Does Victory Over Sin Come Through The Law?

Feature 2 –December 2017 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Does Victory Over Sin Come Through The Law?

In taking up the subject of victory over sin, let’s make sure we understand the meaning of “sanctification.” The first thing that should be noted is that there is a positional sanctification as well as a practical sanctification. The first is our standing before God; the second is our growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ, which results in Christ-likeness in our ways. It is very clear from Scripture that our positional sanctification is absolutely by God’s sovereign grace. The apostle Peter says that we were “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:2 NKJV ). We were set apart – the true meaning of sanctification – by God’s sovereign counsels.

There is both an absolute and a progressive sanctification, but “sanctification” is in the absolute, or positional, sense when connected with justification. In Scripture, this sanctification actually precedes justification, as Paul told the Corinthians, “But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified” (1 Cor. 6:11).

This article will look at practical, or progressive, sanctification. The question before us is: What constitutes the power of practical sanctification and what part, if any, does the law play in this?

Power Source
On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley Sullenberger was the pilot in command of a passenger jetliner bound for Charlotte, North Carolina from New York City. Shortly after taking off, Captain Sullenberger reported to air traffic control that the plane had hit a large flock of birds, disabling both engines. Moments later, Captain Sullenberger radioed the controllers saying, “I’m going down in the Hudson!” Amazingly, he landed the plane on the Hudson River in New York, saving all 155 people on board.

The plane was subject to the law of gravity, although normally the law of aerodynamics would override the law of gravity and enable the plane to stay in the air without crashing. But if a jet’s engines fail, as in the case of Flight 1549’s, the law of gravity soon takes over. This is true for the believer as well: There are two laws at work in us and one will always override the other. The apostle Paul spoke of “the law of sin” which is at work in our members (Rom. 7:23). Practical deliverance from this law of sin is through another law: “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (8:2). This law has set us free from the law of sin and death “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (v.4). The flesh in us who are believers is ready to act at any time during our walk in this world, but as in the gravity versus aerodynamics story above, the power of the Spirit overrides the flesh when we are practically “walking in the Spirit,” giving us victory through Christ Jesus.

Notice where we see a believer struggling with sin in Romans 7 that it is the law which is the focus, but when we come to chapter 8 the deliverance of the believer is declared, and the Holy Spirit is brought before us in almost every verse. The law will be fulfilled in those walking in the Spirit. The new law or principle at work in the believer – “the law of the Spirit of life” – gives victory over the old law that leads to sin and death.

Some Christians mistakenly get alarmed when they hear we are not under the moral law, even for sanctification. They are concerned about “antinomianism,” a theological term meaning “without law” and used to describe the idea that since grace has come the believer can live in sin. We do not contend for a form of lawlessness as we actually have a law, that new law: “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”

In Christ Jesus we are a new creation (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17), to which the old law is not and cannot be attached. This new law is not in contradiction to God’s holy character as expressed in the law of the old covenant. The believer is no longer “in the flesh” positionally, but the flesh is still in the believer practically (Rom. 8:9). Paul brought out the same emphasis on the Holy Spirit in his letter to the saints in Galatia, where the legalists sought to bring the saints under the bondage of the old law (see Gal. 5:16-26). He said, “But if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (v.18 KJV).

Paul stated substantially the same thing again in 2 Corinthians regarding the legalists and false apostles who had been undermining his ministry. He brilliantly contrasted the features of the old covenant and the new covenant in chapter 3. The old ministry was one of condemnation and death; the new ministry was of the Spirit and righteousness. The first was engraved in stone; the second was engraved on our hearts by the Spirit of the living God (v.3).

Something Not To Miss
The subject in 2 Corinthians 3 is the believer’s transformation, not the sinner’s justification. When the believer beholds the glory of the Lord he is transformed from “one degree of glory to another,” and it comes “by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18 NKJV). It only takes one look to the Lord Jesus to save a soul (consider Num. 21:4-9), but after that there is, or should be, a life-time of looking for victory over sin.

Our ongoing transformation as Christians comes by viewing our glorified Lord Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing about the law in 2 Corinthians 3 except that Paul says it “kills” (v.6). In this chapter Paul described the true nature of Christianity by contrasting it with the old covenant of the law. True Christianity is not looking to the law for power and victory but is Christ reproduced by the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The law cannot give us victory in our walk as believers, for we have died to it.

Sanctification, The Law And The Old Man
The old law applied to “the man in the flesh” to show that it can bring forth no fruit to God. For us the old man has been crucified and we are no longer “in the flesh.” Having died to the law we are now “in the Spirit.” Since we have a new standing before God, and we are dead and risen in Christ, how can it be that the old law should be again applied to us? Remember, we are under a new law, “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”

The whole idea of the sanctification of the old man to whom the law had applied is completely unscriptural. It was described in this way by C. H. Mackintosh many years ago:

“Our fallen, corrupt nature is always treated as a hopelessly ruined thing. It has been weighed in the balance and found wanting. It has been measured by a divine rule and found short. It has been tried by a perfect plummet and proved crooked. God has set it aside. He has condemned it and put it to death. It is crucified, dead, and buried ... The more closely we study the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, and the entire New Testament, the more closely we shall see that the flesh is wholly unmendable. It is, absolutely, good for nothing. The Spirit does not sanctify it, but He enables the believer to mortify it. We are told to put off the old man. This precept would never have been delivered to us if the object of the Holy Spirit were the sanctification of that old man.” 1

This shows the folly of bringing the law to bear upon the believer for sanctification, or any other purpose for that matter. It applied to the old man only, the man in the flesh. Squeals, hoots and wails of “This is antinomian!” are of no avail. It is our duty to not move a hairs-breadth away from Scripture even if it stands in contradiction to a cherished creed.

