Of the scape-goat...

"There was likewise a live goat, which the priest was to take; on the

head of which he was to lay his hands, and there to make a public confession to God of all the people's sins; and when so done, the priest was to lay all the sins of the people on the head of the goat;  then was the goat to be sent away into the wilderness, never to return with them more, Lev. xvi. 7—9, 21, 22. This type, as well as the rest, sets forth the won derful grace of God in Christ to sinners, who hath prepared a scape-goat for them, to carry away their sin on his own head; which is Christ, his only Son. Oh! this is wonderful love, saith the Spirit, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," John iii. 16. Look to Christ, this scape-goat; he bears all the sins of his people; they are confessed over, and translated upon Christ's head, Isa. liii. 6; 1 Pet. ii. 24. And so they are made his sins, not ours, and he hath carried them into the wilderness of forget-fulness, where they shall never come into mind more; "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more," Jer. xxxi. 34. Christ will leave all the sin and guilt, which he took on him, behind him in the wilderness; and let us assure ourselves that whenever Christ comes again, he will come "without sin unto salvation," Heb. ix. 28."

Thomas Worden, The Types Unveiled - chapter 40 (1640s)

Walther to Fonville to Miller - Good fruit comes only from Good Seed...

Thanks to John Fonville for relaying (on Facebook) this great quote from C.F.W. Walther, who

Tinker to Evers to Chance

points us to the good seed of the gospel, Jesus Christ:

"Concern about pure life and not pure doctrine is like a farmer concerned about good fruits but paying no attention to good seed!" - C.F.W. Walther

Walther nails the problem in this one sentence by defining the opposite approaches to battling sin and living unto holiness! In a word, where our concerns are, there will be our focus. 

Some thoughts...
I'm a sinner (unsurpisingly no one objects to his confession). To focus on the task of holy doing, i.e. eradicating impurity in my life (an impossibility for a saved sinner even with the help of grace) in order to live purely is a sure road to either failure and hopelessness or self-righteousness. Why? Because it's based on a wrong belief that in this life I can and should, even with God's help, be able to move beyond the struggle with sin (1 John 1:8). It's not going to happen. To understand that the lack of a 'pure life' in my thoughts, words, and deeds, though self-deflating, is well beyond my earnest efforts to rectify is to acquire a necessary perspective. One that is a reorientation away from focusing on the question, "Why can't I stop temptation and sin in my life?", to one more basic and relevant, "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (impurities, big and small, do keep popping up!) - Romans 7:24. In other words, the problem of sin is such that until death it will be with us.  Our fallen human effort cannot eradicate it. This humbling desparate epiphany born of the Holy Spirit, that of ourselves we are not master over sin, is that which God uses to divert our gaze, again and again, from efforts at establishing a righteousness of our own, toward Jesus our Righteous sin-bearer, the only remedy given of God for the impure, who by his blood cleanses believers of the very sins that trouble their consciences (Romans 8:1; Hebrews 9:14). 

So then, is that all there is? Are we to be resigned with living as "in-time-sinners" because we're now forgiven - God accepts me as I am? Yes and No. Forgiveness of sins is at the heart of justification. Saved sinners never graduate from needing the assurance of acceptance with God that comes from that wonderful doctrine of comfort for troubled souls. So as sinners, we should indeed joyfully resign ourselves to that truth. Yet there is more. To know God's "in-time forgiveness" poured out in Christ for our "in-time sins" is then to be led to real "in-time-thankfulness" and a renewed "in-time-desire" to turn from sin to obedience and follow our Lord.  Humbled with refreshed faith, we can then choose the doing-fruit part, not to gain the approval we need, but for that and more which Christ has already done and secured for us. This sanctifying change of heart and direction is not of us, but is wrought by the Holy Spirit as a sinner/saint's faith looks to Christ offered in the gospel. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sin and points us to the forgiveness, cleansing, and righteousness found only in Christ. (John 15:26, 16:8). The 'good seed' Walther refers to and to which we are to focus our attention is Jesus Christ in whom God has accomplished redemption for the ungodly and impure (Romans 4:5), sinners like us. Daily acknowledging our in-time sins and lack of purity with eyes fixed on Christ, God as promised faithfully cleanses troubled and guilty consciences from dead works by the blood of Jesus. He renews a right spirit within us that we might freely choose to walk in a manner worthy of the Savior in this ever-present, ongoing battle. Good fruit comes only by grace through faith in the Good Seed set forth in the gospel (Epesians 2:8-10). How great a salvation - Praise the Lord.

Musings on Sin, the Blood, and Obedience...

Some thoughts rumbling around in my brain this morning...

