Definition

• When a person converts to Christianity by accepting Christ as the savior, Christians believe the Holy Spirit enters into the person. The Spirit brings gifts, which are signs of the Holy Spirit's presence and of the person's sanctification. Some Christian churches, like the Roman Catholic Church, believe that the Holy Spirit enters into the person's life with the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Other Protestant and non-denominational Christian churches believe a person needs only to profess his faith to receive the gifts of the Spirit.
  
  

Signs

• Christian sanctification displays itself by the ways a person views and lives life. According to the Gospel Coalition website, a sanctified person shows "habitual respect to God's law." The sanctified Christian seeks to follow Christ's example of love and other virtues, which he set while he walked the Earth. Such a person wants to live as a Christian who attracts new followers of Christ by her life, who spreads the Gospel message and brings new souls to Christ as St. Paul encouraged the early churches to do.
  
  

Spiritual Development

• Sanctification is a lifelong endeavor and experience. The ultimate purpose of sanctification is for the person to become increasingly Christ-like. As a person progresses in his faith, his life becomes a reflection of his surrender to the will of God, which is prompted by the presence and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Each moment, a person makes a choice for or against sanctification. The end point is not in this life.
  
  

Saints

• The Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Christian churches are among those to canonize and honor saints. To receive canonization, a person who has died must meet requirements that support the person's sanctification. The person must have died as a martyr or, if he died a natural death, must be attributed with at least two miracles, according to the website Vocamur. The miracles must have occurred after he died to show that he is in heaven and is aiding the living.