhand – from being in religious families or from being trained in religious ways – but they have never worked it out by their own inward experience. Too often they have quickly taken up a profession of Christianity under the pressure of circumstances – from emotional feelings, from physical excitement, or from a general desire to do like others around them – but without any solid work of grace in their hearts. People like this are in a place of great danger. They are precisely those, according to Bible examples, who need to be exhorted to count the cost. Due to neglecting to count the cost, large numbers of the children of Israel perished miserably in the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan. They left Egypt full of zeal and fervor, as if nothing could stop them, but when they found dangers and difficulties in the way, their courage soon cooled down. They had never imagined that there would be trouble. They had thought they would be safely in the promised land in a few days. So when enemies, difficulties, hunger, and thirst began to make their presence known, the Israelites murmured against Moses and God, and would gladly have gone back to Egypt. They had not counted the cost...

For lack of counting the cost, Demas left the company of Paul, rejected the gospel, turned his back on Christ, and renounced heaven. For a long time he had journeyed with the great Apostle to the Gentiles and was actually a fellowlabourer (Philemon 1:24), but when he realized that he could not have the friendship of this world as well as the friendship of God, he gave up his Christianity and clung to the world. Demas has forsaken me, Paul said, having loved this present world (2 Timothy 4:10). He had not counted the cost.

Because they do not count the cost, the hearers of powerful evangelical preachers often come to miserable ends. They are stirred and excited into professing what they have not really experienced. They receive the Word with a joy so extravagant that it almost startles mature Christians. They continue for a time with such zeal and fervor that they seem likely to outgain all others. They talk and work for spiritual purposes with such enthusiasm that they make older believers feel ashamed, but when the novelty and freshness of their feelings is gone, a change comes over them. They prove to have been nothing more than stony-ground hearers.

Temptation or persecution arises because of the Word, and they are offended (Matthew 13:21). Little by little their zeal melts away and their love becomes cold. In time their seats are empty in the assembly of God’s people, and they are heard of no more among Christians.

So when they find after a while that there is a cross to be carried, that our hearts are deceitful, and that there is a busy devil always near us, they cool down in disgust and return to their old sins. Why? Because they never really knew what Bible Christianity is.

For failure to count the cost, the children of religious parents often do not turn out well, and they bring disgrace on Christianity.

they often grow up professing Christianity without knowing why or without ever having thought seriously about it. Then when the realities of grown-up life begin to press upon them, they often astound everyone by dropping all their Christian ways and plunging right into the world. Why? Because they had never thoroughly understood the sacrifices that Christianity involves.

Let no one mistake my meaning. I thoroughly approve of offering a full, free, present, immediate salvation in Christ Jesus. I thoroughly approve of urging the possibility and the duty of immediate instantaneous conversion. In these matters I give place to no one, but I do say that these truths should not be set before people thoughtlessly or without explanation. They ought to be told honestly what it is they are taking up if they profess a desire to come out from the world and serve Christ. They should not be moved into the ranks of Christ’s army without being told what the warfare entails.

multitudes went with him, and he turned and said unto them, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, and even his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:25-27). I must plainly say that I cannot reconcile this passage with the lives of many modern Christian pastors and teachers. Yet to my mind, this doctrine is as clear as the sun at noonday. It shows us that we should not hurry people into professing discipleship without warning them plainly to count the cost.

Luther, Latimer, Baxter, Wesley, Whitefield, Berridge, and Rowland Hill were all extremely aware of the deceitfulness of man’s heart.

They knew very well that all is not gold that glitters, that conviction is not conversion, that feeling is not faith, that sentiment is not grace, and that all blossoms do not come to fruit. “Do not be deceived,” was their constant cry. “Consider well what you do. Do not run before you are called. Count the cost.”

