Joseph Parle

Assistant Professor of Bible Exposition at the College of Biblical Studies

As a professor at a Bible College in Houston, this question is often raised when I am teaching on the subject of the eternal security of the believer. Some students consider this objection to be sufficient reason to discredit the clear biblical teaching of eternal security. Rather than discredit the doctrine of eternal security, this question actually demonstrates the fact that the objectors who use this argument are looking at sanctification from the wrong perspective. This question is indicative of a man-centered generation who constantly asks the question, “What is in it for me?” This question is posed as if the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit, eternal salvation, the substitutionary atonement and imputed righteousness of Christ are not enough personal motivation for the believer to live a holy life. However, the motivation for holy living must extend beyond this man-centered logic and return the motivation for sanctification to the appropriate God-centered focus that the Bible teaches. Once eternal security is looked at from God’s perspective, the appropriate motivation for holy living can be ascertained.

God-centered Motives for Holy Living

This work does not intend to duplicate the efforts made by others in this journal and other works to defend the doctrine of eternal security from a free grace perspective.[1] This work is not attempting to give believers personal motivation to live holy lives by focusing on the personal benefits of holy living. Instead, this work is intending to uncover the appropriate God–centered motives for living holy lives in light of the character of God. While this list is by no means exhaustive, it will focus on some of the most important God-centered motivations for holy living: the glory of God, the holiness of God, the love of God, the grace of God, the judgment of God, the return of Christ and reward at the future kingdom of Christ.

The Glory of God 

Several passages in the Bible teach the importance of living in order to reflect the glory of God (Isa. 43:7; Mat. 5:16; 1 Cor. 6:20, 10:31; 2 Cor. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:12, 4:16; et al.).  As the Westminster Confession has so aptly stated “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Christians should be committed to progressive sanctification because of their God-given desire to bring glory to His name. As Isaiah 43:7 states, all of the elect have been created for the purpose of glorifying God. This commitment extends to marriage (Eph. 5:27), worship (Psalm 29:2), and everything the believer does (1 Cor. 10:31).

Holy living results in bringing pleasure to God and to man himself. Colossians 1:10 commands Christians to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God”[2] (see also 1 Thes. 4:1, Heb 13:16, etc.). When Christians walk in a manner worthy of their calling, this pleases God. This should be motivation enough as God has designed man to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). In the course of this process, the Christian will find his own desires satisfied (Psalm 37:4).  For as Lewis has said, God designed man to find his supreme happiness in God alone:

What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they ‘could be like Gods’—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopelessness (hopeless) attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long, terrible story of man trying to find something other than God to make Him happy. The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us: invented us as man made the engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.[3]

Thus, as John Piper and others have concluded, the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. Once this end is acknowledged man has the appropriate motivation to love God and others. Piper writes, “We were made to see and savor God—and savoring Him, to be supremely satisfied, and thus spread in all the world the worth of His presence. Not to show people the all-satisfying God is not to love them. To make them feel good about themselves when they were made to feel good about seeing God is like taking someone to the Alps and locking them in a room full of mirrors.”[4] Rather than attempting to motivate people by telling them that they could lose their salvation, or for that matter constantly questioning whether they ever had it to begin with, theologians and pastors should focus on reminding them of their divine-given purpose of glorifying the God who so generously provided salvation in the first place.

The Holiness of God 

God consistently commands His covenant people to be holy as He is holy (Lev. 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7, 20:26; 1 Peter 1:16). The New Testament uses the word saint to communicate the holy identity of the elect (1 Cor. 1:2). Jesus set Himself apart so that sanctification for the elect in God’s Word would be possible (John 17:19, Eph 5:25-26). As slaves to God, Christians are urged to sanctify themselves (Rom. 6:19-22). According to Hebrews 10:19-25, Christians have been given access to the holy place by the blood of Jesus and are encouraged to confidently live holy lives as a result.

