|
Chapter 6
THE SECOND WORK OF GRACE
Its Fourfold Aspect (1) Negative Purification (2) Positive The Indwelling God (3) Ethical Obligations (4) Progressive Growth An Development
(1) Negative Purification -- As with the first experience, so with the second, it will be found that in order to obtain a clear idea as to its content we must analyze its parts, which again may be stated as fourfold, namely: Negative, the work of purification; positive, the fact of the indwelling God; ethical, some matter of fact obligations; progressive, the growth and development of a sanctified soul. No more fitting introduction to this section could be found than the utterance by Rev. J. M. Pike: Methodist Church, claiming to be Scriptural in its origin and design, is based upon this fundamental fact of the Christian faith-the holiness of God's people. "John Wesley says, 'In 1729 my brother Charles and I, reading the Bible, saw we could not be saved without holiness, followed after it, and incited others to do so. In 1737 we saw that holiness comes by faith. In 1738 we saw that men are justified before they are sanctified; but still holiness was our object-inward and outward holiness. God then thrust us out to raise up a holy people.' After he had preached the doctrine for half a century, and had seen thousands brought into the experience, two years before his death he wrote, 'This doctrine is the grand depositum which God has lodged with the people called Methodists; and for the sake of propagating this chiefly He appears to have raised us up.'
The distinctive mission of Methodism was recognized by the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1824, and in the address to the General Conference they said, 'If Methodists give up the doctrine of entire sanctification, or suffer it to become a dead letter, we are a fallen people. Holiness is the main cord that binds us together; relax this, and you loosen the whole system. This will appear more evident if we call to mind the original design of Methodism. It was to raise up and preserve a holy people. This was the principal object that Mr. Wesley had in view. To this end all the doctrines believed and preached by Methodists tend' (Sermon on Psa. 93:5, The Double Cure, 1887, pp. 3-4).
The work of purification is the groundwork of all else. Carnality must be removed from the nature. Our humanity must be made pure. See Psa. 51:7, 9; Isa. 6:5-7; Eze 36:25; Matt. 3:11; Acts 15:8-9; Rom. 6:6; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:25-27; 1 Thess. 4:3-8; 5:23, 24; Tit. 2:11-14.
The literature of the church is rich in its teaching on this subject, as the following excerpts will show: Rev. John Wesley: "Both my brother Charles and I maintain that Christian perfection is that love of God and our neighbor which implies deliverance from all sin ... It is the loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. This implies that no wrong temper, none contrary to love, remains in the soul; and that all the thoughts, words, and actions are governed by pure love ... It is nothing higher and nothing lower than this -- the pure love of God and man. It is love governing the heart and life, running through all our tempers, words, and actions. Certainly sanctification, in the proper sense, is an instantaneous deliverance from all sin." (Wesley's Works).
Rev. John Fletcher: "It is the pure love of God and man shed abroad in a faithful believer's heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him, to cleanse him and to keep him clean, 'from all the filthiness of the flesh and spirit,' and to enable him to 'fulfill the law of Christ,' according to the talents he is intrusted with, and the circumstances in which he is placed in this world" (Last Check to Antinomianism, p. 567).
Dr. Adam Clarke: "What, then, is this complete sanctification? It is the cleansing of the blood, that has not been cleansed; it is washing the soul of a true believer from the remains of sin" (Clarke's Theology, p. 206). Rev. Richard Watson: "We have already spoken of justification, adoption, regeneration and the witness of the Holy Spirit, and we proceed to another as distinctly marked and as graciously promised in the Holy Scriptures. This is the entire sanctification, or the perfected holiness of believers. Happily for us, a subject of so great importance is not involved in obscurity. By which can only be meant our complete deliverance from all spiritual pollution, all inward depravation of the heart, as well as that which, expressing itself outwardly by the indulgence of the senses, is called 'filthiness of the flesh'" (Biblical and Theological Institutes, Vol. II, p. 450). "Sanctification is that work of God's grace by which we are renewed after the image of God, set apart for His service, and enabled to die unto sin and live unto righteousness. ... Sanctification in this world must be complete; the whole nature must be sanctified; all sin must be utterly abolished, or the soul can never be admitted into the glorious presence of God" (Biblical and Theological Institutes).
Rev. Joseph Benson: "To sanctify you wholly is to complete the work of purification and renovation begun in your regeneration" (Com., 1 Thess. 5:23).
Dr. Jesse T. Peck: "To do less for man than to make him holy would be, in effect, to do nothing for him; and to do this is to do all. Holiness is therefore the central sun which pours its glorious light through every part of the system. ... Remove it, and all is as black as midnight" (Central Idea of Christianity, p. 19).