The woman caught in adultery:

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” John 8:3-11

As a sinner, am I the Pharisee in this story or the prostitute? Something tells me I'm both...

John Owen wrote, "Where sanctification is enjoined us as our duty, it is prescribed under this notion of cleansing ourselves from sin." (Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit)

“Wash you, make you clean,” Isaiah 1:16. 

“O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved,” Jeremiah 4:14. 

“Having therefore these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” 2 Corinthians 7:1

I find that I do poorly at reforming myself. The same sins of yesterday are more or less still with me. Jesus's call is not to reform myself but to come to him, the "fountain filled with blood..." He died for me in order to cleanse me of my sin, not to enable me to reform myself. I don't graduate from that in this life.

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. (William Cowper)

Where does obedience come in? Gratitude indeed. Thankful that he bore my sin and forgives me. My obedience is gratefully stumbling along in the direction of holiness, falling way short, not in order to make myself better - a fool's errand. I will become better after "the body of this death" dies and then resurrected I see him.

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 1 John 3:2

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." Titus 2:11-14

Here is William Cowper's hymn in its entirety. It is said that it was one of the first hymns he wrote after his first major bout of depression:

There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood by William Cowper

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
I’ll sing Thy power to save,I’ll sing Thy power to save,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,

Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.

Prayer: Calvin's Law/Gospel Distinction...

In the following excerpt from the Institutes of Religion it's noteworthy to see how central the Law/ Gospel distinction is to John Calvin's understanding of prayer. It may not be readily obvious to some and that is probably due to the notion held by many that Calvin didn't hold to what is often wrongly described as a "Lutheran" and not Reformed doctrine. In addition, Calvin does not always label his applicable comments as Law/Gospel. And one of the most likely reasons is the fact that it was so accepted and understood among Reformers as an uncontroversial though essential understanding of sinful man's redemption as presented in Scripture. Law/Gospel as God's two Words in Scripture was embraced by the Reformers from Luther and Tyndale through Calvin and Beza and so continued among  Reformed theologians throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.

... notwithstanding of our being thus abased and truly humbled, we should be animated to pray with the sure hope of succeeding. There is, indeed, an appearance of contradiction between the two things, between a sense of the just vengeance of God and firm confidence in his favor, and yet they are perfectly accordant, if it is the mere goodness of God that raises up those who are overwhelmed by their own sins. For, as we have formerly shown (chap. 3: sec. 17. 2) that repentance and faith go hand in hand, being united by an indissoluble tie, the one causing terror, the other joy, so in prayer they must both be present. This concurrence David expresses in a few words: "But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy, and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple," (Psalm 5:7.) Under the goodness of God he comprehends faith, at the same time not excluding fear; for not only does his majesty compel our reverence, but our own unworthiness also divests us of all pride and confidence, and keeps us in fear. [emphasis added] John Calvin, Institutes of Religion Book 3.20.11

Looking at chapter 17.2 in Book 3 to which Calvin refers the reader we find:

For this reason, the promises offered in the law would all be null and ineffectual, did not God in his goodness send the gospel to our aid, since the condition on which they depend, and under which only they are to be performed--viz. the fulfillment of the law, will never be accomplished [i.e. by us]. Still, however the aid which the Lord gives consists not in leaving part of justification to be obtained by works, and in supplying part out of his indulgence, but in giving us Christ as in himself alone the fulfillment of righteousness. For the Apostle, after premising that he and the other Jews, aware that "a man is not justified by the works of the law," had "believed in Jesus Christ," adds as the reason, not that they might be assisted to make up the sum of righteousness by faith in Christ, but that they "might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law," (Gal. 2:16). If believers withdraw from the law to faith, that in the latter they may find the justification which they see is not in the former, they certainly disclaim justification by the law. Therefore, whose will, let him amplify the rewards which are said to await the observer of the law, provided he at the same time understand, that owing to our depravity, we derive no benefit from them until we have obtained another righteousness by faith. Thus David after making mention of the reward which the Lord has prepared for his servants (Ps. 25 almost throughout), immediately descends to an acknowledgment of sins, by which the reward is made void. In Psalm 19, also, he loudly extols the benefits of the law; but immediately exclaims, "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults," (Ps. 19:12). This passage perfectly accords with the former, when, after saying, "the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies," he adds, "For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity: for it is great," (Ps. 25:10, 11). Thus, too, we ought to acknowledge that the favor of God is offered to us in the law, provided by our works we can deserve it; but that it never actually reaches us through any such desert. [emphasis and bracketed comment added]

Indeed. The favor of God offered in the Law is secured for sinners only by Christ's perfect obedience for them. And so it is that the grace of God in Christ as offered in the Gospel and received through faith alone is that which brings sinners into the favor of God offered in the Law (Romans 10:5-11). Believers are saved by works yet not those of their own... but by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the perfect and acceptable works of his obedience and his sacrificial death on the cross for them.

