Sanctification By the Cross

The gospel that Paul announces in Romans brings not only justification, but also sanctification. Justification is announced in the no condemnation of Romans 8:1. Yet that justification will always be followed by the moral renewal of sanctification described in Romans 8:4. Fulfilling the righteousness of the law is a reference to our sanctification, not our justification. Paul is not teaching that we have to live right before God in order to be right before God or stay right before God. But he is teaching that those who are right before God will live right before God. He is showing that those who are justified by the Son are also sanctified by the Spirit. The crucial thing that ties them both together is the atonement of verse 3. We are justified AND sanctified through the work of the cross. This is the gospel that Paul describes in Romans 8:3. In this message, we look at the gospel that sanctifies us.

The gospel that sanctifies involves the following

1. the Father's initiation; "God sending..."
2. the Son's commission: "sending his Son..."
3. the Son's incarnation: "in the likeness of sinful flesh..."
4. sin's condemnation: "to condemned sin in the flesh..."

The gospel is that Christ came to execute judgement over the power of sin by His death. If we are to be holy, we will only be holy because of the cross of Christ. Moral renewal without connection to the cross is utter hopelessness.