Work hard if you will, and if you have the opportunity, for the souls of others. Urge them to consider their ways. Compel them with holy intensity to come in, to lay down their arms, and to yield themselves to God. Offer them salvation – ready, free, full, immediate salvation. Urge Christ and all His benefits on their acceptance. In all your work, though, tell the truth, and tell the whole truth. Be ashamed to use the common art of a recruiting sergeant. Do not speak only of the uniform, the pay, and the glory, but also speak of the enemies, the battle, the armor, the vigilance, the marching, and the drills. Do not present only one side of Christianity. When you speak of the cross on which Christ died for our redemption, do not keep back the cross of self-denial that must be carried. Explain fully what Christianity involves. Exhort people to repent and come to Christ, but urge them at the same time to count the cost.

Let us mention some things that should always enter into our calculations in counting the cost of true Christianity. Set down honestly and fairly what you will have to give up and go through if you become Christ’s disciple. Leave nothing out. Put it all down. Then write down side by side the following points that I am going to give you. Do this fairly and honestly, and I will not be afraid of the result.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

Count up and compare the friends and the enemies if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. On the one side is the enmity of the devil and the wicked. On the other side you have the favor and friendship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your enemies, at most, can only bruise your heel. They may rage loudly and travel sea and land to try to ruin you, but they cannot destroy you.

Count up and compare the life that now is and the life that is to come if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. The present time, no doubt, is not a time of ease. It is a time of watching and praying, fighting and struggling, believing and working – but it is only for a few years. The future time is the season of rest and refreshing. Sin will be cast out. Satan will be bound. Best of all, it will be a rest forever. It is written, For our tribulation, which is momentary and light, prepares an exceeding and eternal weight of glory unto us; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

Count up and compare the pleasures of sin and the happiness of God’s service if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. The pleasures that the worldly man gets by his ways are hollow, unreal, and unsatisfying. They are like the fire of thorns, flashing and crackling for a few minutes and then quenched forever. The happiness that Christ gives to His people is something solid, lasting, and substantial. It does not depend upon health or circumstances. It never leaves anyone, even in death. It ends in an incorruptible crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4). It is written, The joy of the hypocrite [is] but for a moment (Job 20:5), and The laughter of the fool is as the crackling of thorns under a pot (Ecclesiastes 7:6). However, it is also written, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you.

Count up and compare the trouble that true Christianity involves and the troubles that are in store for the wicked beyond the grave. Admit for a moment that Bible reading, praying, repenting, believing, and holy living require effort and self-denial. It is all nothing compared to that wrath to come that is stored up for the impenitent and unbelieving (1 Thessalonians 1:10). A single day in hell will be worse than a whole life spent carrying the cross. Where their worm does not die, and the fire is never quenched are things that we cannot fully conceive or describe (Mark 9:48). It is written, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime didst receive thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted here, and thou art tormented

How was it that Noah persevered in building the ark? He stood alone amid a world of sinners and unbelievers. He had to endure scorn, ridicule, and mocking. What was it that steadied his arm and made him patiently work on and face it all? It was faith. He believed in a wrath to come. He believed that there was no safety except in the ark that he was preparing. Believing, he did not place much value on the world’s opinion.

In conclusion, think seriously about whether your current version of Christianity costs you anything. Very likely it costs you nothing. Very probably it does not cost you trouble, time, thought, care, effort, reading, praying, self-denial, conflict, working, or labor of any kind. Now notice what I say. Such a Christianity as this will never save your soul. It will not give you peace while you live nor hope while you die. It will not support you in the day of affliction nor cheer you in the hour of death. Christianity that costs nothing is worth nothing. Awake before it is too late. Awake and repent. Awake and be converted. Awake and believe. Awake and pray. Do not rest until you can give a satisfactory answer to my question: “What does it cost?” If you lack inspiring motives for serving God, think about what it cost to provide salvation for your soul. Think how the Son of God left heaven and became a man, suffered on the cross, and lay in the grave to pay your debt to God and work out for you a complete redemption. Think about all this and learn that it is no little matter to possess an immortal soul. It is worthwhile to take some trouble about your soul.