Back to prayer. Calvin is making the point that we are miserable sinners and yet beloved of God. And as we come to the heavenly throne of grace in prayer we should not ignore nor dissemble concerning our sinfulness, our lack of faith, and coldness of heart. We feel the weight of those stains on our words even as we direct them heavenward. Calvin is expressing a wonderful thing here. There is no dissonance in the fact that my sins are all too present as I approach the Holy of Holies. In his presence, God's holy Law does what it is meant to do - it shines light on sin. So it is in our want of personal righteousness that God meets us with his mercy and favor in Christ as we pray. As the Spirit of God highlights our infirmities at one moment, at the next he directs our hearts to his mercy touching us with the provision of Christ's healing perfection. It's in this way that we approach our heavenly Father with the assurance of full acceptance, not hiding or minimizing our sins but owning them and taking refuge beneath the blood of our Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ.

John Owen on Sanctification

John Owen---

"Where sanctification is enjoined us as our duty, it is prescribed under this notion of cleansing ourselves from sin: “Wash you, make you clean,” Isaiah 1:16. “O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved,” Jeremiah 4:14. “Having therefore these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”…
"Nothing do they more earnestly labor after in their prayers and supplications than a cleansing from it [sin] by the blood of Christ, nor are any promises more precious unto them than those which express their purification and purging from it; for these are they which, next unto their interest in the atonement made by the sacrifice of Christ, give them boldness in their approaches unto God. So our apostle fully expresseth it, Hebrews 10:19-22: “Having therefore boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water…"

- Pneumatologia

Baptism...

Excerpts from the Commentary of Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism Q.67 and Q. 70:

Baptism is a sacred rite instituted by Christ in the New Testament, by which we are washed with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to signify that God receives us into his favor, on account of the blood which his Son shed for us, and that we are regenerated by his Spirit ; and that we, on the other hand, bind ourselves to exercise faith in God, and to perform new obedience to him...

There is in baptism a double washing: an external washing with water, and an internal washing with the blood and Spirit of Christ. The internal is signified and sealed by that which is external, and is always joined with it in the proper use of baptism. This internal washing is again two-fold, being a washing with the blood and Spirit of Christ. Both are specified in the answer of the Catechism, and may take place at the same time. To be washed with the blood of Christ, is to receive the pardon of sin, or to be justified on account of his shed-blood. To be washed with the Spirit of Christ, is to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, which consists in a change of evil inclinations into those which are good, which the Holy Ghost works in the will and heart, so as to produce in us hatred to sin, and a desire to live according to the will of God...

Baptism is, therefore, the sign of both these forms of washing, or benefits of Christ, which include the forgiveness of sin, and the renewing of our nature ; and that not only because it has some resemblance to both, but also because these two benefits are inseparably connected, so that neither one can be without the other. If Christ do not wash us we have no part in him, and he who has not the Spirit of Christ is none of his. These benefits, however, differ from each other. Justification, which is by the blood of Christ, is complete and perfect in this life by imputation, for " there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 8:1.) Regeneration, on the other hand, which is effected by the Spirit of Christ, and which consists in a change of our evil nature to that which is good, is not perfected, but only begun in this life ; yet in such a manner that this beginning does really take place in all the godly, and is experienced by them as long as they are in this life, because they truly and heartily desire to obey God in all things, and are greatly grieved on account of their defects, and remaining corruption...

He that believeth: The condition of faith is joined to the promise ; for those who are baptized do not receive that which is promised and sealed by baptism unless they have faith, so that without faith the promise is not ratified, and baptism is of no profit. In these words we have expressed in a concise manner the proper use of baptism, in which the sacraments are always ratified to those who receive them in faith ; whilst the sacraments are no sacraments, and profit nothing in their improper use...

Shall be saved, that is, he that is baptized may know that he enjoys the benefits which are signified by this sacrament, which consist in justification, and regeneration if he believe. For the promise is not ratified without faith, neither is baptism of any profit when thus received. The promise of salvation is added both to faith and baptism, but in a different respect. It is added to faith, as the necessary means by which we receive salvation ; and to baptism, as the sign which seals that which faith receives.

Too much gospel, too little law?

