Sanctification is Justification in Action

To say that we need the gospel both to get started and to continue in the Christian life can be deceptive though it is absolutely true. The problem is when the gospel is viewed only as how we start the Christian life, for then the only way to continue is law. Yet the perspective consistently set out in the New Testament is that we need the gospel to grow. It has been wisely said that sanctification is justification in action. Another view on this is that those renowned men and women of faith that we all look up to usually have a greater sense of their unworthiness and of the greatness of God's grace. The greater our sense of being forgiven and justified sinners, the greater will be the likelihood that others will see in us the character of Christ.

-- Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, p.96