JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION

“A certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 18:18
No other question in this life is of more paramount importance than this; for this assurance of eternal life
many crave and every soul thirsts for. And this statement by Ellen White makes the question even more
urgent: “Many who call themselves Christians are mere human moralists. The work of the Holy Spirit
is to them a strange work.” COL 315
Of this important question of salvation, many are ignorant: “The people are more ignorant in regard to the
plan of salvation and need more instruction upon this all-important subject than upon any other.” 4T 394
To the response of Christ, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which?
Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not
bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”, the rich
young ruler said, “All these things have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet?” Matt. 19:17-20.
Unfortunately, “His conception of the law was external and superficial. Judged by a human standard, he
had preserved an unblemished character. To a great degree his outward life had been free from guilt; he
verily thought that his obedience had been without a flaw. Yet he had a secret fear that all was not right
between his soul and God. This prompted the question, ‘What lack I yet?’” COL 391
And there are many still attempting to climb into heaven by the ladder of their works. “He who is trying to
reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law, is attempting an impossibility. Man cannot be saved
without obedience, but his works should not be of himself; Christ should work in him to will and to do of
His good pleasure.” 1SM 363, 364
Today’s study will attempt to respond to this question of salvation.
“I wish you to distinctly understand this point, that souls are kept from obeying the truth by a
confusion of ideas, and also because they do not know how to surrender their wills and their minds
to Jesus. They want special instruction how to become Christians.” Ev 152
Definition of the words
I will use Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary to define the three words. Note the nuances highlighted in the
definitions.
JUSTIFICATION, n.
The act of justifying; a showing to be just or conformable to law, rectitude or propriety; vindication;
defense.
This is the primary duty of justification. When we are justified, we are proved to be in conformity to the law
(whatever law it be). There are two ways to do this: a. Prove that I have never broken the law, or
b. Prove that my transgression has already been paid for.
However, since the first cannot be done – for all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory – there remains
only the second to be done.
1. Absolution.
Catholic priests, when people go for confessionals, declare, “I absolve you of your sins.” To absolve means to set
free or release from some obligation, debt or responsibility (in this case, free from the penalties of sin). It means
to acquit, remit and declare innocent. And that is the beauty of justification as found in Christ and the contrast
with the position of other religions like Islam: God does not arbitrarily forgive us of our sins. Instead, He paid
for its liabilities Himself and thus can declare us innocent by virtue of His payment.

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2. In theology, remission of sin and absolution from guilt and punishment; or an act of free grace by
which God pardons the sinner and accepts him as righteous, on account of the atonement of
Christ.
JUSTIFY, v.t. [L. justus, just, and facio, to make.]
1. To prove or show to be just, or conformable to law, right, justice, propriety or duty; to defend or
maintain; to vindicate as right.
Now, the definition of “justify” adds something: conformity to duty. We are justified to be proved dutiful. This
is important since the work of sanctification is but the manifestation of the gains of justification. Therefore,
justification not only procures the righteousness of God but also dutifulness. The two MUST be manifested in
sanctification.
2. In theology, to pardon and clear form guilt; to absolve or acquit from guilt and merited
punishment, and to accept as righteous on account of the merits of the Savior, or by the
application of Christ's atonement to the offender.
SANCTIFICATION, n. [See Sanctify.]
1. The act of making holy. In an evangelical sense, the act of God's grace by which the affections of men
are purified or alienated from sin and the world, and exalted to a supreme love to God.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 1 Peter 1:2. This verse is
just powerful. The end result of sanctification (which is done by the Spirit by the way) is obedience.
Sanctification is also the process through which God’s election is manifested. Remember Peter counselling
believers to make their calling and election sure? God was simply saying, be diligent in the path of sanctification!
2. The act of consecrating or of setting apart for a sacred purpose; consecration.
SANCTIFY, v.t. [Low L. sanctifico; from sanctus, holy, and facio, to make.]
Another definition I found interesting:
1. To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the
world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.
Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. John 17:17
That [Christ] might sanctify and cleanse [the church] with the washing of water by the word, That He
might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but
that it should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:26-27.
NOTE: while a spot needs washing, a wrinkle needs straightening. For to attain holiness and blemishes, both
a washing and a correction of character is necessary (and, in practice, wrinkles are removed using heat you
know.)
Distinction between justification and sanctification
So, what is the difference between justification and sanctification? Let some verses shed some light on the
concepts of justification and sanctification.
To begin with, justification has always been the opposite of condemnation (Deut. 25:1; 1 Kings 8:32; Matt.
12:37; Rom. 8:1). It bears the connotation of cleaning (Job 25:4 parallels a man justified with God and a man
clean). We’ll notice that sanctification has the same connotation. This clearing of past record of sin and
simultaneous and spontaneous washing is wholly the work of God. The place of man is to simply believe and
surrender our will to God to do as He desires (Luke 18 – parable of the Pharisee and the publican). However,
the law has a part in justification: Rom. 2:13-15; 3:13). This part we will seek to find out in the course of the

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study. Isn’t it interesting that the law had to come first before faith could do its part? Where there is no law,
faith cannot exist to do its work in justification. It is also the work of justification that makes us brethren
and joint-heirs with Christ, availing to us the privilege of inheriting the gift of eternal life (Tit. 3:7). Finally,
it is not man, or the mass of intelligences in the universe, that justify man in the divine court, but God
Himself (Rom. 8:33).
