# “Indicatives are always the foundation for imperatives” by Sinclair Ferguson

- Link: https://tollelege.net/2017/08/30/indicatives-are-always-the-foundation-for-imperatives-by-sinclair-ferguson/
- Published: 2017-08-30T12:00:14-05:00
- Author: tollelege

“We have noticed several times already the importance of the shape of the New Testament’s
teaching on sanctification and our devotion to God. No matter which apostle’s writings
we examine, the same pattern is present with an identical undergirding structure.

Exhortations to be holy are always derived from an exposition of what God has done
and provided for us in Christ and through the gift of the Spirit. Indicatives are
always the foundation for imperatives even if they appear in the reverse order.

God never throws us back to rely upon ourselves and our own resources. He encourages
us rather to grow up as Christians by digging down ever more deeply into the riches
of His grace in Jesus Christ. Christ Himself is the rich and fertile soil in which
Christian holiness puts down strong roots, grows tall and bears the fruit of the
Spirit.

Thus the New Testament always links two things together in an important piece of
spiritual logic. The new situation creates the new lifestyle:

God has been or done this–_therefore_ you should be or do that.

Or:

Be this, or become that–_because_ this is who God is and what He has done.”

–Sinclair Ferguson, [_Devoted To God: Blueprints For Sanctification_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1848716907?tag=toletaupanre-20)(
Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2016), 93.

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