Understanding Sanctification According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

What is the basic definition of sanctification according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, sanctification means "being set apart for God and his service, which means, obviously, that we must be separated from sin, from the world, which is opposed to God, and separated to God." He explains that we cannot function and be used in God's service unless we are clean and holy. Sanctification involves becoming "vessels meet for the master's use," as we are cleansed, purified, and delivered from sin.

Who is the primary agent in sanctification according to the sermon?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that "primarily the agent is God himself." He emphasizes that all three persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—take part in sanctification, though it is "specifically the work of the Holy Spirit." God's will is that we be sanctified, as the whole purpose of salvation is that we should be separated unto God and be made a people for God's possession. However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones also stresses that believers have their part to play in the process.

Why does Lloyd-Jones reject the idea that sanctification is something to be "received" in one act?

Lloyd-Jones rejects this idea because:

1. It contradicts the many scriptural exhortations for believers to actively participate in their sanctification
2. It misinterprets key passages like Romans 8:2, which uses the aorist tense to indicate something that has already happened to all believers
3. It would make the ethical instructions in the New Testament pointless
4. Many honest Christians seek such an experience but never receive it
5. If it worked for one sin, it should logically work for all sins, leading to instant perfection

As Lloyd-Jones states, "If sanctification is something that I can receive, if it is something to be received, I suggest to you that you wouldn't need all these epistles."

What is the relationship between experiences and sanctification according to the sermon?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that "sanctification is not an experience. It is a condition. It is my condition in my relationship to God." He uses the illustration of a field with growing crops. The crop (sanctification) is always growing, sometimes imperceptibly, while experiences like rain and sunshine stimulate that growth but are not the growth itself.

He explains: "Sanctification involves experiences. Sanctification is helped by experiences, but sanctification itself is not an experience." These spiritual experiences can be sudden and dramatic, and they help promote sanctification, but they should not be confused with sanctification itself, which is an ongoing process.

Is sanctification something that happens suddenly, according to Lloyd-Jones?

No, Dr. Lloyd-Jones firmly rejects the idea that sanctification happens suddenly. He argues that Scripture describes sanctification as a gradual process, using terms like being "born again," starting as "babes in Christ," and growing through stages like "children, young men, old men." He points to 2 Corinthians 3:18, which describes Christians as being "changed into the same image from glory to glory."

Lloyd-Jones states: "Sanctification is obviously and clearly not something that happens suddenly." Instead, it is a process that "starts from the moment of regeneration. And it goes on and on. Every experience we get stimulates it, and we are changed from glory into glory."