Answer

Annotated Bibliography

Thesis

Sanctification is a gradual process of transformation that starts at a specific moment of justification and regeneration for the Christian and goes on throughout one’s lifetime.

Outline

1. One does not reach an absolute understanding of God regardless of the actions they do for the period that they are living.
2. Even for the ones undergoing the process of sanctification, there are moments when they inevitably fall.

                        1.There were good people in scripture who fell

                        2.People commit sin and mistakes after they are on the right path

1. The nature of God is such that sanctification alone cannot guarantee that one would fully get to know Him.

                        1.True “knowledge of God” is not to be had within any given span because of its vastness

                        2.Incidences like baptism and complete turn from sin needed for sanctification

1. Sanctification as a process is designed well in advance by God Himself
2. God has a grand plan for everything

                        1.The redemption plan was designed by God

                        2.The sanctification process, closely tied to redemption has been planned too

1. There were prophets chosen before they were even born.

                        1.These people’s sanctification was not dependent on anything they did or failed to do.

                        2.Most still proved to be instrumental in the grand plan of God

III. Sanctification is not reliant upon the deeds of someone

1. God used a number of “sinful” people for His purpose

                        1.This is a show that redemption is all-inclusive

                        2.It is also a show that just like redemption, sanctification is a gift given by the grace of God.

1. The denunciation of sin is the start of sanctification

                        1.Some of the worst sinners became the best Christians

                        2.The denunciation of sin is the start of new life

Annotated Bibliography

Arnett, William M. “The role of the Holy Spirit in entire sanctification in the writings of John Wesley.” The Asbury Journal 29, no. 2 (1974): 3.

This article weighs in on Wesleyan thought on sanctification. It affirms the notion that the Holy Spirit has a big role to play in the sanctification of the human race. The article reiterates the view that this sanctification process, added to justification, is the twins’ basis for the salvation doctrine. It affirms that in the view of Wesley, every experience in the life of a Christian is emblematic of the Christian doctrine for which the Holy Spirit is a central tenet. It integrates the four main aspects of theological belief to this end; the preparatory work of the Holy Spirit antecedent to sanctification, the preliminary work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification, the purifying work of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process, and the witness of the Holy Spirit in the entire sanctification. The strength of this source is that it affirms the critical role that the Holy Spirit (an aspect of the Triune God) plays in the sanctification process. It affirms that sanctification is not possible without the critical role of the Holy Spirit. Its weakness is also in the overemphasis of this element to the detriment of the other aspects of the Triune God in the sanctification process. In the context of this paper, this source provides the input of the role of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process, offering delimitations on how deep this role goes for the sanctified Christian.

Coe, John. “Spiritual theology: A theological-experiential methodology for bridging the sanctification gap.” Journal of spiritual formation and soul care 2, no. 1 (2009): 4-43.

This article addresses the sanctification process, its complexities, and the manner in which these complexities are tied to the Christian faith. The article asserts that there is an apparent gap in the sanctification end and the place that Christians feel they are in relation to this process. In their view then, the church and Christian leaders would do a lot of good for the faith through an integrated understanding of the general form of sanctification and its fullest sense as a theological discipline. In the view of the article, the gap that exists between full knowledge of the sanctification process and where the Christians have to be addressed. This article advances the doctrine that the complexity of what sanctification really entails has to involve proper theological bearing. This bearing is to be provided to the believers by the Christian leaders so that they are not at a loss on where they are with respect to their faith. The strength of this article is in its affirmation that the sanctification process needs the Christian to form alliances with the Christian leaders and other faithful to fully understand it. Its weakness is that there is no identified sample and so its conclusions can be taken with a grain of salt. For this research, this article advances the position of others in helping the faithful understand what it means to be sanctified.

Jacobson, Heather L., M. Hall, and Tamara L. Anderson. “Theology and the body: Sanctification and bodily experiences.” Psychology of Religion and Spirituality 5, no. 1 (2013): 41.

Most religious researchers tend to focus on the transformation of the Christian life through the observation of their behavior. This article takes the other view—that the transformed Christian is also seen through his physical body. The article assesses the role of sanctification in changing the body image of the transformed Christian. Their view is that the human body is holy, worthy of respect, and integral for the Christian believer. A sanctified view of the body, therefore, has a great bearing on how people experience their bodies. It was realized that sanctification is positively correlated to body satisfaction and negatively correlated with objectification and depersonalization. The doctrine this article affirms is the role of bodily transformation in the expression of a sanctified Christian life. The strength of this source is that it leans onto a territory that is less examined as most studies focus on Christian behavior rather than the body. The weakness is in the subjectivity of the sampled population. The hypothesis is modeled in a way that it would be difficult to get an objective view from respondents. In the scope of this paper, this source expands the notion of sanctification as not only regeneration in the Christian thought and behaviour but also a transformation that includes aspects of the physical body as well. It expands the view of sanctification and brings the manner in which it serves as an all-around transformative process for the Christian.

Mahoney, Annette, Kenneth I. Pargament, Aaron Murray-Swank, and Nichole Murray-Swank. “Religion and the sanctification of family relationships.” Review of religious research (2003): 220-236.

