Look more at justification than sanctification. In the highest commands consider Christ, not as an exactor to require, but a debtor, committed to the work according to His promise. If you have looked at work, duties and qualifications, more than at the merits of Christ, it will cost your dear. No wonder you go about complaining; graces may be evidences, the merits of Christ alone (without them) must be the foundation of your hope to stand on. Christ only can be the hope of glory (Col 1:27). Thomas Willcox
The thought here has to do with the foundation that the sinner stands on and what the sinner looks to for assurance. If a sinner looks to his work, duties, and qualifications for justification, all would say that the sinner is trusting in self and a false gospel. But what of those who look to their own works, duties, and qualifications in sanctification? Can we say that they are believing in Christ alone? After all, can we do works and duties enough to sanctify us or is Christ Himself our sanctification as well? The one who believes in Christ is one who will always believe in Christ. The one who repents and believes will be the one who always (in this life) repents. There is never a point where a person is supposed to rest and trust in works, duties, and qualifications for salvation.
I Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
This text teaches us that Christ is our righteousness and so we know that we have no righteousness but that of Christ imputed to us. We will tell all who try to have works and duties as part of their righteousness that they believe in a false Gospel. We will also tell people that Christ is our wisdom and we will chastise others if they try to rest in their own wisdom. We know that our redemption as purchased by the blood of Christ and nothing else and will fight for the idea that our works and duties have nothing to do with obtaining our redemption. But Christ is also our sanctification. But the contrast, it seems, for some reason we are just fine with letting people encroach on the work of Christ by finding it okay to have sanctification by works and duties. This is not to say that the justified person will not have works and duties, but the way of sanctification is by Christ and not works and duties.
The sinner that is to come in the presence of God will never have a way to come but by and through Christ. Once can never come into the presence of God based on his or her own duties and works at any point. Our prayers and our services are tainted with sin and apart from Christ they have nothing in them that God is pleased with. God is not pleased with our sacrifices as such and out duties as such, but all things must be done in and through Christ. When the text above (I Corinthians 1:30-31) tells us that it is by His doing that a person is in Christ, it teaches us with great clarity that it is not by our doing that we are in Christ. When the Father places a person in Christ, the wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption are all in Christ. We must not yank sanctification out of Christ or out of the rest of the list as if we could do that in our own power.
If sanctification did come in whole or in part by the works and duties of man, then man would have something to boast about. But the whole of salvation and sanctification are in and of Christ and so there is nothing for man to boast about regarding himself, but indeed all he has to boast about is Christ and Christ alone. The Gospel of grace alone is the Gospel of grace alone for the whole of the Christian life and eternity. The Gospel of grace alone is all about Christ and not about the duties and works of man in justification or sanctification. It is all rooted in and worked by Christ. We must not let our views of sanctification be out of Christ.
It is true (as Willcox points out) that graces are evidences, but they are not what we must stand on or trust in as our hope. Christ and the merits of Christ are our only hope. While the true believer will have evidences of grace in the heart and life, those evidences of grace do not take the place of Christ and His merits as what the believer stands on. The believer will have times when there are obvious evidences, but at others the evidences cannot be seen by the despairing eye. At that point the sinner must know that the absence of graces must never take the place of Christ and His merits. At times when God is showing the believer the depths of his or her sin the believer may hit rock bottom and thrash about looking for comfort in anything. There is no comfort in anything or any one but Christ Himself. The merits of Christ saves sinners and the sanctification of sinners can have nothing to do with his justification. Christ and only Christ should be boasted in and trusted in for justification and sanctification.
God Loves... Himself 
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