On one hand, the question of how we, as Lutherans, should teach our children the distinction between justification and sanctification is a simple one with a simple answer: To teach such a concept, we must know the distinction well ourselves, perceive the moments where the subject naturally arises in daily life, and seize those opportunities as they present themselves.Children are concrete thinkers. Their imaginations are more readily engaged by storytelling or by their own experiences than by abstract concepts, terms, and definitions. Of course, terms and definitions have their place and ought to be taught, but they make more sense and are more understandable when they are connected to real-life events. Concepts like “justification” and “sanctification” may appear daunting in isolation, but what if we present them as part of the story of the church? Who were the Christians who first found it necessary to make this distinction, and what circumstances prompted them to do so?
Using Church History to Make the Abstract Concrete
As Lutherans, we have a natural tendency to teach justification in the context of Martin Luther, who famously struggled against the burden placed on his conscience by what he had been taught to see as the necessity of performing good works to merit God’s favor. Luther’s story is important, and justification by faith alone was certainly a crucial element of the Reformation. But we would be remiss if we only teach Reformation-era history to our children or if we only emphasize justification in connection with this era. Luther and his fellow reformers did not see their understanding of justification as something new but placed them in continuity with the teachings of the church fathers. Their confessional writings demonstrate this by relying heavily on citations from the fathers as well as Scripture.
These matters, having been considered and treated, according to the ability that the Lord has thought worthy to give us, we conclude that a person is justified not by the precepts of a good life, but by faith in Jesus Christ.1
He who is righteous has righteousness given to him because he was justified from the washing of Baptism. Faith, therefore, is that which frees through the blood of Christ, because he is blessed ‘whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered’ (Psalm 32:1).2
To teach justification by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ’s redeeming work alone, as proclaimed to us through Scripture alone is the essence of historic Christianity. Teaching children the story of the Reformation and Martin Luther’s rediscovery of this Gospel should be a given for all Lutherans. Teaching them not only that justification by faith is scriptural but that it can be found in the teachings of church fathers throughout the centuries equips each new generation to withstand the false teachings they will certainly encounter both from outside Christendom and from competing traditions within the church.
In Journey Through Church History, I chose to introduce the terms justification and sanctification in the chapter on Benedict of Nursia (AD 480–547). Benedict experienced a crisis of conscience over the state of society in his own day. The people in the larger cities lived in open sin and made no attempt to keep the Ten Commandments, and Benedict found life among them to be fraught with temptation and vice. Choosing to retreat from the city to the Italian countryside, Benedict founded a monastery at Nursia where every hour of every day could be ordered around prayer and work that glorified God and served the neighbor. He concludes his Rule of Saint Benedict (a short book written with detailed guidelines for monastic life) by stating that the preceding instructions are for beginners in the faith, but that anyone who desires to follow the monastic or the Christian life perfectly will want to read the Scriptures and the church fathers so that we “shall come, with the help of God, to greater and higher heights of virtue than those of which we have spoken.”3 This affords an excellent opportunity to affirm what St. Benedict gets right about sanctification, while clarifying the doctrine of justification and making historical connections:
Can we ever become perfect in our lives as followers of Jesus? No, we can’t. Does that mean we cannot mature and grow more and more like Jesus each day? God’s Word tells us that we can certainly grow! This is called sanctification—the process of becoming more and more holy. … Now, when will our sanctification be complete? When will we be perfectly righteous? Not until Jesus comes back and raises the dead and makes all things new. Then we will live with Him forever, perfect and without sin. But for now, the Bible tells us this: “[Jesus] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). In the church, we are to warn people about their sin and teach people God’s Word. That way, we can all grow more mature in Christ.
Almost one thousand years after Benedict, Martin Luther would criticize monasticism for many reasons, but his main criticism would be that monks believed they could earn God’s favor by the things they did. Martin Luther saw in Scripture the truth that the only way we can have favor before God is through Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead to take the full punishment for all sin. When we are baptized, we are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. Now when God sees us, He doesn’t see our failed attempts at being good; instead, He sees Jesus’ perfect obedience and sinlessness. This is called justification—Jesus’ righteousness is given to us freely as a gift, not because of anything we can do to be holy, but because Jesus is holy. By justification, we are made part of His family.4
I chose to bring Martin Luther into this chapter on Benedict of Nursia because the link is a natural one: Luther was himself a monk, a founder of a movement, and a catechist of many. Luther also wrote a short book designed to aid in the teaching of the faith. In his Small Catechism, he demonstrates the centrality of both justification and sanctification in the lives of the faithful.
Teaching Justification and Sanctification by Example
In my introduction I mentioned that children learn the most from their own life experiences. Luther desired all children to understand both justification and sanctification in concrete, practical ways that would apply to their daily life. This emphasis can be seen in his Small Catechism explanations of the six chief parts. But beyond the content to be taught, Luther knew the method was also crucial. Children learn far more about justification and sanctification from how we treat them in moments of discipline than they do in weekly Bible class.
This would be the true way to bring up children well as long as they could be trained with kindness and delight. For children who must be forced with rods and blows will not develop into a good generation. At best they will remain godly under such treatment only as long as the rod is upon their backs [Proverbs 10:13]. … But ‹teaching the commandments in a childlike and playful way› spreads its roots in the heart so that children fear God more than rods and clubs. This I say with such simplicity for the sake of the young, that it may penetrate their minds. For we are preaching to children, so we must also talk like them. In this way we would prevent the abuse of the divine name and teach the right use. This should happen not only in words, but also in practice and life.5
There is indeed a distinctively Lutheran posture toward parenting, and parents who know and embody well the distinction between justification and sanctification in their own lives will naturally find that Gospel emphasis overflowing into the hearts and minds of their children.
1Augustine, On the Spirit and the Letter, quoted in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 4, paragraph 87, in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions: A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord, second edition (Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 96. All rights reserved.
2Ambrose, quoted in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 4, paragraph 103, in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions: A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord, second edition (Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 99. All rights reserved.
3Benedict of Nursia, The Holy Rule of Saint Benedict, chap. LXXII (London: Thomas Richardson and Son, 1865), language simplified. Public domain.
4Christa Petzold, Journey Through Church History (Concordia Publishing House, 2024), 174–75. All rights reserved.
5Martin Luther, Large Catechism, Part 1, paragraphs 76–77, in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions: A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord, second edition (Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 367. All rights reserved. Brackets from Concordia.
Scripture: ESV®.
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