This article is a summary of the following episode: White-Knuckled American Sanctification
When most people hear the word sanctification, they don’t think of peace or joy. They think of pressure. Of effort. Of failure. It feels more like a trip to the DMV than walking with the Lord. There is dread, fear, guilt, and a gnawing sense that they are never doing enough. Sadly, this is the version of sanctification many of us have inherited.
This did not come out of nowhere. It has roots in two powerful movements that have shaped American Christianity for generations: pietism and revivalism. These movements have deeply impacted how sanctification is preached, practiced, and pursued. If we are honest, they have turned it into something exhausting and unsustainable.
It is time we recover something better.
What Is Pietism?
At its core, pietism makes the Christian life revolve around the Christian. The emphasis shifts away from Christ and his sufficiency, and instead lands on personal performance. Affections, effort, and growth become the central focus. The gaze turns inward. The goal becomes measurable spiritual progress.
Piety itself is good. Scripture calls us to godliness and maturity in Christ. But pietism alters the focus. It becomes overly introspective. People begin to measure their faith by how deeply they feel things, how consistently they obey, or how sincere their repentance seems. The eyes turn away from Christ and fix on self.
That is a heavy burden to carry.
What Is Revivalism?
Revivalism is closely connected. It arose to stir spiritual renewal, but over time it became a method. The idea developed that, if the right mood is created through music, emotional appeals, or passionate preaching, then a spiritual result can be produced.
This led to practices like the anxious bench and the altar call. The measure of faith became a personal experience: a decision, a tearful moment, or a dramatic commitment. The weekly church gathering began to lose its place. The focus shifted to special events designed to produce visible results.
Revivalism does not ask whether Christ is being faithfully proclaimed through the ordinary means of grace. It asks whether the methods are producing the intended emotional effect.
The Damage to Sanctification
Pietism and revivalism have reshaped how we think about sanctification. Growth in godliness is no longer grounded in the finished work of Christ. It becomes a personal project. Self-evaluation and effort define the journey. Obedience turns into performance. Conviction gives way to shame. Repentance becomes a burden. Joy fades.
We end up white-knuckling our way through the Christian life.
Many of us have felt this firsthand. We spiral into guilt when we fail. We try to prove our sincerity by how badly we feel. We measure growth by intensity. And grace begins to feel like a background idea instead of the foundation under our feet.
This is not what Scripture holds out to us.
A Different Kind of Sanctification
Biblical sanctification begins with union with Christ. It is God’s work in us. We grow because we belong to Jesus. We grow because the Spirit is at work. This growth is steady and quiet. It is often unseen. It is entirely dependent on grace.
The New Testament calls us to discipline and obedience. We pursue holiness, but not to earn anything. Not to secure our place. We obey as those who are already loved, already accepted, and already safe in Christ.
The Christian life is not sustained by pressure. It is carried forward by promise.
Replacing Joy with Duty
Pietism and revivalism create a cycle of pride and despair. If you think you are doing well, pride creeps in. If you are failing, despair takes over. Either way, your eyes are on yourself.
Joy disappears. Prayer turns into a performance. Bible reading becomes a spiritual scoreboard. Obedience becomes a weight. Even the fruit of the Spirit gets reduced to a checklist.
This is not how God grows his children.
What We Need Instead
We need to remember that God is faithful. He began the work, and he will complete it. Jesus is not ashamed of us. The Father is not tired of us. The Spirit has not given up on us.
We need to return to the ordinary means of grace. We gather under the preached Word. We come to the Table. We join our voices in prayer and song. These are not routine. These are the ways God meets with his people and nourishes them.
Sanctification is not our burden to carry. It is the fruit of being united to Christ.
Living as the Weak and the Loved
Sanctification is not about proving our value. It is about learning to depend more fully on Jesus. It is about walking in weakness and resting in grace.
The New Testament does not tell us to ask whether we are doing enough. It calls us to examine whether we are trusting in Christ. The question is not how fast we are growing. The question is whether we are clinging to Jesus.
When we sin, we don’t need to spiral into guilt. We confess. We grieve. We believe the gospel again. That is the road to real growth.
Confessional Clarity
Confessional theology helps us recover a healthy view of sanctification. The 1689 London Baptist Confession keeps the gospel clear and the Christian life grounded in grace. It gives us categories to understand what God is doing in us.
We are not aiming to impress. We are learning to walk by faith, rest in Christ, and love our neighbor.
A Final Word
Sanctification is not something we achieve on our own. It happens in the context of the church. It happens as we gather to hear Christ proclaimed. It happens through the Word, the sacraments, and the shared life of the saints.
We keep showing up. We keep receiving. We trust the Spirit is working in us. We may not always feel it, but we know he is faithful.
There is peace here. There is rest. And there is joy.
Let’s recover that joy together.