What of sanctification? Well, sanctification is used in many contexts, some literally some figuratively, some
physically and some spiritually. That is expected since the physical explains the spiritual. For instance, in
Exodus 19, sanctification includes washing of clothes.
Exodus 19:10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to
morrow, and let them wash their clothes,
God is, here, highlighting that sanctification involves a cleansing of sorts. But of course, sanctification is the
cleansing of mind and heart from sin and evil.
1 Thessalonians 5
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul shows that the result of sanctification is a record of blamelessness. Not an imputed blamelessness as
one acquired during justification through taking upon yourself the righteousness of Christ, but an imparted
righteousness that is a result of abstaining from evil and all its appearances and hints. And what is the extent
of the work of sanctification? It is all-encompassing. God sanctifies us wholly. The work of sanctification
permeates every faculty of a man’s life, spirit, soul and body. Therefore, sanctification is more than a spiritual
cleansing, it involves physical restoration as well (thus the principles of health and dress reforms).
But do not despair. The work of sanctification occurs in the context of Christ, and it is in Him, through Him
and for Him that we are sanctified.
“The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
1 Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus,
called [to be] saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs
and ours:
Notice that the verse above equates sanctification with calling. Those called to be saints (holy men) are
sanctified. Is it the calling that sanctifies us? This brings another aspect of sanctification: being set apart. As
it was with the firstborns, and the tithe, and the sacrifices in the typical ministration and the Sabbath, so is
it with us: we are sanctified in that we are called and set apart for God Himself. The call is not sanctification,
but results to it when heeded.
“Calling and justification are not one and the same thing. Calling is the drawing of the sinner to Christ,
and it is a work wrought by the Holy Spirit upon the heart, convicting of sin, and inviting to repentance.”
1SM 390
Consider what He tells Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I
sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Notice that “and” is supplied. God is actually saying that the work of ordination is the work of sanctification.
Therefore, the word “sanctification” bears the idea of being called and set apart for holy purpose, and being
washed spiritually and restored physically. The latter (which is a lifelong process) fits us for the former. We
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are sanctified (called and set apart) in Christ as Adventists and ministers of the gospel, and hence we must
be sanctified (washed and perfected) daily to fulfil this call.
That being said, let us consider some quotations that may shed further light on this concept of justification
and sanctification.
The Faith I Live By – Sanctification the Work of a Lifetime
The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified
is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven. {FLB 116.2}
If someone asked you, “If Jesus came today, would you go to heaven?” what would be your response?
Or maybe, what is his question really? His question is, “Are you justified?” and here I have heard
interesting things that betray just how much we are soaked in legalism (justification by works). Ever
heard someone say, “It will be better if Christ comes on Sabbath since my chances of going to heaven
will be higher?” The question for sanctification would be: “If Jesus came today, are you ready to live
in heaven?” Do you have the heavenly character: the heavenly diet, the heavenly dressing, the
heavenly taste of music, the heavenly taste for amusements and entertainment, the heavenly
observance of the Sabbath, the heavenly marital relationship, etc? How do you know the heavenly
standard? Go to Eden, or go to inspiration. God’s standard for us is the heavenly standard; God’s
laws and commandments as given in inspiration is His standard.
Many commit the error of trying to define minutely the fine points of distinction between
justification and sanctification. Into the definitions of these two terms they often bring their own ideas
and speculations. Why try to be more minute than is Inspiration on the vital question of righteousness by
faith? {FLB 116.3}
1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
There is that common ground between justification and sanctification: the washing by the Spirit.
Paul does not labour to distinguish between the two. He urges us to go through both.
As the penitent sinner, contrite before God, discerns Christ's atonement in his behalf, and accepts this
atonement as his only hope in this life and the future life, his sins are pardoned. This is justification
by faith. {FLB 116.4}
See that justification and pardoning are the same thing. Accepting atonement as the ONLY hope for
life is the necessary requirement for justification.
Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy
flight of feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for Christ. Wrongs
cannot be righted nor reformations wrought in the character by feeble, intermittent efforts. It is only by
long, persevering effort, sore discipline, and stern conflict, that we shall overcome. {FLB 116.5}
Justification is instantaneous act. Sanctification is a lifetime process. It is a constant dying to sin.
Clearly, the dying continues after justification even though the new birth occurs during justification.
There is, therefore, a dying that happens during justification, and a constant dying that happens
during sanctification.
It [sanctification] is not merely a theory, an emotion, or a form of words, but a living, active principle,
entering into the everyday life. It requires that our habits of eating, drinking, and dressing be such as to
secure the preservation of physical, mental, and moral health, that we may present to the Lord our
bodies -- not an offering corrupted by wrong habits but -- "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God."
{FLB 116.6}
Sanctification is a principle. It is the progressive growth of the mindset into a new set of principles,
a heavenly way of thinking. The function of sanctification is to secure the preservation of physical,
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 mental and moral health. It must, therefore, be a principle that upset the status quo in matters physical
(dressing, diet, exercise, rest, etc), mental (study habits, what you feed your mind with, how you
exercise and rest your brain, etc) and moral (your system of morality). And all these must be hinged
on Christ. It is by Christlikeness that we restore our physical, mental and moral health (and that
should tell us that Christ is our example not only in character but also in physical, mental and moral
health).
