forgiveness

SANCTIFICATION: The Threefold Process

Marvin A MarcelinoLeave a comment

This study follows the biblical model of sanctification: the past foundation, the present process, and the future fulfillment.

1. The Foundation: Positional Sanctification (Our Standing)

This is the completed act of being set apart for God, which occurs instantly at the moment of salvation. Our position is secured “in Christ” based on His finished work.

  • Declared Holy: Believers are immediately called “sanctified” and “saints” (holy ones) because of their union with Christ.
    • “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…” (1 Corinthians 1:2).

  • A Past-Tense Reality: Sanctification is listed alongside justification as a completed part of our salvation.
    • “But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

  • Based on Christ’s Offering: Our holy standing is not based on our efforts but on the “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus.
    • “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

2. The Journey: Progressive Sanctification (Our Walk)

This is the ongoing, lifelong process of becoming in our daily practice what we already are in our position. It is the work of growing in practical holiness and Christlikeness.

  • God’s Will for Us: Sanctification is not an optional extra; it is God’s stated will for every believer, involving practical purity.
    • “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
    • Insight: “True sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience, perfect conformity to the will of God” (White, The Adventist Home).

  • The Means of Sanctification:
    • By the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the divine agent who empowers this change, transforming us from within. This is not self-improvement but the implanting of Christ’s nature.
      • “…God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
      • “But we all… are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
      • Insight: “The sanctification of the soul by the working of the Holy Spirit is the implanting of Christ’s nature in humanity” (White, The Desire of Ages).

    • By the Truth: The Word of God is the primary tool the Spirit uses to transform our character.
      • “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
      • Insight: “The Scriptures are the great agency in the transformation of character” (White, Christ’s Object Lessons).

  • Our Participation:
    • Active Pursuit: While God works in us, we are commanded to actively “pursue” and “follow” holiness.
      • “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
    • Active Dependence: We participate by “walking in the Spirit,” consciously depending on His power rather than our own.
      • “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

  • The Evidence of Sanctification:
    • A Lifelong Work: This is not a one-time event but a daily process encompassing our entire being.
      • “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless…” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
      • Insight: “Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime” (White, The Acts of the Apostles).

    • Visible Fruit: True sanctification is revealed in our character and conduct—the “fruit of the Spirit.”
      • “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
      • Insight: “Those who are truly sanctified will not be satisfied with an empty profession. Their lives will reveal the grace of Christ” (White, The Sanctified Life).

3. The Completion: Future Sanctification (Our Hope)

This is the final fulfillment of our sanctification, also known as glorification. It is the moment we are made perfectly and completely like Christ, presented faultless before God.

  • Made Like Him: The process will be finished when we see Christ at His return.
    • “Beloved, now we are children of God… we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

  • Presented Faultless: God’s power will complete the work He began in us.
    • “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24).

  • The Ultimate Goal: This is the culmination of our journey—the moment the character of Christ is perfectly reproduced in His people.
    • Insight: “When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own” (White, Christ’s Object Lessons).

Questions for Reflection

  1. On Positional Sanctification: How does the truth that I am already “sanctified” and “holy” in my position (1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11) change how I view my identity and motivate my fight against sin, compared to feeling I must earn holiness?

  2. On Progressive Sanctification (Means): Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by Your truth” (John 17:17). Am I engaging with God’s Word primarily for information (knowledge) or for transformation (holiness)? What is one practical change I can make to allow the Word to be a greater “agency in the transformation of character” in my life?

  3. On Progressive Sanctification (Process): Galatians 5 presents a contrast between “walking in the Spirit” and “fulfilling the lust of the flesh.” In what specific area of my life am I relying on my own self-control and “white-knuckling” it (flesh), instead of actively surrendering and depending on the Holy Spirit’s power to produce His fruit?

References

  1. The Desire of Ages, p. 466
  2. Messages to Young People, p. 114
  3. The SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, p. 1078
  4. Selected Messages, Book 3, p. 195
  5. Steps to Christ, p. 26
  6. The Adventist Home, p. 565
  7. Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 100
  8. The Desire of Ages, p. 671
  9. The Acts of the Apostles, p. 560
  10. The Sanctified Life, p. 9
  11. Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69

JUSTIFICATION: What Is It and How Is It Acquired?

Marvin A MarcelinoLeave a comment

WHAT IS JUSTIFICATION?

1. What justification means

  • Justification means being declared right with God.
  • It is like receiving a pardon—complete forgiveness.
  • When someone is justified, God looks at them as if they had never sinned.
  • Their record in heaven now shows “forgiven” and “righteous.”

Justification is not something we earn. It is a gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ.

2. How justification works

  • Because of sin, people are separated from God.
  • We cannot make ourselves righteous by our own efforts or good deeds.
  • But when we believe in Jesus and accept His sacrifice, God credits us with Christ’s righteousness.

This means:

  • Our sins are wiped clean.
  • Christ’s perfect life is placed into our record.
  • We stand before God clean and accepted.

This is what the Bible means when it says righteousness was “counted,” “reckoned,” or “imputed.”

  • Imputed – credited to our account as if it were ours.
  • Reckoned – considered or declared by God as true.
  • Counted – treated as though we had done right, even though we didn’t earn it.

3. What justification shows about God and us

  • Justification is God’s work, not man’s achievement.
  • It shows God’s mercy and grace, not human effort.
  • It leaves no room for pride.
  • True faith produces humility and dependence on God, not self-confidence.

As one writer explained, justification “lays the glory of man in the dust.”
It reminds us that salvation is completely God’s doing, and we give all glory back to Him.

4. The example of Abraham (Romans 4:1-25)

  • Paul uses Abraham’s story to show how justification works.
  • Abraham was not made right with God because of his good works or rituals.
  • He believed God’s promise, and that faith was counted as righteousness.
  • Abraham trusted God even when His promise seemed impossible—like having a child in old age.

Paul teaches that everyone who believes like Abraham is justified in the same way, by faith, not by law.

5. Faith in Jesus brings justification today

  • What happened to Abraham happens to us when we believe in Jesus.
  • When we put our trust in Christ’s death and resurrection:
    • Our sins are forgiven.
    • His righteousness is imputed to us.
    • We are accepted by God and given peace with Him.

Jesus’ death paid for our sins, and His resurrection guarantees our justification.

6. What justification gives us

Justification brings:

  1. Pardon – our sins are forgiven.
  2. Righteousness imputed – Christ’s perfect life covers us.
  3. Title to heaven – we are accepted as God’s children.
  4. Peace and humility – we depend fully on God, not ourselves.
  5. A new standing – we are seen as pure, innocent, and free from guilt.

7. Summary
Justification is God’s declaration that we are forgiven and made righteous through Jesus Christ. It happens by faith, not by works, and is entirely God’s gift rather than our own achievement. This gracious act produces humility, thankfulness, and trust in God, reminding us that our salvation depends on His mercy alone. Through justification, we are made ready to begin a new life of obedience and love, living in harmony with God’s will.

References:

Ellen G. White. Review and Herald, September 16, 1902; August 21, 1888.

Ellen G. White. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, p. 1070.

Ellen G. White. Messages to Young People, p. 35.

Ellen G. White. Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 135.

Ellen G. White. Christ’s Object Lessons, Chap. 18.