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The contributors to Five Views on Sanctification describe the way to a sanctified, or holy, lifestyle from an evangelical perspective that holds the Bible as authoritative and a regenerated relationship with Jesus Christ as the only eternal hope for the individual. All affirm that sanctification is (1) a completed work of Christ, (2) an ongoing process of cultivation in living, and (3) a culminating action at the return of Jesus. They also affirm that ongoing sanctification is achieved in devotion to Christian disciplines and living a life of love and righteousness toward God. All are also in agreement that success in this endeavor against evil and personal sin is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. However, all differ in some mechanics of the accomplishment of holiness. Here lie the reasons for discussion.
I chose to do this term project over any other ones because I want to verify my own position on sanctification since I have many friends and acquaintances who speak about holiness from many viewpoints. In ministry I need to have my own understanding of their viewpoints and my own as well in order to understand how to bridge to their view or at least draw a conclusion on the differences. I will begin by answering the questions provided in the course materials for each view and then before moving on will analyze, evaluate, and apply the data gathered. My goal is to allow the Bible to be the primary sieve through which to analyze this data.
Melvin Dieter says that John Wesley's emphasis on the reality of "a faith that works by divine love" sets him apart from the more common Reformed theological underpinnings of eighteenth century evangelicals. He believed persons could in freedom respond positively or negatively to God's salvific grace. Therefore, Wesley paid attention to experience, to works of grace in a person's life.
Wesley believed that saved individuals would never be free on this side of eternity from the possibility of willful and deliberate sin. However, one could be free from the need constantly to transgress through humble dependence on the Lord and obedience to His will. There would be, though, no freedom on this side of glorification from effects or consequences of sin in this sin-tainted cosmos.
For Wesley, the supreme and overruling purpose of salvation in God's plan is to restore in individuals His own image. Through the effect of grace, the Lord could restore the holiness lost in the Edenic Fall. He believed that God's promise of salvation included deliverance from the drive to all willful sin.
ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION
Wesley believed that the inward war between the old man and the new could eventually be won by the new man through the same grace with brought about regeneration. He believed a person could be entirely sanctified, ending the war within and releasing the heart into full freedom from rebellion to God's will. No works could accomplish this cease-fire. Only the power of Christ's sacrifice for sin could overcome and deal a total death blow to sin, entirely renewing a believer in the image of God. Entire sanctification is perfection in love that heals the wound of Adam completely and cleanses. It is a freedom which turns a person in entirety toward God to seek Him and follow His will. It is the presentation of the members of one's body for righteousness in totality. This crisis of entire sanctification is not an end, however. It is progress on the continuum toward glory. It is here that the basic relationship that impels toward progression in God's grace is marked. This event does not have to come at a time different than initial salvation, but it is a distinct work from salvation in Wesley's view. The will must be cleansed from the effects of Adamic sin which remain after justification. Entire sanctification is what God does "in us" through Christ.
WESLEY'S IMAGO DEI AND MORAL LAW
Wesley's view of the imago Dei which suffered loss in the Garden consisted in three parts: (1) the natural image, that of immortality, free will, and affections; (2) the political image--ruling authority over the natural realm, and (3) the moral image -- pristine righteousness, holiness, love, purity, intellect, and integrity. The Fall affected all three dimensions and lost the image of God, but ultimately, the moral image was the greatest loss. Parts of the other two images remained after the Fall, but the moral image was totally destroyed.
Prevenient grace is the unmerited, unasked for gift of God which works in drawing individuals to Himself. No fallen human has the ability to comprehend God in his natural state, says Wesley. It is God's prevenient grace that shouts the love of God in nature, that makes know their need and the opportunity for restoration on a continuum of salvation that draws one to God with the end being salvation. Nothing is provided from the human. Prevenient grace is fully from the atoning work of Christ Jesus.
Moral law, according to Wesley, is holy and good. A Christian should view the law so. In fact, the Christian should welcome the law as a revelation of the very personage of God, the manifested Presence, Revealed Holiness, the High and Holy One. While not required to keep the law as a condition of acceptance "in Christ," the believer is under obligation to fulfill the law through faith. On this continuum of Christian growth and maturity, the moral law should be worked out not in an inward spirituality, but in actual outward works of love. If such works did not accompany righteousness, then the faith of the individual is dead.
