I. JUSTIFICATION

Justification is a major facet of the believer’s salvation and it is an extremely important theological concept in the Scriptures. It will be studied in eight individual parts.

A. The Meaning

The basic meaning of justification is "to declare righteous." In its theological meaning, justification is the act of God by which He declares the sinner righteous on the basis of the perfect righteousness of Jesus the Messiah. If someone is on trial, he is either justified or he is condemned. If one is not condemned then one is to be declared righteous. To declare righteous is to give judgment (Rom. 8:33). Thus, justification is a declarative act. It is also a constitutive act because it is only on the basis of the imputation of the righteousness of the Messiah to the believer that the believer can be declared righteous.

B. The Greek Words

There is one main Greek root, diakou, from which the concept of justification is derived. There are five Greek words that come from this root and carry the meaning of righteousness and justification. These Greek words are: dikaios – "righteous;" dikaisunei – "righteousness;" dikaioo – "to justify;" dikaiomata – "righteous acts" or "righteous actions;" and dikaiosis – "the act of justifying."

C. The Foundation

There are two aspects to the foundation of justification: one positive and one negative. Positively, the foundation of justification is God’s grace through Jesus the Messiah, by His blood, when the righteousness of Yeshua is imputed to the believer. Negatively, justification is not on the basis of human works; no one will ever be justified on the basis of his works.

D. The Means

There are five points concerning the means of justification. Because this is an excerpt from the original study, only the fifth point will be addressed. The fifth point about the means of justification is that a judge must justify the righteous and condemn the wicked. Yet, Scripture says that God justifies the ungodly (Romans 3:21-25; 4:5) and it also states that God is just when He justifies the ungodly (Romans 3:26). This is possible because of the imputed righteousness of the Messiah (Romans 5:17-19). When the believer has the righteousness of the Messiah imputed to him, he has been made righteous by imputation. At this moment, the believer can be declared righteous by justification. In this way, God is not inconsistent when He justifies the ungodly.

E. The Facets

Scripture mentions seven facets of justification. The believer is justified: 1. By God – righteousness planned. 2. By blood – righteousness provided. 3. By faith – justification procured. 4. By grace – justification’s principle of operation; justification operates on the basis of grace. 5. By the Spirit – the Holy Spirit is the agent of justification; this is justification’s power. 6. By works – the evidence of justification; this is justification proved. Works are the evidence that a believer has been justified; works are not a means of justification. 7. In the Messiah – justification possessed; this is the position of being justified.

F. The Elements

There are five specific elements of justification stated by the Word of God. 1. The remission of the penalty for sin. 2. The restoration to God’s favor. 3. The imputation of Messiah’s righteousness. 4. The forgiveness of all sins – past, present, and future. 5. The fifth element is that justification is also part of the process of predestination (Romans 8:28-32).

G. The Results

The Bible speaks of seven results of justification. 1. The believer has peace with God because his sins have been forgiven. 2. The believer is now standing in the grace of God. 3. The third result is found in Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus… 4. The believer becomes an heir of God. 5. The believer has been declared righteous by virtue of the imputation of the Messiah’s righteousness. God now sees the believer as righteous. 6. The believer is saved from the wrath of God. 7. The glory of the believer has been guaranteed by virtue of his justification because he who is justified will also be glorified (Romans 8:30).

H. The Characteristics

There are four characteristics of justification. 1. The believer is justified in Jesus the Messiah. 2. Justification is part of the Messiah’s redemptive work. 3. Justification is by the righteousness of God. 4. The righteousness of justification is the righteousness and obedience of the Messiah.

II. SANCTIFICATION

Sanctification is also a major facet of the believer’s salvation. It will be studied in eight individual parts.

A. The Meaning

The basic meaning of sanctification is "to be set apart." The word sanctification does not necessarily carry the concept of holiness. Biblical sanctification can be defined as "That gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit by which He purifies the sinner, renews his whole nature in the image of God, and enables him to perform good works."

