Holiness: A Desirable Experience and a Beautiful Life
In John chapter 12 when the inquiring Greeks came seeking an audience with Jesus we are not told what their motives were. It would seem obvious that they were seeking light and truth. Whatever their motive was it gave Jesus an occasion to unveil the central principle of the atonement. It is called the grain-of-wheat principle.
In John 12:24 Jesus declares “except a (corn) grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
In His death on the cross Jesus answered the question and fulfilled the purpose of His coming into the world. It was “for this cause He came unto this hour” (vs.27).
The choice was, “‘Should I save my own life and let a guilty race march on to hell, or will I indeed be “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.’” It was on the cross that Jesus gave His life in order that “the prince of this world be cast out.”
The message of the cross is that He became our substitution; this truth we gladly accept. However the cross means more than our substitution. It also demands our fellowship. We, as His children, must identify with Him in the crucifixion of our old man (Romans 6:6).
Our Likeness in Christ
Background Bible Reading: I John 4:17
Several times in the First Epistle of John we are told to be like Christ with the phrase “as He is” or “even as He”. (2:6-3:3-3:7-4:17). We are admonished to be like Him in this world and such an identification with Christ precludes any idea of a sinning religion. Matthew 1:21 says, “thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people FROM (not IN) their sins.”
The People:
Sometimes we handle the word too haphazardly or indiscriminately and when we take it out of its context we do injury to the truth. The Apostle in 4:13 identifies to whom he is writing. “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of His Spirit.”
In verse 15 he continues, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” In our text we read that, “our love is made perfect.” These verses leave no questions as to whom John is writing. They had received His Spirit, they were dwelling in him and him in them and they were made perfect in love.
Entire Sanctification: How and When it Occurs
All who know anything about the nature of a holy God admit that holiness is a logical necessity for us if we live with Him in eternity. The question of controversy is:
HOW and WHEN is a believer purified and made holy?
Several theories have been proposed over the years but only one can be the fact. Most agree that since the fall in the garden, man has been tainted with inbred depravity. Most also agree that regeneration (the new birth), does not cleanse one from this inherited corruption in the heart. We shall first look at those theories that we believe, on the authority of scripture, are a fallacy.
Forgetting and Reaching Forth
Background Bible Reading: Philippians 3:13b
Once again the earth has made a complete revolution around the sun and we stand at the gateway of a new year. The old year is behind us. For it, there will be no return because the curtain has rung down upon it forever. The wheels of time cannot be reversed. Its record is made and cannot be changed for the past is not ours to change or modify. The past is a finished product.
But why should it return? It gave us all that it had. Everything that it possessed has been laid in our lap. Doubtless there are some things we would like to change. There are some things we regret and yet some things that we rejoice in. Nevertheless the year 2004 is gone and the record stands.
As we embark upon a New Year, it is within our power to determine what its record shall be. While the past is no longer a moment in time but rather a memory of triumph or torment, determined by what we did with it, the year 2005 now lies before us. We know the exact length of its stay, even down to the number of seconds that it shall yield. We even know when it too will be ushered out of this world and interred in the archives of history.
The question we want to consider is how shall we approach this New Year?
Baptism with the Holy Spirit
We are now living in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. There have been three major dispensations: The dispensation of the Father, the dispensation of the Son, and the dispensation of the Holy Spirit.
The dispensation of the Father has been distinguished as that of law, which reached its climax on Mount Sinai.
The dispensation of the Son has been distinguished as that of reconciling grace, which reached its climax on Mount Calvary.
And, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit which is identified by His sanctifying power which reached its climax on Mount Zion or Jerusalem.
The dispensation of the Father lasted 4,000 years; that of the Son lasted throughout the time He was on the earth; and the Holy Spirit, started on the day of Pentecost and will end at the Lord’s return.
Entire Sanctification: A Second Work of Grace
ARTICLE X, of the Church Constitution-Manual of the Church of the Nazarene states: “We believe that Entire Sanctification is the act of God subsequent to regeneration….”
Salvation in its application to man is a two-fold cure for it deals with the dual nature of sin and its cure. The nature of the disease suggests the method of its treatment.
In the Mosaic Law we discover the dual nature of sin:
a) One commandment forbids theft; that is the act of sin.
b) Another commandment forbids covetousness; this represents a heart condition.
The former is a deliberate act while the latter is a diseased state.
Holiness Evangelism: A Timely Message
The early leaders of the holiness movement were faithful in their teaching of the doctrine of entire sanctification. They knew that man’s greatest problem was sin, and that God’s grace of entire sanctification was the only answer to this grave problem.
We who are charged with ministering the Gospel of Christ today must be just as faithful in proclaiming the whole counsel of God as were our forefathers. We must persistently teach that Jesus gave Himself to the nails of the cross, not only in order to redeem lost man, but His sacrifice also provided for the cleansing of His Church.
The Death of Jesus: Tragedy Turned Triumph
Background Bible Reading: Matthew 27:46
When Jesus was crucified on the middle cross over 2000 years ago, it was the most tragic event that ever occurred in the history of humankind. When Christ cried, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, (Matthew 27:46) even a veil hid the brightness of the sun as darkness draped the earth during that dark hour.
Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut His glories in, as Christ the mighty Maker died for man, the creatures sin.
The question has been asked:
Why did the Father forsake His Son and leave Him to die alone?
Perhaps one of the reasons was to reveal the true nature of sin. Jesus did not die the death of a martyr nor was He a victim of mob violence. He died, not only vicariously but also voluntarily. He was made sin for us, He who knew no sin. (II Corinthians 5:21)
Facts about Entire Sanctification
Background Reading on Entire Sanctification: I Thessalonians 5:23-24
There have arisen many false and erroneous theories relative to the experience of Entire Sanctification. Therefore we should be very scriptural and definitive in our presentation of this great truth, keeping in mind that Jesus died to sanctify the people with His own blood (Hebrews 13:12).
While clarity is important, it will finally be the work of the Holy Spirit to awaken man of his need of this experience that required the blood of Christ to provide. Ours is to be faithful in its proclamation. After all, as it has been stated, “a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”
1. Entire Sanctification is a Second work of grace:
We only need to read the first chapter of First Thessalonians to substantiate that these people are in possession of a first work of grace. Paul was praying sincerely and earnestly that they would be sanctified wholly as a second work of grace.
Be Ye Holy; For I am Holy
The command, “Be ye holy; for I am holy,” was originally given in Leviticus 11:45-46. It was an urgent command because there was sin in the camp of Israel and God’s plans were being thwarted because the people of God remained carnal. It is just as true today that if God’s plan is going to be accomplished then God needs vessels that are sanctified, (cleansed), through which to accomplish His purpose. Man is that chosen medium through which the Holy Spirit works to fulfill the Father’s plans.
The provisions of Calvary made it possible for righteousness to be imputed to us and holiness of heart to be imparted to us.
It was not merely an imputed standing before the courts of heaven, but an actual impartation of the divine nature, and a radical cleansing of the citadel of the human heart. It is here that He imparts His very nature in us and restores unto us the moral image that was lost in the fall.
