Introduction
What do justification, Sanctification, and Glorification mean, and how can you apply them to your life? They sound good to Christians, but what if you’re not a Christian? To get the answer, you need to read to the conclusion.
Definitions
Textbook definitions seldom hit the mark. It is the intent of the writer that the reader must understand. For this paper here are my definitions. Some of these extend beyond a simple definition for clarification’s sake.
Born Again
Just like the Book says in John 3:3.
“Nicodemus, listen to this eternal truth: Before a person can perceive God’s kingdom realm, they must first experience a rebirth (be Born Again).” TPT
You must do this to enter God’s Kingdom. You must die to yourself. The type of life you were born into, your ways of thinking, living, and doing, needs to change. Take up a new way of living, which is His ways of thinking, living, and doing. This can not be done by ordinary means but only by supernatural means; therefore, you must invite Christ Himself to take over your life.
NOTE
“Being born again by the Spirit is an unmistakable work of God, as mysterious as the wind, and as surprising as God Himself. We don’t know where it begins – it is hidden away in the depths of our soul. Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking, and living – a continual surprise of the life of God.” (Oswald Chambers)
Glorification
This is what happens when we have finished the race, after Sanctification. Believers are transformed into the perfect likeness of Jesus Christ.
Justification
This new life of being Born Again means you have laid down your sinful nature and taken up a nature where you live just as if you have never sinned. Hence, be Justified before God Himself.
Salvation
Note the Scriptures below that show Salvation as both an event and a process.
“For by grace you have been saved (an event of being Born Again) through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” (Ephesians 2:8) ESV
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved (The process of Sanctification) it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) ESV
“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” (Again, a process. Romans 13:11) ESV
Sanctification
This is the process of taking you from where you were (from being Born Again – Justified) to where you need to be. It is a process of becoming holy so that you can be with Him for eternity.
Silver Cord
Like an umbilical cord that is attached to the mother in utero, the silver cord is attached to the spirit of a living being. When this cord is broken your spirit leaves your body for its final resting place.
“Remember also your Creator… before the silver cord is snapped…” (Before you die. Ecclesiastes 12:1, 6) ESV
First Justification
This is where it all starts. You’ve reached the end of your rope, whatever that is, and you find yourself needing to pray. Praying however makes you feel like a hypocrite. Here’s where you have to humble yourself and just do it. You’ve messed up your life somewhere and now you know you need God. Whether you are at an altar in a Christian church, with a Christian friend, or by yourself, you must pray. Some call this a “sinners prayer”. Calling it a prayer of desperation is more accurate. However, you’re a sinner and you are praying but remember this prayer isn’t magic. There is a requirement and that requirement is that you must be sincere. This prayer doesn’t need to be complicated. Some may need to only pray “God if you are real, show me”. He will. Look for it. You know you’ve sinned throughout your life and you need a change for the good even if you’re not sure what that is yet. You need help and you pray, inviting Jesus into your heart. In time you will understand what that means. But, you are sincere and with all your will you give your life over to Him who gives life. Instantly a change occurs, it’s a spiritual change. You may or may not feel something but a change is coming so you stick to your newly acquired faith looking for this change. You share your new experience with your friends. Some will laugh but some will join you in celebration. Expect both. When you do, you will find out you don’t need those “friends who laugh” anymore, you have new ones. At this stage, your experience may still be a mystery to you but you are no longer a sinner but living just as if you never sinned. You are justified (Just-if-I’d).
Still, it’s not over. Some will teach that you are now “Saved” and when you die you will immediately go to heaven. This is true but there is an other step that will insure this deliverance from sin and ensure your final destination. It’s called Sanctification. That comes up next.
Sanctification
Sanctification is a process. It means to be made Holy. This is what the scriptures (the Bible) say.
“Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable (becomes Born Again), he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:21) ESV
As odd as it may seem this is something you can not do by yourself, as noted above. Again the Bible leads the way.
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23) ESV
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word (the Word of God) is truth.” (John 17:17) ESV
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) ESV
“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Romans 6:6) ESV
If you haven’t gotten the hint, the only way you can be sanctified is by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word, the Bible. This means that you must not only read and understand the Bible but you must obey and do what it says.
This confuses many people. Many have said the “sinners prayer” and feel safe (saved), and God will do the rest. This is not true. Again, this prayer you prayed is not magic. Having prayed you must do something which will continue this change in your life. If this change is not evident in your life, you are not saved, you are not Born Again, you will not be Sanctified, and when you die you will receive the same reward you would have received if you had not prayed at all.
Here’s What You Do
Sanctification is a time to become more and more grounded in Him. It is a time to learn how to trust in Him rather than trusting in the flesh, that is yourself. As this trust in Him grows you will realize that what you see in this world is nothing more than shadows on a wall. The only reality that exists is with Him in His Kingdom. (Read about Plato’s Allegory of The Cave. Click here.) Times may be hard but you can’t just wait for Him to do something, you must do something. Learn how to listen to God in dark places don’t wait for the light before doing something. Listen for His direction.
Remember that this is a process. You’re not there until you get to the end of the process. And, if you stop the process you never reach the goal. This is called a race in the Bible and we are racing for the finish line.
