[1] Salvation: Justification and Sanctification

[17] Salvation: Justification and Sanctification

57. What is justification?

a. Justification is a judicial act of God (Dt 25:1) by declaring that all claims of the law are satisfied with respect to the sinner on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus (Ro 8:33-34).

To justify means to declare righteous, to reckon or credited as rightous (Ro 4:2-5), or to not count the sin (Ps 32:2), but it is not the same as making one righteous. God declares the sinner righteous despite his sins.

b. Elements of justification:

forgive sin, remove guilt and punishment (Mic 7:18-19; Ro 8:33)
impute Christ’s righteousness, restore the sinner to God’s favour (Jas 2:23; Ro 3:22)
adopt as a child of God (Ro 8:15-16), with the right to eternal life (Ro 5:1-2)

c. Analogies:

Courtroom metaphor: God is pictured as the Judge. The sinner is convicted, yet the Advocate of sinners, the Son of God, takes the penalty upon Himself (Ro 5:16-18; 1Jn 2:1). The sinner is then accepted and received by the divine judge (Ro 3:21-31; 1Co 6:11; 1Jn 2:1-2; 3:5).
Family metaphor: God is pictured as the caring parent who loves all in the household, and whose love is great enough to discipline the children and to suffer on their behalf. The atonement becomes a reconciliation of the parent with the prodigal child (Lk 15:11-32).
Temple metaphor: God is pictured as present in the temple where sacrifices are made to satisfy the requirement of divine righteousness. The Son is here pictured as the high priest, who, as sinners approach the altar, cleanses, purifies, and readies them for meeting with God (Heb 2:17; 3:1).

d. Adoption: God makes the believer a member of His family (Jn 1:12) with many privileges:

The believer is able to speak to God and relate to Him as Father (Mt 6:9; Gal 4:7; Ro 8:15-16).
God loves His child (1Jn 3:1), understands him (Ps 103:13-14), takes care of his needs (Mt 6:32), gives him many good gifts (Mt 7:11) including inheritance in heaven (1Pe 1:4), but also disciplines him (Heb 12:5-6).
The believer is led by the Holy Spirit (Ro 8:14).
The believer shares Christ’s glory but also His suffering (Ro 8:17).
The believer is a member of the church family, with brothers and sisters (Jas 1:2; Phm 1:2).

58. What is sanctification?

a. Sanctification is the continuing work of God with the cooperation of the believer to develop the new life closer to the image of God (2Co 3:18) and ultimately bring it to perfection. The process will gradually enable the believer more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness (Ro 6:11; 12:1). b. Elements of sanctification:

to set apart - separation from evil and the unholy (2Ch 29:5; 1Th 4:3)
to become holy - separation or dedication unto God (Nu 8:17; Titus 2:14; Heb 13:21; 1Pe 5:10)

c. 3 types: [Normally, the word "sanctification" refers to the second type.]
(1) instantaneous or positional sanctification (1Co 6:11; Heb 10:10), same as justification

(2) progressive or experiential sanctification (2Co 7:1; 1Th 3:12; 4:1): commonly referred to as spiritual growth (1Pe 2:2), a progressive process during this present life with increasing degree of:

yielding to God (Ro 6:22),
separation from sin (Gal 5:16-23),
growth in the knowledge of God (2Pe 3:18)

(3) complete and final sanctification (1Th 5:23; 3:13), same as final glorification

59. Can a Christian attain perfection in this life as commanded by Jesus (Mt 5:48)?

a. Are there perfect people in the Bible?

Noah (Gen 6:9) and Job (Job 1:8) were called perfect; David (Ps 18:23) was claimed to be perfect (NIV translated it as "blameless" to avoid controversy); some people and apostles were called holy.
But none of them was sinless.

b. Where in the Bible did God command us to be perfect?

Besides the explicit command of Jesus (Mt 5:48), the command for perfection is found in Gen 17:1; Dt 18:13; 2Co 7:1;13:9,11; Col 4:12; 1Th 5:23.

c. Can we be perfect in this life?

Since a person cannot be entirely sinless in this present life (Jas 3:2), most people believe that the command in the Bible is simply a goal that God desires us to reach, not something that we have the ability to reach. For example, God commanded the Israelites to obey the Mosaic Law, knowing that they could not achieve perfect obedience. In other words, "absolute perfection" is impossible.
However and some theologians (such as John Wesley and Andrew Murray) believe that Christians can be perfect (sometimes referred to as "entire sanctification" in 1Th 5:23-24). They explain that "Christian perfection" is different from "absolute perfection".

d. What is perfection as referred in the Bible?

Words used in the Bible: Heb. shalam (perfect heart) and thamam (unblemished, sincere); Gr. telos (complete, perfect, full-grown and mature; Ro 12:2, 1Co 13:10) and katartizo (put into proper condition, complete; Heb 13:21, 2Ti 3:17), sometimes translated as mature or fully committed.
A believer is "perfect" if he has a complete and perfect relationship with God (2Ki 20:3, Ps 101:2; Php 3:15) possessesing perfection of heart (earnestly seeking God and His will) and perfection of obedience (obey all commandments, Col 4:12). The person desires complete holiness, aims at the highest perfection and is committed wholeheartedly to attain it.

60. What are the practical steps in striving to become holy?

a. Why do we need to be holy?

the love of God to us through Jesus
required for fellowship with God
necessary for effective service (2Ti 2:21)
only those who walk in holiness experience true joy

b. In what ways can we strive to become holy?
(1) Basis: God has made provision for our holiness but the responsibility for resisting sin is ours. (2) Attitude:

have God’s Words fixed in our minds (Jn 17:17), memorize and meditate on Bible verses as we find ourselves in corrupt surroundings
pursue biblical values fervently
claim God’s promise (1Co 10:13) (3000 in the Bible)
persevere, not discouraged by failures

(3) Negative action:

discipline ourselves, learn to say "NO", never let exception occur, reduce our exposure to temptation (Gal 5:16-18)
guard our own eyes: do not be the source of temptation to others (especially modesty of dress and purity of actions)

(4) Positive action:

set our desire on spiritual things; delight ourselves in the law and will of God
be a witness to testify on our journey of faith