Structured Discipleship
Justification - Sanctification - Glorification
In essence, a Christian is someone who believes in the Triune God—God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. A Christian holds faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, believes in His incarnation as a human, His crucifixion for the believer’s sins, His resurrection on the third day in victory over death, and His ascension into heaven. At the heart of the Christian faith are the core commandments to love God with all your heart and to love others as yourself.
What does it mean to be a Christian? It is more than simply professing belief. While solidifying one’s faith and receiving baptism are foundational, they are only the beginning. The Christian life is a continual journey of cultivating a personal relationship with God and walking through the process of sanctification. This journey is expressed through daily prayer, consistent engagement with Scripture, the renewing of the mind by God’s Word, the embodiment of Christ-like character, and active participation in Christian community.
Sanctification involves a daily battle of denying the flesh so that we may be formed into holiness. At times, we may sincerely desire to serve God yet become entangled in worldly distractions and our own fleshly desires, neglecting our relationship with Him. Each person’s walk with God is unique and requires intentional, daily devotion. A consistent and growing relationship with God is essential.
Whether you are exploring faith, a new convert, or a seasoned believer, this guide is designed to strengthen your Christian foundation and enrich your daily walk with Christ.
NOTE: While this page is broadly organized around the biblical movement from justification to sanctification and ultimately glorification, the topics within each section are not intended to be followed in a strict or linear order, but explored as part of an ongoing and interconnected walk with Christ.
Justification: Salvation Through Faith in Jesus Christ
Coming to know who God is, placing faith in Jesus Christ, and being made right with God through His saving grace.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Who God Is
Develop a clear understanding of the Trinity—one God eternally existing as three distinct persons: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Human Condition
Understand humanity’s sinful nature and that, apart from Christ, sin results in spiritual death and eternal separation from God.
God’s Provision for Salvation
Understand why Jesus had to die on the cross, bearing the penalty for sin and satisfying God’s righteous judgment so that we could be reconciled to God.
Discover how salvation is received through faith in Jesus Christ and how eternal life with God is granted by His grace.
Our Response to the Gospel
Confess and proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord—that He died on the cross for your sins and rose again in victory over death.
Be baptized in water as an outward expression of faith and obedience, and grow in understanding the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
Growing in Understanding and Confidence
Ask honest questions and study Christian apologetics to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding of truth, and be prepared to give a thoughtful and reasoned explanation of what you believe.
Sanctification (to be made holy)
After salvation, the Christian life enters a lifelong process called sanctification- through which believers are continually transformed into the likeness of Christ. The following sections explore different aspects of that journey.
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Sanctification: Transformation as a Living Sacrifice
Foundational Devotion (Life Oriented Toward God)
Engage regularly with Scripture, allowing God to speak to you and His Word to shape your thinking, beliefs, and daily life.
Remain in prayer, cultivating consistent and daily communion with God.
Maintain a daily relationship with God by intentionally setting aside time each day to seek Him.
Live according to Christ’s two greatest commandments: to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Learn to place God first in every area of life, ordering your priorities around Him.
Obedience Flowing From Love
Obey God, recognizing that His moral law reflects His holy character and is fulfilled through love and obedience in Christ.
Seek God’s wisdom rather than relying solely on your own understanding.
Church and Community
Commit to a local church that is firmly grounded in Scripture and provides a community where you can grow and serve.
Develop a basic understanding of the different Christian denominations and their core beliefs.
Learn to distinguish biblical Christianity from groups that deny essential Christian doctrines, such as the deity of Christ or the Trinity.
Seek a church that practices communion regularly, recognizing it as an important biblical ordinance that reminds believers of Christ’s sacrifice and their unity in His body.
Become actively involved in Christian community, walking alongside other believers in fellowship and accountability.
Daily Formation and Character Shaping
Practice daily repentance and reflection—inviting God to search your heart, reveal sin, and lead you into forgiveness and restoration with others.
Cultivate Christian virtues such as humility, patience, faithfulness, self-control, and love.
Be prepared for spiritual testing, understanding that trials are part of growth in the Christian life.
Spiritual Disciplines and Growth
Learn the biblical purpose and practice of fasting as a spiritual discipline that draws you closer to God.
Practice biblical principles of generosity, stewardship, and joyful giving.
Understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit and discern how God may equip and use you for service.
