Sanctified by the Spirit: John Owen, Habits of Grace, and Biblical Counseling

After surveying two opposing models of sanctification among modern biblical counselors, one emphasizing habit formation and the other motives of the heart, Colin R. McCulloch investigates the works of John Owen with a view of retrieving his perspective on Trinitarian agency in sanctification, the Spirit's work in Christ's human nature, and the role of habitual grace in the souls of believers. McCulloch then returns to the modern dilemma well prepared to address anthropological and soteriological considerations for soul care today. In the process, he demonstrates how this older Reformed conception of Spirit-infused habitual grace is well suited to reconcile and develop the two divergent models currently at odds in the biblical counseling movement.