What are Justification, Adoption and Sanctification?

What is justification?¹

Justification is an act of God’s free grace (Romans 3:24), wherein he pardoneth all our sins (Romans 4:6-8; 2 Corinthians 5:19), and accepteth us as righteous in his sight (2 Corinthians 5:21), only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us (Romans 4:6, 11; 5:19), and received by faith alone (Galatians 2:16; Philippians 3:9).

What is adoption?²

Adoption is an act of God’s free grace (1 John 3:1), whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges, of the sons of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:17).

What is sanctification?³

Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace (Ezekiel 36:27; Philippians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13), whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:23-24; 1 Thessalonians 5:23), and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Romans 6:4, 6, 12-14; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 2:24).

What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?⁴

The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’s love (Romans 5:5), peace of conscience (Romans 5:1), joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17), increase of grace (2 Peter 3:18), and perseverance therein to the end (Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:5).

Footnotes

1. Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), Question 33.
2. Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), Question 34.
3. Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), Question 35.
4. Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), Question 36.