“And by this we know that we have come to know him (through the process of Sanctification), if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2: 3-6) ESV
You must get to know Him and this is how. Note that some of these steps can be done simultaneously.
1. Ask around. Find a good church that will oversee you and teach you how to walk in the Spirit God has given you. In this Church, you will meet believers who are in the same position you’re in. You can walk with them through this same process. Submit one to another and your teacher according to Biblical teachings.
2. Be discipled by a strong fellow believer, a teacher. This is probably the best way to reach your goal. The Church you belong to should help you with this process.
3. You must read the Bible. This is your handbook for walking the Christian life. All instructions you receive in this walk should be backed up by your handbook. If it is not, do not follow that word. God’s word is absolute and there can be no compromise or softening of the way.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living. Thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) CJB
4. You must practice what you read as the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to you.
Pitfalls
This walk of Sanctification will not be easy. It is called the Way of the Cross for a reason. It is a walk of death where every part of your old self will have to die before you can move on. You will need help. You will fall. But the Bible itself says:
“…for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” (Proverbs 24:16) ESV
You do not fail if you fall. You only fail if you do not rise again. For obvious reasons, this has become one of my favorite scriptures. It may become yours.
Once Saved Always Saved
The concept that once you are saved you cannot be lost is unbiblical. I must explain this thoroughly because I believe it has caused the fall of many. As proofread the Scriptures below. I should not need to go any further.
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I should be disqualified.” (1Corinthians 9:24-27) ESV
“It is impossible to restore an apostate. For once a person has come into God’s light, and tasted the gifts of the heavenly realm, and has received the Holy Spirit, and feasted on the good Word of God, and has entered into the power of the age that is breaking in, if he abandons his faith, there is no use even trying to lead him to repentance. By their sin of apostasy they re-crucify the Son of God, and have publicly repudiated him. (Hebrews 6:4-6) TPT
“Those who escape the corrupting forces of this world system through the experience of knowing about our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah, then go back into entanglement with them and are defeated by them, becoming worse off than they were to start with. It would have been much better for them never to have experienced the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred obligation that was given to them. They become illustrations of the true proverb: A dog will return to his own vomit and a washed pig to its rolling in the mud. (2 Peter 2:20-22) TPT
Sadly, some will still argue this point. I can only think that they have committed sins that they feel are unforgivable therefore they cling to this falsehood. I have known such people. If you are such a person I can only say “Get up (Proverbs 24:16 above) and do not stay down for God is faithful and true. He will forgive your sins and you will be restored.”
“But if we freely admit our sins when his light uncovers them, he will be faithful to forgive us every time. God is just to forgive us our sins because of Christ, and he will continue to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) ESV
Glorification
You have run the race. You have crossed the finish line. You have overcome the world. The Silver Cord is broken. Now you receive the prize of Glorification.
“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:30) ESV
“And that’s how it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body is “sown” in decay, but will be raised in immortality. It is “sown” in humiliation, but will be raised in glorification.” (1 Corinthians 15:42) TPT
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body,…” (Philippians 3:20)
You die and go on to Heaven to live eternally with all the benefits of Jesus Christ at your disposal. But, not to just live, but to live and reign also.
“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6)
Glorification is also linked to the eschatological link of a new creation.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and eliminate death entirely. No one will mourn or weep any longer. The pain of wounds will no longer exist, for the old order has ceased.” And God-Enthroned spoke to me and said, “Consider this! I am making everything to be new and fresh. Write down at once all that I have told you, because each word is trustworthy and dependable.” (Revelation 21:4, 5) TPT
“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain.” (Isaiah 66:22)
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” (Revelation 21:1) ESV
Conclusion
People die. But not entirely. Everyone has a spirit that never dies. This is controversial for many but not Christians. This spirit of yours lives forever, but where? This is a conundrum. But again not to Christians. Christians see two types of death. Death of the body which when it dies will be berried, decay never to be seen again. The spirit however will live on. Now the final destination of the spirit (which never dies) may be one of two. Heaven with your Creator, if you are Born Again, or hell a place of eternal torment.
It always puzzles me why intelligent people will just say there is no God, stand fast, and gamble they are right. It is a genuine gamble. If they are wrong they will spend eternity in Hell. If they would just lean toward God, He will guide them through the process above to eternity with Him.
Now if we pretend there is no God and there isn’t, the gambler will lose nothing and neither will the believer. You would like to say that they were just good people but you can’t even say that because you have nothing to compare “good” to. But if there is a God the believer has a chance at salvation but the gambler has none. So, why take such a gamble when so much is at stake? No logic here. The unbeliever is just stupid, a true biblical fool.
“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” (Psalms 14:1) KJV
Now there are many stages people go through in their lives. You can sum them up as: you’re born, raised, go to school, pick a vocation, marry and have children, work, get old, and eventually die. For true Christians, there are stages also, and they are called: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. These are processes that take you from “just as you are” through eternity. It is a journey and how you approach that journey will determine your eternal life. Don’t be a fool as the non-believer above. Instead, be able to shout out this scripture.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) ESV
Enough Said
“Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16) ESV
