Purification, justification, sanctification — scriptural definitions of each principle
Purification, justification, sanctification:
Purification
. 1. Definition:
. a. Becoming free from moral taint and guilt.
. b. Bridling one’s passions
. c. Putting off the natural man (Titus 1:15, Mosiah 3:14)
. d. Becoming a saint
. e. Becoming a child of Christ (Mosiah 5:2,7)
. f. Helping to establish Zion
. 2. Is it a commandment?
. a. 2 Corinthians 6:6 (‘…by PURENESS, by knowledge, by longsuffering…’)
. b. Philippians 4:8 (‘..whatsoever things are pure…think on these things…’)
. c. 1 Timothy 4:12 (‘…be thou an example of the believers…in purity…’)
. d, James 4:8 (‘…draw nigh unto God…purify your hearts…’)
. 3. What is the purpose of purification?
. a. Titus 2:14 (‘…[Christ] gave himself for us, that he might redeem us…and purify unto himself a peculiar people…’)
. b. Doctrine and Covenants 43:14 (‘…that I may reserve unto myself a pure people before me.’)
. c. Doctrine and Covenants 100:16 (‘For I will raise up unto myself a pure people, that will serve me in righteousness.’)
. 4. Is purification obtainable in this life?
. a. Acts 15:9 (God purified the Gentiles’ hearts by faith)
. b. 1 Peter 1:22 (‘Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit…’)
. c. Alma 13:11-12 (‘…after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, …being pure and spotless before God…’)
. d. Helaman 3:35 (‘…they waxed firmer and firmer…in the faith of Christ…even to the purifying and sanctification of their hearts…’)
. e. Doctrine and Covenants 76:116 (God bestows the power of the Holy Spirit upon those who purify themselves before Him.)
. f. Doctrine and Covenants 97:21 (Zion is defined as the ‘pure in heart’.)
. g. Doctrine and Covenants 101:18 (‘…they that remain and are pure in heart shall…come to their inheritances…’)
. h. Moses 7:16-21 (The Lord called his people Zion because they were of one heart and one mind.)
. i. Moses 7:67:69 (Enoch and his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of ZION.)
. 5. Purification is possible only through Christ’s atonement
. a. Malachi 3:3 (‘…and he [Christ] shall sit as a refiner and PURIFIER…’)
. b. Mosiah 4:2 (‘…apply the atoning blood of Christ, that…our heart may be PURIFIED…’)
. c. Moroni 7:48 (‘…that we may be purified even as He is pure…’)
. d. Doctrine and Covenants 35:21 (‘…for they shall be purified, even as I am pure…’)
. e. Doctrine and Covenants 128:24 (‘…and he shall purify the sons of Levi…’)
. 6. Is purification necessary for exaltation?
. a. 1 Peter 1:22 (‘…Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit…’)
. b. Doctrine and Covenants 136:37 (‘…ye are not yet pure; ye cannot yet bear my glory…’)
. 7. What are the rewards of achieving a state of purification?
. a. You will see God (see Matthew 5:8 and Doctrine and Covenants 97:16)
. b. You will be saved in the Kingdom of God (see 2 Nephi 9:14)
. c. You will enter into the rest of the Lord (see Alma 13:12)
. d. You will ‘possess all things’ (see Doctrine and Covenants 50:28-29)
. e. You will become ‘one with Christ’ (see Doctrine and Covenants 19:28-29)
. f. You will achieve exaltation (see Moroni 7:48)
Justification
. 1. Definition:
. a. Covenants or oaths performed in righteousness are justified by the Holy Spirit.
. b. The person is justified for salvation in what was done in making and obeying the covenants.
. c. Justification = acceptation
. d. 1 Nephi 16:2 states — ‘…the righteous I have justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day…’).
. e. Doctrine and Covenants 132:1 states — ‘…you have inquired to know wherein I justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…’).
. 2. What is the purpose of justification?
. a. No unrighteous performance will be binding on earth or in heaven; in other words, they are not justified in God’s sight.
. b. Jacob 2:13-14 states that God does not justify those with pride, those with stiff necks, or those who persecute others.
. c. Alma 41:15 states that the word restoration more fully condemns the sinner, and does not justify him at all.
. 3. Justification is possible only through Christ’s atonement
. a. Isaiah 53:11 (‘…by his [Christ’s] knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many…’)
. b. Romans 5:1-11 states that we are justified by faith in Christ and through the blood of Christ.
