Justification and Sanctification
A Sermon on John 1:16
Originally preached Jan. 19, 1964
Scripture
16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Sermon Description
The Christian life is fraught with hardship and even sin. How can the Christian reconcile being made right before God, yet still fight sin? Through this sermon on John 1:16 titled “Justification and Sanctification,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps the Christian see the distinction between justification and sanctification. He describes justification as an imputed righteousness. This is your new status before God. This happens all at once, like the removal of old dirty clothes and the dawning of bright new clothes. Sanctification is imparted righteousness. Dr. Lloyd-Jones elaborates that it is not instantaneous like justification, but is much more like a blood transfusion that takes time, eventually becoming the very lifeblood of the recipient. Furthermore, he describes that every Christian is justified to the same extent and has the same legal standing before God. However, not every Christian is equally sanctified. The Christian of thirty years may see more victory over sin than the Christian of thirty days. For the one struggling with sin, know that the standing before God is secured not by their holiness, but by the holiness of Jesus. Moreover, know that in the struggle with sin, the Holy Spirit is working righteousness until they are called home to glory.
Sermon Breakdown
- Christians receive grace upon grace from Christ's fullness.
- It's important to understand the gospel through summaries like 1 Cor 1:30.
- Christ is our wisdom - He shows us God's plan of salvation.
- Christ is our righteousness - His righteousness is imputed to us. This was a key debate in early Christianity.
- We can't divide Christ - we receive all of Him, not just parts.
- We must think scripturally, not start with ourselves and our needs. Start with Christ.
- We receive Christ's fullness from the moment we are joined to Him.
- Christ is our sanctification - He sets us apart and prepares us for God.
- Sanctification is God's work of renewing us in His image and enabling us to die to sin and live for righteousness.
- Sanctification means being separated from sin to God. It's the process of being prepared for God's presence.
- Justification and sanctification must be held together, though distinguished intellectually. They happen together.
- Justification is a declaration, sanctification is a process. Justification pardons sin, sanctification subdues it.
- All Christians are equally justified, but not equally sanctified. Sanctification admits of degrees.
- Justification is complete in this life, sanctification is progressive.
- Justification refers to our standing, sanctification to our state. Both must be understood.
- Sanctification does not happen automatically or through a single experience. It is a process.
- The NT argues for sanctification, it does not just exhort us to have an experience. We are called to action.
- Sanctification is a process of growth in grace until we are glorified.
Sermon Q&A
7 Key Questions from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Christ as Our Sanctification
What is the difference between justification and sanctification according to Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguishes these two aspects of salvation clearly: "Justification is God's righteousness imputed to us" while "sanctification is the righteousness of Christ imparted to us." He explains that justification is like having righteousness "put to our account" externally, like a debt being paid, whereas sanctification is "infused into us" internally, like a "blood transfusion" of Christ's righteousness. Justification pardons sin; sanctification subdues it. All Christians are equally justified, but not equally sanctified, as sanctification is progressive and varies among believers.
Why does Lloyd-Jones warn against dividing Christ in our salvation experience?
Lloyd-Jones warns that "there is nothing so pernicious as the teaching which says that you can be justified without being sanctified," calling it "false teaching" that has produced "a false faith and a subsequent collapse and unhappiness in so many cases." He emphasizes that Christ cannot be divided - we don't receive Him in parts. When God puts us in Christ, we receive His fullness immediately, including both justification and sanctification. The divisions between justification, sanctification, and glorification are merely "conveniences for our intellectual apprehension" but not actual separations in our spiritual reality.
What does "of his fullness have all we received" mean in the Christian life?
This phrase from John 1:16 indicates that Christians participate in the complete fullness of Christ. Lloyd-Jones explains that when we are "in Christ," we receive His entire life and nature, not just portions. Like a branch grafted into a tree receiving sap, we receive everything Christ offers - wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This fullness begins immediately upon conversion, not as separate stages we opt into later. The Christian life involves increasingly experiencing and manifesting this fullness that we've already received in principle through our union with Christ.
How does sanctification actually happen according to Lloyd-Jones?
Lloyd-Jones explains that sanctification does not happen automatically, nor is it merely imputed righteousness with no actual change in us (as Charles Finney taught), nor does it occur as a single experience resulting in immediate perfection. Rather, sanctification is a progressive process where Christ's righteousness is actually imparted to believers who must actively participate. He states that Scripture doesn't offer shortcuts but commands action: "Let him that stole, steal no more." Sanctification involves "growth in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord," a continuing development until death when we are finally rendered "faultless and blameless."
Why should Christians think "scripturally" rather than subjectively about their needs?
Lloyd-Jones warns that "nothing is more constantly producing unhappiness in people's experiences than the fact that they start with themselves instead of starting with the scripture." When we begin with our personal needs, we tend to "extract what you think you see in Christ out of him" to address specific issues, missing the fullness of what He offers. By starting with Scripture's objective truths about Christ and what He provides, we avoid dividing Him, gain a more comprehensive understanding of salvation, and are "saved from many of these grievous errors and pitfalls into which the devil is ever ready to entice."
What is antinomianism and why does Lloyd-Jones warn against it?
Antinomianism is the belief that since Christians are freed from the law and forgiven, moral conduct doesn't matter. Lloyd-Jones explains that this dangerous teaching emerges when people isolate justification from sanctification, reasoning: "I'm saved. I'm forgiven... Therefore doesn't matter what I do. All is well. I can sin as much as I like." He identifies this as "one of the greatest sins in the church today" and argues that it stems from "our very evangelism" which often emphasizes forgiveness while neglecting the full teaching about being in Christ. True biblical teaching makes antinomianism "an utter and absolute impossibility" because being in Christ necessarily transforms our relationship to sin.
How should understanding sanctification affect a Christian's prayer life?
Lloyd-Jones explains that properly understanding justification and sanctification transforms our prayers. Without this understanding, believers may "feel that you have no right to pray at all" or "spend all the time in asking forgiveness" and "praying for various things with regard to yourself," making them "useless" as intercessors. The proper approach is to pray with "holy boldness, not because you are anything, but because Christ is," recognizing our perfect standing in Christ while simultaneously acknowledging our imperfect state. This balanced understanding allows us to "go to God with confidence" while still being appropriately concerned about our spiritual growth and condition.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.