Page 129 - Bible Doctrines II w videos short

“This past-tense aspect of it is the essential and unchanging fact of salvation. At the moment of
believing, the saved one is completely delivered from his lost estate, cleansed, forgiven, justified,
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born of God, clothed in the merit of Christ, freed from all condemnation, and safe for evermore.”

An Important Note Regarding the Biblical Use of The Term Justification.

When we theologically speak of the aspects of salvation this is what Justification means. As we have
seen with the term salvation, sometimes the term in the Bible refers to something other than getting
saved for eternity. Justification in the Bible is no different. Paul uses it in Romans to refer to the
crediting of Christ’s righteousness to the believer at the moment of faith. The moment that crediting
happens they are eternally saved. James on the other hand uses the term justification in reference to
Christians being evaluated by God according to the Law of Liberty (2:12-3:1). It is an evaluation of the
works of a believer according to a standard. To be “justified” according to that standard they should
become doers of the word. This is not the same as theological aspect of salvation that is received
through faith in Jesus Christ.

Justification means different things in different contexts. Failure to recognize this has led to major
confusion and theological error. If it means “saved for eternity” at all times then Paul saying “justified by
faith and not works” in Romans would directly contradict James saying “a person is justified by works
and not by faith alone” in James 2:26. If they are talking about two different judgments, with two
different standards of evaluation, and two different outcomes then there is no contradiction at all.
Remember that you can always use the modified questions to determine what the justification is in the
context you are reading.

Theological Definitions and Biblical Usage of Sanctification.

The theological term sanctification is often described in similar terms to the biblical word translated
sanctification. Charles Ryrie explains that “The word sanctify means ‘to set apart’ (it has the same root
as the words saint and holy).” The Bible is clear that believers are made positionally holy and set apart
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the moment they believe. God also wants them to become holy in their daily lives. Consider the
following passages that deal with sanctification. Notice that justification requires nothing from the
individual but faith. Experiential sanctification however requires much from you and I as believers. The
goal of sanctification is not to stand before God and get into heaven based on our progress in holy living.
It is to become like Christ and to represent Him to the world. We will be rewarded based on our faithful
works. Our justification, eternal salvation, is based on faith alone (1 Cor. 3:10-15).

Romans 6:1–14 –
Romans 8:2 –
2 Corinthians 3:18 –
Galatians 2:20 –
Galatians 4:19 –
2 Thessalonians 2:13 –

Theological Descriptions: Milliard Erickson – “The individual’s spiritual condition is progressively
altered; one actually becomes holier. This progressive subjective change is referred to as sanctification
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(“making holy”).”

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