ANALYSIS, EVALUATION, APPLICATION
Wesley's emphasis on a faith with works has not infrequently been taken to an extreme, but as Dieter describes the Wesleyan view, I find Biblical data agreeing with this position. "A tree is recognized by its fruit" (Matthew 12:33), Jesus said. Jesus' half brother James concurred: "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17). However, we should be quick to remind the hearers that here is no Pelagian ideas of works righteousness. In regard to entire sanctification, if I understand Wesley correctly, his idea of deliverance from the drive to willful sin is valid. Paul makes the discussion of what Wesley would call entire sanctification in his mountain peaks and valleys of Romans 6-8. I am somewhat skeptical about his position, however, that the old man can be entirely done away with on this side of eternity. Paul seems to find a constant war continuing (Romans 7:22; 2 Corinthians 12:7-8), but there is room to say that Paul overcame his war in Romans 8, and that Paul's messenger from Satan was just that, a demon, and not his old man which Paul had crucified with Christ years before (Galatians 1:20) in what Wesley may term entire sanctification. The definition of sin is cloudy. It seems that Wesley believes sin is a willful act of disobedience when the Scripture says that sin is "fall[ing] short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). If sin is what the Scripture says, then how can anyone be perfect or entirely sanctified on this side? Wesley himself admits that some of the elements of his ideas of the image of God will not be restored until glorification. Does this mean that Wesley is contradicting himself in regard to perfection?
With Paul, Wesley affirms the goodness of the law, but seems to diverge from Paul on insisting on the obligation of following it, albeit with Wesley saying that following the law does not speak of a Judaizing works-conditional atonement, but rather a Christ-bought person will automatically follow the law. However, following the law is evidence of being blood-bought. This circular logic is somewhat tenuous. Overall, however, Wesley reminds me that in my own dealings with others, "how much I love Thee, my actions will show."
In the Reformed view of Anthony Hoekema, the guilt of sin is the condemned standing that each person has before God by virtue of having violated God's perfect law. The pollution of sin is the corruption of human nature which produces in kind more corruption. In receiving Christ, the guilt of sin is removed instantly through the sacrifice of Jesus. In sanctification, the pollution of sin is continually being cleansed more and more until totally removed at the completion of all things. It causes us to live lives in holiness, pleasing to God. Sanctification also causes a new orientation away from sin and toward the Lord Jesus, a renewal that enables the potential the Lord created in ourselves to be used to its fullness in His glory.
Sanctification by the truth is done through the power of the Word of God, and this word of God effects sanctification by faith. Through this sanctification by faith, we apprehend our union with Christ, recognize the divine fact that sin no longer has mastery over us, attach ourselves to the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to overcome this sin and live for God, and produce fruit in keeping with righteousness.
Sanctification is both the work of God and the responsibility of the individual. It is a supernatural work of the Lord in which the believer through faith activates God's power. Definitive sanctification occurs once for all at the beginning of the process of holiness. It occurs at a point of decisive break with sin and the decisive resurrection with Christ. It occurs at justification and makes a believer a new creature, though not entirely new in the fullness of glory. Progressive sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit continually renewing and conforming us to the likeness of Christ. It is the continual maturation of the one definitively sanctified. Sanctification begins at justification in the Reformation rubric.
In the sense of the old self and the new self, according to Hoekema, the old man is put off at justification and/or definitive sanctification and the new self is put on at that time like a new set of clothes. The Christian, Hoekema adds, must live a life formed of the law. Though believers do not keep the law in order to earn salvation, they keep it in gratitude for salvation. It is an expression of Christian love and reflection of the glory and image of God. The final goal of sanctification is the glory of God. The proximate goal of sanctification is the ultimate perfection of God's people.
ANALYSIS, EVALUATION, APPLICATION
I see in Hoekema's presentation of the Reformed view of sanctification many of the assertions which Dieter made in the Wesleyan view. One which I will mention is the idea of a continuum of salvific progress in holiness. Each denounces the other's view, but with the exception of terminologies, both are essentially discussing the same matter. The Reformed continuum is perhaps less apparent but not less real. Hoekema discusses the guilt of sin, or condemnation of the old self which becomes justified through an aorist event of definitive sanctification, killing the old self and resurrecting the new self. The final goal of this sanctification is the glory of God. Hoekema also exhibits the pollution of sin, or corruption of the old self which is being continually renewed through progressive sanctification of the new self with the proximate goal of perfection.