B. The Greek Words

There is one key Greek root, hag, from which the concept of sanctification is derived. From this Greek root come nine different forms of the word that carry the concept of sanctification. These nine Greek words are: hagiasmos – "sanctification;" hagiosunei – "holiness;" hagiotes – "to sanctify;" hagiazo – "to render hallow," "to separate for God," "to purify or sanctify;" hagios – "holy" (the word hagios is used with the word "spirit" a total of 94 times in reference to the Holy Spirit, and it is used 61 times in connection with believers as a facet of their salvation); hagios again but with a slightly different meaning – "pure," "holy," or "pious;" hagios used as an adverb only in I Thessalonians 2:10; hagiotes spelled the same as the third word but this one is a noun; it is used in Luke 1:75 and Ephesians 4:24; and hiegos – "sacred."

C. The Usage of the Greek Words

There are eight things one should know about the usage of the various Greek words for sanctification in the New Testament. First, one must be aware of the various translations. The same Greek root is translated several different ways in the English Bible, but there are three main ways that it is translated. The first main way is by the term "sanctify." A second main translation is the word "holy." A third main way of translating these terms is by the word "saints." In fact, "saints" is the second most common term for believers and it is used 62 times. The most common term for believers is "brethren," and it is used 184 times. The term "Christians" is used three times. In summary, the three main ways the Greek root is translated are "sanctify," "holy," or "saints."

The second usage of sanctification refers to God who is sanctified because God sets Himself apart. Even the Messiah can sanctify Himself in the sense that He sets Himself apart. The third use of sanctification is that God sanctifies people. For example, the Father sanctifies the Son; God sanctifies the priests, He sanctifies Israel, and God also sanctifies believers. The fourth usage of sanctification is that God sanctifies places and things. The fifth usage is that man may sanctify God. This is a good example to show that "to sanctify" does not necessarily mean "to make holy." No man can make God holy. This is impossible, for God is absolutely holy already. To sanctify simply means "to be set apart." Believers can set God apart in their lives and, in that way, the believer may sanctify God. The believer can sanctify the Messiah in this way.

The sixth usage of sanctification is that man can even sanctify himself. Man has the capacity to set himself aside for the Lord’s use. The seventh use is that man may sanctify people and things; he could set things apart (Ex. 19:14; II Chr. 29:17; I Cor. 7:14). The eighth usage is that one thing may sanctify another thing. Holy things can sanctify other things.

D. The Facets

There are five facets of sanctification. The believer is sanctified: 1. In the Messiah – the sphere of sanctification; this is the believer’s position. 2. By the Word of God – the channel of sanctification; the believer is set apart and cleansed by the Word of God. 3. By blood – the basis of sanctification; the believer is set apart for holy use on the basis of the blood of the Messiah. 4. By the body on the cross – the place of sanctification; the believer is positionally sanctified through the cross. 5. By faith – the means of sanctification; the believer is saved by faith, he is justified by faith, and he is sanctified by faith as well.

E. The Causes

There are three causes of sanctification. 1. The Efficient Cause – It is the triune God; every member of the Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Spirit) plays a role and is an efficient cause of sanctification. 2. The Moving Cause – It is the good will of God; for this is the will of God, your sanctification; … (I Thessalonians 4:3). The believer is moved to sanctification by the will of God. 3. The Instrumental Cause – It is the Word of God; it is by means of the Word of God that the believer is sanctified.

F. The Need

Sanctification is necessary for three reasons: 1. Every sin in the believer is a contradiction of God’s holiness. Sanctification aims at conforming the believer to God’s righteousness. 2. Wherever there is the presence of sin, there is conflict. Sanctification aims to give the believer victory in this conflict. 3. There must be a constant and increasing appreciation that though the sin remains, it does not have mastery over the believer. The purpose of sanctification is to keep the believer from living in sin, though the believer will always have sin living in him until he is in Heaven.

G. The Types

The Bible speaks of four types of sanctification. One of them affects a person before salvation and the remaining three are experienced by the believer.

