The Eschatological tension in Sanctification (from Michael Horton)

I’m currently re-reading sections of Michael Horton’s helpful volume The Christian Faith and thought his remarks about the eschatological tension in sanctification – esp. in light of certain TGC controversies – was quite apt:

If taken to an extreme, the “not yet” emphasis can lead to a kind of quietism in which this world remains untouched in its depth by the forensic Word and its transforming effects, while an overemphasis on the “already” and “more adn more” of sanctification can yield a moralistic impulse that mistakes activism for holiness. At their best, both the Lutheran and Reformed nuances on this point reflect the inner tension of Pauline eschatology, and the challenge is to hold them together. God speaks judgment, and creation withers; he speaks grace, and a desert springs to life with myriad streams, blooming flowers, and lush pastures (p. 659).