How then shall we understand the relationship between sanctification, a life of growing holiness and love,

and justification, no condemnation? Do I have to lead a life first that proves that I'm making progress in holiness?

And then God looks at that and says, okay, on the basis of that, for, on the basis of that, I declare you not guilty.

There's a subtle way we can turn sanctification,

our growth in holiness, into some kind of performance review.

Am I growing enough? Am I consistent enough?

Am I serious enough? And then we start to wonder

if God's verdict about us depends on that. And John Piper won't let us go there. I'm your host,

Dan Kroover. In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper shows why the foundation of the Christian life is no condemnation

and not our spiritual growth. This message was originally delivered at the Cove in Ashreal,

North Carolina on July 9, 2003.

Here's the crucial theological and very practical question.

How shall we understand for?

Because if I'm right that sanctification is in verse two, becoming more holy, in real practical, daily, lived out purity of life, loving life. And if I'm right that verse 1 is justification, just an absolute declaration over us that there's no condemnation, God's

for us. This four here, on the face of it, looks like sanctification is the basis of justification.

And that's awful. I hope that's not true. And yet I want to be biblical, and that word for is there.

I mean, that's in the Greek and it's in the English.

So how then shall we understand the relationship between sanctification, a life of growing holiness and love, and justification, and justification,

no condemnation.

Do I have to lead a life first that proves that I'm making progress in holiness, and then

God looks at that and says, okay, on the basis of that,

for, on the basis of that, I declare you not guilty. That's not Protestant theology. That's not

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