Customer Reviews

Possessed by God: A New Testament theology of sanctification and holiness (New Studies in Biblical Theology)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is an excellent treatment of the New Testament material on sanctification and I used it as one of the texts for a unit I taught at Booth College on "The Doctrine of Sanctification: Biblical Perspectives." However, I do feel quite ambivalent about its use in that context. While it deals admirably with all of the key texts on sanctification, providing good exegetical studies along the way, it is marred by an apparent need to criticise (and often unfairly) those in the Wesleyan theological tradition. The author will often portray Wesleyans as holding to sinless perfectionism overlooking the nuances of perfectionist teaching within the tradition. Ironically his own findings in discussing certain passages are sometimes fully in line with Wesleyan views. The book is also a critique of the author's own Reformed tradition, at least its Puritan heritage which has placed great stress on holiness as a mark of the elect. The characteristic Puritan stress on "progressive sanctification" (mortification and vivification) the author sees as unhelpful because it places, he says, an unhelpful burden on believers and obscures the completed work of Christ in their lives. Since the New Testament is primarily concerned with the positional holiness of believers we should place the stress on the instantaneousness of sanctification not its progressive features. Christ's death secures believers as the holy ones of God, set apart as belonging to him. That is a completed action that cannot be taken away from or added to. That is all good so far as it goes but Peterson does not do justice to the frequently found imperatives within the New Testament to "perfect holiness in the fear of God," to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received," etc. Believers are "saints" yes, but saints "called to be holy." Holiness in the New Testament must be understood as holding the positional and the experiential together. This was something Calvin certainly understood and it is a pity that this particular Reformed theologian seems to have departed from that emphasis here. I wish there were a book that did as good a job as this at interpreting the New Testament material on sanctification without the need to engage in an unnecessary and often unfounded polemic against Wesleyan theology.

This book was paradigm shifting for me. Even though I had often observed that the Bible uses "sanctified" in the past tense I did not know that this is the way it is used the majority of the time in the Bible. Our sanctification is so much more than just our maturation in Christ--there is a huge part of it that has already been accomplished for us at the cross--it is what makes us holy and able to be called "saints." This reality of our new identity in Christ then provides the motivation for holy living, which is also a crucial part of sanctification. This book is a clear call for us to start learning and speaking about sanctification in the way that the Bible actually uses the word--if any of this interests you, this book is a must read!

From the back of the book:
In this book, the first in the New Studies in Biblical Theology series, the author challenges the common assumption that the New Testament views sanctification as primarily a process. He argues that its emphasis falls upon sanctification as a definitive event, "God's way of taking possession of us in Christ, setting us apart to belong to him and to fulfill his purpose for us." Simply to identify sanctification with growth in holiness, he contends, obscures the emphasis and balance of New Testament teaching and creates unrealistic expectations. Throughout the book, the author builds his case on the careful exegesis of relevant passages, with a keen eye for the pastoral implications of his findings.