The question then is, will too much gospel lead to increased sin?  And, what is the antidote to the  potential temptation to abuse God's abundant grace and continue in sin?  Or

put another way, what is offered to the believer by God to overcome sinful desires, that sets one free from sin's rule and empowers one to live in a righteous direction?  In Romans, the apostle Paul makes the case that righteousness doesn't come through the works of the law but comes to the ungodly only by grace through faith in Christ apart from any works, i.e. any attempts at doing good.  He does this by diagnosing the problem thoroughly in Romans 1-3.   All are corrupt, have sinned and are guilty under the Law of God.  He makes the case that righteousness cannot be attained by sinners through the works of the Law... every mouth is shut.  Everyone is a sinner who sins and falls short of the glory of God!  

Paul then, in Romans 3-5, declares the only remedy available:  the righteousness that comes to sinners freely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, in other words - the gospel:  the Righteousness that comes to sinners not through any works, but solely through trusting in what God has done in Christ for sinners.  Looking then at the two places in Romans 6 where Paul then asks that well known rhetorical question, how does he respond to the charge that too much of this abundant grace will lead to antinomianism or licentiousness?  What does Paul offer that will keep believers from falling back into sinful living now that they are freely forgiven?  After all, isn't this grace, more or less, a get-out-of-jail-free card?  Many would answer now that we have been justified by faith it's necessary that the law comes back in as that which shepherds and keeps believers from sinning - keeps them on the straight and narrow.  Grace in the dock: does abundant grace lead to increased sin?

Question: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

Answer: God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?  Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin; for he that hath died is justified from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over him. For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof: neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace.         (Rom. 6:1-14)

Question: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

 Answer: God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?  But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification. For when ye were servants of sin, ye were free in regard of righteousness. What fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life. (Rom. 6:15-22)

Paul counters not with law, but grace, i.e. more truth of what God has done in Christ to save sinners from the penalty and power of sin.  In other words Paul gives more gospel to the believer which is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16).  The law, be it first or third use, has no power to draw one away from sin or overcome it.  Law can only tell us our duty and expose how we in fact do the things we ought not and don't do the things we ought.  When tempted to sin, the problem is not our lack of knowledge of the law (don't do that!... do this!).  Indeed, at those times the law offers no aid or power to resist sin's dominion because that is not the purpose given it by God.  Rather our problem is a lack of faith and trust in Christ's finished work on our behalf.  And more faith comes only by hearing more gospel (Rom. 10:17).  The transforming power of the Spirit is communicated to the believer not by the hearing and doing of the law but by hearing and believing(!) the good news of what God has done for us in Christ.  The works of God come by believing (John 6:28-29).

Our problem as sinners isn't a knowledge problem remedied by more law instruction and our subsequent doing, but a sin-problem which only the gospel solves as we trust in God's Already Done in Christ!  This is true for our justification as well as our sanctification.  As believers we are called to mortify sin within us, which by definition means resisting the desires that actually tempt us and then again to offer ourselves to loving God and loving our neighbor.  The finished work of Jesus declared in the gospel is the only weapon given believers that actually breaks that power of sin and frees us to walk in a righteous direction.

¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. ¹¹Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ applied by the Holy Spirit through the gospel proclaimed in Word and Sacrament that cleanses believing sinners from sin and sets them apart unto holiness (all things are sanctified by blood - Hebrews 9:22).  The third use of the law?? With our eyes of faith upon Christ alone, the Holy Spirit uses the law now written on our hearts to direct and inform us in our sanctification.  Our reasonable offering to God is obedience to Him in the bright light and power of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us.  As forgiven sinners we indeed need to hear the law in order to better capture our attention as to what it really means to live a holy life, so as to not water-down sin nor lower the high perfection of God's righteousness to which we are called.  But the power of the Spirit unto holiness is apprehended only through faith in the finished work of Christ Jesus.

Now, it's certainly the case that there are perversions of God's grace and distortions of the gospel which can lead someone to become indifferent to his sin.  I imagine this is especially so where Law and Gospel are not proclaimed together.  But the solution to that problem is not a greater emphasis on the law in order to correct or balance out that distortion.  Rather, the solution is to clearly preach and teach the law's diagnosis and judgment of sinners and God's divinely appointed remedy offered in the gospel.  And that gospel declares that we who have been buried with Christ have died to sin.  Do we believe that?  Do we trust that Christ has accomplished that on our behalf?  If so, then how can we who have died to sin be indifferent to it?  If we continue to live a life under sin's rule, isn't it because we're not trusting in what God has done, i.e. not believing?  If I do believe that I have died to sin in Christ and am no longer under law but under grace, then it follows that I will offer myself to live in a manner consistent with that faith and repentance, however imperfect; seeking to live in accord with righteousness - not merely because the law tells me I should (which it certainly does), but because the grace of God (which I am now under) has released me from the dominion of sin and renewed me with a new heart and new will which desires to live in obedience to Him.

