pagans can and DO keep the SAME will of god as christians are supposed to . they often do it better. this is worked by the holy spirit in them by the same law that christians are supposed to use to dicipline , make themselves into living sacrifices, run the face, folloiw Jesus as example, and even my favorite LAW saying ” you SHOULD do good works purely out of gratitude for what Jesus did for you.” I don’t do that. LAW. of course double down with st James. they are all doing law. carrot and stick. fear and reward. pagans can do all of it without faith using free will and elbow grease. trying harder. being purpose driven.

only the holy spirit, through the preaching of the gospel , creates faith in both pagans and christians, and only this preaching can increase in any way sanctification IF what is meant by sanctification is our new mans will now being conforned to Gods will. if it means outward righteousness, then NO faith is really necessary for that. Gods will being done looks always the same. it looks exactly like gods will being done. whether pagan or christian as the actor.

there are not two wills of god. there is only one. and only seeing that will of God IN CHRIST makes any of it truly not be a very scary thing.

truth . all of it. where he goes wrong is in what follows. why? justification , faith and sanctification are all gifts of God. true that faith and sanctification are both something that happens IN us and does not save, and justification happens fully OUTSIDE of us and is ALL that can save.

but if these are ALL gifts and not something we can initiate or create but must be created, automatically, without effort, by the holy spirit and hearing the gospel, then where then is the hornets nest other than that JC ryle, in error, things sanctification is something we can improve with effort (ie LAW!).

simple fact: ANY message that tells anyone how they should act, pagan OR chistian is LAW LAW LAW. so if we want to callt the result of doing the law ’sactification’ then lets be clear that is what we are doing. in THAT case , pagans can be just as ’sanctified’ as christians can be.. OUTWARDLY this is completely true!

The ONLY difference between christian and pagan is faith in Jesus Christ . period. and this is NOTa visible difference. Period. I would suggest that paul talks about sanctification as our inner new man’s will , insofar as we are regenerated, becomes conforned to Gods will. since we STILL have the old adam clinging to us this does not mean that we do not ALSO have the will power of the old adam fighting against our new will.

jc ryle makes some terrible wrong turns. you are corect.

ANY message that talks about how a christian OR pagan SHOULD act is law. this INCLUDES paul telling us to run the race, submitt our wills, discipline our bodies and selves, make ourselves living sacrafice. law law law. pagans CAN do ALL of this. they cannot have faith in christ. only the holy spirit through the gospel can do this. free will aka will power or decision cannot do this because it is the bondservant of sin.

pagans and christians do the SAME will of God . christians according to their old adam and pagans, have righteousness wrung out of them by the sticks AND carrots (“blessed”) of the law. christians also, because they have faith/sanctification, now also do the SAME righteousness, but now, insofar as they are regenerated, they do this automatically, freely, out of a will now conformed to Gods will in exactly the same way Jesus, whos will was also conformed to Gods will did righteousness. and note that what Jesus did appeared unremarkable to those around him didnt it? that simple fact SHOULD really twist your mind a bit. It does mine! it overthrows all I think I know about what righteousness has to look like.

but it is very good to distinguish the two.

justification is gods will done outside of us and for is in christ.
sanctiication is our wills conformed to Gods wil\ inside of us by faith from hearing we are justified.

your behavior SHOULD be indistiguishable from that of a RIGHTEOUS unbeliever. the SAME will of God is required of both you and him and he can do all of that as good or better than you. Only the holy spirit can work faith in either of you. and this only through the hearing that you are justified.

sanctification and the ‘fruit of sanctification.”

the new behavior happens automatically, without spiritual effort or spiritual pushups exactly like our Lord did good behavior. we don’t become MORE like Jesus. we become just like him here.

unfortunately our old adam still clings to us, so we also do and will to do what our new nature wills against.

the ONLY think they cannot with free will aka will power, because it is in bondage to sin and an enemy of God, is faith. inwardly keep the first table of the law. have a changed heart.

whatever christians DO, ether by using the law to force the old adam to behave right, or automatically from sanctication and faith from a new nature conformed to Gods will insofar as he/she is regenerated is the same OUTWARD will of God being done by righteous pagans

when paul or christians talk about discipline, mortification of flesh, be like jesus as example, reach for the crown, run the race, etc. this is NOT sanctificaion. this is us, now in cooperation with the the holy spirit , using the LAW to kill our flesh and force it into submission.

sanctification and its fruit happen and are produced in exactly the SAME way faith is produced in christians. and it is complete and sufficient in the same sense and for the same reasons.