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Sanctification: The Process of Salvation

who continues in or repeatedly practices sin. No true Christian can
possibly do this. But John does not say that a Christian never sins. By
comparing this Scripture with 1 John 1:8–2:2, we see what John meant.
John’s purpose was to challenge Christians to walk in the light and strive
for an obedient and purposeful relationship with God. As if to prevent
any misunderstanding, John said to his Christian audience: “If we claim
we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar” (1 John 1:10). And
in 1 John 2:1–2, he noted that “Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.…is the
atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins
of the whole world.” Note that John included himself with other believers.

Sanctification is neither a decisive crisis experience nor an experience
in which the believer is made perfectly sinless. And it is not empowerment
for service. The purpose of sanctification is to bring the believer closer
to the state in which his or her nature will be conformed to the likeness
of Christ. As the believer walks with the Lord, grows, and develops, the
Holy Spirit continually gives light (1 John 1:7). As the believer walks in
the light, the blood of Jesus purifies from every sin. As the glory of the
Lord is reflected, gradually the believer is changed. This is true because
of the process of transformation into God’s likeness in an ever-greater
degree of glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). So we might say that sanctification
is not mandated as a certain experience, as in the baptism in the Holy
Spirit; rather, it is a process in which our new nature develops in us a
likeness to Christ.

The Means of Sanctification
Two parties are involved in a person’s sanctification: God and man.
From the divine side, God the Father sanctifies (1 Thessalonians 5:23;
1 Peter 5:10), the Son sanctifies (Hebrews 2:10–11; 10:10; 13:12), and
the Holy Spirit sanctifies (1 Peter 1:2; Romans 8:13). He produces in
us the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). From the human side, we
cannot sanctify ourselves. Paul declared that even in the believer God
takes the first step (Philippians 2:13). Nevertheless, there are definite
means a person may employ in the work of sanctification.

First, a person must place his faith in Christ (Acts 26:18). When one
believes in Christ, he is sanctified positionally. This occurs at the moment
of regeneration, for Christ has become our holiness and redemption
(1 Corinthians 1:30).

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