Are you really determined to make shipwreck forever merely because you do not want to exert yourself? Away with the cowardly, unworthy thought! Arise and be strong! Say to yourself, “Whatever it costs, I will strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Matthew 7:13-14). Look at the cross of Christ and take fresh courage. Look ahead to death, judgment, and eternity and be in earnest. It might cost much to be a Christian, but you can be sure that it is worth the cost.

The presence and company of Christ will make up for all we suffer here below. When we see as we have been seen and look back on the journey of life, we will wonder at our own faintness of heart. We will marvel that we made so much of our cross and thought so little of our crown. We will marvel that in counting the cost we could have ever doubted on which side lay the greatest reward. Let us take courage. We are not far from home. It might cost much to be a true Christian and a consistent believer, but it is well worth the price.

Sinners are not sufficiently instructed about the holiness of God’s law, the depth of their sinfulness, and the real guilt of sin. To be constantly telling a sinner to “come to Christ” is of little use unless you tell him why he needs to come and fully show him his sins.

Faith is often not properly explained. In some cases, people are taught that mere feeling is faith. In others they are taught that if they believe that Christ died for sinners, they have faith! At this rate, the very demons are believers!

The harm done by the theological system I refer to is very great. On the one hand, many humble-minded Christians are totally discouraged. They think they have no grace because they cannot attain the joyous emotions and feelings that are urged upon them. On the other hand, many graceless people are deceived into thinking they are converted because, under the pressure of excitement and temporary feelings, they are led to profess themselves Christians. And all this time the thoughtless and ungodly look on with contempt and find new reasons to neglect Christianity completely.

He told them to stand still and count the cost. I am not sure that most modern preachers would have adopted this course of treatment.

Growth in grace is the best evidence of spiritual health and prosperity. In a child or a flower or a tree, we are all aware that when there is no growth, there is something wrong. Healthy life in an animal or plant will always show itself by progress and increase. It is the same with our souls. If they are progressing and doing well, they will grow. Growth in grace is one way to be happy in our Christianity. God has wisely linked together our comfort and our increase in holiness. He has graciously made it in our interest to press on and aim high in our Christianity. There is a vast difference between the amount of sensible enjoyment that one believer has in his Christianity compared to another. You can be sure that ordinarily the person who feels the most joy and peace in believing (Romans 15:13) and has the clearest witness of the Spirit in his heart is the person who grows. Growth in grace is one secret of usefulness to others. Our influence on others for good depends greatly on what they see in us. The children of the world measure Christianity quite as much by their eyes as by their ears. The Christian who is always at a standstill, who to all appearances remains the same, with the same little faults, weaknesses, troubling sins, and little weaknesses, is seldom the Christian who does much good. The person who shakes and stirs minds and sets the world thinking is the believer who is continually improving and going forward. People think there is life and reality when the...

The nearer one grows to God and the more he sees of God’s holiness and perfection, the more thoroughly he is aware of his own countless imperfections. The farther he travels on the way to heaven, the more he understands what Paul meant when he said that he was not already perfect (Philippians 3:12), that he was not worthy to be called an apostle (1 Corinthians 15:9), that he was less than the least of all saints (Ephesians 3:8), and that he was chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). The more ready he is for glory, the more, like the ripe corn, he hangs down his head. The brighter and clearer his light and understanding are, the more he sees of the shortcomings and infirmities of his own heart. When first converted, he would tell you he only saw a little of them compared to what he sees now. Do you want to know if you are growing in grace? Be sure that you look within for increased humility.

Another sign of growth in grace is increased faith and love toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The person whose soul is growing finds more in Christ to rest upon every year, and he rejoices more that he has such a Savior. No doubt he saw much in Him when he first believed. His faith laid hold on the atonement of Christ and gave him hope, but as he grows in grace, he sees a thousand things in Christ that he never dreamed of at first. His love and power, His heart and His intentions, His work as Substitute, Intercessor, Priest, Advocate, Physician, Shepherd, and Friend – all unfold themselves to a growing soul in an unspeakable manner. The person who is growing in grace discovers a worthiness in Christ for the needs of his soul that he did not even know the half of before. Do you want to know if you are growing in grace? Then look within and see if you have increased knowledge of Christ.

