Sanctification: the Bible’s word for becoming holy

You will often hear pleas for more holy living among believers being tossed out from pulpits and batted around small group Bible studies.

And yet, what it truly means to be holy is either assumed without a solid definition, leaving Christians to guess for themselves what the standard is. Or it’s wrongly defined, and holiness becomes a kind of Christianese shorthand for: Do better, you heathens!

The result is that you rarely have believers who are confident in their holiness. Instead, you either have Christians who are constantly discouraged at not being “holy enough” (whatever that means, because as I said, it’s either been vaguely defined or misdefined); or, on the other hand, Christians who are confident about their own holiness for the wrong reasons: because certain visible sins don’t interest them very much; while certain visible (and sometimes impressive) good deeds come naturally to them.

The biblical word for becoming holy (or better, being made holy) is sanctification.

Unfortunately, sanctification is not a word we use in popular Christianity these days.

But it’s essential. There’s no salvation without sanctification.

So, what is sanctification? The Puritans at Westminster defined it this way:

Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 35

Notice that it is first a work of God’s free grace. It doesn’t come from us and our efforts, but by grace of God in the Holy Spirit: God chose you … to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit (2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

And again—we are recipients of sanctification. Notice the passive voice our old friends at Westminster used: whereby we are renewed. Listen to God’s promise in Ezekiel 36:26-27:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
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ESV

This is how believers are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. It’s the work of God. He creates a new heart within us, and places the Holy Spirit in us.

The word sanctification comes from the same root we get the word saint from. Sanctification means to be made holy. Every believer is holy to God. Every believer is a saint. And so far, we’ve seen that sanctification is the work of God, from first to last.

Sanctification: Positional and Progressive

Now, there are two parts or aspects to sanctification: positional sanctification and progressive sanctification.

• Positional sanctification refers to the believer’s standing before God. How does God see us at any given time? In Christ, we are always holy in God’s eyes. Not because we are holy in ourselves, but because Christ is holy, and we are made holy in Him: you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:30‬ ‭ESV emphasis added‬‬).
• Progressive sanctification refers to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, to make us more and more like Christ: And we all … are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

Hebrews chapter 10 shows us both aspects of sanctification—positional and progressive:

And … we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all … For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Hebrews 10:10, 14 ESV

Did you notice the verb tenses there? On the one hand, we have been sanctified … for all time by the death of Christ. His one sacrifice makes believers ever holy in God’s sight. Our unholy lives are hidden in Christ, and His blood continually cleanses us (Colossians 3:3; 1 John 1:7).

This is positional sanctification. In Christ, the Father continually sees us as holy before Him.

But it also says we are being sanctified. This is progressive sanctification. This is the ongoing process throughout our lives, where in the words of our old Puritan friends, we are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

Positional Sanctification

Positional sanctification is why we are even able to offer our bodies to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Christ is the atoning sacrifice whose blood has made us holy (Romans 3:25). It is because we are cleansed by the blood of Christ that God accepts and delights in our thanksgiving and fellowship offerings of work and worship. For on their own, even our best works on our best days would be polluted with sin and offensive to God. Because all of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment (Isaiah‬ ‭64:6‬ ‭CSB‬‬).

That’s why those who claim that our own efforts play any role in our salvation are wrong. We are by nature unclean (Ephesians 2:3), and therefore all of our works—no matter how grand, costly, or morally impressive—would be polluted with sin except Christ’s blood has made us holy, and our working and worship along with us

So positional sanctification means we can stop trying to be impressive to God, or in the eyes of man, by an appearance of holiness. The holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14 ESV), will be found nowhere but in Christ alone, through faith alone.

Progressive (or practical) Sanctification

Progressive sanctification is our growing in holiness throughout our Christian life. You could also call it practical sanctification, because this is where our holiness bears fruit in both our inward disposition, and our outward actions.

When scripture tells us, as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct (1 Peter‬ ‭1:15‬ ‭ESV‬‬), that’s talking about progressive or practical sanctification. It cannot be referring to positional holiness—your standing before God—because we cannot make ourselves holy.

Now, here’s where things get sticky. Our progressive sanctification is still the work of God, just as thoroughly as our positional holiness is. It is wrought in us by the Holy Spirit. But many Christians get confused on this point, because it does involve what we do.

Again, our friends at Westminster describe this aspect of sanctification as the work of God’s free grace whereby we … are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness. So even though what we do is involved, it’s all of God’s free grace. It’s His work in us and through us, by the Spirit.

