The question behind the question
Ask a room full of Christians whether salvation is an event or a process and you will quickly discover that the answer divides people. Those shaped by Reformed and evangelical traditions tend to emphasise the moment — the decision, the prayer, the point at which a person trusted Christ and was declared right with God. Those shaped by Catholic or Orthodox traditions tend to emphasise the journey — the ongoing cooperation of the human will with divine grace, the sacramental life, the long pilgrimage toward holiness. Both sides quote Scripture. Both have genuine biblical foundations. And both are, in their emphasis on one dimension, missing something the other holds.
Behind the theological debate is a more personal and pressing question that ordinary believers wrestle with: have I actually been saved, and what does that mean for how I live now? If salvation is purely a past event — something that happened when I first believed — then the question of whether I am growing feels less urgent, even optional. If salvation is purely a process — something I must continuously earn or maintain — then the question of assurance becomes crushing, because I can never be sure I have done enough. The either/or framing produces pastoral problems in both directions. What the Bible actually offers is more nuanced and more helpful than either pole.
Salvation in three tenses: past, present, future
One of the most illuminating facts about the New Testament's language of salvation is that it appears in three grammatical tenses, often in the same letter. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8, "by grace you have been saved" — past tense, completed action. He writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18 of "those who are being saved" — present tense, ongoing action. He writes in Romans 5:9–10 that "we will be saved" — future tense, action still to come. This is not careless writing or theological inconsistency. Paul is describing three distinct dimensions of one reality, and all three are genuinely part of what salvation means.
The past tense refers to what has already been accomplished — the decisive act of God in Christ that changed the objective spiritual situation of those who believe. The present tense refers to what is currently underway — the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, renewing the mind (Romans 12:2) and producing the character of Christ (Galatians 5:22–23). The future tense refers to what is yet to be completed — the final glorification of the believer, the full alignment of the person with God's original purpose, the resurrection and the complete restoration of all things. To treat salvation as only a past event is to collapse the present and future into the past and lose sight of what God is still doing. To treat it as only a future achievement is to miss the security and assurance that the past event provides.
Desiring God's treatment of this question notes that the three tenses map roughly onto the theological categories of justification, sanctification, and glorification — "three distinct phases in the ordo salutis, the order of salvation," each real, each necessary, each pointing to what God is doing in the whole arc of a human life. Understanding all three prevents the pastoral failures that come from treating salvation as only one of them.
Justification: the event that marks the beginning
Justification is the theological term for what Paul means when he writes "by grace you have been saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8). It refers to a legal declaration — God declaring a person forgiven and righteous before him, not on the basis of their moral achievement but on the basis of Christ's righteousness received through faith. Romans 5:1 captures it plainly: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The peace is not something being worked toward; it is a present reality resting on a past act.
Justification is the ground of assurance. It is the reason the believer can face God not with dread but with confidence — not because of personal worthiness, but because the relationship has been restored on the basis of what Christ has done. This is the event at the beginning. It is not the whole of salvation, but it is an irreplaceable foundation. Without it, the process of transformation would be an anxious performance rather than a grateful response. The person who knows they are already accepted by God can grow in love not to earn acceptance but because they have received it. Justification, properly understood, does not make growth optional — it makes genuine growth possible, because it removes the anxiety that would otherwise distort the motives for every effort.
For a fuller picture of what grace is and how it operates, this site explores the subject in depth, including the relationship between grace and human responsibility.
Sanctification: the ongoing work of transformation
If justification is the declaration that changes a person's standing before God, sanctification is the process that changes the person themselves. Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 3:18: "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." The language is unmistakably ongoing — "are being transformed," not "have been transformed." The source is the Spirit; the direction is toward the image of Christ; the movement is real and progressive.
Philippians 2:12–13 gives the most bracing articulation of how event and process work together: "work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose." The instruction to "work out" your salvation is not a contradiction of the fact that you are already justified. Paul is addressing people he has already called saints, beloved, partners in the gospel. He is not telling them to earn what they already have; he is calling them to take seriously the ongoing work that God is already doing within them — to cooperate with that work, to be attentive to it, not to treat it casually. The "fear and trembling" is not the terror of condemnation but the reverence of someone who understands the seriousness of becoming who God intends.
Hebrews 6:1 puts it plainly: "let us move on to maturity." Growth is not presented in the New Testament as an optional enhancement to the Christian life. It is described as the natural movement of a person who has received grace and is cooperating with it. Stagnation is, in James' language, the symptom of a faith that has lost its life: "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26) — not because works earn salvation, but because a living relationship with God produces the fruit of love in action.
The Divine Principle's three stages of spiritual growth
The Divine Principle offers a framework for understanding the process dimension of salvation that illuminates what Scripture describes without always systematising. It teaches that God's original ideal for human beings was not simply existence but full spiritual and moral maturity — persons fully expressing the character of God's love, standing as individuals capable of true and free partnership with God. This ideal was interrupted by the fall. The work of restoration is the work of bringing human beings back to and beyond what was lost — not merely declaring them forgiven, but actually restoring them to the fullness God originally intended.
