Christ is the Cause

It is his person that is the meritorious cause of those two blessings. In other words, one applied benefit cannot be the cause of another applied benefit. Only Christ can cause an applied benefit, whether it be justification or sanctification.

 

Mark Jones, Antinomianism: Reformed Theology's Unwelcome Guest? (Phillipsburgs, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2013), 58