Justification and Sanctification: Our entire relationship with God is predicated on His grace. This is an important fact because it eliminates our own effort to make ourselves acceptable in His sight, and thus exposes the bare truth that Scripture so clearly states– it’s all God and not us.
There are a couple of words thrown about in Christian conversation that help us understand this relationship: justification and sanctification.
Jesus Justifies Us
Justification is our being acceptable to God, by faith, because Jesus met all of the righteous requirements of the law for us. By putting our trust and faith in Christ we are covered, much like a mother bird protects her chicks. What we could not do for ourselves, Christ did on the cross:
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)
Sanctification is our transformation in the image of Christ
Sanctification is a process that takes place after justification. It is our growing in faith, gradually being molded into the image of Christ. It’s a work in progress and is never finished in this lifetime. It begins with discipleship and being regularly in the Word. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, who orchestrates the transformation.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)
God controls justification and sanctification
Justification and sanctification are both works of grace. They are both acts of God, but they are different. Think of it this way. Justification is righteousness without any of our doing. It is a gift. Sanctification is the actual change in the person, by work of the Holy Spirit.
Christ Jesus, our high priest, frees us from sin. Then we are drawn to Christ Jesus our king, the one who has dominion over the universe.
Abraham believed (that’s the opposite of works) God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. (Romans 4:3)
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (John 17:16-19)
We need to understand God’s sovereignty. We are His creation. Here we are, helpless to help ourselves, born with a sinful nature and guilty of breaking God’s law. Yet He loves us. By grace He justifies us. By grace He sanctifies us.