The Scriptures are the great agency in the transformation of character. . . . If studied and obeyed,
the Word of God works in the heart, subduing every unholy attribute. {FLB 116.7}
Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. It is through the Bible that we know what is
God’s high standard. By daily study of and submission to the demands of the Word of God are unholy
attributes subdued and a holy character developed.
There is no such thing as instantaneous sanctification. True sanctification is a daily work, continuing as
long as life shall last. {FLB 116.8}
We are declared perfect at the point of justification by virtue of Christ’s moral perfection (as
compared to God’s moral law) imputed unto us. However, we are daily being perfected to attain
Christ’s moral perfection. We are first given Christ’s perfect lawkeeping. We are then led to our own
perfect moral keeping through Christ.
Our crucified Lord is pleading for us in the presence of the Father at the throne of grace. His atoning
sacrifice we may plead for our pardon, our justification, and our sanctification. The lamb slain is our
only hope. Our faith looks up to Him, grasps Him as the One who can save to the uttermost, and the
fragrance of the all-sufficient offering is accepted of the Father. {AG 71.5}
It is important to note that both our justification and our sanctification is the result of Christ’s
atoning sacrifice. Hebrews says He saves to the uttermost. That is because He not only cancels our
past sins, but also changes our mindsets to His and gives us strength to overcome future sins.
This mercy and goodness is wholly undeserved. The grace of Christ is freely to justify the sinner without
merit or claim on his part. Justification is a full, complete pardon of sin. The moment a sinner accepts
Christ by faith, that moment he is pardoned. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is no
more to doubt God's forgiving grace. {RC 78.3}
Notice that while justification is without merit or claim on our part, nowhere does it say it is without
conditions. We cannot cause our justification; however, we can place ourselves in a position to receive
it. Justification is available to all men, but seeing that some men will be in hell, then clearly some
men will not receive it.
That aside, doesn’t the condition of faith make faith to be some merit on its own?
There is nothing in faith that makes it our saviour. Faith cannot remove our guilt. Christ is the power
of God unto salvation to all them that believe. The justification comes through the merits of Jesus Christ.
He has paid the price for the sinner's redemption. Yet it is only through faith in His blood that Jesus can
justify the believer. {RC 78.4}
The sinner cannot depend upon his own good works (not even faith qualifies as good works) as a means of
justification. . . . {RC 78.5}
The fact that Abraham's faith was reckoned to him as righteousness does not mean that faith
possesses in itself some merit that can earn justification. Don't struggle to believe to a sufficient
quantity of faith to buy you salvation. It was Abraham's faith in God that was accounted as
righteousness. Such a faith is not a good or service you trade for justification, but a relation, an
attitude, a disposition (inclination, propensity) of man toward God. It implies a readiness to receive
with joy whatever God may reveal, and to do with joy whatever God may direct.

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 I'll explain it this way. If I am to take a lady for honeymoon, she does not give me anything to
purchase the honeymoon. She simply gets into a relationship of marriage with me and thus places
herself in a position where I can grant her the honeymoon. By the marriage, she has not purchased
the honeymoon, but has given me the freedom to give it to her. Now imagine if I take a brother’s
wife for a honeymoon and say, "No, I was just doing it as a brother!" Hapo ndio mtu ataweka
uadventista na SOP yote kando anionyeshe great controversy.
Same thing with faith. It does not purchase justification, rather, it places us in a position where God
can grant it to us. By virtue of us believing, we become candidates for justification and God delivers
simultaneously. Faith, one said, is the hand of humanity that grasps grace, the hand of divinity. Faith
is simply the hand that receives. Grace does the purchasing and providing.
And if he follows Jesus, he will walk humbly in the light, rejoicing in the light, and diffusing that
light to others. Being justified by faith, he carries cheerfulness with him in his obedience in all his life.
Peace with God is the result of what Christ is to him. The souls who are in subordination to God, who
honor Him, and are doers of His Word, will receive divine enlightenment. In the precious Word of God,
there is purity and loftiness as well as beauty that, unless assisted by God, the highest powers of man
cannot attain to. . . . {RC 78.6}
You see the difference between justification and sanctification here. Through justification, Christ sets
us on His path. However, the process of walking in His steps is sanctification. We daily walk humbly
in the light overcoming self and garmenting ourselves with Christlikeness and find joy thereby. The
automatic result is that we diffuse the same light to others and they take notice that we have been in
the presence of Jesus learning of Him.
Notice that cheerfulness is an automatic result of justification. The seed of the gospel being planted
within, and the person being grafted into the vine, the fruit of the Spirit is borne, even joy.
“For ‘if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new.’ 2 Cor. 5:17. That which was objectionable in the character is purified from the soul by the love of Jesus.
All selfishness is expelled, all envy, all evil-speaking, is rooted out, and a radical transformation is wrought
in the heart.” RH 7-22-1890
“No one can enter the city of God who has not a knowledge of genuine conversion. In true conversion the
soul is born again. A new spirit takes possession of the temple of the soul [Psa. 51:10]. A new life begins.
Christ is revealed in the character.” RH 7-30-1901
True justification must result in a heart that is pure of attitudinal sins, e.g., hate, spite, resentment,
anger, jealousy, lust, partiality, etc. That is the work that the Spirit does when the heart is yielded to
Him.