Dr. Asbury Lowrey: "It is sanctification from all sin, in opposition to a partial or inceptive work. It is obvious that a man cannot be wholly sanctified so long as any sin remains in him. We conclude, therefore, that entire sanctification signifies deliverance from all sin, internal and external; that is, from all indwelling sin, as well as from its outward manifestations; not from its uprisings and guilty motions merely, but from its contaminations and inherent existence" (Possibilities of Grace, p. 270).
Dr. Thomas N. Ralston: "Whenever we comply with the conditions prescribed in the gospel, that is, whenever we exercise the requisite degree of faith, be it one day or ten years after conversion, that moment God will cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (Elements of Divinity, p. 468).
Dr. Amos Binney: "It is called holiness, sanctification, purity ... What is, meant by these expressions is that participation of the divine nature which excludes all original depravity or inborn sin from the heart ... Entire sanctification is that act of the Holy Ghost whereby the justified soul is made holy" (Theological Compend, pp. 128-129). The Methodist Catechism: "What is entire sanctification? The state of being entirely cleansed from sin."
Dr. William Bert Pope: "Sanctification in its beginning, process, and final issues is the full eradication of sin itself which, reigning in the unregenerate, co-exists with the new life of the regenerate, is abolished in the wholly sanctified" (Compendium of Christian Theology, Vol. II, p. 64).
Dr. Daniel Steele: "That inward holiness which the altar ritual of the Hebrews, with their interminable repetitions, was unable to produce, has been rendered possible to every believer through the offering of the adorable God-man once for all. While the Atonement sanctified no one, it renders possible the entire sanctification of every offspring of Adam who will trust in Christ for this purchased blessing" (The Gospel of the Comforter, p. 121). "What evidence does the Greek Testament afford that sin may be destroyed? (1) The absence of all terms expressive of mere repression; (2) the use in Paul's Epistles of such words as 'crucify,' 'cleanse,' 'destroy' (Gk. Katargeo -i. e. , annihilate, abolish. See Cremer and Thayer) , 'circumcision without hands,' 'mortify' or 'kill"' (Col. 3:5). (3) If this is not the doctrine of the New Testament, Christ's mission is a stupendous failure, because He does not destroy the works of the devil, and perfect holiness is impossible either in this world or that to come" (Steele's Answers, p. 85).
Dougan Clark, M.D.: "But what does this expression 'purifying their hearts' mean? It means the removal of the remains of their carnality. It means the creation of a clean heart, and the renewal of a right spirit. It means the crucifixion of the flesh. It means the destruction of the body of sin. It means the casting out of the strong man, who was only bound in conversion. It means entire sanctification. ... Sanctification is that act of divine grace whereby we are made holy" (The Offices of the Holy Spirit pp. 51, 67).
Rev. Seth C. Rees: "One of the most evident effects of the work of fire is purification. Many things can be cleansed by the application of water, especially if the impurity is external, but it takes the powerful heat of fire to thoroughly cleanse anything in which the baser part is mixed all through that which needs purification. All precious metals are fired again and again until they are made fit for use. Thus the inspired writer uses a vivid figure to illustrate the radical and cleansing work of the Holy Ghost in His Pentecostal capacity. Just as the smelter of precious metals subjects them to the intense heat of the furnace, so, says the Scriptures, does the Lord of heaven subject the heart of the believer to the cleansing process of the furnace of the Upper Room' (Fire from Heaven, p. 16).
Dr. Edward F. Walker: "This is the sanctification Jesus prayed His disciples might have -a personal cleansing from sin, in order to a holy life. Made pure in order to sustained devotion to God. A pure heart full of holy love. Beyond this we cannot go in this world; but short of this we ought never to rest. Perfect purity plus perfect love in the heart by the efficiency of Christ and the power of the indwelling Spirit equal personal sanctification" (Sanctify Them, pp. 46, 49). Rev. Isaiah Reid: "Sanctification or cleansing is for depravity, and is met by cleansing, not by pardon" (Holiness Bible Readings, p. 61).
Dr. Asa Mahan: "I hear instructions given to believers seeking this 'rest of faith,' instructions of which I cannot approve. They are told that Christ will not take away their evil propensities, and prevent their acting within the mind, but will enable believers to resist and hold in subjection such promptings. The apostle, on the other hand, tells us that for the purpose that we should not serve sin, 'our old man is crucified with Christ' and 'the body of sin is destroyed.' In express view of this fact, he requires us to 'reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.' As long as our lusts are left to 'war in our members' there may be expected to be 'wars and fightings' in the churches and lapses and backslidings in the membership. Christ 'takes away our sins' by taking away the evil dispositions within us that prompt us to sin, and in the place of these dispositions giving us 'a divine nature' which will prompt us to 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance'" (Out of Darkness into Light, p. 154).
