As Christians, a few fundamental doctrines serve as our foundation. One of the most important is sanctification. Without sanctification, where are we left in our Christian lives?

Sanctification: The Christian’s Pursuit of God-Given Holiness by Michael Riccardi discusses evangelicals’ tendency to have an uncomfortable understanding of sanctification, yet there is a natural need to agree on its meaning. John MacArthur wrote the foreword, which sets up the case for the subject. Riccardi works with MacArthur on his church staff, so he is expected to have complementary beliefs with MacArthur. MacArthur writes in his introduction, “How believers think about sanctification is vitally important.” As Christians, we have several fundamental doctrines that serve as our foundation, with sanctification being one of the most important. Without sanctification, where would we be in our Christian lives?

In his book, *Sanctification: The Christian’s Pursuit of God-Given Holiness*, Michael Riccardi discusses the discomfort many evangelicals feel regarding understanding sanctification. Despite this discomfort, there is a natural need for a shared understanding of its meaning. He uses the example of the debate between Kevin DeYoung and Tullian Tchividjian, which started online and progressed to each man authoring books explaining each position, widely followed by conservative evangelicals (Riccardi, 3). John MacArthur, who wrote the foreword for the book, sets the stage for the discussion on this vital subject. Riccardi works with MacArthur on his church staff and probably shares a similar understanding. MacArthur states in his introduction, “How believers think about sanctification is vitally important.” This sentiment resonates with Riccardi as well, and it is one that Riccardi agrees with.

What is the appropriate role a believer is responsible for in their sanctification? Should the believer be in an active state of pursuit? Instead, do Christians only need to accept a passive role, waiting for holiness to take hold? Riccardi focuses on the biblical texts, which is appreciated. He utilizes Philippians 2:12-13 and 2 Corinthians 3:18, allowing the reader to extract at least three key truths about the method of attaining sanctification. The first point was that sanctification was the growth of the faith that was “fundamentally internal and supernatural” (Riccardi, 8), the second was that it was the “sovereign work of the Spirit of God” (Riccardi, 12), and thirdly that the “Holy Spirit employes means in sanctifying the believer” (Riccardi, 17).

With the method of pursuit discussed, Riccardi then addresses five means of sanctification. Scripture is the starting point. Prayer, fellowship, providence, and obedience

Whether the title is to someone comes down to two different questions. How much time does the reader want to spend on the topic? The second question is the level of understanding that the reader has. If the reader does not understand the basics of sanctification and has more than a couple of hours, better titles will be available. It is not that there is anything wrong with the content; the book’s short length does not provide much space to go into summary detail on the topic. The ideal reader would be a Christian who has been attending church for a while and has a fundamental understanding of the topic, but desires a more organized understanding.