Stages of Grace in Holy Living
Some have wondered why it appears that many new converts are not following after the life of holiness. The question is reasonable in light of the fact that we proclaim entire sanctification as our distinctive doctrine.
Every year we receive new Nazarenes into membership, the majority by profession of faith. Our active membership provides a thrilling opportunity to lead these new Christians, including those not raised with holiness preaching and teaching, into the "fullness of faith."
I offer several thoughts on this question. 1) There is a widespread perception that the doctrines of entire sanctification and holiness, with their various phases, are confusing and hard to understand. Arguably, there have been periods and occasions in our history when claims of the holiness message have been described erroneously, repelling some and failing to attract believers to receive and enter into the experience of this biblical truth.
We appear to be past most of this "less than Scriptural understanding" of holiness, and are replacing it with the fullest range of holiness preaching and teaching as given to us by Christ and the Apostles. Neither can the newly converted believer justify failure to seek earnestly the fullness of the Spirit because of misleading messages, nor can the minister or teacher justify silence by the presumed difficulty of understanding the biblical message of holiness.
It is the duty and responsibility of all preachers and teachers of holiness to qualify themselves by diligence in study and prayer to proclaim the call to Christian holiness. One must know more than a theoretical basis of the doctrine-an experiential encounter with the reality of sanctification is essential.
Rejoice! Christ has sent his Holy Spirit to "guide [us] into all truth" (John 16:13, KJV).
One of the marks of a "true" believer is a desire to know and receive all that God has for him or her. Repeated failure to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit may give cause to doubt one's salvation. Such a person may need to be converted. In other words, when one becomes a true Christian, spiritual issues are settled, and one says a complete "yes" to the total will of God for his or her life.
In this moment of conversion one becomes a "new creature" in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away and all things are become new. Most Christian believers are so filled with the "joy of the Lord" they are oblivious to their need for more. But in time, as they continue in obedience, they will become conscious of an inner resistance to the full will of God. In their conversion they thought they had yielded everything to God, but in reality they had not understood the depth of the consecration demanded.
Most people do not oppose or reject our holiness message because they think it is some fringe idea that is separated from the gospel unless we have led them to that idea. Rather, they reject it because they have misconceptions as to what holiness is-or because they are not willing to yield to the claims of Christ and the gospel. We must free them from misconceptions, while at the same time reaffirming the scriptural demand for radical commitment, obedience, and cleansing of the heart through baptism with the Holy Spirit, which we know as "entire sanctification." This requires time and prayerful diligence, depending upon the individual seeker.
The new believer may become confused by the "secondness" of entire sanctification. One may wonder why conversion and sanctification are not bestowed at the same time. The limitation is not on God's part, but ours. One cannot see the need for inner cleansing until one has become a new creature in Christ Jesus. Then one becomes deeply aware of one's lack. 5) Or, one may assume that a "full consecration" is unnecessary until the moment of entire sanctification. This informed commitment, the believer reasons, can be postponed until that moment in their journey. This is a dangerous mistake, for it assumes that one can justify an un-Christlike spirit or attitude with the hasty quip that one is not yet sanctified wholly.
Rather, we are saying "yes" to Jesus at every stage of our salvation, although we are not fully aware of what is involved until we begin living the Christian life on a daily basis. After a period of self-evaluation, and allowing the Holy Spirit to survey every part of one's being, full commitment to God is made. The believer, now having done his or her part through consecration and faith, is filled with the Holy Spirit. One's selfish spirit is cleansed, and one is empowered to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God.
Entire sanctification is a divine work that instantaneously by faith brings freedom or cleansing from original sin (the spirit of sin), assurance through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit who empowers for service, and entire devotement to God. Those who imagine that entire sanctification is the end of spiritual development have not begun to grasp the height and depth and breadth of the meaning of holiness. This experience or relationship with God through Christ opens up unimaginable possibilities of grace while eliminating the primary hindrance to growth, namely, the spirit of self-sovereignty.
It is important to understand the stage of grace we are in at any moment. But it is vital that the believer continues to grow in grace and make progress in becoming more like Christ. Oh, to be like Thee is the fervent prayer of every follower of Christ.
John A. Knight is general superintendent emeritus for the Church of the Nazarene.
Holiness Today, March/April 2008
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Stage 1: Conversion, justification, regeneration, adoption, new birth. One is set on the road to moral and spiritual perfectiono-to a life of holiness.
Stage 2: The moment of entire sanctification, cleansing from inner sin and selfishness. The believer is filled with the power of the Spirit for a continuing life of service.
Stage 3: This stage is characterized by the Spirit-filled life, accelerated growth in grace, ever enlarging love for God and others, deepening dependence on grace, joy in doing the Father's will, less of self-more of God, and victory amid life's adversities.
Please note: This article was originally published in 2008. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.