1. Preparatory Sanctification

It deals with the setting apart before salvation. The elect person is set apart by God before he is saved to make sure that he hears the gospel at some time. Preparatory sanctification assures one of hearing and accepting the gospel.

2. Positional Sanctification

It means that there is salvation from the penalty of sin. This is the kind of sanctification in which God sees the believer by virtue of the believer’s being in the Messiah. From the divine viewpoint, the believer is already viewed as being perfect because of his position of being in the Messiah. Positional sanctification is always true regardless of the degree of unholiness a believer might have in this life.

Once a believer is saved, he is automatically in a state of positional sanctification where he is viewed by God as having been completely sanctified. (Acts 20:32; Romans 6:1-10; I Corinthians 1:2; 6:11; Hebrews 10:10, 14). The Corinthians passages are especially unique because, as it is seen through the Book of Corinthians, the Corinthian church was absolutely the worst church in the New Testament record. Yet, Paul said to them that in spite of the degree of unholiness and immorality, they were sanctified. They were completely sanctified because positional sanctification is something that is always true – not because of something the believer is himself but because of what the believer is in the Messiah.

3. Progressive Sanctification

It is also called "experiential sanctification." Ten things should be noted of this type of sanctification. First, progressive sanctification is salvation from the power of sin; it means that the believer can be free from the power of sin (Romans 6:1 14). Second, the purpose is to bring the believer’s experience into conformity with his position. Third, progressive sanctification is to counteract worldliness (Romans 6:22; 12:1). Fourth, progressive sanctification is to promote spiritual growth (II Corinthians 3:18; II Peter 3:18). Fifth, it means that the believer is being conformed to the image of the Son of God (Philippians 1:9 11; II Peter 1:5 8).

The sixth thing about progressive sanctification concerns the two means of sanctification: the dedication of the physical body for God’s use and the washing of the Word of God. Seventh, progressive sanctification is still God’s work (Ephesians 2:10; II Timothy 3:17; Titus 2:14). Eighth, progressive sanctification will not bring perfection in this life. The believer will become more and more righteous, more and more conformed to the image of the Son of God, but he will never reach perfection in this life. Ninth, on the basis of positional sanctification, the Scriptures encourage believers to live holy lives. In Scripture, progressive sanctification is the reason for admonitions to holiness. Tenth, progressive sanctification consists of two processes: the gradual removal of pollution and corruption of the believer’s human nature (Romans 6:6; Galatians 5:14) and the gradual development of the new life consecrated to God (Romans 6:4 5; Galatians 2:19; Colossians 2:12; 3:1 2).

4. Ultimate Sanctification

It is salvation from the presence of sin, and this will occur only when Yeshua returns. When Jesus comes back, the believer will receive the ultimate sanctification: salvation from the presence of all sin.

H. The Doctrine of Perfectionism

Some people teach that the believer can reach perfection in this life. Perfectionism is taught on the basis of certain Scriptures. There are eleven main passages that those who teach perfectionism use to back up their teachings, and they point out that perfection is ascribed to believers.

However, there are six things that can be stated against these teachings. 1. The fact that the believer must strive for perfection does not prove that the believer is already perfect. The Bible pictures the believer as striving for perfection all of his life. 2. In the Bible, the word perfect does not mean "free from sin." While Noah was called perfect in Genesis 6:9, he sinned by getting drunk in Genesis 9:20 24. Job 1:1 calls Job perfect, yet in Job 42:6 one can read of Job’s sins. 3. Concerning the letter of I John, the apostle teaches that it is the new man who does not sin, but the old man does still sin. 4. The Bible teaches there is no one who does not sin, believers or unbelievers (I Kings 8:46; Proverbs 20:9; I John 1:8). 5. As long as the believer lives, there will be spiritual warfare, and this would not be necessary if one could reach perfection in this life (Romans 7:15 25; Gal. 5:16 17). 6. The very fact that I John 1:9 orders the believer to confess his sins rules out any possibility of perfection in this life. Sanctification is a biblical doctrine. Perfectionism in this life is not.