Below I comment on the final Forde quote:
"If we are turned around to get back down to earth by grace, then it would seem that true sanctification would show itself in taking care of our neighbor and God’s creation, not exploiting and destroying either for our own ends, religious or otherwise. It would mean concern for the neighbor and society, caring for the other for the time being. Here one should talk about the place of morality and virtue and such things. Although we do not accept them as the means by which we are sanctified, they are the means by which and through which we care for the world and for the other. This is what the Reformers meant when they insisted that good works were to be done, but one was not to depend on them for salvation."
Here Forde rightly categorizes virtue and morality to such things as “concern for the neighbor and society” and “taking care of our neighbor and God’s creation”. The prescription to do these things is explicitly Law and neither Forde nor Reformed theology suggests we lean on our doing of them as the merit or assurance of our pardon. Only the repetition of the gospel can give us assurance in the midst of our struggle against sin, and only the repetition of the gospel can cause the type of life change that acts on such commands as to love one’s neighbor as oneself and to love God above all else.
In conclusion I’d like to reiterate Forde’s thesis that, “Sanctification, if it is to be spoken as something other than justification is perhaps best defined as the art of getting used to the unconditional justification wrought by the grace of God for Jesus’ sake.” Perhaps it is stated in typical Lutheran hyperbole, but in this thesis Forde indicates that a distinction should not be made between justification and sanctification, except to say that sanctification is the “art of getting used to” being justified by grace alone. Reformed theology certainly disagrees with the idea that the two shouldn’t be distinguished. Justification is historically spoken of as the momentary event when God declares one righteous before His holiness on account of Christ’s merit. And sanctification, though it has its moment of eventfulness (John 17:19; Acts 20:32, 26:18; 1 Cor. 1:2, 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:21; Heb. 2:11, 10:10; Jude 1:1), has been referred to additionally (and in distinction to justification) as a process toward glory—and as support, scriptures that say we are “being conformed to the image of Christ” (Rom. 12:1-3), and “being made” like the Son of God (Phil. 3:8-11), or “being made perfect or holy” (Gal. 3:3; Heb. 10:14). Forde agrees with the Reformed position in that whatever progress in sanctification, whatever obedience is rendered in the believer’s life is due to the pouring out of the unconditional grace of God. So it is right not only to express justification as being by grace alone through faith in Christ alone but also to speak of sanctification as being by grace alone through faith in Christ alone.
Also, whatever spontaneous care-taking we see in our lives, or humility we express regarding our sanctification is still a measurement against the Law and should not be used as an agent of assurance. Only that historical fact of Christ’s life for our life and death for our death can assure us of our adoption and give us hope of a future freedom from even the desire to sin. Though our good works, to which believers were in fact predestined, are evidence to others of some difference about us, and though they may serve to a certain degree as a confirmation of faith along with continued repentance and belief, even they are tainted and marred by Adam’s indelible mark. As it was once penned in a Puritan prayer…”I need to repent of my repentance, I need my tears to be washed”. I believe we would do well to be reminded of the depth of our sin so the gospel of Christ grows increasingly sweeter thus we are assured because of its certainty.