To describe this journey, the Divine Principle speaks of three stages: formation, growth, and completion. These correspond, in general terms, to what Paul calls the elementary, intermediate, and mature dimensions of faith. The formation stage is the beginning — the initial establishment of relationship with God, the foundational experience of grace and repentance, comparable to what the New Testament describes as being born again or receiving the Spirit. The growth stage is the long middle of the journey — deepening in faith, growing in love and character, learning to navigate the difficulties of life with God at the centre. The completion stage is the full realisation of what God intended — the mature person of love whose character reflects God's own nature.
This framework is not a replacement for the New Testament's language of justification and sanctification; it is a complementary way of seeing the same reality. What the New Testament calls sanctification — the ongoing transformation toward Christ-likeness — corresponds to the journey through and between these stages. And crucially, the Divine Principle insists that this journey is not automatic. God's grace opens the way and provides the resources, but the person must actively cooperate — growing in faith, practicing love, enduring difficulty, taking responsibility for their own development. The Principle gives theological weight to what Paul means when he says "work out your salvation": it is not mere advice but a description of how the process actually works.
Why it matters how you understand salvation
The way you understand salvation shapes the way you live your faith. If salvation is only an event in the past — a single moment that settled everything — the present can become passive. There is little urgency about growth, no framework for understanding why the Christian life should require consistent effort and attention, no satisfying answer to the question of why believers so obviously differ from one another in their depth and character. The theology is tidy, but the pastoral reality is hollowed out.
If salvation is only a process — something still to be achieved, always conditional on ongoing performance — the present becomes anxious. Every failure threatens the whole, assurance becomes impossible, and the relationship with God resembles a transaction rather than a relationship. The person is always climbing toward a bar they can never be sure they have reached. The theology preserves the seriousness of the call to growth, but it loses the security of grace.
The biblical and Divine Principle understanding holds both in tension, and it is a productive tension. The event of justification — the receiving of grace through faith — is the secure and unshakeable foundation on which the person stands. Nothing in their subsequent life adds to or subtracts from the decisive act of God's acceptance. But precisely because they are accepted and loved, they are now free to grow — not compelled by anxiety, not driven by the need to earn, but drawn forward by love and gratitude into the fullness of what God created them to be. The journey is real. The stages are real. The call to cooperate with grace is real. And the foundation on which the journey rests is not their own achievement but the grace of God that received them at the beginning.
This is why the question "is salvation an event or a process?" is worth asking carefully. The honest answer is: both — and understanding both is what makes faith neither presumptuous nor anxious, but grounded and alive. To understand how the beginning of this journey is described in Scripture, see our post on what it means to be born again.
Frequently asked questions
Is salvation a one-time event or an ongoing process?
Scripture presents both dimensions as real. Justification — the forgiveness and declaration of righteousness before God — is a decisive moment, received through faith. Sanctification — the ongoing transformation of character toward the likeness of Christ — is a lifelong process. Glorification, the final completion of what God began, is still to come. The event and the process are not competing claims; they describe different aspects of one comprehensive salvation.
What is the difference between justification and sanctification?
Justification changes a person's standing before God — they are declared forgiven and righteous through faith in Christ (Romans 5:1). It happens once and completely. Sanctification is the ongoing transformation of the person's character and nature, gradually becoming more aligned with God's love (2 Corinthians 3:18). Justification is the foundation; sanctification is the building. Both are essential; neither replaces the other.
Does the Divine Principle teach that salvation is a process?
Yes. The Divine Principle describes three stages of spiritual growth — formation, growth, and completion — reflecting the journey from initial relationship with God toward the full realisation of the divine ideal. Salvation in this framework means more than forgiveness; it means the restoration of the whole person to the character and love of God. Grace opens the way; active cooperation with grace is what moves the person forward through the stages.
If we are already saved, why does Paul say "work out your salvation with fear and trembling"?
Philippians 2:12 addresses people Paul has already called saints and partners in the gospel. He is not casting doubt on their justification. He is calling them to take seriously the ongoing process of living out what God's grace has begun — to be attentive and cooperative with the transformation the Spirit is working in them. The "fear and trembling" is not anxiety about condemnation but the deep seriousness of someone who understands the weight and privilege of becoming who God intends.
Can a person who is saved still fail to grow?
Scripture consistently warns against stagnation. Hebrews 6:1 calls believers to press on to maturity. James describes faith without active love as dead. The Divine Principle similarly holds that entering a relationship with God does not automatically produce full maturity — growth requires genuine cooperation with grace. God's grace initiates and sustains; human responsibility is to respond, grow, and take the journey seriously.