Am I Really a Christian?ಮಾದರಿ

Justification vs. Sanctification

Perhaps you grew up believing you had to behave really well and do a bunch of good things to earn a spot in heaven. Or perhaps you grew up believing you were saved by grace, so you could live however you liked. But what’s the truth?

When we surrender to Jesus, God declares us righteous instantly. This is justification. But our transformation (becoming more and more like Jesus) is a lifelong process – and this is sanctification. Paul explains to the Thessalonians that sanctification is expected of every believer (1 Thessalonians 4:3), but it’s not about earning salvation. Sanctification is simply our joyful, grateful, Spirit-empowered response to God’s love.

Imagine a king adopts an orphan. The king immediately presents the boy – now his son – to all the kingdom, declaring him a prince. The orphan’s status and identity is immediately, radically, irrevocably altered – but he doesn’t yet behave like a prince. He needs royal training first. The king teaches him how to live in a way that reflects his new identity. So, the king’s declaration is justification. He’s a prince! The subsequent training that helps him grow into his given identity is sanctification.

Sanctification looks different for each of us because it depends on our willingness to participate in the process. Some people grow rapidly in their faith, while others remain stagnant for years. There are believers who have been justified – saved by God’s grace – but show little evidence of growth in Christlikeness. Paul refers to these people as spiritual babies, unable to eat the solid food of more ‘meaty’ doctrine or mature Christian living (1 Corinthians 3:1–2). God provides everything we need for sanctification – His Word, His people, and His Holy Spirit – but He calls us to intentionally pursue godly living.

We know we can still go to heaven if we haven’t been sanctified, because of what the Bible tells us about glorification. This is what happens after we die, when we’re fully transformed in God’s presence. It’s the final step of salvation when believers are made completely like Jesus, sin-free and fully, forever restored. Paul tells us that those God calls, He also justifies, and then also glorifies. That means, only justification – and not sanctification – is a prerequisite for eternal glorification. The thief on the cross who turned to Jesus in desperation minutes before his death certainly didn’t have time to be sanctified, and yet Jesus assured him they’d be together in eternity (Luke 23:39–43).

May you rest in the truth that you needn’t strive to be accepted; you’re living a transformed life because you already have been accepted. You aren’t gradually earning righteousness; you’ve already been given the righteousness of Christ. You’re justified. And now, you’re living out your grateful response to salvation. You’re being sanctified. Be encouraged that pursuing sanctification is the only way to experience the fullness of the abundant life Jesus died to secure for you, and it’s also the way to reflect Him to the world as you carry out His mission to seek and save the lost.