At risk of sounding redundant I will put it this way. So many teach and claim a salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin, while ignoring the issue of on-going sin in one's life. I want to be clear here, as Christians we all face moments of weakness and temptations, and yes, we do sin on occasion. We can thank God that there is grace for these occasions.
1 John 1:9 is written to believers encouraging them to confess their sin instead of concealing it, and offering them the assurance that God will forgive them if they do so. But this should be the exception not the rule.
Can there be justification without sanctification? Justification simply means to be in right standing with God. When we turn from our sin and surrender our lives to Jesus in an act of faith we are forgiven and are now considered to be right with God. That is a basic explanation of justification, just to keep it simple.
But what doctor would treat your symptoms, give you something to make you comfortable, but ignore the tumor that is killing you?
Let's look at sanctification. The word means to be set apart from the world, for God's use. It is a consecration and a purification of heart and life. Sanctification and holiness are similar words and are often used interchangeably. It goes beyond a mere declaration by God that we are "sanctified" or holiness is credited to our account. Holiness or sanctification is a lifestyle. It involves our conduct (1 Peter 1:15). It is God removing the sin out of our lives and bringing us into conformity with His will. It is impossible to claim justification while rejecting sanctification. The two are vital parts of salvation, and one cannot be saved without both of these elements working.
I will attempt to show this from scripture. Several New Testament passages speak of this process, and I will quote them.
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 NASB
The term salvation means rescue or deliverance. Again, we need the sin that has separated us from God, and placed us under His wrath to be forgiven. We must be in right relationship with Him. But are we in a right relationship with God if we are still persisting in our old lifestyle of sin, the sin that was forgiven? To refer back to the medical analogy I used above, the root of sin must be removed.
This verse speaks of "salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." This is God, through the Holy Spirit cleansing the heart of the sinner who has given Him his or her life. In his second epistle to the Thessslonians Paul makes a distinction between those who reject the truth and are destined for destruction (2 Thessslonians 2:10-12), and those who believe the truth, and allow it to shape their lives.
Titus speaks of this same thing and calls it the "washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" and ties it in with Justification (Titus 3:4-7).
In 1Peter we see this concept explained again. He is writing to scattered Jewish believers who were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
1 Peter 1:2 NASB
Again we read of the purifying work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer, bringing such a one into obedience to Christ. Once we were disobedient, separated from God, but through His Spirit working in us, we are brought into a relationship of loving obedience. The thing that estranged us from God (Sin, our selfish rebellion) is not only forgiven, but removed from our lives as well. Compare this to 1 John 1:7.
But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
As we walk in obedience Christ's blood covers us. As we grow in our Christian walk we discover things in our lives that we must turn from. Our sanctification is a growing process that lasts a lifetime. A true believer will confess revealed sin and move forward in their walk with Christ. This is the opposite of someone who claims that sin doesn't matter if you have accepted Christ. But scripture refutes that claim.
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.
Hebrews 10:26
An individual who is looking for an escape from judgement that allows him or her to live in sinful pleasure is not experiencing the salvation that is described in the Bible. They are deceived. Their heart is not cleansed, their selfishness remains, excluding them from fellowship with God.
Paul, in Romans 6 makes an incredible argument refuting the idea that a Christian can remain in sin. He states, "How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" In baptism we identify with Christ's death and resurrection. We are dead to sin, crucified with Christ and raised with Him to a new life of righteousness. We have a choice to make. We, as believers, must chose to obey Christ. We are slaves of whom or whst we choose to serve. Will we be slaves of sin, or righteousness? We have been set free from sin through Jesus Christ, so why would we become enslaved to it again?
As Paul presents his argument he ties it in with sanctification.
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Most of us are familiar with this last verse but look at how this flows, especially as we consider the context of this entire passage. When we surrender our lives to Christ we are freed from enslavement to sin. The grip it has on us is broken and we are now free to live in righteousness.
When we unite ourselves with Jesus He, through the continuous working of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies us, cleansing us from sin. The final outcome is eternal life, the opposite outcome of a life devoted to sin.
This is what salvation is. It is a cleansing of not only the guilt of sin, but also of the heart. It is a lifelong transformation that affects our actions.
Psalm 15:1-5 declares that an individual must walk in integrity and live a righteous lifestyle if he is to dwell with God. Similarly if we are to stand in the presence of God we must have clean hands (actions) and pure hearts ( the origin of our actions) these are the ones who will be blessed by the LORD (Psalm 24:3-6). Only the pure in heart will see the Lord (Matt 5:8).
As followers of Christ we are exhorted to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13). Many Christians are puzzled by this statement. Salvation is a free gift right? But this is our salvation. The very next verse tells us that God is working in us to do His will. This is what the New Covenant does for us. It is the writing of the law upon our hearts and in our minds. The Holy Spirit is at work in our lives bringing us into obedience (Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:25-27). To work out our salvation is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He leads us into righteousness. We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) created for good works ( Ephesians 2:10). A life transformed is the proof of our right standing with God.
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