Dear Honorable Beloved in Christ,
First off, thank you for sharing your heart so honestly.
Yes, I am trying my best to help you.
These are not just theological ideas you’re wrestling with.
But I'm not wrestling with these theological ideas. I understand them quite well.
They're real, experiential truths that impact how we walk with Jesus daily.
I agree with you.
I respect your candor, and I want to engage with your thoughts with equal clarity and conviction, not to debate you but to edify the body of Christ in love and truth. Let’s take this step by step with the Word of God as our foundation.
Great idea.
Yes, The Old Man and the New Man Are Opposed. But Sanctification Is Real.
You referenced Ephesians 4:22-24, and rightly so. Paul tells believers:
But here’s the key: Paul isn’t writing to unbelievers. He’s writing to born-again, Spirit-filled believers and still urging them to “put off” the old and “put on” the new. That implies a daily, ongoing process.
It is daily, but it is not a process ("a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end"). We must put off the old man and we must put on the new man every day, every moment. In other words, we must choose each day to walk in the newness of life that we have in Christ in order to thwart the corrupt lusts that are ever-present in the flesh. This can be thought of as "sanctification", but it is self-sanctification because we are separating ourselves from the flesh and turning ourselves to God. God's sanctification of us was a one-time event when He created our new lives in Christ (the new man) in true righteousness and holiness and joined us to Him and made us one spirit with Him (1 Cor 6:17).
The Battle Within: Same Players, Different Progress
You're right that the old man doesn’t improve. He’s not reformable. That’s biblical:
And yes, the new man was created in righteousness and holiness. But here's where I lovingly challenge your conclusion: just because the old and new man don't change in essence doesn’t mean we don’t grow in how we walk by the Spirit.
I agree with you that things change. But respectfully I would suggest that what you are referring to is the maturation process, not sanctification itself. Here is a passage that speaks directly to maturation...
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Heb 5:12–14)
Sanctification Is Not About Making the Old Man Better It’s About Growing in the Spirit
Let’s make this clear:
Progressive sanctification is not the idea that the “old man” becomes less sinful. No! It’s the
Holy Spirit renewing our minds and empowering us to
walk more consistently in the new nature.
Paul says it plainly:
“Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (
2 Corinthians 4:16)
And again:
“We... are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (
2 Corinthians 3:18)
Notice the present tense:
being renewed,
being transformed. This is not a one-time event at salvation it’s a lifelong process.
I know that people use these verses to point to sanctification being progressive. But I would point out that 1) "sanctification" is not mentioned in these verses, and 2) the use of the present tense does not indicate a process. Let's take a look at a few other verses that use present passive indicative verbs (like the ones you have cited) to see if the idea of a process is indicated...
- Mark 12:25 - For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
- Mark 12:27 - He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.
- Acts 28:1 - Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.
- Rom 1:17 - For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
- 2 Cor 3:16 - Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
But What About When We Don’t Feel Like We’re Growing?
You mentioned decades of experience, and I honor that. Sanctification often feels
slow, sometimes even
invisible. But it's no less real.
Sanctification is not a steady incline it’s more like a jagged upward climb. Some days you feel like a saint, others like a sinner. But if you step back over the years, you’ll likely see:
- Sins you used to cherish now grieve you.
- Convictions run deeper.
- Your love for Christ is stronger.
- Your reliance on the Spirit is more complete.
That
is sanctification. That’s not emotional optimism that’s
spiritual evidence.
Why do you use words like "feels slow", "even invisible", "you'll likely see", and "emotional optimism". It seems as if you are jumping to conclusions about me. Just so you know that I know the realities of which I speak, I will share the following two paragraphs I wrote and published in 2012 (from
New Life in Christ Jesus, Everything We Need for Life and Godliness)...
But if we choose to walk with God every day in the newness of life, some things will change. Our trust in God will increase (2 Cor. 10:15). Our knowledge of God will grow (Col. 1:10). Our discernment of good and evil will sharpen (Heb. 5:14). Our spirits will grow stronger (Eph. 3:16). Our love for one another will abound (1 Thess. 3:12). The fruits of our righteousness will multiply (2 Cor. 9:10). Our brethren with whom we interact will be strengthened (Acts 18:23). And our numbers will increase (Acts 16:5).
