What We Believe Part 3What we believe: Entire Sanctification
Over the next few weeks as a church we are going to explore what we believe, a few of the key doctrines and concepts of scripture, that shape our life individually as well as our life together as the Church.
Together we want to get a clearer picture of the nature of our faith as the Church of the Nazarene, not just to gain knowledge, but to value the freedom and joy found in living out the way of Jesus of Nazareth.
I welcome you to our new teaching series “What we believe”
1 John 1:8-10
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.1 John 2:1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
Can I just say emphatically today that we believe this?
And not only do we believe it’s true, we believe we are called to experience it as a part of our walk with Christ.Today in part 3 of our series we will see that we believe in the power of God’s grace to enable us to live lives free from the power of sin.
Or put more simply, we believe in what’s known as Entire Sanctification.
From our Articles of Faith
We believe that sanctification is the work of God which transforms believers into the likeness of Christ. It is wrought by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit in initial sanctification, or regeneration (simultaneous with justification), entire sanctification, and the continued perfecting work of the Holy Spirit culminating in glorification. In glorification we are fully conformed to the image of the Son.
We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect.
It is wrought by the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service. Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by grace through faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.This experience is also known by various terms representing its different phases, such as “Christian perfection,” “perfect love,” “heart unity,” “the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit,” “the fullness of the blessing,” and “Christian holiness.”We believe that there is a marked distinction between a pure heart and a mature character. The former is obtained in an instant, the result of entire sanctification; the latter is the result of growth in grace.We believe that the grace of entire sanctification includes the divine impulse to grow in grace as a Christlike disciple. However, this impulse must be consciously nurtured, and careful attention given to the requisites and processes of spiritual development and improvement in Christlikeness of character and personality. Without such purposeful endeavor, one’s witness may be impaired and the grace itself frustrated and ultimately lost.Participating in the means of grace, especially the fellowship, disciplines, and sacraments of the Church, believers grow in grace and in wholehearted love to God and neighbor.let’s pause to clarify some terms.First, what on earth is that thing in our hearts, those desires that sabotage our walk with the Lord?That friends, is our sinful or carnal nature, inherited from our first parents in the garden. It’s always opposed to God’s will, it’s always focused on fulfilling our own desires. It’s the motivator or the source of all the sins we commit.Next, what is mean by Sanctification?By definition it is the action of making or declaring something holy. The action or process of being freed from sin or purified.So, for entire sanctification, we believe that by grace, we are purified, and entirely freed from sin.It is in entire sanctification that the carnal nature in our hearts is dealt with by Christ’s atoning work on the Cross.We believe that Entire Sanctification is the work of God’s grace in our lives that deals with the deep heart condition.In purifying our hearts, we are freed from the power of that nature we have struggled with for so long.
Romans 6:10-14
The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
God’s grace is leading us to offer all of ourselves to Him, to allow him to purify our hearts, and full us with his holy spirit.
In our surrender and his infilling and cleansing presence, we are free from the power of sin.
When we finally get to the end of ourselves, tired of the struggle, and we throw our arms up in surrender- That’s when God’s grace can do his deep work, his filling us to overflowing…Our life, our relationship with Christ will never be the same.
You are free from those inward heart desires pulling you away. Free to obey God fully…To be free from there power does not mean we will never make a mistake again.It doesn’t mean we live in some state of constant joy or ecstasy, we will still face suffering and challenges.It doesn’t eliminate our personality or who we are- in fact, I would argue that fully devoted to God is when we can TRULY be who we are.This experience doesn’t automatically make you a mature Christian.- There is a difference between a pure heart and a mature character.- God gives us purity, in an instant- we still have to learn how to live it out.Entire sanctification is a continuing journey.Our surrender is a definite moment in time, but it’s also lifestyle of YES to Jesus.The bottom line is this: Yes, you can sin if you want to. But why not choose freedom?