In Part 1 of this series, we introduced the Free Grace – Lordship Salvation debate, highlighting the key areas of debate, as well as some Biblical insights that could offer a bridge between these positions. Here in Part 2, we will continue to discuss Paul’s theology of synergistic sanctification in the context of the dual nature of the believer.
Encouragement to obey because of what we already have
Paul’s use of the indicative and imperative moods in his letters plays a significant role in encouraging believers in their sanctification. The indicative mood is a grammatical mood used in sentences to state facts about the subject – e.g. The ball is red, Bill is smart, the sun is hot. The imperative mood is used to express commands – e.g. get me the ball, tell Bill to read this, look at the sun. Paul uses these two moods to convey both the foundational truths of the Gospel (indicative) and the corresponding commands for righteous living (imperative). Paul’s approach underscores the inseparable connection between what God has done for believers and how they are called to live in response.
Alex – The Super Hero!
Consider the following story. In a bustling city, there lived a man named Alex who possessed an extraordinary gift – superhuman strength. One sunny day, as Alex strolled down a busy street, he noticed a commotion up ahead. As he approached the scene, he saw a car that had overturned, trapping the driver underneath. Onlookers were frantically trying to lift the vehicle, but their efforts were in vain. Without hesitation, Alex knew he could easily lift the car and rescue the driver. His heart raced as he realized the immense responsibility he held because of his power. With a determined look in his eyes, Alex stepped forward. The bystanders watched in awe as he positioned himself beside the car. He took a deep breath, focusing his energy and strength. He lifted the car effortlessly, revealing the trapped driver beneath. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as the driver was safely pulled to safety. Alex felt a mixture of relief, gratitude, and humility. He recognized that his extraordinary strength wasn’t just a personal gift, but a moral responsibility to help those in need.
This story is a perfect example of the inseparable connection between the indicative and imperative. Alex has super strength (indicative), therefore Alex ought to help the innocent victim (imperative). Similarly, we as Christians ought to live in a manner that demonstrates who we are and what we have “in Christ”. Accordingly, Paul uses the indicative mood to express heavenly realities about believers; Who they are in Christ; What they have in Christ; Realities tied to their new nature, or new design, in Christ. He then uses the imperative mood to express heavenly commands that are expected by, enabled by, and exuded from these indicative realities. Below are several examples:
| INDICATIVE | IMPERATIVE |
| “dead indeed unto sin” (Rom 6:11) | “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body” (v12) |
| “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24) | “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col 3:5) |
| “You are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit” (Rom 8:9) | “therefore… we have an obligation … not to the flesh … but … by the Spirit … put to death the misdeeds of the body” (v12-13) |
| “You died…” (Col 3:5) | “Therefore … put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature” (v3) |
| “You have been raised with Christ” (Col 3:1) | “Set your heart on things above … set your mind on things above..” (v2) |
| “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17) | “Put on the new self” (Eph 4:24) |
1 Corinthians 6:9-18 beautifully illustrates the indicative and imperative pattern in Paul’s theology. Paul starts this passage with the bleak condition of those who are characterized by sin. He states that the sexually immoral, thieves, greedy, and drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God. Then he makes a bold assertion in verse 11: “That is what some of you were!”. In Paul’s theology, the saved person has had an identity change. The new identity includes the three indicatives in verse 11:
- Washed – We are clean in God’s eyes
- Sanctified – We are holy in God’s eyes
- Justified — We are righteous in God’s eyes
After these indicatives comes an imperative. Since Paul did a deeper dive on sexual immorality in vv12-17, he forcefully commands in v18, “Flee sexual immorality!”. Let’s review Paul’s logic in this passage:
- (1) You were sexually immoral
- (2) You were washed, sanctified, justified
- (3) By implication, you are not sexually immoral anymore
- (4) Therefore, flee immorality
This pattern is so profound; so invigorating; so freeing! We don’t have to flee immorality in order for God to consider us moral. We need to flee immorality because we are already considered moral by God!