Rev. M. L. Haney: "The work of sanctification brings its subject into a state a thousand times more important than a blessing. The soul may or may not be filled with joyful emotions when it is wholly sanctified. It may, at frequent periods, pass ordeals of unspeakable sorrow; but that does not affect its state. The idea that sanctification means simply a fit of rapture, or a baptism of joy, should be at once and forever excluded from the common sense of mankind. No, beloved, 'the act of God's free grace whereby we are made holy' is worth more than the joy of a lifetime without it. Having exercised faith in Jesus' cleansing blood to wash out all the stains of inbred sin, the Holy Ghost has made the application, and eternal power has swept from the whole domain of your nature everything that is out of harmony with God. There is not a root or seed of sin remaining. Entire sanctification, therefore, brings you into a state of moral purity. Hitherto the evils of your heart were held in check by a power implanted that was greater than they; now these evils are destroyed, and the whole man becomes the temple of God" (Inheritance Restored, pp. 126, 127).
Rev. James Caughey: "It is clear, also, that so long as sin remains in us, we cannot be holy as God is holy, nor perfect as He is perfect, nor pure as Jesus is pure; nor can we love God with all our heart so long as sins and unholiness divide it .... It may not be the will of God that we should be rich, or great, or noble, but it is the will of God that we should be holy. "But does God desire us to be holy now? to be perfect now? pure now? to love Him with all our heart now -- this moment? Most certainly. To suppose the contrary would be to set God a trifling with us, and us trifling with God! . . . 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.' Cleanseth, which cannot surely mean in the future, but the present; and from all sin, which cannot mean a part; then, by the help of God, I will preach the doctrine of present salvation from all inward as well as outward sin, with the same assurance as I would preach on the Godhead of Christ or the day of judgment" (Earnest Christianity, pp. 260, 261). The Salvation Army: "We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be 'wholly sanctified,' and that the whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is to say, we believe that after conversion there remain in the heart of the believer inclinations to evil, or roots of bitterness, which unless overpowered by divine grace produce actual sin; but that these evil tendencies can be entirely taken away by the Spirit of God, and the whole heart, thus cleansed from everything contrary to the will of God, or entirely sanctified, will then produce the fruit of the Spirit only. And we believe that persons thus entirely sanctified may, by the power of God, be kept unblamable and unreprovable before Him" (Handbook of Doctrine, pp, 2, 122). "An entirely sanctified person is without sin -- freed from sin (Rom. 6:7). He is delivered from all sin; his disposition is entirely purified; inward sin is done away with or destroyed" (Handbook of Doctrine, p. 125).
Commissioner S. L. Brengle: "The great hindrance in the hearts of God's children to the power of the Holy Ghost is inbred sin -- that dark, defiant, evil something within that struggles for the mastery of the soul, and will not submit to be meek and lowly and patient and forbearing and holy as was Jesus; and when the Holy Spirit comes, His first work is to sweep away that something, that carnal principle, and make free and clean all the channels of the soul. Peter was filled with power on the day of Pentecost; but evidently the purifying effect of the baptism made a deeper and more lasting impression on his mind than the empowering effect" (When the Holy Ghost is Come, pp. 44,45).
Rev. G. A. McLaughlin: "A clean heart is one that has nothing in it that ought not to be there. Every good affection is in it and no evil affection. If there is one evil affection, it causes the heart to be unclean. A clean heart, in other words, is a heart that is the home of every good affection and has none of the evil actions in it. It is 'A heart from sin set free"' (A Clean Heart, p. 2).
Dr. Samuel Chadwick: "As pardon abounds over guilt so sanctification abounds over the presence of sin in the soul. Forgiveness without cleansing would not cover man's need. The work of grace must be co-extensive with the work of sin. Where sin had its seat His throne is established. The will is surrendered, the heart cleansed, the desire changed and the nature renewed. Sin disturbed the true order of man's nature and defaced the divine image within him, grace creates him anew after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness. No man need continue in sin, for grace has abounded unto complete salvation" (Humanity and God, pp. 36, 37). "Carnality needs to be purged out. Entire sanctification completes the work of regeneration, pervading every part of the renewed creature .... It is entire, complete, and without restriction. Every part is cleansed, perfected, and pervaded with the energy of the divine presence. The fleshly is eradicated and the spiritual prevails. In this state of entire sanctification man is preserved without blame" (Humanity and God, pp. 70, 71). "Delivered from the flesh, he lives in the Spirit ... Guilt is purged, sin is cleansed away, and carnality is destroyed." "The heart is cleansed from sin and made perfect in love." "The nature is cleansed from sin. The carnal mind, the body of sin, is done away. This is the Bible word for what happens -- sin is done away" (The Way to Pentecost).
