The sanctuary is a very good way of illustrating how we come to Christ and are justified and sanctified. The sinner comes to the outer court with his sacrifice. He then in heart sorrow confesses his sins to Christ (the Lamb), repents of his wicked ways and asks for forgiveness. The sacrifice is offered, his sins are then forgiven, and Christ (the sacrifice) takes them upon himself. The sinner is now Justified. He is then washed with the water of regeneration (the laver) and then can enter the holy place in the temple (first compartment). Here he internalizes the Word of God (Shew Bread) and is lightened and filled with the Holy Spirit (lamp stand). His prayers and works are now acceptable to God by the ministration of Christ represented by the incense (alter of incense). With the indwelling controlling power of the Holy Spirit the Christian can now keep the Law of God perfectly (Sanctification) (Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place). This he will continue as long as life shall last (a work of a lifetime).

If an individual leaves the sanctuary to sin, for this is the only way he can possibly sin, he must return and go through the same steps as he did the first time in order that he may be re-justified and continue in the process of sanctification.

If a priest were to enter the tabernacle with sin in his life he would have been struck dead instantly.* We may not be struck dead when we sin, but if we realize it or not we have separated ourselves from Christ, ( left the sanctuary ), which is spiritual death. The Holy Spirit who is in control of the Christian will never cause him to sin. We must separate from Christ in order to sin, for this is the only way we can sin. If we separate from Him we have no choice but to sin. For without Him we can do nothing. (nothing good). We are slaves of Satan and can do nothing but his will until we again surrender to Christ's control.

* Exodus 28:43, Exodus 30:18-21, Numbers 18:22
"The priests were not allowed to enter the sanctuary with their shoes on their feet; for the particles of dust cleaving to them would desecrate the holy place. They were to leave their shoes in the court before entering the sanctuary, and also to wash their hands and their feet before ministering in the tabernacle or at the altar of burnt-offering. Thus was constantly taught the lesson that all defilement must be put away from those who would come into the presence of God. " Gospel Workers. 1915. p. 173

"We are not to regard God as waiting to punish the sinner for his sin. The sinner brings punishment upon himself. His own actions start a train of circumstances that bring the sure result. Every act of transgression reacts upon the sinner, works in him a change of character, and makes it more easy for him to transgress again. By choosing to sin, men separate themselves from God, cut themselves off from the channel of blessing, and the sure result is ruin and death." The Faith I Live By p. 84 Par. 7

"If Christ is in you, . . . your spirits are alive because of righteousness." Romans 8:10

"Inward grace will be revealed in the outward actions. " 5T 568

"Righteousness within is testified to by righteousness without. He who is righteous within is not hard-hearted and unsympathetic, but day by day he grows into the image of Christ, going from strength to strength. He who is being sanctified by the truth will be self-controlled, and will follow in the footsteps of Christ until grace is lost in glory. The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven," MYP 35

"Through faith in His name he imputes unto us His righteousness, and it becomes a living principle in our life. " KH 302

"His Imputed grace and power He gives to all who receive Him by faith." 7BC 929

"By receiving His Imputed righteousness, through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, we become like Him." 6BC 1098

"Communion with God imparts to the soul an intimate knowledge of his will. But many who profess the faith know not what true conversion is. They have no experience in communion with the Father through Jesus Christ, and have never felt the power of divine grace to sanctify the heart. Praying and sinning, sinning and praying, their lives are full of malice, deceit, envy, jealousy, and self-love. The prayers of this class are an abomination to God. True prayer engages the energies of the soul, and affects the life. He who thus pours out his wants before God feels the emptiness of everything else under heaven. "All my desire is before thee," said David, "and my groaning is not hid from thee." "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" "When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me."[3 PS. 38:9; 42:2, 4.]" Gospel Workers p. 36

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Cor. 5:17.

The old nature, born of blood and the will of the flesh, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The old ways, the hereditary tendencies, the former habits, must be given up; for grace is not inherited. The new birth consists in having new motives, new tastes, new tendencies. Those who are begotten unto a new life by the Holy Spirit, have become partakers of the divine nature, and in all their habits and practices they will give evidence of their relationship to Christ. When men who claim to be Christians retain all their natural defects of character and disposition, in what does their position differ from that of the worldling? They do not appreciate the truth as a sanctifier, a refiner. They have not been born again. . . . " Maranatha The Meaning of Conversion p. 237

"Many hold that from the nature of Christ it was impossible for Satan's temptations to weaken or overthrow him; then Christ could not have been placed in Adam's position to go over the ground where Adam stumbled and fell; he could not have gained the victory that Adam failed to gain. If man has in any sense a more trying conflict to endure than had Christ, then Christ is not able to succor him when tempted. Christ took humanity with all its liabilities. He took the nature of man capable of yielding to temptation and with the same aid that men may obtain, he withstood the temptations of Satan and conquered the same as we may conquer. . . . For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in size and physical strength and deteriorating in moral worth, and in order to elevate fallen man Christ must reach him where he stood. He assumed human nature, bearing the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He humiliated himself to the lowest depths of human woe, that he might sympathize with man and rescue him from the degradation into which sin had plunged him. It is not true that humanity has trials to bear which the Son of God has not experienced. Christ's victory may be ours, by faith we conquer in him." General Conference Daily Bulletin 02-05-93

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Through obedience comes sanctification of body, soul, and spirit. This sanctification is a progressive work, and an advance from one stage of perfection to another." My Life Today p. 250

"In order to attain to this high calling of God in Christ Jesus, you must begin the day with your Saviour. The very first outbreathing of the soul in the morning should be for the presence of Jesus. "Without me," he says, "ye can do nothing." It is Jesus that we need. His light, his life, his Spirit must be ours continually. We need him every hour. And we should pray in the morning that, as the sun illuminates the landscape and fills the world with light, so the Sun of Righteousness should shine into the chambers of mind and heart, and make us all light in the Lord. We cannot do without his presence one moment. The enemy knows when we decide to do without our Lord, and he is there ready to fill our minds with his evil suggestions, that we may fall from our steadfastness; but it is the desire of the Lord that from moment to moment we should abide in him, and thus be complete in him, accepted in the Beloved. God designs that every one of us shall be perfect in him, so that we may represent to the world the perfection of his character. He wants us to be set free from sin, that we shall not disappoint the heavenly intelligences, that we may not grieve our divine Redeemer. He does not desire us to profess Christianity and yet not avail ourselves of that grace which is able to make us perfect, that we may be found wanting in nothing, but unblamable before him in love and holiness." The Signs of the Times 02-08-92

"(Ch. 5:1.) Justification Means Complete Pardon. [Rom. 3:24-26 quoted.] Here the truth is laid out in plain lines. This mercy and goodness is wholly undeserved. The grace of Christ is freely to justify the sinner without merit or claim on his part. Justification is a full, complete pardon of sin. The moment a sinner accepts Christ by faith, that moment he is pardoned. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is no more to doubt God's forgiving grace." S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 6 p. 1071

"But while God can be just, and yet justify the sinner through the merits of Christ, no man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ's righteousness while practicing known sins, or neglecting known duties. God requires the entire surrender of the heart, before justification can take place; and in order for man to retain justification, there must be continual obedience, through active, living faith that works by love and purifies the soul. " 1 Selected Messages p. 366