Do we still sin?  Of course.  And so it seems to me that the piety of the church should be known more by a faith in Christ and repentance of sin than an absence of sin.  The grace of God in Christ both fulfills the law perfectly for us in our justification and delivers us completely from sin's dominion which leads us to the doing of good works acceptable to God through faith.  The law points the way we should live and informs us when we don't.  The grace of God unites us to Christ, pardons our sin, delivers us from sin's dominion, justifies us before God with a righteousness not our own, gives us a new heart and will born of God, and renews us daily unto obedience through repentance and faith in Christ.

Word & Sacrament - Gospel Sanctification

My concern is for the many out there (including myself), the often confused and wondering, asking...

how do we live this Christian life?  If you haven't struggled with this, then you're not paying attention to your own conscience and how you fall short of true holiness every single day...

Continuing with sanctification.... I asked a number of questions in this article that could be summed up simply as, "How does the Holy Spirit sanctify the redeemed in the course of their earthly sojourn?"  Depending on one's school of theological presuppositions, that can be answered in different ways.  For the Deeper Life folks sanctification occurs through experiencing the inward Christ, i.e. a mystical encounter.  Others may hold to the idea of sanctifying merit through good works aided by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. Both these and other like approaches, unfortunately, turn one's eyes inward and away from Christ crucified as offered in the gospel.

What is so striking to me is that when sanctification is discussed it is almost always in the context of the believer's individual walk with the Lord, alone... out there in the world, by himself. Though that's a part of the picture, it is incomplete, for ... Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph.5:25-27).  When Christians gather for worship on the Lord's day, it is then and there that God meets them, ministers to them, nourishes and cleanses them unto sanctification by his Word and Sacrament.  That intersection of heaven and earth the bruised reeds whom he has chosen can take to the bank!

In the Old Testament there were daily sacrifices of a lamb, morning and evening, for cleansing and purging the sins of the covenant people of Israel.  And on the Sabbath day those sacrifices were doubled!  Those doubled sacrifices pointed forward to the fulfillment and efficacy of Jesus' cleansing blood for the sanctification of the people of God as offered in Word and Sacrament each Lord's day.  No striving.  No need to produce sinless works.  No mystical experiences to acquire.

On that day, the preached Word - law and gospel - again, rightly diagnoses our infirmity, i.e. the sin and stain that still touches every thought, word, and deed... yes even our very soul - and proclaims the blood of the Lamb which speaks of Jesus taking away our sins and in exchange imputing to us his righteousness. Hearing with faith and repentance we come to that fount for the purging of sin, shame and guilt as the Spirit applies Christ's merit of obedience and the power of his blood to our consciences. In the Lord's Supper believers are freely offered the bread and wine, Jesus' body and blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood (1662 BCP).  God proclaims and communicates this authoritatively and efficaciously by his Spirit through the means of his Word and Sacrament. And this double sanctifying grace of the gospel is received (upon hearing, eating and drinking) through simple faith with thanksgiving in Christ alone.

Going forth, then, into the week with various vocations, having been cleansed and strengthened in faith, we are assured that our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus, continues to plead in heaven his sanctifying blood on our behalf. Then, as guilty stains of the flesh and dust of the world again begin to cling to us, Let us [again and again] therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need... with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water (Heb. 4:16; 10:22).

More from John Owen's Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit -

This whole matter of sanctification and holiness is peculiarly joined with and limited unto the doctrine, truth, and grace of the gospel; for holiness is nothing but the implanting, writing, and realizing of the gospel in our souls...

The “law,” indeed, for certain ends, “was given by Moses,” but all “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” There neither is, nor ever was, in the world, nor ever shall be, the least dram of holiness, but what, flowing from Jesus Christ, is communicated by the Spirit, according to the truth and promise of the gospel.

(1.) He requires nothing of us (which we had all the reason in the world to expect that he would) to make atonement or satisfaction for our sins...

(2.) He requireth nothing of us in a way of righteousness for our justification for the future. That this also he would have done we might have justly expected; for a righteousness we must have, or we cannot be accepted with him... Neither is there any mention in the whole gospel of God’s requiring a righteousness in us upon the account whereof we should be justified before him, or in his sight; for the justification by works mentioned in James consists in the evidencing and declaration of our faith by them. 

(3.) God requireth not anything of us whereby we should purchase or merit for ourselves life and salvation: for “by grace are we saved through faith; not of works, lest any man should boast,” Ephesians 2:8,9...