And this is a thoroughly biblical idea. Titus 2:11-12, for example, tells us:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.

ESV

In other words, it’s the grace of God that enables us to die to sin and live for righteousness. It’s not that we muster up the ability to live holier lives. It’s the grace of God at work in us.

The right way to approach sanctification is not by asking ourselves: Mustn’t we live holy lives to be saved? Holy living, crowned with good works that are useful to our neighbors and ourselves, is a happy consequence of salvation. Not a condition for it.

Many a Christian wrongly believes—and it’s because they’ve either been explicitly taught it, or this is the impression they’ve been given—that holy living has something to do with not saying certain words, not drinking certain beverages, avoiding certain movies or music or the like. It has to do with what we deny ourselves to look “different” from “the world.”

They may also view a certain class of religious activities—Bible study, prayer, “quiet time” (whatever the devil that is, I can’t find it in the Bible anywhere), mission work, etc. —as “holy.”

This is why we have so many believers who struggle and squirm and sweat when we talk about holiness. Because they look at themselves, and they see that they’ve cussed too much and haven’t read their Bible or prayed enough.

Because we’ve gotten all mixed up about what holiness means for Christians.

Back in the Middle Ages, you had a group of Christians who withdrew from the pleasures of the world to give themselves over to more “holy” pursuits, like prayer and Bible study. They were called monks.

But there was still just as much corruption in their hearts as anybody else’s. Why? Because withdrawing into a cloister doesn’t make you any less of a sinner.

This push in popular Christianity to define holiness in terms of denying yourself an ordinary life and devoting yourself to study, prayer, and other churchly type activities, is really just a rebranding of the same old monasticism. We don’t recognize it for what it is because a) That was five hundred years ago!; and b) It’s really different this time—we still let you get married.

But it really is just monasticism lite. It didn’t work back then. And it won’t work now.

But once you understand these three things about progressive or practical sanctification, your believing heart will start to feel … probably not more comfortable … but much more hopeful in your own sinful skin.

1. It’s God doing the work

Scripture affirms this over and over again. David prayed: God, create a clean heart for me (Psalm 51:10 CSB). Our hearts, by nature, are unholy: bent towards evil; deceptive above all things; full of evil desires, violence, lust, lies, and cruelty (Genesis 8:21; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19). Our sinful hearts make us unholy (Matthew 15:20). And only God can heal them. David was right to ask God to create a clean heart for him, because we cannot sanctify our own hearts.

On the night before He went to the cross, Christ prayed on behalf of all who would believe: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John‬ ‭17:17‬ ‭KJV‬‬) Again, notice we don’t sanctify ourselves. God sanctifies us by the power of His word. And we can live with confidence that God has sanctified us, will sanctify us, and is sanctifying us, because His word is truth.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV‬‬) God has made us anew in Christ, with new hearts that are beginning to grow holy desires. Not only that, but God has given us good works to do. That doesn’t mean He’s given us a list and expects us to just go out and do them. He’s actually created particular works for each of us. He planned and decreed them from eternity; and now He is doing those good works through us.

You see, your sanctification isn’t for you. It’s for God’s glory and your neighbor’s good.

When you come by faith to Christ, you are joined to Him. You become part of His body (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7, 12ff). The Father gives His good gifts through you. Christ loves your neighbor through you. That’s the point of sanctification.

And so we are told that it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

Yes, you’re involved in the good works that flow from holy living. It’s your hands making casseroles for a grieving family, your mouth speaking encouraging words. But God is working through you—refining the desires of your heart, and reaching out to others through your works and words.

The early American preacher Jonathan Edwards described it like this:

God does all, and we do all. For that is what He produces: our own acts. God is the only proper author and fountain. We only are the proper actors.

“Concerning Efficacious Grace”

It should give us all comfort that God is the One who does the work of sanctification across our lives. Because we have been promised that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

2. Sanctification is the fruit of the Holy Spirit

One way that we’ve observed scripture describing our progressive sanctification is that the Holy Spirit who dwells within us is conforming us more and more into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The work of making us holy is carried out in us, appropriately enough, by the Holy Spirit.

One of the most compelling images scripture gives us for this work of the Spirit in us, to make us holy, is that of a tree or vine that bears fruit. Perhaps most famously, Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians‬ ‭5:22-23‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

A couple of important things to note here. First, these verses confirm, once again, that our sanctification is not for us, for our own benefit. Virtues like love and patience, kindness and gentleness, even self-control—they’re not just about making us “better people” so we can feel better about ourselves. No, the fruit of sanctification, which the Spirit produces in us, is for others. These good fruits are God working in us to will good things towards our neighbor, and do good works for them.

