Sanctification: The struggle against sin

Christian, are you discouraged by your endless struggle against sin? Does it make you feel that you are not being sanctified?

Listen to what J.C. Ryle has to say concerning sanctification:

Sanctification, again, is a thing which does not prevent a man having a great deal of inward spiritual conflict. By conflict I mean a struggle within the heart between the old nature and the new, the flesh and the spirit, which are to be found together in every believer (Gal 5:17). A deep sense of that struggle, and a vast amount of mental discomfort from it, are no proof that a man is not sanctified. Nay, rather, I believe they are healthy symptoms of our condition, and prove that we are not dead, but alive. A true Christian is one who has not only peace of conscience, but war within. He may be known by his warfare as well as by his peace.

Have you experienced Hebrews 4:12? A SWORD in the heart brings WAR within:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

But, we do not lose hope! for painful though the war may be within us, the WORD within us brings eternal life to us:

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life (John 6:63).