“The class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites. They have a regard for the truth, they have
advocated the truth, they are attracted to those who believe the truth; but they have not yielded themselves
to the Holy Spirit’s working. They have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, and permitted their old
nature to be broken up. . . . The Spirit works upon man’s heart, according to his desire and consent
implanting in him a new nature; but the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a
superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character; they have not held
communion with Him; therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live.” COL 411
“By implanting in their hearts the principles of His word, the Holy Spirit develops in men the attributes
of God. The light of His glory - His character - is to shine forth in His followers. Thus they are to glorify
God, to lighten the path to the Bridegroom’s home, to the city of God, to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
COL 414
So, simply put, what is sanctification?

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True sanctification is an entire conformity to the will of God. Rebellious thoughts and feelings are
overcome, and the voice of Jesus awakens a new life, which pervades the entire being. Those who are
truly sanctified will not set up their own opinion as a standard of right and wrong. . . . True sanctification is
a daily work, continuing as long as life shall last. Those who are battling with daily temptations, overcoming
their own sinful tendencies, and seeking for holiness of heart and life, make no boastful claims of holiness.
They are hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Sin appears to them exceedingly sinful. . . . {RC
80.5}
So we want to know whether we are justified? Are we walking down the path of sanctification? “Who
has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest
affections and our best energies? If we are Christ's, our thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest
thoughts are of Him. All we have and are is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe
His spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things.” (SC 58.2) Are you hungering and thirsting for
righteousness? Does sin appear to you most exceedingly sinful?
True sanctification comes through the working out of the principle of love. "God is love; and he that
dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (chap. 4:16). The life of him in whose heart Christ
abides, will reveal practical godliness. The character will be purified, elevated, ennobled, and glorified.
Pure doctrine will blend with works of righteousness; heavenly precepts will mingle with holy
practices. . . . {RC 81.4}
[Sanctification] is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin, and
constantly living for Christ. Wrongs cannot be righted nor reformations wrought in the character by feeble,
intermittent efforts. It is only by long, persevering effort, sore discipline, and stern conflict, that we shall
overcome. We know not one day how strong will be our conflict the next. So long as Satan reigns, we shall
have self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no stopping place,
no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained. Sanctification is the result of lifelong
obedience. -- The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 559561. {RC 81.6}
And thus is the work of sanctification: to subdue self and overcome besetting sins.
The work of sanctification being said, there is a work of transformation in justification, and another
work of transformation in sanctification. Remember, in the definitions, we learnt that both
justification and sanctification involve a cleaning, a cleansing. Both have been called, in different
context, the calling. What is the difference between the two transformations?
To be pardoned [justified] in the way that Christ pardons, is not only to be forgiven, but to be
renewed in the spirit of our mind. The Lord says, "A new heart will I give unto thee." The image of Christ
is to be stamped upon the very mind, heart, and soul. The apostle says, "But we have the mind of Christ" (1
Corinthians 2:16). Without the transforming process which can come alone through divine power, the
original propensities to sin are left in the heart in all their strength, to forge new chains, to impose a
slavery that can never be broken by human power. But men can NEVER enter heaven with their old
tastes, inclinations, idols, ideas, and theories. Heaven would be no place of joy to them; for everything
would be in collision with their tastes, appetites, and inclinations, and painfully opposed to their natural and
cultivated traits of character. {3SM 190.2}
In this paragraph, she merges the two concepts beautifully, for they are not really stopovers with a
distinct beginning and end, but processes that merge into each other. Let us take this analogy: when
you plant, let’s say, an avocado tree, how often do you put a seed into the ground? Once, right? And
how often do you harvest? Perpetually (every harvesting season), right? As it is in the natural so is
it in the physical. You plant the seed but once, yet you receive the fruits perpetually. Justification is
the sowing of a seed. Once, you receive Jesus into the heart and then you are described as born again.
The old is gone, behold, all things become new. However, perpetually you will be reaping fruits of
this transformation as you grow in knowledge of inspired truth, in understanding heavenly principle,

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 in overcoming imperfections of character and easily besetting sins and in subduing unholy appetites,
tastes and cherished sins.
Happiness is the result of holiness and conformity to the will of God [sanctification]. Those who
would be saints in heaven must first be saints upon the earth; for when we leave this earth, we shall take our
character with us, and this will be simply taking with us some of the elements of heaven imparted to us
through the righteousness of Christ.--Review and Herald, Aug. 19, 1890. {3SM 191.1}
When through repentance and faith we accept Christ as our Saviour, the Lord pardons our sins, and
remits the penalty prescribed for the transgression of the law. The sinner then stands before God as
a just person; he is taken into favor with Heaven, and through the Spirit has fellowship with the
Father and the Son. {3SM 191.2}
Then there is yet another work to be accomplished, and this is of a progressive nature. The soul is to be
sanctified through the truth. And this also is accomplished through faith. For it is only by the grace of
Christ, which we receive through faith, that the character can be transformed. {3SM 191.3}
Once again, I say, faith is more than a mental assent of God’s divinity and Godness, or even of Christ’s
substitutionary death on your behalf. It must engage the heart and transform the character. That is
why though nature testifies of God’s power and divinity, it is only Christianity that saves.
Christianity is not a system, an institution or a program. Christianity is a relationship. A relationship
must be a give-and-take affair; it must be transactional (I’ll share on God being a personal God later).
