Every time we have to choose between our God-appointed duties and our self-delineated conveniences, we know (or should know) that we are choosing between life and death. Our conscience warns us that, by our own unwise decision, we may be forfeiting our place among the few that are chosen to be in the kingdom of God (Matthew 22:14). And then the wisest thing that we can do is to place our salvation as our first priority.

The declaration that “Christ came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) should not be misunderstood. He saves only those who are willing to be saved. Not by following our own way, but by taking the way that leads to God, will we be able to stand before Him. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

While many professed Christians speak and act as if Christ had come to save them in their sins, believers in the threefold message know that He came to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). And they also know that sin is revealed by the Law of God (Romans 3:20; 7:7–9). Dis­obedience to God’s Law is sin (Romans 4:15; 5:20; 1 Corinthians 15:56; 1 John 3:4), and sin will keep people out of heaven. This is very clear to us.

We cannot be taken to heaven as sinners in the hope that we will then have a better opportunity to become saints upon our arrival there (Revelation 21:27; 22:14, 15). Nor will such a transformation be possible at the coming of Christ (Luke 13:23–30; 17:28–30). If we want to be saved from the second death, which means extinction, we must turn to God now, so that our characters can be changed while the door of probation is still open.

As Christ offers salvation only to those who are ready to obey Him (Hebrews 5:9), what will happen to those who profess to have accepted Him and claim to be doing everything in His name, yet do not walk “even as he walked” (1 John 2:6) in obedience to God’s commandments (John 15:10)? What will be the end of those who like the Jews, resist the Holy Ghost and trample upon the holy oracles spoken by Christ on Mount Sinai? (Acts 7:38, 51, 53; Romans 2:17–23). He will say to them: “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity [in Greek, anomia, ‘illegality’]” (Matthew 7:23).

Here is an example showing how Christ saves sinners. A woman accused of breaking the seventh commandment was brought to Jesus by men who pretended to hold the civil law of Moses in high respect, when, in reality, they only wanted to set a trap for the Master. After they had gone away with a guilty conscience, the Lord addressed the repentant woman: “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her. Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:10, 11).

Salvation came to that woman and also comes to us in two steps: (1) Assurance of forgiveness is granted us on condition of repentance. This is justification—the work of Christ done for us when we accept Him as our personal Savior. (2) We are cleansed from our sins. This is sanctification—the work of Christ done in us, through the Holy Spirit, with our consent and cooperation.

John brings out this point clearly when he says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive as our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Justification is possible only if followed by sanctification, and sanctification is possible only if preceded by justification. One without the other does not work. We either have both or neither.

“As God [through the Holy Spirit] works in the heart, and man surrenders his will to God, and cooperates with God, he works out in the life what God works in by the Holy Spirit, and there is harmony between the purpose of the heart and the practice of the life. Every sin must be renounced as the hateful thing that crucified the Lord of life and glory, and the believer must have a progressive experience by continually doing the works of Christ. It is by continual surrender of the will, by continual obedience, that the blessing of justification is retained.” 1

Justification cannot be retained unless it is followed by sanctification.

The idea that our salvation depends only on the first step (justification), and not on the second step (sanctification), is in opposition to a plain “Thus saith the Lord.” We read: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). “Holiness,” which is another word for sanctification, is a condition “without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

“God’s law tolerates no sin, but demands perfect obedience. The echo of God’s voice comes to us, ever saying, Holier, holier still. And ever our answer is to be, Yes, Lord, holier still. Holiness is within the reach of all who reach for it by faith, not because of their good works, but because of Christ’s merits. Divine power is provided for every soul struggling for the victory over sin and Satan.

“Justification means the saving of a soul from perdition, that he may obtain sanctification, and through sanctification, the life of heaven. Justification means that the conscience, purged from dead works, is placed where it can receive the blessings of sanctification.” 2

“Our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that [righteousness] wrought by His Spirit working in and through us.” 3

“We need the Spirit of God within us [so that we may obtain the needed fitness] in order to reach heaven, and the work of Christ without us in order to give us a title to the immortal inheritance.” 4

“The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven.” 5

“Neglect this great salvation, kept before you for years, despise this glorious offer of justification through the blood of Christ and sanctification through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.” 6

