Justification
Justification by faith implies more than a simple instant adjustment of a person’s legal status in the eyes of God’s (Romans 3:25). For Faith in the Lord involves a personal relationship with Him. It involves having love and gratitude to the Savior for what He did on the cross (Ephesians 5:20; Hebrews 13:15).
Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). The believer has to be connected to Christ through daily prayer and study of His Word. It is not possible for one branch to depend upon another for its life. Therefore, to abide in Christ means that the believer must have a continual communion with Him and must live His life (Galatians 2:20). The believer’s relationship with Christ should be build on a great respect for Him and for all that He is (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
There will be an honest longing to know Him better (Philippians 3:10) and become more like Him in character (Matthew 5:48). It means having a simple childlike trust in Christ without holding back to the point that the believer is ready to take Him fully at His word and follow His commands. Without trust, there can be no true justification (Hebrews 11:6). David, wrote, “I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8).
Sanctification
The Lord is not merely wanting to erase our past sins. But He is mostly concerned with transforming sinners to resemble His pure character through the process of Sanctification. And this is a long-life process. The apostle Paul described it this way: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Claiming God’s promises for victory over sin can make the process of sanctification possible. For the Lord promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). And He will certainly help His children gain the victory over all sins. “Thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Therefore, justification cannot be disconnected from the changing experiences of conversion, and the following process of growth in sanctification. Only simple faith that happily accepts and willingly gets into every stage of God’s plan for our restoration can legally claim the credited righteousness of Christ in justification. And when the sinner gets justified and sanctified, he can have peace. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1 also Romans 3: 22; 4:25).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
