The Aquila Report

Your independent source for news and commentary from and about conservative, orthodox evangelicals in the Reformed and Presbyterian family of churches

Providence College
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Search
Home/Biblical and Theological/The Ordo Salutis: Sanctification

The Ordo Salutis: Sanctification

Because God is holy, people God brings into relationship with himself must be made holy.

Written by Steven McCarthy | Wednesday, April 8, 2020

The concept of definitive sanctification is distinct from the false notion of sinless perfection this side of heaven, because the other complementary way in which we should speak of sanctification is in terms of “progressive sanctification”. The very word “progressive” implies that there is progress to make in our holiness.

 

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification,” (1 Th 4:3)[1] St. Paul writes to a group of mostly non-Jewish Christians in Thessalonica who had formerly worshiped idols and casually participated in a culture steeped in sexual promiscuity. Sanctus is the Latin word for “holy”. The English word “sanctification” uses the verbal form “sanctify”, adding the suffix “-ation”. So, sanctification refers to “being made holy”. Because God is holy, people God brings into relationship with himself must be made holy. If they are to dwell with them, they must be holy, or else destroyed. But what does it mean to be holy, and how are we as creatures made holy?

To be holy means to be set apart, separated from anything that is either profane or merely common. God is holy in an absolute sense, because he is the Creator and everything else is his creation. He is above and beyond all that he has made. We especially think of him as holy, however, in the sense of moral perfection. Reasoning creatures such as angels and humans have become evil and wicked. Even the animal creation sometimes evidences such disorder and confusion — though arguably never the degree of perverse cruelty that humanity has perpetrated on itself through gas chambers, serial murders, abuse, and torture — that we would not have expected to see in the Garden of Eden apart from the serpent who appears as a devious intruder. We would not expect to see, for example, a mother abandon or murder her child, but sadly, such things happen in a cruel world that has forgotten its creator and his wise design for it. God is holy because he is entirely righteous and separate from evil.

Read More

Related Posts:

  • Joyful Sanctification
  • Holy Is Who You Are
  • Blood and Water: The Christian Fight for Holiness
  • Sanctification: God's Will for You
  • The Canons Of Dort (10): Unconditional Grace Gives Assurance

Subscribe, Follow, Listen

  • email-alt
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • apple-podcasts
  • anchor
Belhaven University
Coronavirus - and the Leadership of the Christian Church

Archives

Books

Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian - by Danny Olinger

Special

5 Solas of the Reformation
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Donations
  • Email Alerts
  • Leadership
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Principles and Practices
  • Privacy Policy

Important:

Free Subscription

Aquila Report Email Alerts

Special

5 Solas of the Reformation
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Principles and Practices
  • RSS Feed
  • Subscribe to Weekly Email Alerts
Providence Christian College - visit

DISCLAIMER: The Aquila Report is a news and information resource. We welcome commentary from readers; for more information visit our Letters to the Editor link. All our content, including commentary and opinion, is intended to be information for our readers and does not necessarily indicate an endorsement by The Aquila Report or its governing board. In order to provide this website free of charge to our readers,  Aquila Report uses a combination of donations, advertisements and affiliate marketing links to  pay its operating costs.

Return to top of page

Website design by Five More Talents · Copyright © 2021 The Aquila Report · Log in