Do you ever feel frustrated with your progress? Do you ever wish you were farther ahead in overcoming sin in your life?
You're not alone. Every believer in Jesus Christ shares this experience, which stems from a vital theological concept with profound practical implications for our daily walk.
This concept is progressive sanctification.
What Is Progressive Sanctification?
Scripture speaks of sanctification in three distinct ways: past, present, and future.
- Past (Positional): At conversion, believers are instantly made holy in position before God
- Future (Perfect): After death, believers will be completely free from sin's presence
- Present (Progressive): The ongoing process of becoming more Christ-like
The moment we become Christians, we are definitively sanctified: God declares us holy in our position before him. At death, we will experience complete sanctification, when God permanently separates us from sin's presence and makes it impossible for us to transgress.
But between these points lies progressive sanctification — the ongoing, incomplete, lifelong journey of becoming holier. God could have instantly eliminated all sin from our lives at conversion, but he chose a different path. He ordained that we would spend our earthly lives in a continuous process of transformation, requiring daily growth, obedience, reliance on him, and resistance to sin.
Scripture teaches this in a number of places. For instance, In 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul says we're being renewed every day. This is an experience we need daily. It's an incredibly realistic experience about our conditions. As John Piper says:
Day by day, renewed, which means every day you leak, every day you fade, every day you get depleted. That’s what it says. You wouldn’t need to be renewed day by day, if you could run your car on yesterday’s gas, if your metabolism could function on yesterday’s meal, or if the pain in your head can be relieved on yesterday’s dosage. You can’t run today’s life on yesterday’s newness.
We define progressive sanctification like this: it's the ongoing process by which a believer in Jesus Christ becomes holier in character and conduct through the work of the Holy Spirit. It's a lifelong journey of spiritual growth and maturity. It's a continuous process, unlike justification, which is our standing before God in which we're declared righteous because of Jesus. Sanctification is an ongoing process that will never be done until the day we die.
It's driven by the Holy Spirit, but we play a role too. The purpose is that we become like Christ, but this process will never be complete as long as we're alive. As long as we're alive, we will need to continue this process of being made holy.
Two Applications
This understanding leads to two essential applications: patience and perseverance.
First, embrace patience.
If you're discouraged by your progress, remember that God intentionally designed sanctification as a gradual process. Every believer remains imperfect until glory. God may have chosen this path to teach us to rely on him daily and to develop true humility by acknowledging our constant need for his grace.
God is patient with us, so we can be patient too.
As believers, we must not lose heart. Your struggles don't indicate God's absence but rather confirm his normal working in your life. We need his strength daily, and we'll continue facing challenges until we reach glory. Your local church family plays a crucial role in reminding each other of these truths - we're not yet who we'll become, but God faithfully continues his work in us.
Second, embrace steadfast perseverance.
Each day presents opportunities to turn from sin, confess our failures, meditate on Scripture, align our thoughts with God's truth, and seek the Spirit's help for righteous living. We must maintain honest confession both to God and fellow believers, engaging with our church family for encouragement and accountability. While God initiates and empowers our sanctification, we actively participate through spiritual disciplines and resistance to sin.
Take heart in this truth: God works purposefully in your life, even amid struggles, to make you holier. Though the process spans your entire earthly journey, its completion is divinely guaranteed. Until then, expect ongoing challenges - they're normal! God will faithfully finish his transformative work, even when progress seems slow or uncertain.