God, therefore, requires nothing at our hands under this notion or consideration, nor is it possible that in our condition any such thing should be required of us; for whatever we can do is due beforehand on other accounts, and so can have no prospect to merit what is to come. Who can merit by doing his duty? Our Savior doth so plainly prove the contrary as none can farther doubt of it than of his truth and authority, Luke 17:10...

Moreover, where sanctification is enjoined us as our duty, it is prescribed under this notion of cleansing ourselves from sin: “Wash you, make you clean,” Isaiah 1:16. “O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved,” Jeremiah 4:14. “Having therefore these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”...

Nothing do they more earnestly labor after in their prayers and supplications than a cleansing from it by the blood of Christ, nor are any promises more precious unto them than those which express their purification and purging from it; for these are they which, next unto their interest in the atonement made by the sacrifice of Christ, give them boldness in their approaches unto God. So our apostle fully expresseth it, Hebrews 10:19-22: “Having therefore boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water...”

The foundation of all our confidence in our access unto God, the right and title we have to approach unto him, is laid in the blood of Christ, the sacrifice he offered, the atonement he made, and the remission of sins which he obtained thereby: which effect of it he declares, verse 19, “Having boldness by the blood of Jesus.” The way of our access is by pleading an interest in his death and suffering, whereby an admission and acceptance is consecrated for us: Verse 20, “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated.” And our encouragement to make use of this foundation and to engage in this way is taken from his discharge of the office of a high priest in our behalf: ‘“Having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near...”

But besides all this, when we come to an actual address unto God, that we may make use of the boldness given us in the full assurance of faith, it is moreover required that “our hearts be sprinkled, and our bodies washed;” — that is, that our whole persons be purified from the defilement of sin by the sanctification of the Spirit... 

So is it in the gospel, where the blood of Christ is said to “purge” our sins with respect to guilt, and to “wash” our souls with respect to filth.

Sanctified by the blood of Christ through faith...

Sanctification... by good works?... by works and grace?...  Sanctification... becoming more holy - through increased holy acts?... by becoming less of a sinner?  Does what started out through faith alone in Christ alone by God's grace alone now switch over to us, our efforts, our faithfulness and works in sanctification?  Or are we still sinners... recipients who receive, through faith, the virtue of Jesus' death and resurrection in our sanctification (WCF 13.1) as we did, through faith, in our justification?  In other words, is that which justifies the believer the same which sanctifies him? Or more specifically, being that we are justified by his blood (Rom.5:9), is it also the blood of Christ shed for sinners that sanctifies in this life?

Some words of  John Owen on the subject.  He is a bit difficult to read but well worth the effort, especially here concerning the office of the Holy Spirit, the blood of Christ, and the instrument of faith in our sanctification.

From the Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit by John Owen:

Therefore, by the blood of Christ herein is intended the blood of his sacrifice, with the power, virtue, and efficacy thereof. And the blood of a sacrifice fell under a double consideration:-- (1.) As it was offered unto God to make atonement and reconciliation; (2.) As it was sprinkled on other things for their purging and sanctification. Part of the blood in every propitiatory sacrifice was still to be sprinkled round about the altar, Lev. i. 11; and in the great sacrifice of expiation, some of the blood of the bullock was to be sprinkled before the mercy-seat seven times, chap. xvi. 14. This our apostle fully expresseth in a great and signal instance: Heb. ix. 19, 20, 22, "When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. ... And almost all things are by the law purged with blood." Wherefore, the blood of Christ, as it was the blood of his sacrifice, hath these two effects, and falls under this double consideration:-(1.) As he offered himself by the eternal Spirit unto God to make an atonement for sin, and procure eternal redemption; (2.) As it is sprinkled by the same Spirit on the consciences of believers, to purge them from dead works, as Heb. ix. 12-14. And hence it is called, with respect unto our sanctification, "The blood of sprinkling," chap. xii. 24; for we have the "sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. i. 2.