With the knowledge that the sanctification process is a psychological process in which varied aspects of life are perceived to have a deep religious significance, this article assesses how such a process has a bearing on familial relationships. The article affirms that the full extent of the influence that sanctification has on the relationships within families has not been fully researched. The article uses two psychometrics to assess the sanctification of marriage, parent-child relations, and sexuality. These metrics are Manifestation of God and Sacred quality scales. According to them, sanctification has desirable consequences on family life. It also assesses the challenges that may prevent this from happening, including unavoidable challenges, family member violations, conflict, loss, and other barriers. The article affirms the doctrine that sanctification ought to be a transformative process not only for the individual but also for the personal relationships the individual has, chief of which is the family. The article draws its strength from the fact that it wades into a novel research area thus making vital contributions to the academy. The weakness is that it fails to provide concise ways in which this research can impact future studies. For this paper, this article exposes how sanctification ought to transform the individual in the context of the wider societal relationships, starting from the familial ones.

Pargament, Kenneth I., and Annette Mahoney. “THEORY:” Sacred Matters: Sanctification as a Vital Topic for the Psychology of Religion”.” The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 15, no. 3 (2005): 179-198.

This article concentrates on the process of sanctification and its role in the overall interest of the psychology of religion. It attempts to show how people, in their inherently religious nature, attempt to perceive all aspects of their lives as part of a larger religious and divine purpose. The article asserts that humans who choose to be Christians tend to have a view that they are created for an inherently divine role, and can bestow this divinity on certain objects. To demonstrate their beliefs or experiences of God, the article asserts that people can sanctify objects either theistically or non-theistically by investing in these objects with qualities that characterize that which is divine. The article notes the lengths to which people would go to preserve and protect that which they feel is sacred, investing time and energy in such endeavours. The loss of this sacred element can be devastating. The strength of this source is that it outlines in an organized way in which objects come to acquire the divine attribute for people. The source could however do with more authoritative sources. Within the scope of this research paper, this source reinforces the notion of a planned sanctification process, pointing out how people or objects can be created with an inherent divine purpose.

Priyatna, Novel. “Peran guru Kristen sebagai agen restorasi dan rekonsiliasi dalam mengembangkan karakter Kristus pada diri remaja sebagai bagian dari proses pengudusan [The role of Christian educator as agent of restoration and reconciliation in developing Christ-like character in adolescence as part of the sanctification process].” Polyglot: Jurnal Ilmiah 13, no. 1 (2017): 1-10.

This article reiterates the role of agency in Christian sanctification. What this means is that for the growing young Christian, there is the role that Christian teachers and instructors have with regard to the growth of such young Christians. The article asserts that sanctification is the process of maturation to becoming more Christ-like in character after a person has experienced regeneration. For the growing Christian, there is always the risk of failing to grow in stature and reflect the image of God in their lives. To do this successfully, the young Christian could rely on the impact of teachers and guides who would ultimately help them restore the image of God in their lives. The theological position advanced by this article is that Christian teachers have a huge role to play in helping young Christians overcome their perpetual irrationality and portray a more Christ-like behaviour through their sanctified lives. The strength of this article is that it reiterates the fellow believers in making the process of sanctification better. Its weakness is in the sample selected as it leaves out other believers in this process. This source provides this paper with the argument that besides the Triune God, Christian teachers and guides to have a role to play in sanctification.

Stettler, Hanna. “Sanctification in the Jesus tradition.” Biblica (2004): 153-178.

This article concentrates on Jesus and how his role in the salvation process was in itself a process of sanctification. It assesses how Jesus and his ministry were essential to the sanctification of those in that time and for human beings all throughout history. The article explains the Synoptic Jesus Tradition in which Jesus brings the eschatological sanctification of the nation of Israel. when Jesus comes, his collection includes the eschatological people which include both sinners and the gentiles. The manner in which Jesus offered sanctification was through healing, cleansing, and teaching for the living of a holy life. According to the article, the holiness of God’s people is not jeopardized by ritual impurity. The article advances the doctrine that Jesus, in his holy nature, fulfilled a number of ritual sanctification processes of the Old Testament that pointed to him. The strength of this article is that it establishes a connection between sanctification in the Old Testament with that which Jesus himself championed for. In the scope of this paper, this article adds another member of the Triune God—Jesus—to the debate on sanctification and specifies his role in the same. It strongly embeds this paper with the role that Jesus plays right from salvation to the sanctification role.

Story, Lyle. “Pauline Thoughts about the Holy Spirit and Sanctification: Provision, Process, and Consummation.” Journal of pentecostal theology 18, no. 1 (2009): 67-94.

This article examines the role of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification of individuals and their Christian communities. It assesses how the Holy Spirit is instrumental in the sanctification of those who choose the Christian life. the article asserts that God, through the Holy Spirit, offers his gift of sanctification and like salvation, has the element of God’s provision in his gracious call. It attributes sanctification as a gradual process for Christian growth in moral purity and love. This article affirms that the Holy Spirit functions through the holiness of Pentecostal traditions to provide sanctification to believers.  The doctrinal position expressed in this article is that sanctification depends on the unified work of the Triune God. This it does through its acknowledgment of how the Holy Spirit works in the sanctification process. The strength of this source is that it affirms that sanctification is not a one-event thing; on the contrary, it is a gradual process that culminates in the full knowledge of God and His place in the Christian life. this article helps this research establish how the Holy Spirit connects the past, the present, and the future in a bid to establishing consistency in the plan of sanctification.