From Pastor Gary M. Brown
Why Don't Lutherans Speak Much About Sanctification?
"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." - Isaiah 26:4
We Christians are at the same time sanctified and being sanctified. We are already set apart for eternity as ones marked with the name of Jesus in our baptism, already declared righteous for His sake, and yet we are also growing in holiness, being changed into the likeness of God.
Lutherans are conspicuously quiet about sanctification because we cannot measure our own holiness. If we look inside ourselves to see how we measure up to God's perfect righteousness, we will see only sin looking back at us. Our holiness does not come from within, but from Jesus and His sacrifice for us on the cross.
We obsess on justification because when we do, we fix our eyes on Jesus, and He gives us all we need for this life and the next. If we must brag, we Christians brag on Jesus. Why don't Lutherans talk about sanctification? Because glorifying ourselves is a sin, but glorifying our Savior is a wonderful thing.
Vicar's Corner
"Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Matthew 20:28. In the Divine Service, who is serving whom? Every Sunday it is the Lord who serves us in Word and Sacrament, and we respond in thanks through prayer and hymn. First we receive: forgiveness in absolution and in the Lord's Supper, and strengthened faith through the preaching of the Word. Those gifts then prepare us to serve our neighbors where God has placed us.