What an antiseptic ointment does to our wounds, Christ’s righteousness does to our sins. If wholeheartedly accepted and properly used, His righteousness works as a healing principle, killing off sin. So long as we have not received this “ointment,” the healing process cannot begin. Without justification there can be no sanctification. On the other hand, however, the “ointment” can have no effect upon our spiritual wounds unless it is applied according to the prescription of our Great Physician. Justification, without sanctification, does not extirpate sin from our characters. In this article we want to emphasize that Christ’s righteousness is not a sort of bandage to be used for tying up never-healing wounds. Rather, it is a principle, a remedy, which is to eradicate sin from us. And we also want to emphasize that, unless we overcome sin by the power of God we will not enter into the heavenly mansions that Christ is preparing for His followers. Bear this in mind:

“[Christ] has become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Through faith in His name, He imputes unto us His righteousness, and it becomes a living principle in our life.” 7

“The new principle in the soul creates conflict where hitherto had been peace. The power which Christ imparts enables man to resist the tyrant and usurper.” 8

Repentance comes before justification, but no one can repent unless the Holy Spirit is already striving with him. This means that God takes the very first step in our salvation (Reve­lation 3:20). It often happens that, when a sinner hears the voice of the Saviour and wants to open the door of his heart, Satan tries to put negative thoughts into his mind: “It’s too late. You have gone too far in the wrong way. God will not accept you. There is no more hope for you.” It is only by looking up to Jesus, in prayer, that the repentant sinner can be victorious in this spiritual crisis. This is what some of the Corinthians did. Otherwise Paul could not have written the following testimony about them:

“Be not deceived: neither fornicators, not idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

These former sinners will be admitted into the kingdom of God because they were “washed”; and we will be admitted on the same condition. But the process of purification must be completed before the close of probation. We are not to be made blameless, but found blameless when Christ comes (2 Peter 3:14). Therefore:

“When he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2, 3).

“Does this text mean that the human agent can remove one stain of sin from his soul? No. Then what does it mean to purify himself? It means to look upon the Lord’s great moral standard of righteousness, the holy law of God, and see that he is a sinner in the light of that law. . . . It is through faith in Jesus Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart, and the human agent is purified and cleansed. . . . He has an abiding principle in the soul, that enables him to overcome temptation.” 9

Our souls are purified “in obeying the truth through the Spirit” (1 Peter 1:22) as we allow Him to guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

This is true sanctification. Jesus prayed to the Father in behalf of His followers: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth” (John 17:17).

Paul referred to the same experience, saying:

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

By guiding us into all truth, with our consent and cooperation, as mentioned before, the Holy Spirit brings us closer and closer to God, until the character of Christ is reproduced in us. Then, when we have reached this condition of blamelessness, we will be able to say with Paul: “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Through an indwelling Christ (Galatians 2:20), we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and show in our life the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23). This is the evidence that will lighten the world (Habakkuk 2:14; Revelation 3:18). This is true sanctification.

“True sanctification will be evidenced by a conscientious regard for all the commandments of God, by a careful improvement of every talent, by a circumspect conversation, by revealing in every act the meekness [i.e., the character] of Christ.” 10

“The world can only be warned by seeing those who believe the truth sanctified through the truth, acting upon high and holy principles, showing in a high, elevated sense the line of demarcation between those who keep the commandments of God and those who trample them under their feet.” 11

True sanctification—the implanting of Christ’s character in us—is emphatically taught in the parable of the wedding garment.

“By the wedding garment in the parable is represented the pure, spotless character which Christ’s true followers will possess. . . . It is the righteousness of Christ, His own unblemished character, that through faith is imparted to all who receive Him as their personal Saviour. . . . Christ in His humanity wrought out a perfect character, and this character He offers to impart to us. . . . When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. . . . The life of Christ on earth was a perfect expression of God’s law, and when those who claim to be children of God become Christlike in character, they will be obedient to God’s commandments. Then the Lord can trust them to be of the number who shall compose the family of heaven. Clothed in the glorious apparel of Christ’s righteousness, they will have a place at the King’s feast. They have a right to join the blood-washed throng.” 12

The parable of the wedding garment shows two sides—the destiny of those who are clothed in the apparel of Christ’s righteousness and the fate of those who stand in their own righteousness. These professed Christians may even claim, presumptuously, the blessing of justification, which they may have obtained but failed to retain. For this reason they lack the blessing of sanctification. And, because of this lack, they are not approved in the judgment.

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:11–13).

The same truth—the development of Christ’s character in us through the process of sanctification—is taught also in the parable of the seed (Mark 4:26–29). The meaning of “the full corn in the ear” is explained as follows:

“The object of the Christian life is fruit bearing—the reproduction of Christ’s character in the believer, that it may be reproduced in others. . . . When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.” 13

Dear brother, dear sister, let us wrestle with God in prayer, like Jacob, until we have the assurance that Christ’s sacrifice was not in vain for us!