Second, sanctification is the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of my hard efforts and spiritual disciplines (something else you won’t find in scripture). Our problem is that we freak out and our faith is shaken when we find these fruits wanting in us.

My first response to this problem is never to tell you to just try harder. I might suggest that you pray to see these fruits blossoming and maturing in your life. But the first and greatest thing I would always do is point you to Christ and His promise: The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit (John‬ ‭15:5‬ ‭CSB‬‬). And the way you remain connected to Christ, your true vine, is only through faith. Christ promises that everyone joined to Him by faith will produce fruit. And that’s because He is producing the holy fruit in us, by His Holy Spirit.

But fruit never appears on the tree full-grown overnight. It must bud and blossom in its season, and then mature and ripen. So it is with our sanctification. The Holy Spirit is growing good fruit in us.

And that’s directly connected to the other counsel I give to those who struggle because they believe they are not producing fruit: I remind them that God makes everything beautiful in its time—in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). God is ultimately sovereign over when and how the good fruit of sanctification buds and matures across the course of a lifetime. But again—Christ has promised that those who are joined to Him by faith will produce fruit.

And with that promise engraved on our hearts, we can be thankful and joyful for even the smallest blossoms of love or joy or peace or patience or self-control. Because those are the work of the Spirit in us. Even tiny buds and imperfect fruits are signs of God’s faithfulness to His promises in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20-22).

3. Ordinary work is holy when it’s done in Christ

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that holiness is often a poorly-defined idea in much Christian teaching and preaching. The biblical words for holy—qadosh in Hebrew and hagios in Greek—mean different or set apart for special use.

When Yahweh—the LORD—is called holy in scripture, it means, first that He is not like us. He is transcendent. He is without any sin. He is without limitations. He is infinite, eternal, and ultimately incomprehensible to us. It also means He’s different from all the gods the pagans worshiped, who were fickle, mercenary, and bloodthirsty.

And when God’s people are called holy or saints, it means we have been set apart by God for His special purpose.

In the Old Testament, God’s people primarily expressed their holiness through outward signs. God gave them laws about what to eat, what to wear, how to interact with blood, disease, and death.

These outward actions didn’t make them holy. Rather, they were outward and visible signs to impress upon them that they were holy. They were not like other nations. They were a peculiar people for God’s own glory (Isaiah 43:7; 1 Peter 2:9).

But of course, as fallen humans are prone to do, God’s people mistook the outward marks of holiness for holiness itself. For example, circumcision. Even though God had told them: Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. (Deuteronomy‬ ‭10:16‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

It’s a lot easier (and more impressive) to bear the outward markers of holiness. Again, the Jews had instructions about foods they could and couldn’t eat. But some of them had gotten the idea that they were holy because they didn’t eat unclean foods. But Jesus told them:

Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. These are the things that defile a person.

Matthew 15:17-20 CSB

Ultimately, people are holy because God chose them to be holy for His eternal purpose (Ephesians 1:4); and because God has declared us holy to Him (Leviticus 19:2); and He actually makes us holy (Ephesians 5:26-27).

That’s essential to understand. Because we cannot “circumcise” our own unholy hearts, which Christ has said are full of evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander (Matthew 15:19 CSB).

Only God can do that, and He does: And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God (Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

The circumcised heart is the inward holiness that only God can create in us. It’s the new heart that God has promised to give believers, a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, who grows in us both the desire and the ability to begin to love God and His laws, and obey them.

This is the source and fountainhead of practical or progressive sanctification.

And here’s the most amazing thing of all: Once God has declared you holy in Christ, and has begun to sanctify you by His Spirit—the ordinary deeds you pursue in the course of your life become holy offerings to Him.

You’re not holy because you dress differently or don’t listen to certain kinds of music, and church work isn’t more holy than doing the dishes at home.

Remember earlier how we looked at Ephesians 2:10, where it says that God has created us for good works in Christ, and actually planned and prepared those good works for us beforehand?

Listen: that means God has put you where you need to be, doing the good works He gave you to be doing.

And because you’re doing them in Christ, serving God’s special purposes, they are holy to Him.

In much of the modern evangelical church today, we have grazed our way back into medieval theology, where certain professions—like priests and monks—and works—like fasts and pilgrimages—were considered “holy,” while more worldly pursuits were considered “secular.”

