Gospel Words We Should Know
WORKS
SANCTIFICATION
To be sanctified means to be set apart to God.
Justification involves our deliverance from the penalty of sin, while practical sanctification involves our deliverance from the power and pollution of sin, and progress in practical righteousness.
There are two aspects of sanctification.
1. Initial sanctification
That which takes place at conversion when the Holy Spirit uses the word of God to bring about the miracle of regeneration and faith. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Acts 26:18 1 Corinthians 1:2 Hebrews 10:14
This is a once and for all event, and by it the believer becomes a saint entirely on account of the righteousness of Christ which God imputes to him. We might call it initial sanctification.
2. Progressive sanctification.
Through the new birth we receive a new nature which enables us to please God. 2 Corinthians 5:17
However the old nature has not been eradicated, and while God has made full provision for our victory over it, there will be a continuing struggle with it. 1 John 1:8 Galatians 5:16,17
It is a continuing and progressive process which results from initial sanctification. 1 John 1:8,9
The ultimate purpose of sanctification is to conform us to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29
See Foundations of the Faith - Sanctification
