Bible Question:
Greetings Forum! I would appreciate your help. I am currently doing a study of sanctification. I am especially interested in the doctrine of Entire Sanctification. Here is my question: Is there any support for the doctrine of Entire Sanctification in the Bible? This is not a trick question. I am in the process of studying this issue and have an open mind to whatever the Bible says. So, if you have any comments (based upon Scripture) either for or against this doctrine, I would appreciate hearing from you. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
Bible Answer: An excellent source would be the compilation of Wesley's writing on the topic of "Christian Perfection" and "Entire Sanctification" that you can find at the following URL. http:\\www.whatsaiththescripture.com\Fellowship\Wesley.Christian.Perfectio.html Within the the denominations and independent churches that seek to pursue Wesley's desire for "entire sanctification" -- there is a significant variance in understanding and explanation, but this article is from Wesley's own writings. He quotes the Scriptures extensively in this piece to guide his explanations. My understanding is that passages and verses such as Luke 14:25ff and Matthew 6:24-Luke 16:14, Romans 12:1f, etc. give the clearest indication of what Wesley meant by entire sanctification. It is not a condition of sinless perfection or an ability to set aside the flesh completely. Rather it is a state or condition of being fully set apart, not only positionally by God but in one's own heart and will -- a condition in which (by the Spirit's empowerment) nothing is allowed by the will to compete with God for allegiance. While there is great disagreement among those who have the pursuit of "holiness" as one of their central guiding principles -- I believe Wesley seems fairly clear in his own (later) writings that any state of "entire sanctification" can be lost and regained without at all affecting salvation itself. I believe Wesley would interpret 1 Corinthians 10:13 as a very real possibility for the true Christian at any given time and not simply a worthy but unattainable goal. This is an important part of the doctrine of many churches, as are other secondary doctrines for others. You do well to consider whether you could commit yourself to a long-term affiliation with such doctrine before you step into a new pastoral role. It is important that you follow your own conscience before God and not that of Wesley or any other great theologian -- since none of them are in full agreement about everything. (At least they weren't in agreement while in the flesh; Wesley and Whitefield, Lloyd-Jones and G. Campbell Morgan, Luther and Calvin, and others are surely in strong personal agreement now on many such matters that they disagreed upon before they entered God's presence without their fleshly limitations.) It's difficult to trace exactly what Wesley believed, as his "Wesleyan Quadrilateral" approach to doctrine resulted in his doctrine(s) being repeatedly revisited and retested by the Scriptures (maintaining the Scriptures as the supreme authority) makes it difficult to lock in on his final definitions of many concepts. Wesley was not a systematic theologian (most of whom also maintain the Scriptures as the supreme authority) who kept past conclusions on secondary doctrines as fixed and foundational -- immutable due to the height and width of subsequent doctrines built upon them. His views on secondary doctrines were somewhat more malleable -- for better or for worse. In brotherly encouragement, Brent |