. c. Mosiah 14:11 states that the knowledge of Christ shall allow Him to justify many of the righteous.
. d. Doctrine and Covenants 20:30-31 states that justification through the grace of Jesus is just and true.
.. 4. Does justification guarantee exaltation?
. a. Doctrine and Covenants 20:32 states that there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from God.
. 5. What are the rewards of achieving a state of justification?
. a. You will be lifted up at the Last Day (see 1 Nephi 16:2)
Sanctification
. 1. Definition of sanctification is:
. a. Clean and spotless before the Lord (3 Nephi 27:20)
. b. Free from the blood and sins of the world (Alma 13:11-12)
. c. Born again of the Spirit (Doctrine and Covenants 84:33)
. d. To be in a state of holiness (Doctrine and Covenants 43:9)
. e. To be totally obedient (Doctrine and Covenants 88:21, 34-35)
. f. To be worthy of the Celestial Kingdom (Doctrine and Covenants 88:21)
. g. To fully magnify the Priesthood (Doctrine and Covenants 84:33)
. 2. Is sanctification a commandment?
. a. Leviticus 11:44 (‘…therefore sanctify yourselves, and be holy…’)
. b. 1 Peter 1:15 (‘…be ye holy in all manner of conversation…’)
. c. Doctrine and Covenants 39:18 (‘…repent and receive the fulness of my gospel, and become sanctified…’)
. d. Doctrine and Covenants 43:9 (‘…be sanctified by that which ye have received…’)
. e. Doctrine and Covenants 43:11 (‘Purge ye out the iniquity which is among you; sanctify yourselves before me…’)
. f. Doctrine and Covenants 43:16 (‘…sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power…’)
. g. Doctrine and Covenants 88:74 (‘…sanctify yourselves, yea, purify your hearts…’)
. h. Doctrine and Covenants 133:4 (‘…prepare ye, prepare ye, O my people; sanctify yourselves…’)
. 3. What is the purpose of sanctification?
. a. 3 Nephi 27:19-21 states that we must be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Spirit so that we can stand spotless before God at the last day.
.. 4. Is sanctification attainable in this life?
. a. Helaman 3:35 says that the saints fasted and prayed and grew firm in their faith in Christ, even to the purification and SANCTIFICATION of their hearts.
. b. Helaman 3:35 also states that sanctification was achieved because the people yielded their hearts unto God.
. c. In Doctrine and Covenants 105:31 the Lord commands that his ‘army’ should sanctify itself before Him and become fair as the sun and clear as the moon.
. d. Doctrine and Covenants 105:35-36 states that those who are chosen will be sanctified by the Lord.
. 5. Sanctification is only possible through the Atonement of Christ
. a. Moroni 10:32-33 says that we are sanctified in Christ by the grace of God and through the shedding of the blood of Christ.
. b. Doctrine and Covenants 20:31 says sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior is just and true.
. c. Doctrine and Covenants 74:7 says that little children are sanctified through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
. d. Doctrine and Covenants 76:41 says that Jesus came to bear the sins of the world and to sanctify the world.
. 6. Is sanctification necessary to achieve exaltation?
. a. 3 Nephi 27:19-21 states that we must be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Spirit so that we can stand spotless before God at the last day.
. 7. Does sanctification guarantee exaltation?
. a. Doctrine and Covenants 20:31-34 says that even those who are sanctified need to ‘take heed’ also.
. 8. What are the earthly rewards of sanctification?
. a. We will see God (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:23 and 88:68)
. b. We will view God’s kingdoms (see Ether 4:7)
. c. Other rewards are described in 3 Nephi 28:39, including the thwarting of Satan and his temptations, being holy, and the powers of earth cannot hold
. the sanctified.
. 9. What are the heavenly rewards of sanctification?
. a. We will dwell in God’s presence (see Doctrine and Covenants 76:21)
. b. Our names will be found in the Book of the Sanctified (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:2)
. c. We will inherit the Celestial Kingdom (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:2)
. d. We will gain eternal life (see Doctrine and Covenants 133:62)
Other truths:
. 1. Justification removes the punishment for past sin, and sanctification removes the stain or effect of past sins.
. 2. A wonderful article on justification and sanctification can be found in The Ensign, June 2001, page 18.
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