We don’t often live with a functional understanding of biblical justification and sanctification. We often try—usually subconsciously—to attain feelings of assurance, satisfaction, or righteousness in our sanctification. “If I can perfectly confess and repent of this sin… If I can just figure out how to change my life in this way… If I can just achieve a certain level of sanctification, then it will be enough.” We can invest a lot of hope and effort in our sanctification in order to obtain what we’re only supposed to get from our justification: that joyful sense of assurance, satisfaction, and righteousness that comes vicariously through Jesus Christ, by his grace alone.
You cannot truly and perfectly diagnose your own sin, in order to feel that “enough-ness” about your confession and repentance. You cannot understand how you’re supposed to change to the degree where you will feel that “enough-ness” about your sanctification. What you can achieve will never be enough. You’re not meant to feel that “enough-ness” about anything other than Jesus Christ, and God’s full acceptance of you through him. Only Jesus is enough. In him is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11). So fill your head and heart with thoughts of him! “Seek the things that are above, where Christ is… Set your minds on things that are above” (Col. 3:1-2). “Whatever is true… honorable… just… pure… lovely… commendable… excellent… worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). “Think over what I say… Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel” (2 Tim. 2:7-8). “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4).
