Is Sanctification Furthered by Rules?

Mark Snoeberger’s recent post on sanctification generated a number of comments on this blog and over at SharperIron. One person asked this:

Do you really believe that sanctification is furthered by rules and if so in what way? I fail to see any way that rules effectively “further” sanctification.

A rule like “children obey your parents” does in fact further sanctification. It is essential to the sanctification of children. Regeneration itself does not bring any revelation as to the particular nature of the sanctified life. Regeneration does not impart any knowledge of the standard of conformity required for holiness. 

Regeneration is the impartation of a new disposition (or nature; see here). The regenerated person now has a disposition toward God, toward obedience to God. He has a desire to obey God, though the old disposition (or nature) is not immediately removed. Rules like “children obey your parents” further sanctification in that they give the standard of holiness and thus direct the regenerated person toward holiness. True, the rule in and of itself cannot bring about holiness apart from the regenerated heart and empowering Spirit, but the regenerated heart cannot be sanctified without the rule. Regeneration does not impart with it a knowledge of the the obedience required for sanctification.

It might be assumed, however, that people who are regenerated sort of automatically know the standards of holiness and thus don’t need any “rules.” Children, even in non-Christian homes, usually grow up being taught to obey their parents, and thus when they are regenerated, their new disposition leads them toward obedience to their parents, so that it might seem they need no rule to further their sanctification in this area. But that is because they are already aware of the God-given rule of obedience to parents. Admittedly, since we are all created in the image of God, everyone has a general sense of right and wrong written on our hearts (Rom 2:14-15). But of course this is imperfect at best and not sufficient for the holiness God requires.

We might consider the case of sexual immorality, particularly premarital sex. In today’s American culture many young people and those who teach them believe that premarital sex is perfectly normal and that it would be foolish to enter into marriage with someone with whom one has not had sex. Such a person who comes to Christ does not necessarily know, simply because of their regeneration, that having sex with their girlfriend or boyfriend is now sinful. They need a command, an exhortation, a rule that such conduct is contrary to God’s standard of holiness. They need to know this rule if their sanctification is to be furthered. Paul’s culture was similar to what we now face in ours in the realm promiscuity, so that we commonly see in his writings warnings about sexual immorality. People in his time did not automatically know that sexual immorality was forbidden when they came to Christ. They needed a rule (1 Cor 6:18) to further their sanctification.  Continue at Bill Combs