As long as we know the distinction between justification and sanctification. We know that we are justified because of the finished work of Christ and not through any performance by us.
But...the Scripture says, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification." There is no doubt that God requires us to live a holy life. Justification, or in other words, being converted to Christ is just the initial doorway. We have to go on from there to develop a sanctified life in order to stay within God's plan and purpose for our lives.
Because God has given His promise that when we accept Christ we are fully justified and freed from condemnation and will go to heaven and not to hell, He will never break that promise, even if our performance afterward leaves a lot to be desired. If you read the places where an oath was given before the Lord, it was never broken. Joshua made an oath to Rahab and her family and he kept it. He made an oath to the Gibeonites, even through they tricked him into making it, and he kept it regardless because it was an oath before the Lord. Saul broke the oath later on by killing the Gibeonites, and he suffered extreme punishment from God because of it. In Hebrews God made an oath concerning our justification in Christ. He swore by Himself because there was no one greater than him to form the basis of the oath. Because He swore by Himself that all those who receive Christ are totally justified and save and the oath will never be broken, we who have received Christ have absolute eternal security, regardless of how we perform as Christians subsequently.
I contend that a truly converted Christian will want to live a sanctified life. He or she will want God's best for life and will be totally willing to give of his or her best for Him. If not, then there is the question of whether the person's commitment to Christ was real and genuine, or whether he or she has just "got religion" and instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit, is motivated by a religious spirit instead. In that case, I would doubt that such a person to truly justified and saved, and is still dead in their sins, no matter how super spiritual or religious they may appear to be.
I always believed there was a difference
in timing between justification and sanctification. But I kept coming across scriptures that put a giant hole in that denominational definition. So, I repented. Now I'm going to go with the written word of
God, over what our mind can't handle. "God is not a man that He should lie." When we can't understand something hard to grasp, our mind will make something up anyway. We never want to wait, we would rather accept the lie we make up, than take God at His Word when we don't understand it fully at the time. It is like, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." So why wait on God for the best, when our carnal mind will always come up with something on the spot. But that habit has lead to thousands of falsities in doctrines to this very day. Honor to God as we refuse to jump the gun, allows God to give us the wisdom and understanding we waited for. This is why David meditated on God's words day and night. Psalms 77:6. And God called Him the apple of His eye.
Justification and sanctification are both accomplished together. And suddenly. One looks back, and the other looks forward, but both from the same moment in time. It is the moment we surrender to the cleansing power of Jesus and His
Lordship, and He in turn gives us the Holy Spirit to move forward, making us dead to committing
present and future sins of lawlessness, even to the point of taking away our sin nature - we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if we have the Spirit of God, and if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
Our justification comes by faith alone. We don't have to be holy
already before coming to Christ. Jesus said, He isn't coming for the righteous (in their own mind), but for sinners (as no one is righteous without Christ, so they lie to themselves. 1 John 1:8). And He cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9. (BTW, 1 John 1:8 is not a stand alone verse. It must be understood in context with verse 9 to
become a Christian. Otherwise, the rest of Scripture is seen through the lens of that false teaching - that we are always sinners. Those standing on 1 John 1:8 will never understand 1 John 3:5-9 They don't understand the power of the blood of Jesus) We go from death to life. And guess what? We are no longer sinners, but saints, children of God, with His seed in us (sanctification). He died while we were YET sinners, meaning our being a sinner is in the past, and not an ongoing dilemma. Romans 6 tells us our sinful self was nailed to that cross with Christ, and we are no longer SINNERS. We are free from Adam's curse - the inheritance of the sin nature.
Romans 6:5-7
"For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be
in the likeness of
His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our
old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been
freed from sin.
And that is where sanctification comes in immediately.
verse 8, "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also
live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been
raised from the dead, dies no more.
Just as we shared in His crucifixion (justification) where our past sins were nailed to the cross (2 Peter 1:9), we also share in His resurrection (sanctification).
When talking about the Christian and sanctification, sanctification is always past tense. It is a done deal. We are sealed. We are "set apart." But, look at the man who sins willfully AFTER having been sanctified. Here is a well known verse, but did you ever notice the
tense of sanctification? It is past tense.
26
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Now the dilemma of OSAS. Well, you can see by this verse you can certainly use willpower and rebel against God. My question is, who would want to when we are now free from sin, and righteousness is now the norm and comes naturally to our new nature. Living in that norm assures us of salvation. 1 John 3:21. It then takes a lot of work to go against your new nature and return as a dog to his own vomit. The false doctrines have it backwards. It is not salvation by works, because obeying our new nature is easy. But it takes real work to go against our new nature and return to perdition. It no longer comes naturally.
Now the just shall live by faith;
But if
anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
Don't be surprised if you see this in my new book, as He just gave me this understanding while I began to respond.