2. The blood of Christ in his sacrifice is still always and continually in the same condition, of the same force and efficacy, as it was in that hour wherein it was shed. The blood of other sacrifices was always to be used immediately upon its effusion; for if it were cold and congealed it was of no use to be offered or to be sprinkled. Blood was appointed to make atonement, as the life or animal spirits were in it, Lev. xvii. 11. But the blood of the sacrifice of Christ is always hot and warm, having the same spirits of life and sanctification still moving in it. Hence the zosa kai prosphatos, Heb. x. 20, -- always living, and yet always as newly slain. Every one, therefore, who at any time hath an especial actual interest in the blood of Christ, as sacrificed, hath as real a purification from the defilement of sin as he had typically who stood by the priest and had blood or water sprinkled on him; for the Holy Ghost diligently declares that whatever was done legally, carnally, or typically, by any of the sacrifices of old at any time, as to the expiation or purification of sin, that was all done really and spiritually by that one sacrifice, -- that is, the offering and sprinkling of the blood of Christ, -- and abideth to be so done continually. To this purpose is the substance of our apostle's discourse in the ninth and tenth chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews. And they had various sorts of sacrifices, wherein to this end the blood of them was sprinkled, they being propitiatory in their offering; as, -- (1.) There was the tmyd, or continual burnt-offering of a lamb or kid for the whole congregation, morning and evening, whose blood was sprinkled as at other times. And hereby the habitual purification of the congregation, that they might be holy to the Lord, and their cleansing from the daily incursions of secret and unknown sins, was signified and carried on. (2.) On the Sabbath-day this juge sacrificium was doubled morning and evening, denoting a peculiar and abounding communication of mercy and purging grace, through the administration of instituted ordinances, on that day. (3.) There was the great annual sacrifice at the feast of expiation, when, by the sacrifice of the sin-offering and the scape-goat, the whole congregation were purged from all their known and great sins, and recovered into a state of legal holiness; and other stated sacrifices there were. (4.) There were occasional sacrifices for every one, according as he found his condition to require; for those who were clean one day, yea, one hour, might by some miscarriage or surprisal be unclean the next. But there was a way continually ready for any man's purification, by his bringing his offering unto that purpose. Now, the blood of Christ must continually, and upon all occasions, answer unto all these, and accomplish spiritually what they did legally effect and typically represent. This our apostle asserts and proves, Heb. ix. 9-14. Thereby is the gradual carrying on of our sanctification habitually effected, which was signified by the continual daily sacrifice. From thence is especial cleansing virtue communicated unto us by the ordinances of the gospel, as is expressly affirmed, Eph. v. 25, 26, denoted by the doubling of the daily sacrifice on the Sabbath. By it we are purged from all our sins whatever, great or small, as was typified in the great sacrifice on the day of expiation. And unto him have we continual recourse upon all occasions of our spiritual defilements whatever. So was his blood, as to its purifying virtue, to answer and accomplish all legal institutions...

... (1.) How the blood of Christ doth thus cleanse us from our sins, or what it is that is done thereby. (2.) How we come to be made partakers of the benefit thereof, or come to be interested therein. (1.) As to the first, it must be observed, what hath been declared before, that the uncleanness we treat of is not physical or corporeal, but moral and spiritual only. It is the inconformity of sin unto the holiness of God, as represented in the law, whence it is loathsome to God, and attended with shame in us. Now, wherever there is an interest obtained in the purifying virtue of the blood of Christ, it doth (by the will, law, and appointment of God) do these two things:-- [1.] It takes away all loathsomeness in the sight of God, not from sin in the abstract, but from the sinner, so that he shall be as one absolutely washed and purified before him. See Isa. i. 16-18; Ps. li. 7; Eph. v. 25-27. [2.] It taketh away shame out of the conscience, and gives the soul boldness in the presence of God, Heb. x. 19-22. When these things are done then is sin purged, our souls are cleansed.

