Sanctification: Explorations in Theology and Practice

Often treated like the younger sibling in theology, the doctrine of sanctification has spent the last few decades waiting not-so-patiently behind those doctrines viewed as more senior. With so much recent interest in ideas like election and justification, the question of holiness can often seem to be of secondary importance, and widespread misunderstanding of sanctification as moralism or undue human effort further impedes thoughtful engagement. But what if we have missed the boat on what sanctification really means for today's believer?

The essays in this volume, which come out of the 2011 Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference, address this dilemma through biblical, historical, dogmatic and pastoral explorations. The contributors sink their teeth into positions like the "works" mentality or "justification by faith alone" and posit stronger biblical views of grace and holiness, considering key topics such as the image of God, perfection, union with Christ, Christian ethics and suffering. Eschewing any attempt to produce a unified proposal, the essays included here instead offer resources to stimulate an informed discussion within both church and academy.

• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Contributors
• Prelude: An Opening Homily
• 1. Holiness: Restoring God’s Image: A Homily on Colossians 3:5-17 Derek Tidball
• Part 1: Sanctified by Grace Through Faith in Union with Christ
• 2. Living by Faith—Alone? Reformed Responses to Antinomianism Richard Lints
• 3. Sanctification by Faith? Henri Blocher
• 4. Covenantal Union and Communion: Union with Christ as the Covenant of Grace Brannon Ellis
• 5. Sanctification after Metaphysics: Karl Barth in Conversation with John Wesley’s Conception of "Christian Perfection" Bruce L. McCormack
• Part 2: Human Agency and Sanctification’s Relationship to Ethics
• 6. "Let the Earth Bring Forth . . .": The Spirit and Human Agency in Sanctification Michael Horton
• 7. Sanctification and Ethics Oliver O’Donovan
• 8. On Bavinck’s Theology of Sanctification-as-Ethics James Eglinton
• Part 3: Theological and Pastoral Meditations on Sanctification
• 9. Gospel Holiness: Some Dogmatic Reflections Ivor J. Davidson
• 10. Faith, Hope and Love: A Theological Meditation on Suffering and Sanctification Kelly M. Kapic
• 11. Sonship, Identity and Transformation Julie Canlis
• 12. Sanctification Through Preaching: How John Chrysostom Preached for Personal Transformation Peter Moore