{"id":1180,"date":"2013-05-31T22:25:08","date_gmt":"2013-05-31T22:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/blog\/?p=1180"},"modified":"2013-06-01T22:18:41","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T22:18:41","slug":"christian-perfection-20-what-is-it-to-be-sanctified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/blog\/christian-perfection-20-what-is-it-to-be-sanctified\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Perfection – 20: What Is It To Be Sanctified?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian Perfection – 20: What Is It To Be Sanctified?<\/h2>\n
\"Lamb<\/a>
Lamb of God<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By: Frank L. Hoffman
\nJesus said, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is\u00a0 perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
\n(Wesley’s writings are in bold)<\/p>\n

In the seventeenth part of A Plain Account of Christian\u00a0 Perfection<\/span>, John Wesley discusses the substance of four Annual Conferences.\u00a0\u00a0 With the exception of the fourth Conference, Wesley lists only the questions and\u00a0 summarized answers.\u00a0\u00a0 Because I don’t believe that this does justice\u00a0 to our understanding of the complexity of some of the questions and answers, I\u00a0 have broken down this Chapter into several parts, the first being 20: What Is\u00a0 It To Be Sanctified?<\/p>\n

Let’s begin this portion of our spiritual journey by\u00a0 reading what Wesley wrote:<\/p>\n

On Monday, June 25, 1744, our first Conference began, six clergymen\u00a0\u00a0 and all our preachers being present.\u00a0 The next morning we seriously\u00a0\u00a0 considered the doctrine of sanctification, or perfection.\u00a0 The questions\u00a0\u00a0 asked concerning it, and the substance of the answers given, were as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Question.\u00a0 What is it to be sanctified?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Answer.\u00a0 To be renewed in the image of God, ‘in \u00a0 righteousness and true holiness.’ [Ephesians 4:24]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wesley’s quotation is from the King James Version of the Bible.\u00a0\u00a0 The whole verse reads:<\/p>\n

24.\u00a0 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created\u00a0\u00a0 in righteousness and true holiness.<\/p>\n

In the context of Paul’s letter, this Bible verse becomes clearer.\u00a0\u00a0 The Updated Version of the New American Standard Bible gives Ephesians 4:17-32\u00a0 the title “The Christian’s Walk”, which is a way of describing our being\u00a0 sanctified and made perfect.\u00a0 I have chosen the following verses from the\u00a0 NASU, because I believe it is easier to read and understand than the KJV.<\/p>\n

17.\u00a0 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you\u00a0\u00a0 walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,<\/p>\n

18.\u00a0 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the\u00a0\u00a0 life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness\u00a0\u00a0 of their heart;<\/p>\n

19.\u00a0 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over\u00a0\u00a0 to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.<\/p>\n

If Christians are no longer to be like the unbelievers, then how do some\u00a0 churches justify their “health and wealth gospels”?\u00a0 How do some churches\u00a0 justify gambling?\u00a0 How do some churches justify taking pleasure in the\u00a0 suffering and death of an animal, which they do when they hunt, fish, or eat an\u00a0 animal?<\/p>\n

How do some churches justify arming\u00a0 themselves and taking revenge and fighting a war?\u00a0 How do some churches\u00a0 justify being like the ungodly people of this world?\u00a0 I personally don’t\u00a0 believe they can justify any of these things and still believe we are to be\u00a0 sanctified.<\/p>\n

Likewise, Paul could not justify being like the unbelievers of this world.\u00a0\u00a0 He emphasizes that we cannot learn Christ, or to be like\u00a0 Jesus Christ, by following the examples of the unbelievers of this world, or by\u00a0 following those believers who still live as they formerly lived.\u00a0 He says:<\/p>\n

20.\u00a0 But you did not learn Christ in this way,<\/p>\n

21.\u00a0 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,<\/p>\n

22.\u00a0 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of\u00a0\u00a0 deceit,<\/p>\n

23.\u00a0 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,<\/p>\n

24.\u00a0 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.<\/p>\n

Previously, we discussed the fact that our Christian perfection begins with our spirit being renewed back into the image of God, who is Spirit, so that\u00a0 we would have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).\u00a0 It is this renewed\u00a0 spirit and mind that works to overcome the imperfections and lusts of our\u00a0 fleshly bodies.\u00a0 In other words, if we are truly sanctified, then our\u00a0 lifestyle should reflect this change away from the ways of the ungodly.<\/p>\n

Paul continues his letter by discussing some of the more common problems\u00a0 encountered in his day and how the renewed Christian is to be different.<\/p>\n

25.\u00a0 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE OF\u00a0\u00a0 YOU WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.<\/p>\n

26.\u00a0 BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on\u00a0\u00a0 your anger,<\/p>\n

27.\u00a0 and do not give the devil an opportunity.<\/p>\n

We give the devil an opportunity, when we proclaim our “Christianity”\u00a0 before non-believers, and then proceed to do the things that Jesus would not do,\u00a0 or say what He would not say.\u00a0 Then the devil convinces these unbelievers,\u00a0 and also weak believers,\u00a0 that Jesus must be a “lie”, because we are living a “lie” in Jesus’ name.<\/p>\n

Paul continues:<\/p>\n

28.\u00a0 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.<\/p>\n

29.\u00a0 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only\u00a0\u00a0 such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.<\/p>\n

30.\u00a0 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.<\/p>\n

31.\u00a0 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.<\/p>\n

32.\u00a0 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each\u00a0\u00a0 other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.<\/p>\n

I don’t believe Paul ever envisioned a world like the one we live in\u00a0 today, but even with all our technology, the simple common denominators of Godly living have never changed.<\/p>\n

Go on to: Christian Perfection \u2013 21: Being a Perfect Christian<\/a><\/p>\n

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