This point is significant, for while postmodernism has largely assailed religion with intellectual
atheism, there is a virus of more pernicious consequence called “emotional atheism”. According to
research1 published in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, atheism has been linked with
habitual restriction of emotional displays. Thus, a suppression of emotional expression increases the
tendency to believe in the nonexistence of God. This highlight on the place of emotions in faith,
though seminal, is significant. It is key to note that while other people may give apologetical defence
for the existence of God, some of them cannot admit that they have experienced Him in their daily
lives. Yet this is significant particularly in the Christian context where God is not only knowable,
but relational and actively and aggressively seeking for union and interaction with humanity. We
speak of a communicative God, but has He communicated to us? We speak of a transformative God,
has He changed us? We speak of a comforting God, has He given us relief? We speak of a Healer,
has He healed us? We speak of guardian angels, have we seen His protection? We confess that “in
Him we live, and move, and have our being”, have we experienced His sustenance? Have we
experienced answered prayers? Is there substance to our theism, or just ritual, creed and community?
Experiences in Christian denominations can be placed in a continuum ranging from purely
theoretical and doctrinal, to purely emotional and charismatic. Both extremes deny the followers the
full experience of God who desires to be worship in spirit and truth. We are not persuaded of God’s
existence, nature and character the same way we are persuaded of mathematical theorems – rigidly
and impersonally. Similarly, God is not all about sentimental excitement absent of objective truth.
Some things are true with God, and they are so objectively, universally and authoritatively.
Ultimately, He is God, and we are not. He commands, we obey. He teaches, we learn. He defines, we
subscribe.
It is important that we understand clearly the nature of faith. There are many who believe that Christ is the
Saviour of the world, that the gospel is true and reveals the plan of salvation, yet they do not possess saving
faith. They are intellectually convinced of the truth, but this is not enough; in order to be justified, the
sinner must have that faith that appropriates the merits of Christ to his own soul. We read that the
devils "believe, and tremble," but their belief does not bring them justification, neither will the belief of those

1 https://www.psypost.org/2020/07/new-psychological-research-links-atheism-to-emotional-suppression-57490
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who give a merely intellectual assent to the truths of the Bible bring them the benefits of salvation. This
belief fails of reaching the vital point, for the truth does not engage the heart or transform the character.
-- Signs of the Times, Nov. 3, 1890. {3SM 191.4}
Consider God’s predestination. His predestined purpose is for the sanctification of all men. However,
this requires perfect obedience, a requirement that neither changed with Adam’s fall nor with Christ’s
death. The same perfection required of Adam before his fall, was required of him after his fall, and is
required of us 6,000 years later. Our only hope of meeting this demand, is total surrender to Christ
to mould us as He desires.
Realize that Christ is a person who lived in physical space and historical time. He is not a figure from
a mythology. He actually was. And He is. And He ever will be. He hanged on a Roman across,
suspended between heaven and earth, that who behold Him might perceive in the marred
countenance and brutalized torso pure selflessness and disinterested – unrequited – love. This must
be the first and foundational truth that we present to men.
What really is the Bible? A theology handbook? A series of biographies and autobiographies? A
codebook to be decoded? A setbook to be analyzed? A rulebook? A storybook? [Storybook comes
really close, yet it is a story with a purpose and an expected response.] It is all of these faintly, but
chiefly, it is a love letter from a personal God who expresses His desires for us that we may be shaped
to His likeness, for that is what is best for us.
Jesus said, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” John 12:32
“The very first and the most important thing is to melt and subdue the soul by presenting our Lord Jesus
Christ as the sinbearer, the sin-pardoning Saviour, making the gospel as clear as possible.” EV 264
Have you ever thought why Jesus had to die? Why God couldn’t just pardon and remit
righteousness? Well, we know, first, was for fulfilment of the legal penalty incurred by the violation
of God’s awful law. Genesis 15; Romans 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:21. However, it was also for relational
restoration. Only by love could love be awakened. Only by love being awakened could the heart be
changed. Only by the heart being changed could the Holy Spirit dwell therein. Only by the Holy
Spirit dwelling therein could we be converted and sanctified.
God has chosen men from eternity to be holy. "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." God's
law tolerates no sin, but demands perfect obedience. The echo of God's voice comes to us, ever saying.
Holier, holier still. And ever our answer is to be, Yes, Lord, holier still. Holiness is within the reach of all
who reach for it by faith, not because of their good works, but because of Christ's merits. Divine
power is provided for every soul struggling for the victory over sin and Satan. {7BC 908.14}
Justification is the necessary requirement for sanctification to commence. It is justification that saves
us from the condemnation effected by our transgressions of God’s law. However, it is sanctification
that obtains for us heavenly living. The carnal mind cannot be sanctified for it is dead in sin.
Justification revives it that it may walk in newness of life. This is the whole argument of Romans 8.
Justification means the saving of a soul from perdition, that he may obtain sanctification, and
through sanctification, the life of heaven. Justification means that the conscience, purged from dead
works, is placed where it can receive the blessings of sanctification (MS 113, 1902). {7BC 908.15}
The cleansing of the soul from sin includes the gifts of forgiveness, justification, and sanctification. And the
inward cleansing of the heart (justification) is shown by the outward cleansing of the life
(sanctification). {7MR 341.2}
Salvation is like a room with two doors on opposite walls. One door faces your sinful past, and the
other faces your eternal future in heaven. Without walking into the first door, you cannot walk out
of the second door; without walking out of the second door you cannot enter into heaven. It is

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 heaven’s only access. The first door is called justification. Just besides this door is a dustbin where
you dump your old mind and system of thinking. With that mind you will not be able to navigate
through the room, which is actually a maze. Therefore, the door of justification is where you change
your mind (Phil. 2:5, Ez. 26:36; Psa. 51:10). The second door is called glorification. It is where you
pick the new body that can survive the heavenly atmospheric conditions. Without it, you cannot live
in heaven.