Michael Parsons, Ethics and Philosophy of Religion Professor at London Bible College, summarized Paul’s use of indicative and imperative well:
“The imperative is grounded on the reality that has been given, appeals to it and is intended to bring it to full development (Phil 2:12-13). The moral behaviour of the believer is to reveal something of the character of the new life given by God. Therefore, the indicatives — past, present and eschatological — demand an application on the part of the recipients of Paul’s correspondence: they are a motive force in the apostle’s parenesis: a corrective factor to misbehaviour, and a sanction to right living before the Lord. It is undoubtedly the indicative aspect of salvation as much as anything else which gives Paul his confidence in ethical exhortation.” [8]
In summary, Paul’s use of the indicative and imperative pattern is critical for the process of discipling and admonishing believers who are struggling with obedience. It does not challenge their salvation or their identity in Christ, but rather reminds them of it, and encourages them to align with it by means of the resources they have already received in Christ. This understanding of identity and empowerment helps to foster a life characterized by righteous living—a response rooted in gratitude and empowered by the Spirit’s life-transforming work.
Is God risking having an unsanctified people?
By giving His dual-natured people the power and liberty to obey synergistically, does God risk having an unsanctified church; a church that looks like the world? Not at all. He prophesied to the nation of Israel that when He pours out the new birth on them, He will succeed in making them obey Him:
I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezek 36:26-27, ESV)
This prophecy provides a keen insight into God’s providence. His sovereign control over Israel’s circumstances – their encounters, their trials, their exposures to His means of grace – will eventually result in their obedience; not of necessity, but of coincidence; not through coercion, but through providence. Thankfully, the church participates in this same blessed promise. God is at work in us, “both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Php 2:13).
Encouragements to obey because of what we can lose
While many admonitions in scripture are aimed at aligning believers with their new identity, there are others that are aimed at steering them away from negative consequences, or losses. What are some of these losses?
Loss of rewards
In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Paul uses the analogy of building to discuss our works and rewards as ministers of the Gospel. He explains that the quality of our deeds will be tested by fire on the “Day” of evaluation. If our works are valuable (like gold and silver), they survive and yield rewards. If not (like wood and straw), they are consumed, resulting in loss of rewards. Christians typically associate this event with the “Judgment seat of Christ” described in 2 Corinthians 5:10; a judgment where we receive just recompense for the things we did in this world, “whether good or bad.” Some of Jesus’s parables support this concept. For example, in Luke 19:11-27, He speaks of believers being entrusted with varying levels of authority in the age to come, based on their faithfulness in this age.
This judgment has nothing to do with our eternal destination. While the “unbelieving” (Rev 21:8) will stand before Christ, condemned to hell for their wicked deeds (Rev 20:12-15) and lack of good deeds (Mt 25:41-46), believers will be spared from such condemnation because their names are written in the book of life (Rev 20:12,15). Only their good works will be rehearsed as they enter into the kingdom (Mt 25:34-40), not their failures.
Loss of spiritual memory
Believers can experience “spiritual amnesia”, or the loss of spiritual memory. In 2 Peter 1:5-9, Peter encourages believers to diligently add virtues to their faith, building a strong foundation for their Christian walk. He warns that those who lack these qualities are shortsighted and spiritually blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from past sins. In James 1:23-24, James compares a person who hears the word of God but doesn’t put it into practice to someone who looks at themselves in a mirror and immediately forgets their appearance. This tendency to forget or neglect the foundational truths of our faith and their practical implications on our behavior and character can lead to a stagnant or hypocritical Christian life. This often results in the next loss – a loss of confidence.
Loss of confidence
Believers who are forgetful, stagnant, and hypocritical may experience a loss of confidence, rooted in their own self-condemnation. John addresses this condition in his first epistle.
“for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” (1 John 3:19-2, ESV)
This theme resurfaces in 4:17-18, where he describes how confidence wanes and fear of judgment increases when the believer struggles with maturing in love and fails to act “as [Christ] is in this world.”
Throughout his epistle, John details several “life hacks” to help the self-condemned believer remedy their fear and lack of confidence. To understand the thrust of his epistle, it is helpful to view it through the dual nature model of regeneration, and the indicative/imperative pattern introduced earlier.
