Pauline Spirituality: Sanctification Is Christ in Me, Not a Patchwork of Works

There is a persistent error circulating in the name of dispensationalism—hyper-dispensationalism—that must be confronted. This system claims to honor Paul, yet it undermines the very foundation of Pauline revelation by teaching that justification was once by a mixture of faith and works for Israel, and will be so again in the future. This is not a secondary issue. When you tamper with the ground of justification, you collapse the entire structure of inheritance, sonship, and the Christian life.

Justification Has Always Been by Faith—No Exceptions

Paul leaves no ambiguity: justification has always been by faith, apart from works. Whether Abraham before the Law or David under the Law, it was never human effort that made them righteous before God. The Scriptures are explicit:

For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
(Romans 4:2–5)

The difference between the Old Testament saints and the Church is not the means of justification, but the nature of the inheritance. Israel was promised land and an earthly kingdom. They believed in the promised Seed—Christ—and were justified and made heirs of those promises. We, the Church, believe in the Seed who has come, and our inheritance is far greater: the very life of Christ, regeneration, and glorification with Him.

To teach that justification was ever by works is to introduce confusion and error at the root. If you accept this, you lose the continuity of God’s way of salvation and undermine the very gospel itself.

Sanctification: Not a Patchwork of Works, But Christ Manifested in You

The tragedy is that, even among those who defend justification by faith, most revert to works when it comes to sanctification. Institutional churches and even many so-called grace believers have returned to a Galatian patchwork—pulling together rules from the Law, the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus’ earthly teachings, as if sanctification were a project of moral improvement.

This is spiritual famine. It produces superficial growth at best, and at worst, leaves believers confused, exhausted, and malnourished. You can clean up your act and never touch true holiness. Buddhists can abstain from outward sins, but that is not sanctification.

Pauline spirituality exposes this error. Christ is not only our righteousness—He is our sanctification. He is not a model for us to imitate by our own strength, but the indwelling life that transforms us from within:

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.
(1 Corinthians 1:30)

Sanctification is not about striving to love more, give more, or do more. It is not a matter of patching together good behaviors. It is Christ Himself, living in you, being manifested through you. This is the mystery Paul was uniquely commissioned to reveal: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

The Loss If We Accept the Error

If you accept a works-based sanctification, you forfeit the reality of Christian living. You are left with a hollow system—justified by faith, but sustained by the flesh. You lose the nourishment that comes from union with Christ, and your Christian life becomes a treadmill of performance, not a walk in newness of life. Worse, you build with wood, hay, and stubble—works that will not endure.

Without Pauline doctrine, you do not have Christian sanctification. You are left with shadows, not the substance. You may speak strongly about justification, but if you revert to works for sanctification, you have missed the very heart of the New Covenant: Christ as your life.

The Reality: Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

The Old Testament offerings, the altar, the blood—all pointed to one reality: there is no sanctification apart from Christ. Even under the Law, nothing was holy unless it touched the altar, which was sanctified by blood. The pattern has always pointed to Him.

Now, having been crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and raised in newness of life, you are indwelt by the Spirit of Christ. Your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness (Romans 8:10). The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, applying all that Christ accomplished to your members.

This is not a call to strive, but to behold. As you see what He has done, your heart is filled with thanksgiving. The Spirit fills you, subdues the flesh, renews your mind, and produces genuine love and faith. This is not sinless perfection, but it is real sanctification—Christ magnified in your body.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20)

The Recovery of Pauline Doctrine

The Brethren, often misunderstood and dismissed as mere rapture enthusiasts, were raised up to recover this Pauline emphasis: the distinction between Israel and the Church, the reality of grace, and most importantly, Christ in us as our sanctification. This is not hyper-dispensationalism; this is classical Pauline truth. The Church today has lost this, and the famine is evident. Even among those who speak of justification by faith, the language of nourishing the inner man and living by Christ is almost extinct.

If you build your Christian life on works-based sanctification, you will reap confusion and spiritual famine. But if you embrace the Pauline doctrine—Christ as your sanctification—you will find authentic Christian living, spiritual nourishment, and a life that truly honors God.

Let no one move you from this ground. Justification and sanctification are both by faith in Christ alone. Anything less is a denial of the finished work, a forfeiture of your inheritance, and a departure from sonship. Christ is our life. Christ is our sanctification. This is the only Christian life that stands.