Inside the room is the walk of sanctification. You can easily get lost seeing that on one side is a deep
ditch called legalism (when you forget it is Christ that justified you and claim your progress in
righteousness to be your own effort and become selfish and puffed up). On the other side is also a
deep ditch called licentiousness (when you think that now because you have entered the first door
of freedom you are no longer bound by laws of morality and can do whatever you want). Avoid both
ditches, but if you fall into either ditch, come out before it gives way and drains you out, back to the
world, in need of justification.
While walking through that room, Jesus leads you, gives you strength when you tire, and gives you
life. However, Jesus does not hold your hand literally to lead you through, He speaks to you through
your mind (you now see why you have to dump your mind at the door and pick a new one of flesh
that can receive heavenly communication and keep God’s law). So you need to clear communication
barriers and spiritual noise from the highways of your neural pathways that God’s memos may arrive
at the control room of the mind. This walk involves walking through dress reform, through health
reform, through Sabbath reform, through social reform, through doctrinal reform, through reform
of habits and manners, through social and societal reform, through all sorts of reforms that you may
daily reflect more and more, in more and more, Christlikeness.
And that is the difference between the transformation effected by justification, and the one effected
by sanctification. The former transforms our mind to be one that seeks after Christ, while the latter
makes use of the new mind to transform your whole being. It is the changing of the mind that Paul
can describe as all things becoming new for out of the abundance of the heart (mind) the mouth
speaks (Matt 12:34); out of the heart (mind) proceed evil thoughts, sin, evil, etc (Matt. 15:19); a good
man brings forth good out of the good treasure of his heart (Luke 6:45); out of the heart (mind) are
the issues of life (Prov. 4:23); and as a man thinks in his heart (mind), so is he (Prov. 23:7).
Your mind defines who you are, and who you become, and thus a transformation of the mind is the
transformation of the man. This is not the work of sanctification, but of justification. In sanctification,
the newness is progressively revealed.
Sanctification means habitual communion with God (RH March 15, 1906). {7BC 908.16}
Once you have a new mind that can receive communication from heaven and obey it, you have a duty
to walk habitually with and in Christ. This is sanctification.
Obedience to all the commandments of God is the only true sign of sanctification. Disobedience is the
sign of disloyalty and apostasy (MS 41, 1897). {7BC 908.13}
Sanctification is Christ’s school to teach perfect obedience. And by daily drawing closer to Christ,
our sins hitherto unknown are revealed, or the sinfulness of sins seen as grossly as they really are,
and thus daily there will be greater confession and repentance, resulting in a holier man and a
straighter walk. However, the holiness of the man and the straightness of the walk will only be visible
to spectators, for the man himself will be daily discerning his sinfulness in proportions equal to the
brightness of the Sun of righteousness that he perceives (and this brightness increases as he gets
closer to Christ).
Neglect this great salvation, kept before you for years, despise this glorious offer of justification through
the blood of Christ and sanctification through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, and there

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remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. {TM
97.1}
THE CONDITIONS FOR SALVATION
We earlier learnt that justification does not demand any merit on our part – in fact, it demands lack of merit
on our part – yet that does not mean it does not demand conditions.
There are CONDITIONS to our receiving justification and sanctification, and the righteousness of
Christ. {1888 1165.1}
"God's forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only
forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart.
David had the true conception of forgiveness when he prayed, 'Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew
a right spirit within me.' Psalm 51:10." (MB 114) God's forgiveness is declared, but it is more than that. It
is reclaiming, transforming, and renewing. It is a clean heart created within us. This is not sanctification; it
is part of forgiveness. Justification transforms at the same time it declares. Pardon is an inward
transformation. It is so in the spiritual sense, as it should also be even in the social sense. When you seek
forgiveness from a brother you have wronged, it is logically expected that you are not seeking forgiveness
with the same mindset that you had when you wronged him. And when he pardons you, he believes that
besides you going home free from the guilt of wronging him, you’ve also gone home with a mindset that
hates and despises the initial wrong.
It is because of this transformation that justification demands the conditions. Consider this quote:
But by perfect obedience to the requirements of the law, man is justified. Only through faith in Christ
is such obedience possible. - HP 146.4
We have also learnt that pardon and justification means the same thing. With this in mind, consider this
quote also:
"I dwelt a few moments upon the nature of sin; that sin was the transgression of the law, and how through
repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ the sinner might be saved with a full and
free salvation. But he is not saved by the merits of the blood of Christ while he continues to transgress the
Father’s law.... Christ died to evidence to the sinner that there was no hope for him while he continued in
sin. Obedience to all God’s requirements is his only hope for pardon through the blood of Christ." –
UL 189.5
Wait, doesn’t this sound just like legalism – being justified by perfect obedience of the law?
Let us understand justification in depth. Notice that we are made righteous by the IMPUTED righteousness
of Christ. Imputed clearly means more than a legal declaration. Justification is making us righteous
inwardly as well as declaring us righteous legally. We often focus on us being legally declared righteous
and totally ignore us being inwardly MADE (not to APPEAR but to BE) righteous.
