What Does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Teach About Sanctification?

What is the difference between justification and sanctification according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, justification is about being forgiven, but sanctification goes much further. He states, "The Gospel not only offers us forgiveness, it does that and thank God for it. The first thing we all need is forgiveness." However, he emphasizes that "there's nothing more utterly wrong than to think of the Christian merely as a man who's forgiven and is then left where he was." Sanctification is the ongoing process where we are "conformed to the image of His Son" and where "Christ be formed in you."

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the fruit of the Spirit?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the fruit of the Spirit as graces (not gifts) that reflect Christ's character. He explains, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." He classifies these nine manifestations into three groups: the first three describe our essential condition (love, joy, peace), the second three describe our relationship to others (long suffering, gentleness, goodness), and the final three reflect our character before God (faith/faithfulness, meekness, temperance/self-control).

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in sanctification according to Lloyd-Jones?

According to Lloyd-Jones, the Holy Spirit works both indirectly and directly in sanctification. Indirectly, He works "upon us in enlightening our minds, in stimulating us to prayer, in leading us, in working assurance in us, in seeing to our perseverance." Directly, the Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit in us - "building us up, this work of producing in us the lineaments of Christ." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes, "It is the Holy Spirit who does this. It is the fruit of the Spirit."

How does Lloyd-Jones explain the balance between God's work and our responsibility in sanctification?

Lloyd-Jones uses a garden analogy to explain this balance. He states, "Think of it in terms of a garden... A man can dig his garden and break up the bits of earth and rake it... But if that's all that he does, he'll never have anything there at all." The seed (God's work) contains the life and power, but our responsibility is to "keep down the weeds." He concludes, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling... because it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do." Our work is "mainly negative" but "very important," while the fruit itself is produced by the Spirit.

What is the ultimate goal of sanctification according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that the ultimate goal of sanctification is complete conformity to Christ. He states that Christ "came to destroy the works of the devil in their entirety" and "in order that we might be restored to the original condition in which God made man." The goal is that "we shall see him as he is and we shall be like him." He explains that sanctification is the process by which Christians are "changed into the same image from glory to glory," becoming progressively more like Christ until final glorification.

How does Lloyd-Jones distinguish between the fruit and gifts of the Spirit?

Lloyd-Jones makes a clear distinction: "The fruit of the Spirit does not mean gifts, it means graces." He points to 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 for spiritual gifts, which are "a part of service" rather than sanctification. He warns against confusing these, noting that the Corinthian church had many gifts but lacked sanctification. He emphasizes that the fruit (graces like love, joy, peace) reflects Christ's character, while gifts are for service in the church. "When you are talking about sanctification, there is nothing which is more confusing than to confuse gifts and graces."

What evidence should a Christian look for to know they are being sanctified?

According to Lloyd-Jones, Christians should look for the fruit of the Spirit in their lives as evidence of sanctification. He urges believers to "think of yourself, therefore, as a Christian from this moment, not in terms of what you don't do, but in terms of what you are, what you show, what you manifest." The evidence includes growing love (even for enemies), joy "unspeakable and full of glory," peace "that passeth all understanding," long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. He asks, "Are we able to see and are others able to see the fruit of the Spirit in us?"