In the simplest terms, sanctification means to be set apart as holy for righteous purposes. In other words, much like expensive china is reserved for special occasions and not a midnight snack of bologna sandwiches, God has set believers apart as belonging to Him, to be made holy and glorify Jesus.
Sanctification differs from justification in that justification speaks of a believer’s positional righteousness before God through faith. But sanctification speaks of the process of becoming righteous in a practicalsense. Paul wrote of believers’ immediate justification in Romans 3:22, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” He also penned in Romans 4:3, “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’” Additionally, Luke wrote in Acts 13:39, “By Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
When speaking of sanctification, Paul stated in Philippians 1:6, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” He also wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “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 from the Lord, the Spirit.” Additionally, he said in Colossians 3:9-10, “You laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”
A helpful analogy of the sanctification process in believers' lives can be compared to a weight-loss journey:
When people are born-again, they are “obese with sin.” Over time, as the Holy Spirit conforms them to Jesus’ image and likeness, many lose “20-40 pounds” of sin. Some believers shed between “40-50 pounds” of sin, while others drop a staggering “100 pounds!” However, some precious believers still struggle to lose their first five pounds for various reasons. Regardless, every believer is a work in progress headed toward the same Christlike goal.
The apostle Paul is a perfect example of the refining sanctification process. In Paul’s earlier relationship with Jesus, he ranked himself as “the least of the apostles,” which revealed a certain level of humility (1 Corinthians 15:9). Later, when imprisoned for his faith, Paul ranked himself as “less than the least of all saints,” which denoted an even greater amount of humility (Ephesians 3:8). But toward the end of his life, Paul declared himself as “the chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15), which revealed his acute awareness of his sinfulness compared to Jesus' holiness.
Paul's sanctification process was evidenced, in part, by increased levels of humility throughout his life. His declarations also portrayed his recognized need for God’s continued grace and forgiveness as he matured spiritually. For these reasons, Paul could say in Romans 7:22-25, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law’ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Therefore, each believer can be assured that the Holy Spirit is working to conform them to Jesus' image and likeness as they submit themselves to God in obedience. Romans 8:29 states, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”
I hope this information has helped you understand God’s immediate and lifelong perfecting processes.
