Gold Tried in the Fire - Robert J. Wieland

But the question now is this: After one has been
justified by faith, is he then on his own? Is he like a
plane that, having become airborne, must keep up
its speed or crash? This idea has struck fear to
many. Is God standing back in the shadows with
His divine arms folded, saying something like this?
"I got you started with justification; now it's up to
you to keep going with your own sanctification. I
hope you make it, but most people don't. Good
luck!"
Where does one draw that hairline distinction
between justification by faith and sanctification? Is
sanctification by works, by our own hard,
agonizing effort? Or is it partly by faith and partly
by works?
Since commentators and theologians have
sometimes seen justification by faith out of focus,
it is reasonable to assume that it is equally possible
for them to misunderstand sanctification. If we can
search the New Testament to discover its idea of
justification, perhaps we can also find there what
sanctification is. The two may be distinct, but they
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