Dual Nature of Believers in 1 John:
Although 1 John seems to be addressing individuals “as whole individuals” at times, many references seem to be directed at “individuals within individuals”. Believers have a dual nature – the old unregenerate, flesh-man influenced by sin and the new regenerate spirit-man influenced by the Holy Spirit. The reference to “he who is in you” in 1 John 4:4 may directly support John’s use of this duality.
Several passages obviously refer to the perfected, regenerated, inner man who does not sin (3:9, 5:18), cannot sin (3:9), and has already overcome the world (5:4) [10]. This inner man abides in God, knows God, is born of God, and has eternal life. He surfaces when you love the brethren (2:10, 3:14, 4:7, 16), do the will of God (2:17), let the Gospel abide in you (2:24), refrain from sinning (3:6), do righteousness (2:29, 3:10), heed the apostles’ teachings (4:6), and believe and confess Jesus as the Christ (4:15, 5:1).
The man of the flesh surfaces when you sin (3:6), don’t do righteousness (3:10), hate the brethren (3:14-15), and don’t keep God’s commands (1:8, 2:4). This flesh-man is often deceived, lying to himself, saying “I have no sin” (1:8), “I haven’t sinned” (1:10), “I have fellowship with God” {yet walks in darkness} (1:6), “I know Him” {yet keeps not his commands} (2:4), “I am in the light” (2:9) and “I love God” {yet hates his brother} (4:20).
Indicative and Imperative in 1 John:
Given this dual nature model, John, like Paul, tends to “know no man after the flesh” (2 Cor 5:16). He wrote to them so that they would rest in the indicatives they have in Christ; that they would know they have eternal life (5:13), and that they would have full joy (1:4) because their sins are forgiven (2:12). He assures them that they have known Christ (2:13, 21), and that they have overcome the devil (2:13). They are no longer murderers [11] and haters, but lovers and givers. These facts are rooted in the foundational truth that Jesus first loved us (4:10, 19) by appearing at His first coming to take away our sins (3:5), destroy the works of the devil (3:8), and give us life through himself (4:9).
John’s goal with this letter is not to condemn or disqualify believers, but to encourage them to live out the imperatives; to walk in their regenerated nature and thereby boost their “confidence” (2:28), assure their hearts (3:19), and suppress their self-condemnation. After all, we tend to condemn ourselves when we let the flesh-man surface more than the regenerated man. While John wrote with the imperative that we “sin not” (2:1), he understands that we will sin. The flesh-man will inevitably surface, but when that happens we can rest assured that we are forgiven (2:12) because we have an advocate with the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ (2:1), who first loved us (4:10, 19). We can simply confess our sins and be cleansed from all unrighteousness (1:9), and confidently pray the same for other erring brethren (5:16). These measures don’t change our standing before God, but our perception of that standing. They help mitigate self-condemnation and unwarranted fear of judgment.
The concept of awaiting the final manifestation of Christ’s likeness is also present in 1 John. While our regenerated inner man is partially manifested when we act righteously (3:10), he will fully manifest when Christ is manifested at His second coming (1 Jn 3:2, c.f. Rom 8:19). This is where the indicative and imperative will fully intersect.
Loss of Evidential Righteousness
In parallel with a loss of personal confidence, disobedience also detracts from our evidential righteousness. Evidential righteousness is a concept emphasized in James 2. Here, James discusses two distinct kinds of justification – Justification by faith, and Justification by works.
Justification by faith refers to the believer’s position of being declared righteous in God’s sight through faith in Christ’s atoning work. James highlights this aspect of justification in the context of Abraham’s faith in James 2:23, where he quotes Genesis 15:6, noting that Abraham’s faith in God’s promise resulted in his being declared righteous by God. It also established a relationship with God as His “friend”. This righteousness is relational, by faith, and before God.
Justification by works refers to the believer being declared righteous through good works. James highlights this aspect of justification in the context of Abraham’s works in James 2:21-22, where he references Genesis 22, noting that Abraham’s willingness to offer up Isaac produced a secondary righteousness. This righteousness is evidential, by works, and before both God and man. Such righteousness was common amongst Old Testament “God fearers”, who weren’t yet saved in a Christian sense (Acts 10:22, 11:14).