Renewed Minds
When Paul penned his manifesto on justification to the Roman Christians, he did not forget practical sanctification. He also wrote to them the well-known words, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). In this verse the apostle brought before us the necessity of nonconformity to the world and the renewal of our minds. These two imperatives are definitely linked together, for if we are to walk differently from the world and not conform ourselves to its ways, we are going to have to think differently.

The word “transformed” used in Romans 12:2 is the same Greek word as used in 2 Corinthians 3:18, which means in English “metamorphosis.” There must be an actual transformation of our minds by the renewal of our thought patterns and perspective of the world. As we have seen, this does not improve the flesh, but by the power of the Holy Spirit our minds can be directed to other objects – the highest of which is Christ Himself (Col. 3:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:18). Before we were saved we were led by the “desires of the flesh and of the mind” as well as by “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). Our minds were darkened and controlled by these destructive influences, but now the Holy Spirit is at work in renewing our thinking – if we allow Him – to bring about a transformation. He does this through the written Word of God. As we read and meditate on it, and begin the habit of thinking scripturally, we will be renewed in the spirit of our minds (Eph. 4:23). Peter says for us to “desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word” (1 Pet. 2:2 JND2).

Along with meditation in the Word, we should have our minds occupied with things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report (Phil. 4:8). Paul exhorted us here to “meditate on these things” (NKJV). Let us avoid filling our minds with the evil presented in the world through its media. An old brother now with the Lord used to wisely say, “The key to peace within and power without is always being occupied with what is good.” Let us desire this transformation of our thinking, knowing what is also said, “The battle begins with the mind.”

Who Or What Is A Saint?
At the beginning of this article we saw that there are two types of sanctification, positional and practical. We have been considering the power of practical sanctification, yet it remains true that apart from any practical growth or obedience all believers are sanctified upon conversion and therefore are saints. For example, the Corinthians were called “saints” by the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 1:2); they became saints when they were called by God’s grace – their positional sanctification. But though they were saints many of them were not walking in a saintly manner.

A brief look at the true meaning of the word “saint” might be helpful as there is much confusion in the Church world on the question of what it means to be a saint. Who or what is a saint? How does a person become a saint? How long does it take to become one? I noticed a while back a CNN blog called, “The Long Road To Sainthood.” It was commenting on the fact that a well-known major religious denomination has a very rigorous process that leads to sainthood. The blogger was describing the effort to make a certain individual into a saint: “The archdiocese is embarking on a complicated legal, scientific and surprisingly expensive journey that could take over 100 years to accomplish – if sainthood is achieved at all.”

In contrast to this it is very refreshing to turn to Scripture and read how it presents true sainthood. As mentioned above, when Paul wrote to the church in Corinth he addressed them as “saints.” We have to take special note of this if we want to understand the process of sainthood. The Corinthian Christians were saints first of all because they were “sanctified.” This term in the Greek comes from the same word as do “saint” and “holy.” It simply means “set apart for God” and is connected with the work of salvation. We who are saved were sanctified by the Spirit of God (1 Pet. 1:2) and the blood of Christ (Heb. 10:29). This happens at conversion – it is not a long drawn out process. No religious organization is involved with it. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians about four years after their conversion and he said they were saints already – not after a 100-year process. The apostle had nothing to do with this other than that he was the instrument God used in preaching the gospel to them, and they were immediately constituted saints upon believing it.

Although the Corinthian believers were saints they were not acting very saintly. Many of them were walking in a carnal, or fleshly, manner (1 Cor. 3:1). We ought to walk as saints, not in order to attain sainthood, but because we already are such by divine calling (1:2).

We became saints upon believing, apart from works at all. We were sanctified by grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, and we have a new life in Christ Jesus. If for some reason we get our eyes off Christ, before too long we will be allowing the flesh to have the upper hand, and we will get out of communion with God. Even though we may be saints acting in an un-saintly way, we are saints nevertheless. However, our Father will not leave us in such a poor condition, for through His loving discipline He will enable us to bring forth “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:5-11).

May the reader of these lines who is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ experience the daily sanctifying grace of our God in a practical way and more deeply appreciate the grace of God which has made you a saint already – “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph. 1:6)!

END NOTES
1. C. H. Mackintosh, The Mackintosh Treasury, “Sanctification – What Is It?” p.628, Loizeaux Brothers, 1976 edition.
2. Footnote in the Darby translation: “The word here translated ‘mental’ has the sense of ‘suited to the rational faculties’ – the mind in contrast to the body – yet I believe there is allusion to logos, from which it is derived, and I have added ‘of the word’ to mark this allusion.”

By Brian Reynolds