Understanding this basic distinction between justification and salvation should be rudimentary in the life of every believer.  However, because of this confusion, I believe it has had a deleterious effect on the modern church.  It tends to define salvation as a one-time act of God.  It tends to downplay the necessity and the struggle of sanctification.  It tends to leave us at the altar of our own personal experience.  It tends to shift salvation from the corporate church to individualism.  It tends to shift the focus of kingdom building to the arena of the soul only. 

The doctrine of justification by faith alone is one of the great doctrines of the Protestant Church.  Martin Luther called it the “doctrine by which the church stands or falls.”  Justification is the truth that God imputes to us the active and passive obedience of Christ.  God charges to our account the righteousness that Christ earned, and on this basis He declares us righteous.  It is not something we can earn or merit by our good works.  This doctrine is the foundation for our hope in God.

However, it has been my experience over many years in the pastorate to hear people mistakenly equate justification with salvation.  Maybe it is because the doctrine of justification is so dear to them.  Maybe it is because the doctrine of justification is the only place where they found peace.  Maybe it is because the doctrine of justification is always under attack.  But it is a mistake to equate justification with salvation.

Justification is only one part of salvation.  Salvation is a process that begins in eternity before the foundation of the world and ends in glorification as the saints of God dwell with Him for evermore.  Most seminary students learn the term “ordo salutis” early in their training.  The “ordo salutis” gives us a hint that salvation is more than justification.  There is an order (and therefore a process) in the work of God as He saves His people.  This order not only includes justification, but it also includes such works of God as election, calling, regeneration, adoption, sanctification, and glorification.

Justification is a one-time act of God and not a process.  Salvation is a process that happens over time and includes the past, the present, and the future. Paul uses the concept of salvation to refer to this process over the life of a Christian.  In Ephesians 2:8 he says we “have been saved.”  In 2 Corinthians 2:15 he says we “are being saved.”  In Romans 5:9 he says we “shall be saved.”  Indeed, salvation is the work of God in the life of a believer over a period of time.

Understanding this basic distinction between justification and salvation should be rudimentary in the life of every believer.  However, because of this confusion, I believe it has had a deleterious effect on the modern church.  It tends to define salvation as a one-time act of God.  It tends to downplay the necessity and the struggle of sanctification.  It tends to leave us at the altar of our own personal experience.  It tends to shift salvation from the corporate church to individualism.  It tends to shift the focus of kingdom building to the arena of the soul only.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Justification is crucial in salvation.  It is the primary act of God that will give the sinner peace.  It depends on the objective work of God and not on any subjective experience in the Christian.  It is a one-time event in the life of a Christian.  It is the gem in the center of the king’s ring.  However, it is not salvation.  Salvation is a process that roots itself in justification, but it is much more than justification.  Salvation is the work of God to recover this sinful world for Himself.  It begins with the individual and moves onward to capture families and nations.  It is the work of God in bringing every thought in this world captive to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Justification is a glorious doctrine, but so is salvation.  Do not confuse the two.

Larry E. Ball is an Honorably Retired Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and a CPA. He lives in Kingsport, Tennessee.