Mr. Paget Wilkes: "Salvation from the presence and inbeing of sin! It is deliverance from the presence of sin in the heart, the clearing of the soul from 'indwelling sin.' 'the evil heart of unbelief,' 'the carnal mind,' 'the body of sin.,' 'the superfluity of naughtiness,' 'all unrighteousness.' ... In the wounds of Jesus there is a perfect healing; in His cross a perfect destruction of the body of sin; and in His blood a perfect cleansing from its taint, as applied to our hearts by the Holy Ghost" (The Dynamic of Service, pp. 236, 237).
Dr. H. C. Morrison: "The baptism with the Holy Ghost casts out the 'old man.' And the casting out of the 'old man,' the plucking up of the 'root of bitterness,' the destruction of the 'body of sin,' the eradication of the 'carnal mind,' the purging out of the 'sin that dwelleth in me,' are all one and the same thing, which is accomplished by the instantaneous baptism with the Holy Ghost, purifying the heart by faith. This is entire sanctification" (The Baptism with the Holy Ghost, p. 35).
Dr. Z. T. Johnson: "By heart purity is meant the extermination of inbred sin, the eradication of the depraved nature and the infilling of the heart with perfect love for God and for humanity. The inner disturbances resulting from inbred sin, which come to every Christian after conversion, are no longer manifest. "God does not try to control the carnal nature. If God cannot suppress it, we cannot. But God can completely eradicate it. He can fling it out of our souls; He can purge it; He can eliminate it and purify our hearts. The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil; and even though He cannot control it, He can destroy it. The destructive process is far more satisfactory" ( What is Holiness? pp. 10, 81).
Rev. Joseph H. Smith: "The Christian man, though truly justified from all his past sins and now at peace with God, has still a great and grave problem awaiting settlement. The provisions of Christ's death, the promises of God's Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit furnish a complete solution of the believer's sin problem" (Pauline Perfection, p. 47).
Dr. Iva Durham Vennard: "The negative side is completed in the destroying of carnality. "The gift of the Holy Ghost was accompanied by the purifying of the hearts. "The sanctification of the believer has in it the thought of being set apart, which the Old Testament sanctification of vessels and animals typifies; but it includes also the moral element of heart cleansing, for the believer has this moral capacity and hence this need which the irresponsible vessel or animal has not. "It has been the will of God from the beginning that we should be holy. It is not an afterthought by which it is hoped to patch up our conversion. Regeneration is in itself a perfect work, planting within the soul the germ of eternal life. "Sanctification is entirely distinct, removing from the heart-soil all roots of bitterness, that the divine germ implanted at regeneration may develop in perfect symmetry. "We are to be cleansed not only from actual sins committed, but from the filthiness of sin in our hearts" (Heart Purity, pp. 15, 17, 18, 19, 35). "What was it that died in Saint Paul? It was the carnal nature, the man of sin, that malefactor that is enmity against God, that is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be .... Thank God that the old man can be put off; the carnal nature can be crucified. Dear hearts, let us follow the Pauline plan and be crucified, killed out, in the carnal nature. "If it is true that carnality is still present in your heart, then the integrity of the promise is your security that it can be destroyed, and you can be, by an uttermost consecration and appropriating faith in the Blood, cleansed from all sin" (Upper Room Messages, pp. 40-42). To some this long list of quotations may have become tedious, but they will, if conscientiously perused, become far more valuable than at first sight they appear to be. They will give to the student a general acquaintance with holiness literature; but more than this, they will prove to any thoughtful mind that the emphasis placed on holiness of heart is not the insistence of a few narrow-minded people, but the emphasis of reliable religious teachers, both ancient and modern.
In making our selection our embarrassment has been in the wealth of literature that has offered itself. Volumes could be filled with such quotations.
(2) Positive -- The Indwelling God -- It is important to remember that this experience we call "entire sanctification" is much more than the mere negative fact of the absence of sin. It is essentially the positive fact of the indwelling God. When we say this, we do not mean a blessing from God, nor the influence of God upon our souls, however sweet and sacred this may be. We mean, rather, the personal presence of the eternal God Himself, made real within the believer by the indwelling Holy Ghost (see John 14:16,17). Such an indwelling has many results; among them are the following
1. An abundant life-indwelling and overflowing (see John 10:10; Rom. 8:11; John 7:37-39).
2. An enduement of power (see Acts 1:8). "Power" -- here is not the "authority" of John 1:12 and Luke 10:19. It is the introduction of an inward, spiritual dynamic. It is the word from which we get our English word dynamite. Lit.: "Ye shall become spiritually endynamited, the Holy Ghost coming upon you."
