WLC 77

Q77. Wherein do justification and sanctification differ?

Although sanctification be inseparably joined with justification, yet they differ, in that God in justification imputeth the righteousness of Christ; in sanctification his Spirit infuseth grace, and enableth to the exercise thereof; in the former, sin is pardoned; in the other, it is subdued: the one doth equally free all believers from the revenging wrath of God, and that perfectly in this life, that they never fall into condemnation; the other is neither equal in all, nor in this life perfect in any, but growing up to perfection.

Proof texts

• 1 Cor. 1:30 — [30] And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
• 1 Cor. 6:11 — [11] And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
• Rom. 4:6,8 — [6] just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: [8] blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
• Ezek. 36:27 — [27] And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
• Rom. 3:24-25 — [24] and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
• Rom. 6:6,14 — [6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [14] For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
• Rom. 8:33-34 — [33] Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
• 1 John 2:12-14 — [12] I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. [13] I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. [14] I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
• Heb. 5:12-14 — [12] For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, [13] for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. [14] But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
• 1 John 1:8,10 — [8] If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [10] If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
• 2 Cor. 7:1 — [1] Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
• Phil. 3:12-14 — [12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13] Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

For discussion

1. The Assembly cited 1 Cor. 1:30 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
2. 12 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
3. WSC Q36 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
4. HC Q86 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?

Read alongside

WSC Q36 · HC Q86 · BC 6.3 · BC 6.4 · BC 6.5