Sanctification In Redcrosse

Sanctification; Redcrosse's Journey to Holiness “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Paul’s words, written to the church in Philippi, reveal that God works through his people to constantly purify them with the Spirit; this process of purification is, exactly that, a process. God’s work in his followers is a divine divine undertaking in which man becomes more like Christ and less like the world. The procedural nature of sanctification is exemplified in the journey of Spenser’s Redcrosse Knight.
Redcrosse, being representative of the everyday Christian, is not made perpetually or immediately holy just by fact of him being a Christian. Redcrosse, as do all Christians, …show more content…
The House of Pride is a wicked place that leads men away from glorification of God and towards glorification of self. It can be seen, therefore, that though Redcrosse wears the armour of God he is not free from falling into the arms of deception. Redcrosse begins his journey overconfident, not perceptive, and filled with pride. These attributes, while still present in the Knight as the story develops, begin to fade away as Redcrosse continues on his journey of sanctification. After leaving the House of Pride, Redcrosse finds himself sitting at the edge of a brook. Having just, to some degree, overcome Pride by leaving the House of Pride it is expected that Redcrosse would be more holy; this, however, is not the case, Redcrosse takes off his armour (the very armour of God that he is meant to wear for his protection) and drinks of a wicked stream that makes him sloth. This leads to Redcrosse being dragged away by Orgoglio the …show more content…
Redcrosse’s battle with the dragon represents two important aspects of Christian holiness. The first of these is a concluding event to show the growth of strength and faith of Redcrosse as he, having been too weak and full of pride prior to his journey, faces and defeats the dragon. The second aspect of Redcrosse’s battle with the dragon is the resemblance it has to Christ’s defeat of sin on the Cross. As has been shown, holiness comes from God and when a Christian becomes more holy they become more like Christ. Redcrosse’s battle with the dragon, which is a mythical creature who has resemblance to a serpent, takes three days. These three days of combat are reflective of Christ’s three days in the tomb after his crucifixion. During these three days Redcrosse falls into the Well of Life, which represents baptism, and he stumbles into the Tree of Life, which undoes the curse of sin that plagued mankind since Adam and Eve. Finally, much like Christ’s resurrection, Redcrosse comes out victories over the dragon; having been baptized in the spirit and, just as Christ’s resurrection had done, having become victories over