[regarding the Holy Spirit] -It is he who discovereth unto us, and spiritually convinceth us of, the pollution of sin, and of our defilement thereby. Something, indeed, of this kind will be wrought by the power of natural conscience, awakened and excited by ordinary outward means of conviction; for wherever there is a sense of guilt, there will be some kind of sense of filth, as fear and shame are inseparable. But this sense alone will never guide us to the blood of Christ for cleansing. Such a sight and conviction of it as may fill us with self-abhorrency and abasement, as may cause us to loathe ourselves for the abomination that is in it, is required of us; and this is the work of the Holy Ghost, belonging to that peculiar conviction of sin which is from him alone, John xvi. 8. I mean that self-abhorrency, shame, and confusion of face, with respect unto the filth of sin, which is so often mentioned in the Scripture as a gracious duty; as nothing is a higher aggravation of sin than for men to carry themselves with a carnal boldness with God and in his worship, whilst they are unpurged from their defilements. In a sense hereof the publican stood afar off, as one ashamed and destitute of any confidence for a nearer approach. So the holy men of old professed to God that they blushed, and were ashamed to lift up their faces unto him. Without this preparation, whereby we come to know the plague of our own hearts, the infection of our leprosy, the defilement of our souls, we shall never make application unto the blood of Christ for cleansing in a due manner. This, therefore, in the first place, is of us as the first part of our duty and first work of the Holy Ghost herein. [2.] The Holy Ghost proposeth, declareth, and presents unto us the only true remedy, the only means of purification. "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, not cure you of your wound," Hos. v. 13. When men begin to discern their defilements, they are apt to think of many ways for their purging. What false ways have been invented to this purpose hath been before declared. And every one is ready to find out a way of his own; every one will apply his own soap and his own nitre. Though the only fountain for cleansing be nigh unto us, yet we cannot see it until the Holy Ghost open our eyes, as he did the eyes of Hagar; he it is who shows it unto us and leads us unto it. This is an eminent part of his office and work. The principal end of his sending, and consequently of his whole work, was to glorify the Son; as the end and work of the Son was to glorify the Father. And the great way whereby he glorifieth Christ is by showing such things unto us, John xvi. 14. And without his discovery we can know nothing of Christ, not of the things of Christ; for he is not sent in vain, to show us the things that we can see of ourselves. And what is more so of Christ than his blood, and its efficacy for the purging of our sins? We never, therefore, discern it spiritually and in a due manner but by him. To have a true spiritual sense of the defilement of sin, and a gracious view of the cleansing virtue of the blood of Christ, is an eminent effect of the Spirit of grace. Something like it there may be in the workings of an awakened natural conscience, with some beams of outward gospel light falling on it; but there is nothing in it of the work of the Spirit. This, therefore, secondly, we must endeavour after, if we intend to be cleansed by the blood of Christ. [3.] It is he who worketh faith in us, whereby we are actually interested in the purifying virtue of the blood of Christ. By faith we receive Christ himself, and by faith do we receive all the benefits of his mediation, -- that is, as they are tendered unto us in the promises of God. He is our propitiation through faith in his blood as offered; and he is our sanctification through faith in his blood as sprinkled. And particular acting of faith on the blood of Christ for the cleansing of the soul from sin is required of us. A renewed conscience is sensible of a pollution in every sin, and is not freed from the shame of it without a particular application unto the blood of Christ. It comes by faith to the fountain set open for sin and uncleanness, as the sick man to the pool of healing waters, and waiteth for a season to be cleansed in it...

And this actual application by faith unto the blood of Christ for cleansing, the mystery whereof is scorned by many as a thing fanatical and unintelligible, consists in these four things:-- 1st. A spiritual view and due consideration of the blood of Christ in his sacrifice, as proposed in the promises of the gospel for our cleansing and purification. "Look unto me," saith he, "and be ye saved," Isa. xlv. 22; which respects the whole work of our salvation, and all the means thereof. Our way of coming into our interest therein is by looking to him, -- namely, as he is proposed unto us in the promise of the gospel: for as the serpent was lifted up by Moses in the wilderness, so was he in his sacrifice on the cross lifted up, John iii. 14; and so in the gospel is he represented unto us, Gal. iii. 1. And the means whereby they were healed in the wilderness was by looking unto the serpent that was lifted up. Herein, then, doth faith first act itself, by a spiritual view and due consideration of the blood of Christ, as proposed unto us in the gospel for the only means of our purification; and the more we abide in this contemplation, the more effectual will our success be in our application thereto. 2dly. Faith actually relieth on his blood for the real effecting of that great work and end for which it is proposed unto us; for God sets him forth as to be a propitiation through faith in his blood as offered, Rom. iii. 25, so to be our sanctification through faith in his blood as sprinkled. And the establishing of this especial faith in our souls is that which the apostle aims at in his excellent reasoning, Heb. ix. 13, 14; and his conclusion unto that purpose is so evident, that he encourageth us thereon to draw nigh in the full assurance of faith, chap. x. 22.

Relevant scripture-
Heb. 9:
1 Now even a first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary of this world.
 2 For there was a tabernacle prepared, the first, wherein were the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread; which is called the Holy place.
 3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of holies;
 4 having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
 5 and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally.
 6 Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services;
 7 but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offereth for himself, and for the errors of the people:
 8 the Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holy place hath not yet been made manifest, while the first tabernacle is yet standing;
 9 which is a figure for the time present; according to which are offered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect,
 10 being only (with meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.
 11 But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,
 12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.
 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh:
 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
 16 For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it.
 17 For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth.
 18 Wherefore even the first covenant hath not been dedicated without blood.
 19 For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
 20 saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward.
 21 Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood.
 22 And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
 23 It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
 24 For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:
 25 nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own;
 26 else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;

 28 so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation. 

Heb. 10:

 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
 15 And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us; for after he hath said,
 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws on their heart, And upon their mind also will I write them; then saith he,
 17 And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
 19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
 20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
 21 and having a great priest over the house of God;
 22 let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water,
 23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised:

Heb. 12:
 24 and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel.

1 Peter 1:
² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 5:
25 even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it;
²⁶ that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word,
²⁷ that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.