Hoekema's presentation of the old and new selves helps me deal with Romans 8 and other sections presenting the war within, but it does not offer crucial questions for me. In Romans 7, Paul is waging war with the members of his body of death for what he wants to do. Mullen conveniently skipped these verses in his lecture to my chagrin. Hoekema's explanation shows the decisive death of the old man that Paul teaches in Romans 6, but he does not well explain the continual battle with the flesh which continues throughout all of life, albeit with success through the power of the Holy Spirit in many areas.
The twentieth century Pentecostal movement began at Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas, on the first day of the century, January 1, 1901. In 1910, William Durham began to teach a doctrine at odds with traditional holiness teaching of a second work of grace. As eventually accepted by the Assemblies of God, Durham taught justification by faith which cleanses the individual from sin and provides for salvation. From that point, an individual should abide in Christ, receive, and walk in the Holy Spirit. The sinful nature is crucified with Christ and the righteousness of Christ is credited to the individual. As long as a person walks in faith, fruit is borne. Sin, however, breaks the relationship with Christ, allowing the old sinful nature to reassert itself, necessitating recrucifixion of the sinful nature by faith in the cross. Durham encouraged Christians to abide in Christ and progress instead toward maturity.
MEANS OF SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification is instantaneous for Pentecostals in that the moment a person receives the free gift of salvation in Christ, he is separated from sin and is with God. This is finished work of Calvary is the basis for positional sanctification. The three means of sanctification are the Christ's blood, the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures. The Blood effects our positional sanctification, identifying us with Christ and continuously cleanses and sanctifies us. The Holy Spirit is the agent of sanctification, involved in the initial work of sanctification but also at work in progressive holiness, producing fruit of the Spirit in the believer's life. The Word is the primary tool the Holy Spirit uses to effect ongoing sanctification in an individual, adding knowledge for growth in grace.
HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM
In kosher Pentecostal terminology, baptism by the Spirit is part of the process of justification, of bringing a person into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the baptism of Jesus Christ where the believer is empowered for ministry through the filling of the Spirit. This work is distinct from conversion. The Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit results in an "overflowing fullness of the Spirit, a deepened reverence for God, and intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work, and a more active love for Christ, for his Word and for the lost. [It] enables a believer to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanying supernatural signs, adds a necessary dimension to worshipful relationship with God, and enables them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in expression of fruit and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for the edifying of the body of Christ." Pentecostals see an emphasis on works of service as evidence of the growth in sanctification. While sanctification is the chief work in the life of the believer for a Pentecostal, they also emphasize the role of service in promoting that sanctification.
ANALYSIS, EVALUATION, APPLICATION
Were it not for tongues-speaking, the Pentecostal approach to sanctification could come close to being any other evangelical in this book! There is one troublesome passage, however, for me, involving the continual recrucifixion of the sinful nature when sin arises. If by that statement Stanley Horton means that confession, repentance, and resolve to obey the Lord and walk in the Spirit, then that is a well spoken way of referring to coming back to the Lord. If the statement means that one who has sinned has lost his way and position as a blood-bought believer, I have serious questions. I trust the former is true.
On the basis of speaking in tongues, it seems that while Horton includes this topic in an article on sanctification, he also admits that it is only a doorway to greater sanctification, "not of itself a sanctifying experience." In that case, the issue of glossalalia is irrelevant to a discussion of sanctification and brings the most divergent brother more surely into the fold of evangelical sanctification teaching. Therefore, it would not be important here to go into the tenuous defense of the necessity of tongues-speaking. Even Hoekema's arrogant response that the necessity of tongues precludes the higher levels of sanctification from the majority of worldwide believers is useless because he neglects to see that the majority of non-Catholic Christians in the world today are Pentecostals!
Keswick is a town in England's lake district which has provided the venue for annual convocations to promote practical holiness since 1875. Begun by individuals frustrated at living a low-level Christian existence, the attenders at these conventions sought to find a more normal way to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. While Keswick is not a system of doctrine or organization, it is a movement based on the promotion of practical holiness and mainstream Protestant theology.
Traditionally, a Keswick meeting has a specific topic each day. The first day emphasizes sin. The second focuses on God's provision for victorious Christian living. The third homes in on consecration. This is the crucial day, for here people are challenged to surrender to God unconditionally. The fourth day is themed to living in the Spirit. There are three stages of Keswick sanctification. First there is positional sanctification, a judicial decision by the Almighty seen in forgiveness, justification, and regeneration. In regeneration, a person is set free from the controlling authority of a sinful disposition. Second, there is experiential sanctification, the gradual outworking of the Holy Spirit's cleansing in one's life over time. Third is complete and permanent sanctification occurring at full glorification with Christ in Glory. According to Keswick, every Christian has the normal expectation by the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to choose consistently deliberately not to violate the known will of God.
