Do you understand the difference between Salvation and Sanctification?

It’s a big topic. It’s not a topic I can FULLY cover here in this post. For simplicity sake, let me give a quick slice and dice. 

Salvation – Salvation is God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins and reconcile us to God. Salvation is received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by our works or obedience. Genuine faith, however, produces a life of obedience as evidence of a transformed heart. Christians are called to continue following Christ, not to earn or maintain their salvation, but because they have been saved. Those who truly belong to Christ are secure in Him, and no one can take away the salvation He has given.

Sanctification – Sanctification is the lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus Christ. It begins at salvation, when God sets us apart for Himself, and continues throughout our lives as the Holy Spirit transforms our hearts, minds, and actions. While we are called to actively pursue holiness through obedience, prayer, Scripture, and repentance, it is God who empowers our growth. We will never reach perfection in this life, but we are continually being shaped into the image of Christ. This work will be completed when we are with Jesus in glory.

Story

My wife and I lived together before we got married. We were engaged, and both aware that we were living outside of God’s design. Scripture reserves sexual intimacy for the covenant of marriage, and although God was gracious to us, we were not following His best for our lives. We had found a church that we both liked. We both wanted to get involved in helping within the church. Serving the church was what we had both been taught by our parents. During one of the church services, a request for help with the youth was announced. We decided that helping with the youth of that church would be a great place to serve. They had other ideas. Because my wife and I were living together and presumably having sex, “Thank you for your interest; however, your example to our youth does not meet God’s design.” At that time, we both totally agreed with their response. We took no offense and continued to attend that church. My wife and I were married a year and half later. 

End Story 

However, when I reflect on this topic, I have to ask, what changed? 

We wrestled with this topic in our Sunday school class this past week while studying Phillipians 3. 

The easy answer is that we got married.

But I don’t think that’s the complete answer. If all that changed was a marriage license, then the story ends there. But that’s not my story.

Over thirty years with my wife – More than twenty-six years of marriage: For many of those early years, I struggled with sex addiction. I also spent most of my life trying to understand why my mind seemed to work differently than others. Anger consumed me. Through my work to overcome sex addiction and with the help of others, I found Jesus. I knew there was more than just sex addiction recovery. I knew there was more that I needed to repair in my marriage. I knew I needed more to learn how to be a better person, a better husband and a better parent. And I said a prayer asking God to show me more! And He did! About ten years ago, I stopped merely believing facts about Jesus and truly surrendered my life to Him. And through finding Jesus, He provided a path to finally understand and accept a diagnosis that was partially revealed to me when I was 30. And I began to receive proper treatment for bipolar disorder. And I began to dive into His Word. That’s when something really changed.

Not overnight.

Not perfectly.

But genuinely.

I began to understand that salvation wasn’t simply about where I would spend eternity. Salvation was the beginning of a relationship with Jesus that would change me from the inside out.

That change is called sanctification.

The Holy Spirit began exposing areas of my life that I had spent years ignoring. He changed the way I viewed my wife. He changed the way I viewed women. He changed the way I handled temptation. He changed the way I handled conflict. He changed the way I viewed success, leadership, humility, and grace.

I’m still changing.

Philippians 3 has become incredibly meaningful to me because Paul doesn’t describe a man who has arrived. He describes a man who is pursuing Christ.

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on…” (Philippians 3:12)

That is sanctification.

Sometimes we unintentionally judge people only by where they currently struggle. God often looks at whether they are surrendering to Him and allowing Him to transform them. That doesn’t mean sin doesn’t matter. It absolutely matters.

My wife and I were right to acknowledge that we were living outside God’s design before we were married. The church was not wrong to say that our example didn’t yet qualify us to lead students.

But here’s the question that has stayed with me for years: If that same church met me today, what would they see? Would they see the man who once struggled? Or would they see the work Christ has been faithfully doing for the last ten years? The gospel never excuses sin. But neither does it leave people where they started. The Christian life is not pretending we’ve arrived. It is allowing Jesus to continually change us.

I am not the man I was thirty years ago.

I’m not even the man I was ten years ago.

And I pray that ten years from now, I won’t be the man I am today.

That isn’t because I’m trying to earn God’s love. It’s because I’ve already received it. That’s the difference between salvation and sanctification.

Salvation changes your eternity.

Sanctification changes you.