3. An inward illumination (see John 14:26; 1 John 2:20, 27).
Bishop Wilson T. Hogue writes: "The presence of the indwelling Comforter secures to believers in Christ a clearer understanding of spiritual things.... "By nature men are in a stage of spiritual darkness.... It is impossible to educate men out of their spiritual blindness and darkness. Nor does conversion bring entire deliverance from it, though it begets in some degree an understanding of the mysteries of grace. Conversion introduces the soul into a state of spiritual childhood a state in which spiritual life and perceptions are begotten and manifested. But in this state the soul's conceptions of spiritual things are more or less crude and imperfect, and are intermixed with many carnal views and ideas. The fullest apprehension of the oracles of God cannot be realized in the absence of that spiritual purity and sensitiveness which result alone from the sanctifying baptism of the Holy Ghost. This sanctifying, illuminating agency of the indwelling Comforter is the divine safeguard against the numerous perils which would otherwise attend the entrusting of the Scriptures to the perusal of the unlearned -- the key which enables the plain man, the uncultured but reverent student of the Word of God, to unlock its hidden treasures of wisdom, truth and grace, to lay hold upon and enrich himself with its most comforting promises, to penetrate the deeper meaning of its numerous prophecies, and to take a firmer grasp upon the rock of Bible truth than the more cultured students of Scripture who have not experienced the baptism with the Holy Spirit. This is 'the anointing which abideth' and which 'teacheth' those who receive it of all things (1 John 2:27) , and without which those who apply themselves to the most critical study of the divine oracles cannot discern their true spirituality" (The Holy Spirit, pp. 112-117).
4. A perfection of love (see 1 John 2:5, 6; 4:16-21).
Dr. J. G. Morrison writes: "When entire sanctification is come, then love becomes perfect. With hatred gone', and envy no more, and jealousy driven away, and pride cast out, and anger transformed and malice removed, and unholy ambition sanctified, and self-seeking banished, and avarice nailed to the Cross, and covetousness clean gone forever, the heart, now released from its bondage to moral corruption, swells with ecstasy of perfect love to God, perfect fellowship with God's children, and a tender compassion for the lost members of Adam's race. "
'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true,
As for the grass to be green and the skies to be blue,
'Tis the natural way of living.
"Our Lost Estate, p. 107.
5. A perfect peace (Isa. 26:3). This peace is the outcome of soul poise, a rest of heart.
6. An unbroken communion (see 1 John 1:3-7).
Harmon A. Baldwin writes: "Jesus Christ, in His own divine personality, really and truly enters the trusting, believing soul; and, having entered, He so sheds abroad the heavenly fragrance of His presence as to cause to spring up a burning 'hope of glory.' Yea, more, this indwelling Christ is Himself the hope of glory. Consequently, when we have Him we have 'the Hope of glory.' we have a foretaste of glory, we have a measure of the ineffable splendor of the upper world, not in its radiations or drippings, but in its glorious cause. Christ is the Flower whose matchless fragrance floats o'er the hills and vales of Paradise; He is the Sun whose shining so illuminates the heavenly courts that there is no need of sun, or moon, or candle to dispel the gloom; He is the Anointing Horn from which flow rivers of oil over every ravished soul; He is the Joy Spring from which bubble streamlets of salvation which, swelling to majestic rivers, reach the utmost boundaries of infinite blessedness; He is the Fountain of Life that flows from the throne of God and causes heaven's glorified millions to live forever; and this Christ, Himself, proposes to enter your soul, and mine, and shed abroad His joy, His sweetness, His light, His life. Thank God for the fullness of grace" (The Indwelling Christ, p. 68).
7. A sacrificial devotion (see Rom. 12:1, 2).
Rev. Oswald Chambers writes: "By the discipline of obedience, I come to the place Abraham reached and see God as He is. The promises of God are of no use to me until by obedience I understand the nature of God. ... "The more we have to sacrifice for God, the more glorious is the reward presently. We have no right to choose our sacrifice. God will let us see where the sacrifice is to come, and it will always be on the line of what God has given us, our 'Isaac, ' and yet He calls us to sacrifice it. God is always at work on the principle of lifting up the natural and making it the spiritual one, and very few of us will go through with it. We will cling to the natural when God wants us to put a sword through it. If you go through the transfiguration of the natural you will receive it back on a new plane altogether. God wants to make eternally our own what we only possessed intermittently. "No language can express the ineffable blessedness of the supreme reward that awaits the soul that has taken its supreme climb, proved its supreme love, and entered its supreme reward. What an imperturbable certainty there is about the man who is in contact with the real God! Thank God, the life of the Father of the Faithful is but a specimen of the life of every humble believer who obediently follows the discipline of the life of faith. What a depth of transparent righteousness there must be about the man who walks before God, and the meaning of the Atonement is to place us there in perfect adjustment to God" (Not Knowing Whither, pp. 128, 129).