Another sign of growth in grace is increased spirituality of taste and mind. The person whose soul is growing takes more interest in spiritual things every year. He does not neglect his duty in the world. He carries out every duty of life faithfully, diligently, and conscientiously, whether at home or abroad, but the things he loves best are spiritual things. The ways, trends, amusements, and recreations of the world have a continually decreasing place in his heart. He does not condemn them all as downright sinful or say that those who have anything to do with them are going to hell, but they have a constantly diminishing hold on his own affections and gradually seem smaller and less important in his eyes. Godly friends, habits, activities, and conversation appear of ever-increasing value to him. Do you want to know if you are growing in grace? Then look within for a greater desire for the things of God and less affection for the things of the world.

But they are thorns and temptations too

Another sign of growth in grace is increase of love. The person whose soul is growing is more full of love every year – of love to all people, but especially of love toward true Christian brethren. His love will show itself actively in a growing disposition to do kindnesses, to help others, to be good-natured to everybody, to be generous, sympathizing, thoughtful, tenderhearted, and considerate. It will show itself passively in a growing disposition to be humble and patient toward others, to put up with provocation and not stand upon rights, to be patient and to restrain rather than quarrel. A soul growing in grace will try to put the best construction on other people’s conduct and to believe all things and hope all things, even to the end. There is no more certain sign of backsliding and falling off in grace than an increasing disposition to find fault, pick holes, and see weak points in others. Do you want to know if you are growing in grace? Then look within for increasing love.

Another thing that is essential to growth in grace is caution about the company we keep and the friendships we form. Perhaps nothing affects someone’s character more than the company he keeps. We are influenced by the ways and tone of those with whom we live and talk, and, sadly, we get harm far more easily than good. Disease is infectious, but health is not. If a professing Christian deliberately chooses to be closely acquainted with those who are not friends of God and who cling to the world, his soul is certain to be harmed. It is hard enough to serve Christ under any circumstances in such a world as this, but it is twice as hard to do so if we are friends of the thoughtless and ungodly. Mistakes in friendship or marriage engagements are the whole reason why some have entirely ceased to grow. Evil companions corrupt good character (1 Corinthians 15:33). The friendship of the world is enmity with God (James 4:4). Let us seek friends who will motivate us to pray, read the Bible, and use our time wisely. Let us seek friends who are concerned about our souls, our salvation, and a world to come. Who can tell the good that a friend’s word in season may do or the harm that it can stop? This is one way to grow.[2]

Such a habit of dealing with Christ is clearly something more than a vague general trust in the work that Christ did for sinners. It is getting close to Him and laying hold of Him with confidence, as a loving, personal Friend. This is what I mean by communion.

We must not be content with a general routine knowledge that justification is by faith and not by works, and that we should put our trust in Christ. We must go further than this. We must seek to have personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus and to deal with Him as a man deals with a loving friend. We must realize what it is to turn to Him first in every need, to talk to Him about every difficulty, to consult with Him about every step, to spread before Him all our sorrows, to get Him to share in all our joys, to do everything as in His sight, and to go through every day leaning on Him and looking to Him.

Ooh

For those who are really growing in grace, but are not aware of it and do not recognize it. Their very growth is the reason why they do not see their growth! Their continual increase in humility prevents them from realizing that they are progressing. Like Moses when he came down from the mount from communing with God, their faces shine, and like Moses, they are not aware of it (Exodus 34:29). Such Christians, I freely admit, are not common, but they are to be found every once in a while. Like angels’ visits, they are few and far between. Happy is the neighborhood where such growing Christians live! To meet them and see them and be in their company is like meeting and seeing a bit of heaven upon earth.

