This episode highlights the necessity of repenting from dead works in its fullest sense: we repent of transgressions AND we abandon hope in the flesh itself, specifically its ability to live the Christian life. If we don't embrace this holistic approach to repentance, we likely fall into the Galatian error, which is living the Christian life in the power of the flesh. Based on this all-encompassing repentance, we make progress in sanctification by identifying with the circumcision of Christ (the cutting away of the flesh) and the death of the old self on the cross, based on Romans 6:7. Holistic repentance from dead works makes sanctification possible.
