Summary
Sanctification
To sanctify means to set apart. The moment God justifies a sinner—declaring him righteous through faith in Jesus Christ—He immediately sets about another work: sanctifying that person, setting him apart for good works as the expression of the faith God has given. Justification and sanctification are distinct, but they are never separated. One is the gift; the other is the life that flows from the gift.
The classic verse holding the two together is Hebrews 10:14: "by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Perfected is finished, complete, judicial—Christ's righteousness credited to our account once for all. Being sanctified is the lifelong process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more and more like Jesus. Confusing these two destroys assurance. If justification is treated as a gradual process, we can never know whether we have done enough; this was Luther's torment. If sanctification is expected to be perfected in this life, we will despair the moment we look honestly at ourselves. Keeping the distinction guards the gospel and our peace. This is unpacked at length in Justification 7 — What Is The Connection Between Justification and Sanctification.
In sanctification God creates a new self in us, "created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" Ephesians 4:22-24. This new self transforms our desires. We are to "consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus," no longer offering our members as instruments of wickedness but as instruments of righteousness, for "sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" Romans 6:11-14. The law condemns; grace enables. Because God in Christ has forgiven us, we now imitate Him as beloved children and walk in love Ephesians 5:1-2, doing everything in word and deed in the name of the Lord Jesus Colossians 3:17. Grace is never a license for licentiousness; it is the very motivation to serve.
This reorients where meaning comes from. We are constantly tempted to squeeze meaning out of activities, possessions, or relationships. The sanctified life reverses the flow: we bring meaning into every task and relationship because we belong to Christ and live to His glory. Work, family, and neighbor are now arenas where the new self serves God in freedom.
Sanctification, however, is a real and ongoing struggle. Before conversion the will is bound—our hearts are stone, dead in sin, and as Johann Gerhard prayed, we contribute as much to our conversion as a corpse contributes to its resurrection. This is why the spiritual raising pictured in the widow's son at Nain is so important: only Christ's word can speak the dead alive (see Resurrections: Lesson 3 (5-15-22)). After conversion, the will is active and cooperates with God—but the flesh still wars against the Spirit. "What the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh" Galatians 5:17, and Paul confesses, "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out" Romans 7:18. The Christian life is not occasionally a struggle; it is always a struggle this side of glory.
The comfort, then, is this: assurance does not rest on the progress of your sanctification but on the finished work of Christ already credited to you. From that settled rest, and only from there, the sanctified life is lived—willingly, joyfully, and to His glory.
Video citations
- Resurrections: Lesson 3 (5-15-22) — Good morning. Let's pray, please. O God of all grace, you sent your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to bring life and immortality to light. We give you thanks that by His death He destroyed the power…
- Justification 7 What Is The Connection Between Justification and Sanctification — Heavenly Father, give us deep and sincere gratitude for the gift of justification to Christ. Fand into flame our love for you by the love you have shown us in winning our salvation. Help us…