Last, but not least, if we know anything about growth in grace and desire to know more, let us not be surprised if we have to go through much trial and affliction in this world. I firmly believe it is the experience of nearly all the most eminent saints. Like their blessed Master, they have been men of sorrows, and acquainted with weakness (Isaiah 53:3), and made perfect . . . through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). It is a remarkable saying of our Lord, that every branch in Him that bears fruit, His Father purges it that [it] may bring forth more fruit (John 15:2).

It is a sad fact that constant worldly prosperity, as a general rule, is harmful to a believer’s soul. We cannot stand it. Sickness, losses, crosses, anxieties, and disappointments seem absolutely necessary to keep us humble, watchful, and spiritual-minded. They are as needful as the pruning knife to the vine and the refiner’s furnace to the gold. They are not pleasant to flesh and blood. We do not like them, and we often do not see their meaning. No chastening at present seems to be cause for joy, but rather for grief; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11). When we reach heaven, we will find that it all worked out for our good.

Lastly, it cannot be wrong to be confident in a matter where God speaks unconditionally, to believe decidedly when God promises decidedly, and to have a sure persuasion of pardon and peace when we rest on the word and oath of Him who never changes. It is an utter mistake to suppose that the believer who feels assurance is resting on anything he sees in himself. He simply leans on the Mediator of the New Covenant and the Scripture of truth. He believes that the Lord Jesus means what He says, and he takes Him at His word. Assurance, after all, is no more than a full-grown faith. It is a mature faith that grasps Christ’s promise with both hands. It is a faith that argues like the good centurion, “If the Lord speak the word only, then I am healed” (Matthew 8:8). Wherefore then should I doubt?[2] We can be sure that Paul was the last man in the world to build his assurance on anything of his own. He who could write himself down as the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15) had a deep sense of his guilt and corruption, but he had a still deeper sense of the length and breadth of Christ’s righteousness imputed to him. He who could cry, O wretched man that I am (Romans 7:24) had a clear view of the fountain of evil within his heart, but he had a still clearer view of that other Fountain that can remove all sin and uncleanness. He who thought himself less than the least of all saints (Ephesians 3:8) had a strong and abiding feeling of his own weakness, but he had a still stronger feelin...

I do not refrain from saying that by grace a person can have sufficient faith to flee to Christ – sufficient faith really to lay hold on Him, really to trust in Him, really to be a child of God, and really to be saved, and yet to his last day never be free from much anxiety, doubt, and fear.

Let us never curtail the freeness of the glorious gospel or diminish its magnitude. Let us never make the gate more confined and the way narrower than pride and the love of sin have made it already. The Lord Jesus is very compassionate and of tender mercy. He does not regard the quantity of faith, but the quality. He does not measure its degree, but its truth. He will not break any bruised reed nor quench any smoking flax (Isaiah 42:3). He will never let it be said that anyone perished at the foot of the cross. He that comes to me, He says, I will in no wise cast out (John 6:37). Yes! Though one’s faith is no bigger than a grain of mustard seed (Matthew 17:20), if it only brings him to Christ and enables him to touch the hem of His garment (Matthew 9:21; 14:35-36), he will be saved. He will be saved as certainly as the oldest saint in paradise. He will be saved as completely and eternally as Peter, John, or Paul. There are degrees in our sanctification, but there are none in our justification. What is written, is written, and it will never fail: Whosoever believes on him – not whosoever has a strong and mighty faith, but Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed (Romans 10:11).

Remember, though, that all this time the poor believing soul might have no full assurance of his pardon and acceptance with God. He might be troubled with fear upon fear and doubt upon doubt. He might have many inward questions, concerns, struggles, and doubts – clouds and darkness, storm and tempest – to the very end.

I will agree, I repeat, that plain simple faith in Christ will save a person even though he may never attain to assurance, but I will not agree that it will bring him to heaven with strong and abundant comfort. I will agree that it will land him safe in the harbor, but I will not agree that he will enter that harbor in full sail, confident and rejoicing. I will not be surprised if he reaches his desired ha...