Sanctification is not a work of nature, but a work of grace. It is a transformation of character effected not by moral influences, but supernaturally by the Holy Spirit.
Interpretation
Sanctification is a spiritual transformation that occurs through divine grace rather than human efforts.
The quote emphasizes that sanctification, or the process of becoming holy, is not something that can be achieved through natural or moral means alone. Instead, it is fundamentally a work of grace, initiated and completed through the action of the Holy Spirit, highlighting the importance of divine influence in personal transformation.
In practice
In a sermon about spiritual growth, one might quote this to emphasize the role of grace.
It is because God is infinitely great and good that his glory is the end of all things; and his good pleasure the highest reason for whatever comes to pass. What is man that he should contend with God, or presume that his interests rather than God's glory should be made the final end?
The doctrines of grace humble man without degrading him and exalt him without inflating him.
Faith is not a blind, irrational conviction. In order to believe, we must know what we believe, and the grounds on which our faith rests.
To be in Christ is the source of the Christian life; to be like Christ is the sum of his excellence; to be with Christ is the fullness of his joy.
Beauty stands In the admiration only of weak minds Led captive.
He who acts with a constant view to his own advantage will be much murmured against.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, has a more direct bearing on the moral choices made by individuals or the purposes pursued by society than belief or disbelief in God.
Everything will be all right - you know when? When people, just people, stop thinking of the United Nations as a weird Picasso abstraction and see it as a drawing they made themselves.
There is an important idea in psychology: The 'just world theory,' which says that it is very important for us to convince ourselves that the world is just and things happen for a reason. That there is some elemental fairness in everything, which creates the illusion of justice.
So you know how things stand. Now forget what they think of you. Be satisfied if you can live the rest of your life, however short, as your nature demands. Focus on that, and don't let anything distract you. You've wandered all over and finally realized that you never found what you were after: how to live. Not in syllogisms, not in money, or fame, or self-indulgence. Nowhere.
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