In addition to this, Christians have the imputed righteousness of Christ which makes holy living possible. The possibility of holy living can be categorized in three terms: positional, progressive and ultimate sanctification. Hebrews 10:10 and 14 are critical passages for evaluating the question of sanctification. Hebrews 10:10 in the New King James version states, “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:14 states, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:10 describes positional sanctification. This is the one time act in which God sets aside the believer once and for all at the point of conversion. Walvoord points out that this is the most prevalent use of the word sanctification throughout Scripture. All of the approximately sixty-five references to saints fall under this category as well as other important references (Acts 20:32; 26:18; Rom 15:16; 1 Cor 1:2, 30; 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; Heb 2:11; 10:10; 13:12; 1 Pet 1:2; Jude 1). In 1 Corinthians 1:2 the Corinthian believers are called saints even though the discussion that follows clearly shows that they are not sinless.[5]

Hebrews 10:14, on the other hand, describes progressive (or experimental) sanctification. This is the act whereby God molds the believer into Christ’s image throughout his life. John 17:17 also supports the notion of progressive sanctification, “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.” Chafer says that experimental sanctification has three relationships: (1) the believer’s yieldedness to God; (2) the believer’s deliverance from the power of sin through the power of the Spirit; (3) the believer’s growth in grace which is a constant development throughout life.[6] As the present passive participle in Hebrews 10:14 suggests, this is an ongoing continuous process that will not be completed until the believer receives his glorified body.

Walvoord adds another category: ultimate sanctification. He defines it as follows, “Ultimate sanctification is the expectation of all the work of God in dealing with the believer. Positional sanctification has the promise of issuing in that perfect sanctification which will be the portion of the saints in the eternal state. Experimental and progressive sanctification has its ultimate goal to be realized in the future life.”[7] Dr. Walvoord derives this category from several passages that point to the eternal state for the attainment of the goal of sanctification (1 John 3:2, Eph 5:27, Rom 8:29, Heb 12:14). According to 1 John 3:2-3, the expectation of ultimate sanctification is a great motivation for holy living. In this passage, John notes that he who has this hope of eventually being like Christ in the glorified state purifies himself.

The Love of God

The love of God is an excellent motivator for sanctification. The Bible consistently affirms that love for God is reflected in obedience to His commandments (cf. Dan 9:4; John 14:15, 21; 1 John 5:2-3; 2 John 6, etc.). True agape love is to look out for the other person’s best interests unconditionally. Human beings express this love to God by placing His interests above their own. The essence of sacrificial discipleship is placing God’s interests ahead of man’s interests in the process of denying oneself, taking up their cross and following Christ (Mat. 16:23-24). For it is the love of Christ that should compel Christians to no longer live for themselves but for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).  

In this sense, love for God motivates the Christian to live a truly holy life. Rather than seeing holy living as a what’s in it for me scenario, the sanctified saint should look at it as an opportunity to present his or her life as a living and holy sacrifice of worship to God (Rom. 12:1). For this willingness to worship God through every aspect of their lives was what has motivated martyrs of all generations to love God more than their life even in the face of death (Rev. 12:11). Thus, the Old Testament and New Testament saints were encouraged to love the LORD God with all their heart, soul and might (Deut. 6:5; Mat. 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). For it was this love that enabled them to obey God and love others.

The Grace of God

The grace of God is also a primary motivator for sanctification. Titus 2:11-12 points out that the grace of God is the proper motivation to deny ungodliness and worldly desires in order to live sensible and godly lives. Rather than looking at salvation as an excuse to sin (cf. Romans 6:1), Christians should consider the grace of God to be the appropriate motivation and empowerment to live righteously. According to Paul, this grace is instructive. The word paideuo deals with the training or instruction in the disciplinary aspect of life so that an individual can make right choices.[8] Grace is a teacher of how to live a holy life. Thus it not only has value with respect to justification but it also has immense value with respect to sanctification. This grace is instructive in how to deny the ungodly and worldly lusts that war against the Christian. As a result, the Christian has the motivation to live a self-controlled or temperate life. Not only this, but Christians have the appropriate motivation to imitate the righteous character of God. Finally, grace provides the motivation for true piety that lives as Christ Himself would live.

Consequently, rather than questioning the grace and character of God by consistently threatening the loss of salvation, theologians and pastors should remind the flock of the importance of the grace of God as motivation for holy living. The same grace that justified them should also provide the same grace to sanctify them (cf. Gal 2:21-3:3). Furthermore, the argument that one can lose their salvation based on having committed certain sins nullifies the fact that they never did anything to merit salvation to begin with. If one did nothing to earn salvation, what steps can he possibly take in order to get salvation back once it is lost?