What Is Salvation? | Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification

Type of Doctrine: Primary

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

-Romans 1:16 ESV

Why does it matter?

At the beginning of Holy Scripture, it is clear that God created the world good (Gen. 1-2) and humans sinned (Gen. 3). No one can escape it. You can't escape it. I can't escape it. Paul writes, "[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). And there is a punishment associated with our sinful rejection of this holy, righteous God. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth" (Rom. 1:18).

We are in desperate need of being saved. Scripture clearly outlines how we are saved: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). To be saved we simply need to believe in Jesus. Note what John says about Jesus in 1 John 2:2, "He [Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." "Propitiation" means that Jesus satisfied the wrath of God. As Paul says, Jesus is "who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess. 1:10).

All Christians agree that we must be saved from sin. This idea of being saved is often called "salvation." Salvation is often broken into three stages: justification, sanctification, and glorification. There are different perspectives on justification, sanctification, and glorification. These are secondary issues. Well-meaning Christians may disagree on the specifics, but they all agree on the major idea that God saves us.

What is it?

The Greek word for "salvation" in Romans 1:16 means to be saved, rescued, and delivered. As Paul points out in Romans 1:16, people are saved by believing in the gospel. The word "gospel" means good news, and it is a reference to the good news that God saves through the perfect life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus.

There are past, present, and future aspects to being saved. As one author points out, "Christians have been saved from the penalty of our sins; we are currently being saved from the power of sin; and one day, when God's plan of salvation is completed and we are with Christ, we shall be like him, and we shall be saved even from the very presence of sin" (ESV Study Bible, "God's Plan of Salvation," 2503; author's emphasis).

Theologically speaking, we refer to these three aspects with three different words: justification, sanctification, and glorification. Here is a description of each.

Term	What?	Scripture
Justification (Past)	Being declared righteous by God because of Jesus (saved from the penalty of sin)	"For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Rom. 3:28).
Sanctification (Present)	The process of becoming righteous like Jesus (saved from the power of sin)	"For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Heb. 10:14).
Glorification (Future)	Having become fully righteous in the presence of Jesus (saved from the presence of sin)	"And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified" (Rom. 8:30).

Application

Justification: Place your faith in Jesus! His perfect life was lived for you. His death was in your place. And he resurrected from the dead so that you can be forgiven, united with him, and live in his kingdom eternally.
Sanctification: Paul says it well: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13). Work out your salvation by learning Scripture and seeking to obey God by putting it to practice.
Glorification: No matter how discouraged you get by your sin, suffering, and life struggles in this present world, there is hope! When you die, you will be with him in paradise (Luke 23:43). When Jesus comes back and completes the building of his kingdom, you will live with him forever. This is the promise: He will "wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev. 21:4).

Where can I learn more?

Bibliography

-Erickson, Millard J. Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1986.

-ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008.