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I got this site from friends and read most of your Q&A
sessions. They have been extremely helpful, and I thank you
for your wisdom(s). I was wondering if you guys can give me
a vague definition of justification, sanctification, and glorification,
and some lines of Scripture to back those definitions up.
I've read some articles/essays/pamphlets on monergism.com,
but those usually take me days to read. Is there a simple
and concise foundation that I can start off before I get into
heavy theology? Thanks for your time. I look forward to your
email. If it's too long or hard to do, that's fine too.
Thanks.
Hey [Friend]:
I hope you're well, and thanks for waiting.
I'm glad you have benefited from the web site, and pray
that it will help you to honor our Lord better.
You asked for a vague definition of justification, sanctification,
and glorification. Well, here it is:
Justification
Justification is simply the act of being declared righteous
by God. When a sinner repents and places his faith in Jesus
Christ as his Savior and Lord, God declares the sinner righteous
(i.e. he "justifies" him).
God is able to declare the sinner righteous by crediting
the sinner with the righteousness of Christ and crediting
Christ (on the cross) with the sin of man. This crediting
is called "imputation." Thus, we are saved by double imputation
- our sin applied to Christ and judged, and His righteousness
applied to us.
Please read Romans 3 and 4 carefully with this understanding
... and appreciate what He's done for you!
Sanctification
After the sinner has been justified, he is now a member
of the family of God. This is just the beginning. He is a
new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), and now desires and is able to
live for God - because the Holy Spirit lives in him. This
new desire aims to do what God is calling his children to
do - hate sin, love God and His people, and grow in purity,
holiness, and grace. This process of maturing as a Christian
- growing more in Christ-likeness and living less in the flesh
- is called sanctification - 1Thess. 4:3-7 . This is part
of the working out of our salvation that Paul writes about
in Phil. 2:12.
The power of sin has been vanquished in the believer's life;
we are no longer slaves to sin (by Christ's work) because
the believer is now dead to sin and alive to God (by the Holy
Spirit's work via His Word - Jn. 17:17). Ephesians 4 and 5
are great reads of how one growing in sanctification looks
like. We will be growing in our sanctification and holiness
for as long as we live. When we die, however, ...
Glorification
When the believer dies and passes from mortality to immortality,
he becomes glorified. His sanctification on earth culminates
in heaven and comes to fruition and completeness. In heaven,
we believers will be perfect and Christ-like; we will sin
no more and love God like we never have before! This is called
glorification and what is referred to in Rom. 8:21, 8:30,
9:23-24.
This is glorification is what the Christian longs and groans
for. We can't wait for the day when we will glorify our God
the way he deserves!
Hope this helps. Please let me know what you think.
Blessings,
Arthur
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