{"id":1319,"date":"2013-06-27T13:15:04","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T13:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/blog\/?p=1319"},"modified":"2013-06-28T13:42:25","modified_gmt":"2013-06-28T13:42:25","slug":"christian-perfection-24-entire-sanctification-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/blog\/christian-perfection-24-entire-sanctification-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Perfection \u2013 24: Entire Sanctification – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian Perfection\u00a0\u2013 24:\u00a0Entire Sanctification – Part 1<\/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.”\u00a0 (Matthew 5:48)
\n(Wesley’s writings are in bold)<\/p>\n

John Wesley’s concept of Christian Perfection and Sanctification appears to be centered in the fact that from the moment of our re-birth, we should (must?) be moving closer and closer to being perfected in God’s love, which is also the time when we are entirely sanctified.\u00a0 It is the time when our entire being is cleansed from all unrighteousness.\u00a0 However, since our bodies are part of this corrupted world, entire sanctification can only occur at the moment of our death when we become free of our earthly bodies.<\/p>\n

This makes a lot of sense, and explains the Biblical\/doctrinal arguments about our being both sinful and sanctified at the same time, i.e.:<\/p>\n

Romans 3:21-26<\/p>\n

21.\u00a0 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,<\/p>\n

22.\u00a0 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;<\/p>\n

23.\u00a0 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,<\/p>\n

24.\u00a0 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;<\/p>\n

25.\u00a0 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;<\/p>\n

26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. NASU<\/p>\n

We are saved by faith, but does this mean that it is faith without obedience?\u00a0 Definitely not! For we are told in James 2:17-20,<\/p>\n

17.\u00a0 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.<\/p>\n

18.\u00a0 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”<\/p>\n

19.\u00a0 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.<\/p>\n

20.\u00a0 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? NASU<\/p>\n

If we say we believe in God, in Jesus Christ, and deliberately disobey His word by continuing to live in ungodly ways with no remorse or attempt to be conformed back into the image of God (Jesus Christ), is that the faith that leads to salvation?\u00a0 I believe it is not, for it is no different than the belief of the demons.<\/p>\n

As an example, the pain, suffering, and death that over 100 billion land and sea animals are subjected to every year to satisfy the human lust to eat them, is against the loving and compassionate teachings of Jesus, and the perfection of our heavenly Father that we are make a part of our lives. Therefore, if we deliberately participate in any aspect of these atrocities, we are being disobedient to God’s word, and have thus turned our backs on even trying to achieve Christian perfection.<\/p>\n

The whole concept of being born again is that moment in time when we come to believe in Jesus Christ as both our Savior and Lord.\u00a0 It is a moment of intense remorse for our sinful ways.\u00a0 It is a moment when we have willingly turned our lives over to the Lord with a true desire to live as He wants us to live.\u00a0 This is summed up in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (2:8-10):<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. NASU<\/p>\n

Far too many people (believers) want to stop their faith at verse 9, which is not the faith that leads to salvation.\u00a0 The faith that leads to salvation is the faith that also includes the desire to serve the Lord and be obedient as we are told in verse 10.\u00a0 Both Paul and James are really telling us the same thing.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, let’s look at the fourth Conference discussion from part 17 of Wesley’s A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.<\/p>\n

Our fourth Conference began on Tuesday, June 16, 1747.\u00a0 As several persons were present who did not believe the doctrine of perfection, we agreed to examine it from the foundation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to [do] this it was asked:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“QUESTION.\u00a0 How much is allowed by our brethren who differ from us with regard to entire sanctification?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“ANSWER.\u00a0 They grant:<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1) that everyone must be entirely sanctified in the article of death;<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is saying that a person’s faith must be leading them in a maturing manner toward being perfected in God’s love, so that at the moment of death the final imperfections are stripped away.\u00a0 Without our willingness to be perfected in our lifetime, we may have too much sinful “baggage” left at the moment of our death, which leads us into the second part of the Conference’s answer to this question.<\/p>\n

(2) that till then a believer daily grows in grace, comes nearer and nearer to perfection;<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:7:<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! NASU<\/p>\n

Some people believe that this was a physical malady, but I believe it was the remnant of Paul’s sinful state of being before his Damascus Road experience.\u00a0 It was a thorn of conviction that he was not yet wholly perfected or entirely sanctified.\u00a0 He retained that inner nagging of the flesh for some past indulgence, that he would continually press forward as we are told in part 3 of the Conference’s answer.<\/p>\n

(3) that we ought to be continually pressing after it, and to exhort all others so to do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If we are openly living in some imperfect manner and trying to justify it or excuse it away, then we are being hypocritical, and others will recognize it.\u00a0 We have encountered people who, having similar spiritual defects, come together to form a “ministry”, and to encourage others to join them.\u00a0 This is not continually pressing after perfection.\u00a0 I believe that “Christian Bow Hunters” fall into this category, for they continually encourage the taking of pleasure in the death and suffering of other living beings.\u00a0 This type of living was not in Eden and it will not be in heaven; therefore, it is a state of imperfection, a sinful state of our corrupted world.\u00a0 Living in such a state would thus be counter to answers (2) and (3) above.<\/p>\n

Any one of us can have some unresolved imperfection in our state of being as a Christian.\u00a0 Using the example above, such a person could still have the desire to take pleasure in “the hunt” and to kill.\u00a0 Pressing on to perfection would require such a person to eliminate this imperfection from their lives.\u00a0 First, they no longer participate in it, and then they pray to have the desire removed.\u00a0 I believe that making such an imperfect state of being into a “ministry” is blasphemous, and to encourage others to participate in it is the work of the devil.<\/p>\n

Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and similar groups are organizations (ministries) which have the goal of eliminating the imperfection and helping and exhorting others to do the same.\u00a0 One of the first things that Wesley’s Holy Club members did was help people eliminate their drinking, and as a result, their lives began to improve.\u00a0 The Holy Club was a true ministry.<\/p>\n

But even as individuals, we can press on to perfection and encourage others to do the same by the examples we set before them, and then through the encouragement we give them.\u00a0 Together, we can help and encourage each other on our journey toward Christian Perfection and Entire Sanctification.<\/p>\n

Because of the complexity of this subject we have broken the questions and answers of this fourth Conference into several parts.\u00a0 The next question is found in the next Chapter.<\/p>\n

Go on to: Christian Perfection \u2013 25: Entire Sanctification \u2013 Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n

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