The Meaning of Sanctification

The Meaning of SanctificationThat brilliant French theologian, Auguste Sabatier, crystallized in one sentence the substance of what I have tried to say in this book. Salvation, he writes, is deliverance from the power of evil, it is filial communion with God, which, restored to its proper place in the heart, henceforth becomes the spring of the believers peace and joy, the true germ of eternal life, the victory of the Spirit. It was my first intention to discuss the whole subject

That brilliant French theologian, Auguste Sabatier, crystallized in one sentence the substance of what I have tried to say in this book. “Salvation,” he writes, “is deliverance from the power of evil, it is filial communion with God, which, restored to its proper place in the heart, henceforth becomes the spring of the believer’s peace and joy, the true germ of eternal life, the victory of the Spirit.”

It was my first intention to discuss the whole subject of salvation in one book; but as I wrote the manuscript grew to such dimensions that it seemed altogether best to publish the material in two volumes, separately titled and each complete in itself, and yet each complementary to the other. The first volume has been published under the title The Meaning of Salvation; this companion volume is now published under the title The Meaning of Sanctification.

The doctrine of sanctification is for Christian people the most important of all the doctrines, because it teaches the way to find and to develop faith in Christ as the perfect healer of the heart, who alone can make it entirely well and fill it with the enduring strength of his Holy Spirit.