Importance and Definition

The point: Study the doctrine of sanctification in greater depth by acquiring and reading recommended books.

Martin uses the analogy of being tasked to move Mount Everest with a pick and shovel in a week to convey the overwhelming scope and difficulty of adequately addressing the doctrine of sanctification in a short series.

The biblical doctrine of sanctification. Can you imagine how you might feel if someone planted you at the foot of Mount Everest and handed you a pick and shovel and then commissioned you in one week's time to remove that mountain to another place? That's a little bit of what one feels when trying to grapple with this great sweeping doctrine of scripture in five one-hour messages. So at best, these studies will be in some points arbitrarily selective, certain things must be excluded and of course they will of necessity be merely suggestive rather than fully exhausted.

0:04 - 0:47 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And this is the pattern of scripture because right walking, in great measure, is based upon right understanding.

He uses the structure of Ephesians (chapters 1-3 doctrinal, 4-6 practical) and Colossians (1-2 doctrinal, 3-4 practical) as an example of the biblical pattern he will follow in his sermon series, emphasizing that right doing flows from right understanding.

The first three chapters taking us into the heights of lofty biblical concepts of doctrinal truth, and then chapters four through six bringing us down to the nitty-gritty of where we live. Husbands, wives, children, servants, masters, etc. You find this same pattern in the book of Colossians, chapters one and two dealing with the doctrinal concepts, chapters three and four with the practical application and the detailed implications of that doctrine. And this is the pattern of scripture because right walking, in great measure, is based upon right understanding.

2:29 - 3:10 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Owen says the greatest deceit wherewith the devil has deceived the souls of men who are under the canopy of Christian truth and the Christian church is that it's possible to have benefits from Christ without a holy life.

Martin quotes John Owen from Volume 3 of his work on the Holy Spirit, where Owen states the vanity of imagining interest in Christ while continuing in an unholy condition, highlighting this as Satan's great deceit.

There are others who will go with all kinds of warped ideas about fine theological points, but there's no one who'll make it without holiness. Follow after holiness without which the Lord. Now one of the great works on this doctrine of sanctification from which I'll be quoting quite profusely and which are stacked up halfway to the ceiling on the back table is Volume 3 of John Owen on the work of the Holy Spirit. And don't let people scare you into saying, well, Owen's so ponderous and difficult nobody can read him.

16:28 - 17:02 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are a stranger to holiness, recognize that the wrath of God hangs over your head.

He quotes Gurnall (via Bishop Ryle) saying, 'Say not that thou art born of God and hast royal blood in thy vein unless thou can show thy pedigree by daring to be holy,' to emphasize that holiness is the evidence of being a child of God.

I submit to you, dear friends, as we consider this doctrine, we're dealing with that which is to say that we are not absolutely essential to your own personal safety. As Gurnall says, quoted in that great book of Bishop Ryle's holiness, say not that thou art born of God and hast royal blood in thy vein unless thou can show thy pedigree by daring to be holy. And I know I'm speaking to teenagers this morning. You can be tempted to just turn all this off as all that just preaches gibberish.

19:41 - 20:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Use the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Larger Catechism, and Confession of Faith as progressive tools for studying biblical doctrines.

Martin uses the analogy of different power telescopes (5-power for Shorter Catechism, 15-power for Larger Catechism, 25-power for Confession) to explain how to approach the Westminster Standards for progressively deeper understanding of a doctrine like sanctification.

Whenever you want to study a given biblical doctrine, let me suggest, start with the shorter catechism. Then move to the larger catechism and then to the confession. And I'll tell you why. The shorter catechism is like looking at a given object with a five-power telescope.

25:30 - 25:46 Read in full sermon

Driving home: One, he is guilty and stands condemned. He is defiled and is in a condition of depravity. So man's two great problems as a result of the fall are guilt and depravity.

He uses the analogy of a drunken man who wraps his car around a tree to illustrate man's dual problem of sin: he is both guilty (broken the law) and rendered helpless/depraved (in a pool of his own blood).

It's like a drunken man who wraps his car around a tree. He is both guilty and rendered helpless by his crime. He has been guilty because he's driven under the influence of alcohol. He's destroyed personal or government property and he lies there in a pool of his own blood helpless to do anything for himself.

35:11 - 35:34 Read in full sermon