The root cause of spiritual failure in Christians is unbelief. It often manifests in ignorance, actual or supposed; disobedience, in active rebellion or passive drift; and lack of trust. The antidote for unbelief is faith. Faith is the way to appropriate God's grace in all its forms. We cannot live the Christian life without it, Keswick says. It is by faith we are justified, and by faith we receive the life-giving Spirit. Faith is the choice to commit unreservedly to God who is described in Scripture and of whom the Holy Spirit testifies. Being filled with the Spirit is the condition of being characterized by God-likeness, the Holy Spirit having full control by invitation of a person. The four tools of the Spirit for sanctifying work are prayer, Scripture, the Church, and suffering.
ANALYSIS, EVALUATION, APPLICATION
Because this method of sanctification is the one taught in the course, I will merely comment on how I can apply this framework to ministry. I have been called as an ambassador for Christ to the nations. As such, I function as a teacher, a prophet, and a minister of reconciliation. Therefore, I must be able to navigate in the interest of the unity of the Body all kinds of theological frameworks and ideas of holiness. This framework allows me to receive the most about every one of the five gems of sanctification listed here without compromising in the least my commitment to the Word of God and more importantly, to the One of whom the Scriptures testify.
Augustine (354-430) introduced the doctrine of the two natures into Christianity. The Reformers seemed to take the same tack, and in the twentieth century, dispensationalists have taken up the two natures doctrine of sanctification. Charles Hodge exposes Romans 7:14-25 as applying to Christians, not the unsaved. This theological enigma is the natural result of different views of Scripture's doctrine of man's natural state. John Walvoord defines sin nature as "a complex of human attributes that demonstrate a desire and predisposition to sin." His definition of the new nature in Christ is "a complex of attributes having a predisposition and inclination to righteousness."
Walvoord defines the old man as related to "the former life rather than the former nature." Scofield said that the old man was all that Adam was, both judicially and morally. Walvoord defines the new man as the "new manner of life stemming from the new nature and manifested in a Christian's experience." Scofield said that the new man was the "partaker of divine nature and life." The reason for disagreement is Walvoord's assertion that one cannot take off the old self and put on the new by human effort (Colossians 3:9-10).
Regeneration is a work of God accomplishing immediately by the Holy Spirit a new birth, a spiritual resurrection, and a new creation. It is not an experiential event but is conjoined with salvation. The baptism of the Spirit for dispensationalists, is the aoristic work of God at salvation, placing an individual believer into union with Christ and the church. The indwelling of the Spirit is a proof of ownership that comes at salvation. The filling of the Spirit is not consonant in all Christians, according to dispensationalists. It is a work of God that occurs repeatedly in the life of a believer which gives an infusion of spiritual power in the Spirit for ministry. The filling of the Spirit refers to the unhindered work of the Holy Spirit in a person's life.
In order to have the filling of the Spirit, a Christian must yield to the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures, yield to the providential work of God in his life, must walk by the Spirit, and must not resist, grieve, or say no to the Spirit. Walvoord complains of strict Calvinism's de-emphasis on sanctification as a work including the human responsibility of response to the sovereign work of God. This setup occurred as a result of the reactionary Synod of Dort (1618-1619), according to Walvoord, where Arminianism was denounced and Calvinism strongly asserted.
ANALYSIS, EVALUATION, APPLICATION
What a surprise!
From the reading of Walvoord's statements on the Holy Spirit's work in
sanctification and the life of the believer, he makes the
dispensationalists sound practically Pentecostal or at
least charismatic! Although he interprets some passages quite different
from a Pentecostal would, he
openly exhorts that saying no to the Holy Spirit is unacceptable and
promotes the filling of the Spirit.
Personally, Walvoord's discussion of the filling of the Spirit bridges
for me the gap between my
Baptistic/Reformed background and charismatic/Pentecostal experience.
Strange to say, I found an affinity
with this position that I have not found with others, though the
discussion and conclusions on one person,
two natures sounds accurate, it seems it could be a dangerous position
with many unbiblical endpoints.