James teaches that failing to add this secondary righteousness, by only being a hearer rather than a doer, can make someone forget their identity in Christ (Jas 1:24). It also demonstrates a “dead”, or inactive, faith that cannot save us (Jas 2:4). What does James mean by this? As alluded to earlier, there are three aspects to salvation:
| Salvation When | Salvation Type | Passage | Saved from |
| Past (were saved) | Justification | Eph 2:8-9 | Imputed guilt and condemnation |
| Present (being saved) | Sanctification | Jas 1:21 | The corruption of the flesh and the world, or the “present generation” (Ac 2:40) |
| Future (will be saved) | Glorification | Rom 13:11 | God’s final wrath, judgment, the second death, and mortality |
I’m convinced that James is speaking of present salvation, or sanctification, in this passage. The word “save” is normatively used in James to describe current realities in the lives of believers; the need to “save” yourself from moral filth through the implanted Word of God (Jas 1:21); the need be physically “saved” (i.e. “healed”) from physical sin-induced ailments through temporal forgiveness and cleansing (Jas 5:15). James 2:4 is therefore stressing that an inactive faith, while not affecting our declared standing before God, will fail to save us from the corruptive powers of the flesh and the world, thereby stunting our spiritual growth and effectiveness as Christians.
Loss of earthly blessings and ministry effectiveness
I’m sure we have all heard the phrase “tough love”. “Tough love” describes a form of love that is characterized by discipline, particularly in situations where individuals may be engaging in self-destructive or harmful behaviors. Like a child who is in a state of immaturity and in need of parental discipline, the erring Christian is in need of God’s parental discipline, “so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Cor 5:5, NIV). This discipline often entails negative reinforcement, or the loss of temporal blessings. Below is a sample list of blessings that can be negatively affected by our disobedience.
- Answered prayer (1 Jn 3:22, 1 Pet 3:7, James 4:3)
- Physical Health (1 Cor 11:29-30)
- Temporal forgiveness (Mt 6:14)
- Evangelistic efforts (Mt 5:16, 1 Cor 14:23)
- Influence to other Christians (Rom 14:13, 1 Cor 8:9)
Loss of physical life
The danger of loss of life is an extreme measure of God’s chastisement. One prominent example of this is the case of the Corinthians’ unworthiness in taking communion, as described in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32. This passage illustrates the seriousness of the issue and the potential consequences of not discerning the Lord’s body during the observance of the Lord’s Supper. The Corinthians’ lack of unity and self-control led to such a lack of discernment. God’s discipline is presented as a form of correction aimed at preventing them from being condemned along with the world (11:32).
Loss of fake salvation
The final and most devastating spiritual loss is the loss of “fake salvation”. I call it “fake” because there is sufficient scriptural evidence that genuine salvation is never lost. I was personally convinced of this by the golden chain found in Romans 8:28-30. There, Paul states that those who are predestined are called, those who are called are justified, and those who are justified are glorified. The justification spoken of is that which is emphasized throughout Romans – justification by faith. The glorification spoken of is that which is detailed earlier in Romans 8:18-23; the final “revealing” of the children of God (v19); the final “redemption of our bodies” (v23); the final resurrection. In this golden chain, Paul clearly states that everyone who is justified by faith will also be resurrected. Why? Because nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (v35). God finishes the good work that He initiates in the believer (Php 1:6).
God’s preservation of our salvation in no way diminishes the importance of scriptural warnings against apostasy, such as those conveyed in the book of Hebrews (6:1-4, 10:22-29). For the elect, these warnings serve as means by which they successfully persevere. In other words, the elect have the free will and hypothetical ability to apostatize if they want to, but God hasn’t created a world in which any of them do. Both His direct and indirect means (including these warnings) are successful in preserving them! The author of Hebrews seems sure of this, given his continual post-warning affirmations (Heb 6:8-9, 10:38-39). The famous Puritan, Richard Baxter, holds to such a view of these warnings:
“God … by commanding perseverance, and threatening the Justified and Sanctified with damnation if they fell away; and making perseverance a condition of Salvation, doth thereby provide a convenient means for the performance of his own Decree…” [16]
This reminds me of my constant warning to my kids when they were younger, “don’t cross the road without looking or you could get hit by a car”. They always looked and never got hit by a car. In the case of the elect, none of them get proverbially “hit”, either. Failing to heed the warning is an impossible possibility. God has ordained events, individuals, and His gracious influences in such a way that genuine believers, though fully able to, never finally fall away. Only one kind of believer fails to heed God’s warning of apostasy– the “fake” believer!
