What is sanctification? Is progressive sanctification biblical?

Quick Answer: What is sanctification? Is progressive sanctification biblical? Scripture is clear that believers (as people) were sanctified – past tense – the moment we were saved (1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10:10). This means we have been fully set apart for God. Our behavior, on the other hand, is being sanctified (set apart) as we learn and grow in our understanding of God’s grace (1 Peter 1:15). We must separate who we are (sanctified children of God) from how we perform (a mix of walking by the flesh and walking by the Spirit) to rightly understand this issue. Unfortunately, the popular idea of “progressive sanctification” conflates these two types of sanctification and practically ignores what has already been done within us.

Diving Deeper: Some teach that believers are being progressively sanctified. This implies that, over time, we as people are getting “cleaned up” for God. However, to be sanctified (or to be made holy) simply means to be set apart by God for a purpose. 1 Corinthians 6:11 and Hebrews 10:10 both tell us that sanctification (God setting us apart) was something that happened to us at salvation. When we believed in Jesus, we were sanctified, made holy – past tense:

And that is what some of you were. 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. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)

However, there is a second type of sanctification taught in Scripture: sanctification of one’s behavior. While you are entirely sanctified as born-again people, your behavior is still being sanctified. This is why you’re told to “be holy in all your behavior” (1 Peter 1:15).

We are constantly learning and growing in our understanding, but this doesn’t make us more set apart as God’s people. It merely makes our behavior more reflective of who we already are.

At salvation, you were made completely righteous, holy, blameless – inside and out. God is not making you (as a person) more holy or sanctified. But He is lovingly working within you to help you express the reality of your newness in Christ through your attitudes and actions (Romans 12:2).

Let’s Make It a Conversation!
1. How have you heard the concept of “progressive sanctification” (of the person) taught?
2. React to this statement: You as a believer cannot become more sanctified.
3. How does knowing you’re fully sanctified translate into sanctified behavior over time?