Reference
Radcliff, A.S. 2016. The Claim of Humanity in Christ: Salvation
and Sanctification in the Theology of T.F. and J.B. Torrance. (Princeton
Theological Monograph Series 222), Eugene, OR: Pickwick. 208 pp.
In the second half of her
book Radcliff begins to explore the “liberating implications” of soteriology in
the Torrance tradition, particularly in regard to sanctification, where
“humanity is not only set free from the burden of attempting to achieve
salvation, but also from the burden of attempting to achieve sanctification.”
In evangelicalism,
Christians often appear to live as though saved by grace but sanctified by
works. In other words, Jesus has done his part (justification), now we must do
ours (sanctification). “All this I did for thee; now what wilt thou do for Me?”
For Radcliff, a burden is created when sanctification is separated from its
ground in justification and made a subsequent step in the so-called “order of
salvation” (ordo salutis) of
Protestant and evangelical theology. In contrast, she notes that “[t]he
Torrances affirm the liberating reality that sanctification is rooted
definitively with justification in the vicarious humanity of Christ” (p. 124). In
the Torrance tradition, sanctification is a joyful, liberating “participation” by
the Spirit in all that Jesus has done for us. Radcliff contrasts this liberating
view of sanctification with the burdensome view of an introspective legalism
(self-examination for fruits of repentance) in conservative evangelicalism and
a resurgent Puritanism.
In Reformed theology, according
to Radcliff, where the atonement is strongly associated with justification,
sanctification is detached from its ground in justification and made a “second
work.” In the Westminster theology of the English Puritans, according to T.F.
Torrance, the focus is on man’s actions, man’s obedience, man’s duty to God and
neighbor and man’s religion. This bifurcation of justification and
sanctification resulted in a form of preaching that directed believers’
attention away from Jesus toward their own efforts at achieving sanctification.
In some Pentecostal-holiness
traditions, sanctification is detached from justification by a “second
blessing,” where the truly blessed receive a state of “entire sanctification.”
(Said the bun-topped old lady, “Why, I ain’t sinned in purt’ near thirty
year!”). As Tom Smail argues, this bifurcation divides Christian life into salvation
as a gift to the sinner and the fullness of the Spirit as a reward to the saint,
while maligning the central gospel principle that salvation is from beginning
to end “all of grace.”
In the Torrance tradition,
sanctification, like justification, is fully realized in the incarnation of
Jesus Christ, as lived out through the whole course of his obedient life. The
Spirit’s descent upon Jesus at his baptism was for our sanctification, while
Jesus life of perfect obedience to the Father was for our sanctification. As
J.B. Torrance writes: “The Son of God takes our humanity, sanctifies it by his
vicarious life in the Spirit (John 17:17-18), carries it to the grave to be
crucified and buried in him, and in his resurrection and ascension carries it
into the holy presence of God.” As Radcliff notes, this “once-for-all rooting
of sanctification with justification in the vicarious humanity of Christ” is
crucial; otherwise, we are thrown back upon ourselves to achieve
sanctification.
For T.F. Torrance, when
sanctification is rooted in justification, there is no need for believers to
try to achieve it on their own steam. Radcliff offers a great quote from T.F.
Torrance (Theology in Reconstruction,
pp. 161-2):
Justification by
grace alone remains the sole ground of the Christian life; we never advance
beyond it, as if justification were only the beginning of a new
self-righteousness, the beginning of a life of sanctification which is what we
do in response to justification. Of course we are summoned to live out day by
day what we already are in Christ through his self-consecration or
sanctification, but sanctification is not what we do in addition to what God
has done in justification.
The “outworking” of
sanctification comes through participating by the Holy Spirit in Christ. The
Spirit turns us out of ourselves to share in the sanctification realized for
all in the incarnation. Apart from participation as koinonia, or “communion” with the Triune God of grace, we are turned
back upon ourselves to apply to our lives the sanctification that is already
accomplished for us in Jesus. Radcliff quotes J.I. Packer, who describes
sanctification in terms of mortifying the flesh, self-humbling, self-examination
and “avoiding situations that stoke sins boiler.” Packer believes that we can
achieve all this by fixing our eyes on Jesus. As Radcliff rightly argues,
however, this appears to make Jesus an example that we strive to emulate rather
than the incarnate ground of our sanctification in which we participate by the
Spirit. Perhaps we can succinctly describe the difference as “emulation” versus
“participation.” According to Radcliff, Packer’s approach is typical of
conservative evangelism.
As Radcliff notes,—and
this is where more thinking is needed, because she is really on to something—sanctification
is not an autonomous effort assisted by the Spirit. In her words, “Although we
are called to live out our sanctification, the Holy Spirit does not aid us in
the external, logico-causal application of Christ’s definitive sanctification.”
This would be to detach sanctification from the vicarious humanity of Jesus, so
that the reality of our sanctification is merely a potential that we must
actualize through our own efforts. In the Torrance tradition, note Radcliff, [S]anctification
is a reality in which we participate, rather than a potentiality to be actualized.”
She quotes Deddo: “What is complete and actual in Christ is truly and really
ours even if it does not yet appear to be so. Our lives are hidden in Christ
(Col 3:3) … The Christian life is living out and manifesting the present
reality of our union with Christ.”
Radcliff concludes the
chapter by asserting:
The Holy Spirit does not enable the autonomous believer to
work out his own sanctification; the Holy Spirit enables the believer to
participate in Christ’s definitive sanctification. This liberates humanity from
the burden of depending upon our own endeavors for the outworking of
sanctification in our lives (p. 140).
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