Justification and Sanctification

Courtesy Chapel Library

A.W. Pink

(1886-1952)

There are two principal effects that sin produces that cannot be separated: the filthy defilement it causes, [and] the awful guilt it entails. Thus, salvation from sin necessarily requires both a cleansing and a clearing of the one who is to be saved. Again: there are two things absolutely indispensable in order for any creature to dwell with God in heaven: a valid title to that inheritance, [and] a personal fitness to enjoy such blessedness. The one is given in justification; the other is commenced in sanctification. The inseparability of the two things is brought out in [the following verses]…“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1Co 1:30). “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified” (1Co 6:11). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jo 1:9).

“These blessings walk hand in hand; and never were, never will be, never can be parted. No more than the delicious scent can be separated from the beautiful bloom of the rose or carnation: let the flower be expanded, and the fragrance transpires. Try if you can separate gravity from the stone or heat from the fire. If these bodies and their essential properties, if these causes and their necessary effects, are indissolubly connected, so are our justification and our sanctification.”(43)

“For like as though Adam alone did personally break the first covenant (44) by the all-ruining offence, yet they to whom his guilt is imputed do thereupon become inherently sinful through the corruption of nature conveyed to them from him, so…Christ alone did perform the condition of the second covenant. (45) [And] those to whom His righteousness is imputed do thereupon become inherently righteous through inherent grace communicated to them from Him by the Spirit. So teacheth the Apostle in…Rom 5:17, ‘For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.’ How did death reign by Adam’s offence? Not only in point of guilt whereby his posterity were bound over to destruction, but also in point of their being dead to all good, dead in trespasses and sins. Therefore, the receivers of the gift of righteousness must thereby be brought to reign in life, not only legally in justification, but also morally in sanctification.” (46)

Though absolutely inseparable, yet these two great blessings of Divine grace are quite distinct. In sanctification, something is actually imparted to us; in justification, it is only imputed. Justification is based entirely upon the work Christ wrought for us; sanctification is principally a work wrought in us. Justification respects its object in a legal sense and terminates in a relative change—a deliverance from punishment, a right to the reward; sanctification regards its object in a moral sense and terminates in an experimental change both in character and conduct—imparting a love for God, a capacity to worship Him acceptably, and a [fitness] for heaven. Justification is by a righteousness [outside of] us; sanctification is by a holiness wrought in us. Justification is by Christ as Priest and has regard to the penalty of sin; sanctification is by Christ as King and has regard to the dominion of sin: the former cancels its damning power; the latter delivers from its reigning power.

They differ, then, in their order (not of time, but in their nature), justification preceding, [and] sanctification following: the sinner is pardoned and restored to God’s favor before the Spirit is given to renew him after His image. They differ in their design: justification removes the obligation unto punishment; sanctification cleanses from pollution. They differ in their form: justification is a judicial act by which the sinner is pronounced righteous; sanctification is a moral work by which the sinner is made holy: the one has to do solely with our standing before God, the other chiefly concerns our state. They differ in their cause: the one issuing from the merits of Christ’s satisfaction; the other proceeding from the efficacy of the same. They differ in their end: the one bestowing a title to everlasting glory; the other being the highway that conducts us thither. “And an highway shall be there…and it shall be called The way of holiness” (Isa 35:8).

From Studies in the Scriptures, available from CHAPEL LIBRARY.
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42 See FGB 193, Hypocrisy, available from CHAPEL LIBRARY.

43 James Hervey (1714-1758), Theron and Aspasio: A Series of Dialogues and Letters upon the Most Important and Interesting Subjects, Vol. 2 (London: Rivington, 1789), 67.

44 first covenant or Covenant of Works – the agreement or administration that God established with Adam in the Garden of Eden before his fall into sin. It established man’s obligation to obey God with the penalty of death for disobedience (Gen 2:16-17).

45 second covenant or Covenant of Grace.

46 Thomas Boston, “A View of the Covenant of Grace from the Sacred Records” in The Complete Works of the Late Rev. Thomas Boston, Vol.8 (London: William Tegg, 1853), 454.