So how does the church identify a fake believer? By an excessive level of sin? No! By a lack of spiritual fruit? No [12]! By their lack of good works? Of course not! There are two driving principles that should guide the church’s identification of fake believers:
1. Faith in faith out (FIFO)
The FIFO principle is simple. Faith is the requirement to enter and remain in a relationship with God and His body, while retracted faith is the evidence of the termination of such a relationship. By retraction, I don’t mean a temporary decrease in faith level demonstrated by the confused pre-Pentecost disciples (Mt 8:26, 9:24, 14:31, 16:8, Mk 14:27-30), but rather an outright renunciation of Christ in the post-Pentecost era. For no one who has the Holy Spirit can say “Jesus is accursed” (1 Cor 12:3), and any such renunciation is clear evidence of the Spirit’s absence.
It must be stressed that such an identification should never be based on a flippant side conversation, but on a formal public renunciation after a thorough church discipline process. This leads us to the second driving principle.
2. Church Discipline
So how does such an apostasy of the faith manifest? The church discipline process outlined in Matthew 18 is the only process sanctioned to discern a church member’s spiritual condition. This process is designed to address sin within the church community and promote repentance, restoration, and the preservation of the purity and unity of the body of Christ. The goal is to disciple, not condemn, a believer who is struggling with sin. In Part 3, we will do a brief walk-through of the process.
Click HERE to go to Part 3
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End Notes:
[8] Michael Parsons Being Precedes Act: Indicative and Imperative in Paul’s Writing . Evangelical Quarterly 88:2 (1988), 99-127
[10] Some theologians claim that John’s references to the believer “not sinning” (5:18) or not “committing sin” (3:9) should be interpreted as “not sinning constantly” or not “practicing sin constantly”, respectively. However, these augmentations, clearly aimed at avoiding a theological problem, are asking too much of John’s use of the present tense in his epistle. This tense is used throughout the entire text for nearly all verbs. Making a special plea for these verses is suspect.
[11] According to John, a murderer doesn’t have eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15b). Does this mean that an act of murder immediately nullifies someone’s salvation. First of all, David committed such an act and there is no indication of him being unsaved (Ps 51:12). Secondly, Jesus mentioned that even calling a brother an idiot is similar to murder (Mt 5:21-22). Thirdly, John himself extends murder to include any “hate” (3:15a). Therefore, Christians have all murdered someone, in some sense, at some time. The unregenerate flesh-man surfaces in us when we do so, but that doesn’t necessarily nullify the presence of the regenerate inner man. Thankfully, our inner regenerate man is perfect, and no longer a hater or murderer. As believers, our spirit doesn’t truly hate. It is unable to hate. Deep down, the love is there. This agrees with Paul’s logic – We were murderers, but God saved us, and now we aren’t murderers anymore – “such were some of [us]”. Is this a license to hate or hurt someone? May it never be! We need to stop submitting to the flesh, which is inclined to such wicked passions. As discussed, the consequences of not doing so are dire.
[12] Jesus does teach that a false prophet can be known by his/her fruits (Mt 7:16). Of course, these fruits come from their teachings that are expressly “antichrist”, and which result in their eventual public departure from the faith and the church (1 Jn 2:18-19, 22b). Nevertheless, this fruit inspection is not about condemning professing Christians struggling with sanctification.
[16] Richard Baxter’s Catholick Theologie: Plain, Pure, Peaceable, for Pacification of the Dogmatical Word-warriours. 1675. Published by Robert White. The University of Michigan. Digitized Oct 28, 2009. The Antecedent and Consequent Will of God. Pg 54.
The Middle Ground 