When we talk about sanctification, it's easy to slip into thinking it's something we have to work to achieve. We might feel we have to climb a mountain of effort, behavior, or spiritual discipline to reach holiness. But the truth, the Good News, is that sanctification isn’t something we accomplish through our own striving. Sanctification is a gift, completed in us by Jesus Himself. His once-and-for-all sacrifice has set us apart for God and made us holy, forever.

Sanctification should be understood as perpetual rather than progressive, meaning that we are already sanctified through the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ, and this sanctification continues to be effective in our lives.