(3) Ethical Obligations -- The experience of full salvation has its ethics as well as its thrill. Here is a danger point at which many have run aground. Forgetting that the experience sought is distinctly ethical in its content, they have occupied themselves with the emotional aspect to the neglect of the practical, and so have made shipwreck of faith.
Dr. J. R. Miller: "A great deal of our talk about consecration is vague and visionary. Our trouble is that the consecration we aim at is emotional rather than practical" (Week Day Religion). There, in less than thirty words; Dr. Miller has gone to the very heart. It is possible to be highly emotional, yet decidedly impractical, and even unethical. This may not always be manifest in our actions, but may be there in our intentions. A real experience of full salvation will correct both.
1. Concerning our actions. Full salvation lays upon the believer some unequivocal demands. The God of the Sinai thunder did not retire in favor of the God of the Pentecostal flame. The Two are one and the same God; for while it is unmistakably true that we are now "not under law but under grace," it is also true that the indwelling God of grace keeps through His people the requirements of the law. Not one of these great moral requirements has been abrogated. Our Lord came, not to destroy but to fulfill, and that fulfillment is still going on through the spirit-filled believer by the Holy Spirit, for "love is the fulfilling of the law." See Matt. 5:17, 18; Rom. 8:3,4; 10:4; 13:8-10; Heb. 8:10, 11; 10:16, 17. This experience has its social implications.
a. In common honesty. It seems almost a slur on the experience that such a thing should be even mentioned. Good moral men are honest. And yet, there have been professors of this exalted experience of full salvation who have not been scrupulously careful in the payment of debts and the meeting of obligations.
b. In general courtesy. While this experience will not impart a knowledge of the rules of etiquette, it will at least manifest the indwelling of Him who is the most gentle Person in God's great universe, the Holy Spirit Himself; and it is wonderful how quickly a Spirit-filled soul anticipates in action what it later learns through books. A sanctified man, whatever his restrictions, is never a boor. There is no refining influence like the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This experience has its personal responsibilities. There are responsibilities toward God and the house of God. There are also responsibilities toward home and those who reside there. There are times when we should be on our knees in prevailing prayer, but there are times when it would be more glorifying to God to be kneeling with a brush and pail. There are times for communion, but there are also times to darn socks. There are times for the Bible and hymn book, but there are times for the cash book and ledger. It is just as sinful to steal an employer's time for prayer as it is to take it to play baseball. Nothing but scrupulous honesty will suffice. The following little poem may help us in our estimate of the mere matter-of-fact duties:
"Lord of all pots and pans and things, since I've no time to be A saint by doing lovely things, or watching late with Thee, Or dreaming In the dawnlight, or storming heaven's gates, Make me a saint by getting meals, and washing up the plates.
"Although I must have Martha's hands, I have a Mary mind;
And when I black the boots and shoes, Thy sandals, Lord, I find.
I think of how they trod the earth, what time I scrub the floor;
Accept this meditation, Lord, I haven't time for more.
"Warm all the kitchen with Thy love, and light It with Thy peace;
Forgive me all my worrying, and make all grumbling cease.
Thou who didst love to give men food, in room or by the sea,
Accept this service that I do -- I do it unto Thee. "
2. Concerning our intentions. -- One of the steadying factors in the experience of John Wesley throughout his entire lifetime was his acquaintance while at Oxford with such literature as William Law's work, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, and Jeremy Taylor's Rules and Exercises of Holy Living and Holy Dying. In Dr. Taylor's work he was especially helped by the section on "Purity of Intention." It was in those historic Oxford days, when John and Charles Wesley, with George Whitefield, William Morgan and others, formed themselves into what became known as "The Holy Club" for the avowed purpose of Bible study and serious searching after the things of God, that this type of literature so powerfully influenced Wesley's thinking. At that time, although an earnest seeker, he was not aware of the way of faith and consequently found in such literature a ground of serious mental conflict and almost of despair. It became the schoolmaster to help bring him to Christ. Once he knew the way of faith, however, such teaching was not lost. It was on the basis of his Oxford reading that his later evangelical revelation swung with such fine poise. Wesley's faith never even skirted the borders of presumption, and he owed his magnificent balance to such teaching as Taylor's on the purity of intention, an excerpt of which we give below.