The Reformation sought to shatter such distinctions. For example, in his Treatise on Good Works, Martin Luther wrote:

We find many who pray, fast, establish endowments, do this or that, lead a good life before men, and yet if you should ask them whether they are sure that what they do pleases God, they say, “No”; they do not know, or they doubt. And there are some very learned men, who mislead them, and say that it is not necessary to be sure of this; and yet, on the other hand, these same men do nothing else but teach good works …

If you ask further, whether they count it also a good work when they work at their trade, walk, stand, eat, drink, sleep, and do all kinds of works for the nourishment of the body or for the common welfare, and whether they believe that God takes pleasure in them because of such works, you will find that they say, “No”; and they define good works so narrowly that they are made to consist only of praying in church, fasting, and almsgiving. Other works they consider to be in vain, and think that God cares nothing for them. So through their damnable unbelief they curtail and lessen the service of God, Who is served by all things whatsoever that are done, spoken or thought in faith …

In this faith all works become equal, and one is like the other; all distinctions between works fall away, whether they be great, small, short, long, few or many. For the works are acceptable not for their own sake, but because of the faith which alone is.

In other words, whenever you pursue your various vocations—as a spouse, a parent, an employee, a friend, a neighbor, or a citizen—you’re doing holy work. Because you’re doing the works God has prepared for you from eternity, and for which He has created you anew in Christ.

When a Christian parent changes a diaper or stays up all night with a feverish child, that’s holy to the Lord. When a Christian teacher is grading papers, that’s holy to the Lord. When a Christian carpenter is building cabinets, or a Christian artist is painting a watercolor, or a Christian neighbor is baking cookies to bring to the new family on the block—all of that is holy to the Lord.

Now, the reason that answer doesn’t satisfy a lot of believers nowadays is because they say: But unbelievers also do all those things. That they do. But they don’t do them in faith. They don’t do them in Christ.

Someone might object: But it can’t be that simple! But it is!

Christ Himself said: This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent (John‬ ‭6:29‬ ‭ESV‬‬). Meanwhile St. Paul wrote that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23 ESV).

Whatever is offered in Christ is a holy work to God; but all works done outside of faith, that is by unbelievers not in Christ, are polluted by sin.

It is the holiness of the One producing the works in us—Christ, by the Spirit—that makes our works holy. Thus St. Paul also said: Whoever thus serves Christ—that is, in faith— is acceptable to God and approved by men (Romans‬ ‭14:18‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

Going to be a missionary in a developing nation is no more holy than lovingly placing a bandage on your child’s skinned knee. God is loving and serving your neighbor through you either way. And a night of fellowship watching baseball with friends over hot wings may be no less holy than family worship time. Is God not loving and serving others through you either way?

We have been told: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:31‬ ‭ESV‬‬). Try hearing this as a liberating word, assuring you that your pursuits are holy to God, right down to the dinner table.

Has God not told us:

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.

Ecclesiastes 9:7-8 ESV

God has already approved what you do. That He has! Remember—He prepared the good works for you beforehand. As you enjoy your food and drink, you bless others with your fellowship. God is loving your neighbor through you. If you made the meal, you’re feeding someone else. God is loving your neighbor through you. You bought the food, meaning you’re supporting grocers, farmers, and truck drivers with your money. God is loving your neighbor through you.

And He has included all those works in His eternal purpose. You’re fulfilling the special purposes He set you apart to fulfill. Isn’t that the very definition of holiness?

We don’t see it that way, and so rob ourselves of joy and assurance we could have, because we would rather be impressive than holy.

And the Preacher also tells us: Let your garments be always white. In other words, go about your ordinary work in faith, believing that your works are holy and acceptable to God. Yes, our best works on our best days will still be stained with impatience, mixed motives, and selfishness. But you are in Christ, and He is holy, and so He makes your works holy. So: Let not oil be lacking on your head. Understand that in Christ, God has commissioned you and set you apart and sealed you with His own Holy Spirit for His holy purposes (Ephesians 1:13-14).

So, go cook dinner, wash the dishes, help your kids with their homework, give your wife a massage, and go do honest work for your boss. (Or, if you are the boss, treat your employees with integrity.) That’s holy to God.

Because remember: we present our bodies—all of us in all of life—to God as a holy and acceptable sacrifice (Romans 12:1). The ordinary stuff of life and works of our hands. Not just the “churchy” parts. And God receives them as holy because they’re offered through Christ.

And as we’re in the midst of pursuing our holy works, we find that little by little, the Spirit is growing His good fruit in us, and God is working in us and through us to accomplish His good, eternal purpose.