Justification has two faces, both of which are still the act of justification and not the future act of
sanctification:
1. Justification declared – the legal process through which we are declared free from the guilt and
penalty of all past sins by virtue of a substitute with a sinless past, and
2. Justification experienced – the transformation into a new creature.
When we are justified, we become new creatures, right?
And she says, "There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The
Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There
is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual
working of the Holy Spirit." - DA 172.1
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Therefore, a justified creature is a new creature altogether, right?
So, what's new about this creature? It is not that he believes, for his belief is what led him to the justification.
Remember, receiving imputed righteousness, the righteousness of God, is not the work of sanctification but
of justification. Then consider this quote:
“By receiving His imputed righteousness, through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, we become
like Him." (6BC 1098)
Christlikeness is attained in justification! Blew my mind!!!
But there's still sanctification, which is the lifelong progress towards sinlessness. So, in what aspect do we
become like Christ? “What in our nature is completely transformed during justification?” should be our
question. And we have seen that it is the mind (often figuratively called the heart).
"As the sinner, drawn by the power of Christ, approaches the uplifted cross, and prostrates himself before it,
there is a new creation. A new heart is given him. He becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus... God Himself
is the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Rom. 3:26." (COL 163) Justification is receiving a new
heart from God, becoming a new creature.
That's why EGW says David understood true justification. True justification involves creating in us a clean
heart and renewing a right spirit within us! He removes in us a desire to sin!
"To be pardoned in the way that Christ pardons is not only to be forgiven, but to be renewed in the
spirit of our mind. The Lord says, 'A new heart will I give unto thee.' The image of Christ is to be
stamped upon the very mind, heart, and soul." (RH 819-1890)
Our thoughts, our desires and affections, our being, receives the stamp and image of Christ, not during
sanctification but during justification!!!
“By nature the heart is evil, and ‘who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.’ Job 14:4. No
human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is
not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ Rom. 8:7. ‘Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.’ Math. 15:19. The fountain of the heart
must be purified before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own
works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal
religion, a form of godliness. The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but
a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can
be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit.” DA 172
“The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many
perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy.
They have been baptized, but they are buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to
newness of life in Christ.” 6BC 1075
Think a moment; were you taught, before your baptism, to leave the sins of the world? Smoking, drinking,
adultery, stealing, and so on? But how many of you, before your baptism, were taught how to die to
self and give up the right to all the heart sins - hatred, anger, bitterness, resentment, impatience,
irritation, jealousy, and selfishness? few, if any, hands go up. This is our problem! Very few have understood
how to surrender the heart with all the heart sins. I was not taught these things either, and as long as I did
not commit exterior sins, I thought I was a good Christian. I made excuses for my defects of character;
resentment, impatience, and irritation. But when I surrendered my whole heart to God, then He could cleanse
me from all my heart sins.
The first part of justification is to [be] pardoned – forgiven of my sins. The second part of justification – is
to be transformed in the new birth experience. Justification is both declarative and experiential. The most
common understanding of justification currently is that it is the first part only. The second part – new birth

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– is part of sanctification. This means that we can be justified and saved before the new birth happens. And
even if the new birth experience is not changing my life as fully as it should, I am still justified and saved. [This is the
biggest problem with the conventional teaching]. This unbiblical separation between declaring righteous
and making righteous is doing more than any other teaching to encourage Christians to tolerate sin in
their lives, since they believe that they are justified even when open, unforgiven sin is active in their
lives.
So, to make all this theological concepts practical, tolerating sin in our lives and upon, unforgiven sins, are
not evidence of lack of sanctification but of lack of justification.
NOTE: Christ in us keeps the law. Christ transforms us inwardly. Christ stamps Himself all over us – in our
minds, our hearts even in our souls! Our whole being! He changes our thoughts, desires and affections. He
does an extreme makeover on us! Gents and ladies, assuming you are just beginning your courtship, then
this girl/boyfriend visits your place and rearranges your kitchen, changes your wardrobe, changes your
password, your screensaver and your wallpaper to be him/her, what will you think of them? They are
possessive and intrusive, right? What should they do first? Ask for your permission and wait for it, right?
So what do you think God needs first before He intrudes our lives and transforms everything including your
wallpaper, your ringtone, your dressing and your choice of spouse? Your permission, right? He has already
asked for it. Jesus is standing at the door of your heart knocking, waiting for you to open not only that He
may come in and dine with you, but also that He may change even that heart. Will you grant Him?
For God to declare us justified, He needs our surrender. For God to take us through the experience
of justification, He needs our total obedience that He may transform our minds – our worldview and
thought patterns – from a worldly and carnal pattern, to a heavenly and spiritual pattern.
"“Righteousness is obedience to the law. The law demands righteousness, and this the sinner owes to the
law; but he is incapable of rendering it. The only way in which he can attain to righteousness is through
faith. By faith he can bring to God the merits of Christ, and the Lord places the obedience of His Son to
the sinner’s account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in place of man’s failure, and God receives,
pardons, justifies, the repentant, believing soul, treats him as though he were righteous, and loves
him as He loves His Son.” —Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 367."