"That we should intend and design God's glory in every action we do, whether it be natural or chosen, is expressed by St. Paul, 'Whether ye eat or drink, do all to the glory of God' (I Cor. 10:31). Which rule, when we observe, every action of nature becomes religious, and every meal is an act of worship, and shall have its reward in its proportion, as well as an act of prayer. Blessed be that goodness and grace of God which, out of infinite desire to glorify and save mankind, would make the very works of nature capable of becoming acts of virtue that all our lifetime we may do Him service.
"This grace is so excellent that it sanctifies the most common actions of our life; and yet so necessary that without it the very best actions of our devotions are imperfect and vicious. For he that prays out of custom, or gives alms for praise, or fasts to be accounted religious, is but a Pharisee in his devotion, and a beggar in his alms, and a hypocrite in his fast. But a holy end sanctifies all these, and all other actions which can be made holy, and gives distinction to them, and procures acceptance.
"For as to know the end distinguishes a man from a beast, so to choose a good end distinguishes him from an evil man. Hezekiah repeated his good deeds upon his sick-bed, and obtained favor of God; but the Pharisee was accounted insolent for doing the same thing; because this man did it to upbraid his brother, the other to obtain a mercy of God. Zacharias questioned with the angel about his message, and was made speechless for his incredulity; but the blessed Virgin Mary questioned, too, and was blameless, for she did it to inquire after the manner of the thing; but he did not believe the thing itself; he doubted of God's power, or the truth of the messenger; but she only of her incapacity. This was it which distinguished the mourning of David from the exclamation of Saul, the confession of Pharaoh from that of Manasses, the tears of Peter from the repentance of Judas; 'For the praise is not in the deed done, but in the manner of its doing. If a man visits his sick friend, and watches at his pillow for charity sake and because of its old affection, we approve it; but if he does it in the hope of a legacy, he is a vulture, and only watches for the carcass. The same things are honest and dishonest; the manner of doing them and the end of the design makes the separation' (Seneca).
"Holy intention is to the actions of a man that which the soul is to the body, or form to its matter, or the root to the tree, or the sun to the world, or the fountain to the river, or the base to the pillar; for without these the body is a dead trunk, the matter is sluggish, the tree is a block, the world is darkness, the river is quickly dry, the pillar rushes into flatness and ruin, and the action is sinful or unprofitable and vain. The poor farmer that gave a dish of cold water to Artaxerxes was rewarded with a golden goblet, and he that gives the same to a disciple in the name of a disciple shall have a crown; but if he gives water in despite when the disciple needs wine or a cordial, his reward shall be to want that water to cool his tongue" (Holy Living, pp. 9, 10). See Matt. 5; Rom. 12-14; Eph. 4:17 to 5:21; Tit. 2:11-14.
(4) Progressive -- Dr. Phineas F. Bresee said: "A sanctified man is at the bottom of the ladder. He is now to learn; to grow; to rise; to be divinely enlarged and transformed. The Christ in him is to make new and complete channels in and through every part of his being pouring a stream of heaven through his thinking, living, devotement and faith. The divine battery -His manifest presence -- is to be enlarged. The truth of God is to be revealed, and poured through the soul and lips, with holy fire and divine unction more and more aboundingly. A lack of personal realization that I, myself, must stir myself up, has brought wreck and ruin to many. God will stir him up who stirs up himself, until he comes 'unto the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ"' (A Prince in Israel, biography by E. A. Girvin). It is impossible to grow into this experience, as later we shall see; but once the experience becomes a realized fact, growth is both natural and essential. See Psa. 1:3; 72:7; 92:12, 13; Prov. 12:12; Hosea 14:5-9; John 15:1-16; Acts 9:22; 1 Cor. 13:11; 14:20; 2 Cor. 9:10; Eph. 3:14-21; 4:11-16; Col. 1:9-11; 2:19; 1 Thess. 3:12; 4:10; 2 Thess. 1:3; Heb. 5:14; 1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 1:5-8; 3:17, 18.
Concerning this growth in grace Rev. J. A. Wood will speak:
"Christian perfection does not exclude growth in grace. The pure in heart grow faster than any others. We believe in no state of grace excluding progression, either in this world or in heaven, but expect to grow with increasing rapidity forever. It is the same with the soul wholly sanctified as with the merely regenerate: it must progress in order to retain the favor of God and the grace possessed. Here many of both classes have fallen.
"There is no standing still in a religious life, nor in a sinful life. We must either progress or regress. If living according to our light and duty, we are growing, no matter what our gracious state may be, or however largely we may have partaken of the Holy Spirit -- if neglecting present duty, we are backsliding, whatever our attainments may have been.