Grow in spiritual discernment, learning to recognize truth, wisdom, and God’s guidance.
Develop a foundational understanding of systematic theology to better know God and His truth.
The purpose of this section is to put off the old self (your old ways) and grow in spiritual maturity, learning to live daily in submission in God and in alignment with His will.
Sanctification: Spiritual Purification
Renunciation, Healing, and Inner Cleansing
Address sinful patterns, emotional wounds, and spiritual strongholds that may have been passed down or developed over time, bringing them under the healing and victorious work of Christ.
Pursue forgiveness and healing—learning to forgive yourself, forgive others, and allow God to bring restoration to past wounds and traumas.
Turn away from idols—anything that takes the place of God in your heart, devotion, or priorities.
Daily Posture of Self-Denial
Learn what it means to take up your cross daily, following Jesus in humility, obedience, and self-denial.
Learn to resist temptation, understanding that as believers grow in faith, spiritual resistance may increase—requiring deeper dependence on God.
Understanding the Spiritual Reality
Develop a basic biblical understanding of spiritual forces and the authority believers have in Christ.
Remain spiritually alert—recognizing spiritual opposition, staying watchful, and standing firm in faith as a follower of Christ.
Endurance in a Broken World
Understand that the world may ridicule, reject, or mock those who faithfully follow Christ.
Recognize that even fellow Christians may cause hurt or disappointment, and learn to respond with grace, wisdom, and forgiveness.
Put on the full armor of God, relying on His truth, righteousness, faith, and strength to stand firm against spiritual attacks.
Sanctification: Purpose and Calling
Calling - Growth - Gifts
Seek to understand God’s purpose and calling for your life, trusting that He works uniquely in each believer according to His will.
Continue growing in Christ by breaking free from sinful habits and destructive patterns, allowing God to reshape your character and way of life.
Discover the gifts God has entrusted to you and faithfully use them to serve Him and others, stewarding them wisely and not neglecting what He has given.
Sanctification: Relational Maturity
Heart Posture Toward Others
Practice Christlike love toward all people—especially those who do not share your beliefs—reflecting God’s grace through your words and actions.
Cultivate a grateful heart marked by compassion, grace, mercy, and humility in your daily interactions with others.
Listening and Understanding
Cultivate the discipline of listening, being slow to speak and quick to understand in your interactions with others.
Learn to relate to others with wisdom, humility, and compassion, engaging people across differences with love and understanding.
Reconciliation and Integrity
Seek to make things right where possible by repaying debts and making restitution, honoring God through integrity and reconciliation.
Pursue reconciliation within your family, honoring your parents and seeking peace where it depends on you.
Recognize that making restitution and restoring relationships may open doors to share your testimony and demonstrate the transforming power of the gospel.
Sanctification: Discipleship and Mission
Share your testimony, bearing witness to what God has done in your life and how He has transformed you through Christ.
Continue to grow in Christian apologetics, grounding yourself in God’s Word so you are prepared to respond thoughtfully to questions and challenges of the faith.
Serve actively within your church and local community, giving of your time, resources, and abilities to love and help others in practical ways.
Live in obedience to the Great Commission—making disciples, baptizing believers, and teaching others to follow all that Christ has commanded.
Remain rooted in Christ, remembering that lasting fruit comes from abiding in Him, not from striving apart from His grace.
Glorification
The future completion of salvation, when believers are fully conformed to the likeness of Christ and dwell eternally in God’s presence.
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Glorification is the final stage of the Christian journey, when believers are fully and eternally transformed into the likeness of Christ. While sanctification is an ongoing process in this life, glorification is the completion of God’s work in us—when sin, suffering, and death are finally removed, and we are made perfect in holiness.
At glorification, believers will receive resurrected bodies, fully restored and free from corruption. We will dwell forever in the presence of God, enjoying complete fellowship with Him and with one another. This is the ultimate fulfillment of our salvation and the hope toward which all Christian living points.
The promise of glorification gives meaning to perseverance in sanctification. Though we stumble and struggle in this life, our future in Christ is secure. We do not strive for holiness in order to earn eternity; rather, we pursue faithfulness because our eternity is already assured in Christ.
This hope encourages believers to endure trials, remain obedient, and live with an eternal perspective—fixing our eyes not on what is temporary, but on what is eternal. One day, the work God began in us will be brought to completion, and we will be fully conformed to the image of His Son.