THE PLACE OF THE LAW IN JUSTIFICATION
Consider Luther’s narration of his life before his understanding of the doctrine of justification by faith and
the subsequent conversion:
“An earnest desire to be free from sin and to find peace with God led him [Luther] at last to enter a
cloister and devote himself to a monastic life. Here he was required to perform the lowest drudgery and to
beg from house to house. He was at an age when respect and appreciation are most eagerly craved, and these
menial offices were deeply mortifying to his natural feelings; [right there is a legalist fighting against
self] but he patiently endured this humiliation, believing that it was necessary because of his sins.” - GC
123.1
He led a most rigorous life, endeavoring by fasting, vigils, and scourgings to subdue the evils of his nature,
from which the monastic life had brought no release. He shrank from no sacrifice by which he might
attain to that purity of heart which would enable him to stand approved before God. "I was indeed a
pious monk," he afterward said, "and followed the rules of my order more strictly than I can express. If ever
monk could obtain heaven by his monkish works, I should certainly have been entitled to it. . . . If it had
continued much longer, I should have carried my mortifications even to death." [And that right there is
perfect obedience]. – GC 123.2
While we all stand on pulpits and denounce the evil of justification by works, these two paragraphs reminded
me that these same men who depend on works for their salvation do more than we who depend on faith.
Luther’s motive was splendid, the efforts exerted impressive, and some strategies actually beneficial (fasts,

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vigils, sacrifice, austerity, etc). It is only his venture that was futile (justification by personal effort). But isn’t
it worrying that this legalist did more than us, men justified by faith? Is our faith weaker, less productive,
than their legalism? Christ says, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you shall not
enter the kingdom of heaven." Faith does not do away with works. In fact, by faith, our works should exceed
the works of the Pharisees. By faith, our lawkeeping should be perfecter than a legalist’s.
Law and Faith
Using the example of Abraham, this quote explains it perfectly:
“Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the friend of God.”
James 2:23. And Paul says, “They which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7.
But Abraham’s faith was made manifest by his works. “Was not Abraham our father justified by works,
when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works
was faith made perfect?” James 2:21, 22. There are many who fail to understand the relation of faith and
works. They say, “Only believe in Christ, and you are safe. You have nothing to do with keeping the law.”
But genuine faith will be manifest in obedience. Said Christ to the unbelieving Jews, “If ye were
Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.” John 8:39. And concerning the father of the faithful
the Lord declares, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and
My laws.” Genesis 26:5. Says the apostle James, “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James 2:17.
And John, who dwells so fully upon love, tells us, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.”
1 John 5:3. - PP 153.4
Isn't it interesting that the ten commandments do not just begin with the first, but with a preamble
showcasing God's grace, which then becomes the basis for keeping the law?
KJV Exodus 20:2
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
In fact, legalism is the greatest hindrance to perfect lawkeeping. “If one believes that he or she must earn
acceptance—that he or she must reach a certain standard of holiness before being justified and forgiven—
then how natural to turn inward and to look to oneself and one’s deeds. Religion can become exceedingly
self-centered, about the last thing anyone needs."
"In contrast, if one grasps the great news that justification is a gift from God, totally unmerited and
undeserved, how much easier and more natural is it for that person to turn his or her focus on God’s love
and mercy instead of on self?"
"And in the end, who’s more likely to reflect the love and character of God —the one self-absorbed or
the one God-absorbed?"
FURTHER THOUGHTS ON JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION, AND ITS INFLUENCE
ON MISSIONWORK
Said Jesus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus here seeks to impress upon Nicodemus the positive necessity of the influence of the Spirit of God
upon the human heart to purify it [justification] preparatory to the development of a righteous and
symmetrical character [sanctification]. “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” This fountain of the heart being purified [justification],
the stream thereof becomes pure [sanctification]. - 2SP 128.2
Paul says, “Not as though I had already attained,but I follow after.... I press toward the mark.” Philippians
3:12, 14. It is constant advancement and improvement, and reformation that is to be made with
individuals to perfect a symmetrical, wellbalanced character. - TSA 9.2

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What is the evidence of our justification? What is the automatic outflow of an influx of justification?
The spirit of Christ is a missionary spirit. The very first impulse of the renewed heart is to bring
others also to the Saviour. - GC 70.2
Reminds me SDAH 284 the last stanza:
When Jesus has found you, tell others the story,
That my loving Savior is your Savior, too;
Then pray that your Savior will bring them to glory,
And prayer will be answered, 'twas answered for you!
Is SDAH 457 (I Love to Tell the Story) the sincere confession if the heart?
457 - I Love to Tell the Story
1 And that is just the reason
I love to tell the story I tell it now to thee.
Of unseen things above, 3
Of Jesus and His glory, I love to tell the story;
Of Jesus and His love. ’Tis pleasant to repeat
I love to tell the story, What seems, each time I tell it,
Because I know ’tis true; More wonderfully sweet.
It satisfies my longings I love to tell the story,
As nothing else can do. For some have never heard
CHORUS: The message of salvation
I love to tell the story, From God’s own Holy Word.
’Twill be my theme in glory, 4
To tell the old, old story I love to tell the story,
Of Jesus and His love. For those who know it best
2 Seem hungering and thirsting
I love to tell the story; To hear it like the rest.
More wonderful it seems And when, in scenes of glory,
Than all the golden fancies I sing the new, new song,
Of all our golden dreams. ’Twill be the old, old story
I love to tell the story, That I have loved so long.
It did so much for me;
Oh how I pray that I may love to tell the story. That it may be my first impulse with friends and foe, with
long time comrades and strangers and acquaintances.

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