"Holiness cannot be retained without growth in grace. It can only be retained by a steady progress in the divine life. The conditions of obtaining holiness and of retaining it are the same; and the conditions of obtaining and retaining it are those by which the soul is to grow and mature in holiness. Hence a violation of the conditions of increase and growth in holiness forfeits the state of holiness itself.
"Again, our capacities and powers are improvable and expansive, and we must proportionately grow in holiness or incur guilt and fall from grace. "Holiness may be perfect and yet progressive. Perfection in quality does not exclude increase in quantity. Beyond entire sanctification there is no increase in purity, as that which is pure cannot be more than pure; but there may be unlimited increase in expansion and quantity.
"After love is made perfect, it may abound more and yet more. Holiness in the entirely sanctified soul is exclusive, and is perfect in kind or in quality, but is limited in degree or quantity. The capacities of the soul are expansive and progressive, and holiness in measure can increase corresponding to increasing capacity. Faith, love, humility, and patience may be perfect in kind, and yet increase in volume and power, or in measure harmonizing with increasing capacity. A tree may be perfectly sound, healthy, and vigorous in its branches, leaves, and fruit, and yet year by year increase perpetually its capacity and fruitfulness. Analogous to this is a wicked life. The Church has always held the doctrine of total depravity, and yet believed in acquired depravity, and in aggressive depravity.
"Growth in grace is chiefly subsequent to sanctification. A vast majority of church members appear to think, between regeneration and entire sanctification must be a lifetime of growth in grace. This is a serious mistake, and we fear has overthrown millions. It is unscriptural to teach growth as a substitute for cleansing. Entire sanctification is the divine preparation of heart for the growth or development of all the fruit and graces of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:12, 16).
"A soul entirely sanctified can grow in grace more rapidly than others. Holiness does not put a finality to anything within us, except to the existence and practice of sin.
"Because all the internal antagonisms of growth are excluded from the heart. Indwelling sin is the greatest to growth in grace. When this evil principle is with all its real living, stirring, inward. evils, hindrance to our growth is removed. When the weeds in a garden are exterminated, the vegetables will grow the more rapidly.
"Because the purified heart has stronger faith, dearer light, is nearer the fountain, and dwells in a purer atmosphere than before it was cleansed. "Because after the Holy Ghost has cleansed the heart, He has a better chance than before to enlighten, enrich, adorn, and renew it, with more and more of love and power. The cleansing blood, having removed all the interior obstructions to the Holy Spirit's most gracious operations, affords more room for the Christian graces to grow and flourish.
"Because the death of sin gives free scope to the life of righteousness. The purified heart is a pure moral soil, where the plants of righteousness, the graces of the spirit, have an unobstructed growth. In the very nature of the case, in the pure heart, the Christian virtues are less impeded, and their growth more rapid, uniform and solid.
"It should be borne in mind that growth in grace appertains to the positive in Christian life, to the graces of the Spirit, and is not a process of separating sin from the soul, either before or after entire sanctification. There is no growing out of sin from the vicious to the virtuous, or from defilement to purity. Growth in a Christian has respect to the expansion and development of the moral features or virtues of the life in Christ. "Because the powers and capacities of the entirely sanctified soul increase and expand more rapidly than before, and with this increasing capacity there is a corresponding increase in the volume and power of the graces of the Spirit. Indwelling sin degenerates, blinds, cripples, and enervates the soul, while holiness quickens, invigorates, and secures; the best possible foundation for its expansion and development.
"Because it perfects the conditions of the most thrifty and symmetrical growth possible in this life. Holiness is spiritual health. 'By his stripes we are healed.' All disease and deformity obstruct growth, while health is its most essential condition. A child in perfect health will grow in stature and strength more rapidly than if possessed of some constitutional disease.
"Grace has the best possible chance in an entirely sanctified soul to achieve its grandest results. The very conditions of retaining purity are the precise conditions of the most rapid, healthful, and beautiful growth in love, knowledge, and holiness" (Perfect Love, pp. 55-59).
Rev. John Wesley: "One perfected in love may grow far swifter than he did before" (A Plain Account of Christian Perfection).
Dr. Luther Lee: "When the embarrassments are thus removed out of the soul itself, progress will be more rapid; every virtue may increase in strength and brightness" (Theology, p. 25).
Rev. John Fletcher: "A perfect Christian grows far more than a feeble believer whose growth is still obstructed by the shady thorns of sin, and by the draining suckers of iniquity" (Last Check, p. 499).
Bishop Hamline: "The heart may be cleansed from all sin, while our graces are immature, and the cleansing is a preparation for unembarrassed and rapid growth" (Sermon, Beauty of Holiness, 1862).
|