These things are not evidence of God cleaning us up over time or of us becoming more and more like Jesus over time. They are the fruits of walking in the Spirit. Their existence proves that God has given us new lives in Christ Jesus, that we possess everything we need for life and godliness, and that fruitful Christian lives happen only when we trust God and walk with Him—as He leads us, guides us, and directs us from the depths of our own hearts (Gal. 5:16–26).
Renewal Happens in the Mind First, Not the Flesh
Romans 12:2 says: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Notice: transformation happens as the mind is renewed. Not the old man being reformed but our minds being rewired to agree with God's Word and will.
Yes, you are right. But again, this is saying the same thing in a different way. Putting off the old man and putting on the new man is the same thing as walking in the Spirit, and is the same thing as not conforming to the world but renew your mind, and the same thing as consider yourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God. They all speak to a daily/momemt-by-moment action we must take after God set us apart and cleaned us up for service to Him.
To Deny Progressive Sanctification Is to Ignore Clear Scripture
Here are just a few texts that affirm it:
Ok, finally. We can now turn to what the Bible actually says about "Sanctification". I will address each one of these.
- Philippians 1:6 “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
This verse can be talking about many things. Most likely it is talking about God's commitment to finish what He started on the day of our final redemption. The ESV indicates this most clearly... ("And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" ESV). But it can't be used as a biblical reference to help define "sanctification" because the word is not mentioned.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:3 “This is the will of God—your sanctification.”
This verse is referring to self-sanctification, as the surrounding context (1 Thess 4:1–8) proves. Everything there discusses what we must do to separate ourselves from sin to God. It is not discussing God cleaning us up over time.
- Hebrews 10:14 “By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”
You must know that "being sanctified" in this verse is a present participle, meaning that the time of action is contemporaneus with the action of the main verb. In this case, the main verb is "He has perfected", and it is a perfect tense, active voice, and indicative mood. It reprepresents action that God took in past time with abiding results, the emphasis being on the abiding results. Therefore, "sanctified" must take the same time of action which is past time. The NASB renders this coincidence correctly... ("For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified" (Heb 10:14 NASB).
- 2 Peter 3:18 “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Again, this verse does not help define "sanctification". The exact words lend themselves more to the idea of spiritual maturation rather than sanctification. I think if you investigate this further, you will see that your ideas of sanctification and spiritual maturation are inttermixed.
These verses aren’t optional. They're describing a
normal Christian experience not perfection, but
progress.
Justification Is Instant Sanctification Is Ongoing
Let’s not confuse our
position in Christ (which is perfect) with our
practice (which is being perfected).
- Justification is once and for all.
- Sanctification is daily, Spirit-led, and often messy.
- Glorification is when the old man is finally dead and gone for good.
Until then, we press on not trusting in our willpower, but walking in the Spirit, who transforms us
from the inside out.
This is a familiar teaching and is popular in Baptist circles too. But it confuses God's sanctification of us (which is one-time) with our own self-sanctifcation (which is ongoing). A better rendering (supported by Scripture) is the following.
- Justification and God's Sanctification - once and for all,
- Self-Sanctification - is daily, Spirit-led, and often messy,
- Glorification - when the old man is finally dead and gone for good.
So, Dear Honorable, I say this with pastoral affection and boldness:
Don’t let the enemy use your decades of struggle to convince you that no growth has occurred.
Buddy, you are not understanding what is happening here. I have not been "struggling" for decades. I have been victorious in Christ for decades. And this has not led to decades of ignorance about my spiritual growth. It has led to clarity and great understanding. And the reason is simple. When we trust Jesus as He leads, guides, teaches, directs, corrects and comforts us from our own hearts, our understanding of our new lives in Christ improves. You are just now beginning your study of these things, and I encourage you to trust Jesus when He challenges you on these items we are discussing.
The very fact that you’re examining your walk, holding up Scripture, and desiring to walk in truth is itself the fruit of a sanctified heart.
Please understand that I am trying to pass on to you the things that God first taught me. I can share the entire section of my book that deals with sanctification if it would be helpful.
Let’s keep putting off the old, putting on the new, not to earn God’s favor, but because we already have it.
Grace doesn’t just forgive it transforms.
And sanctification is the Spirit’s daily miracle in us.
In Christ’s enduring power,
Blessings to you and your Family
