ENTIRE
SANCTIFICATION
By
Dr. Adam Clarke
Edited
by Jeff Paton
The
word "sanctify" has two meanings. 1. It signifies to consecrate, to
separate from earth and common use, and to devote or dedicate to God and his
service. 2. It signifies to make holy or pure.
Many
talk much, and indeed well, of what Christ has done for us: but how little is
spoken of what he is to do in us! and yet all that he has done for us is in
reference to what he is to do in us. He was incarnated, suffered, died, and rose
again from the dead; ascended to heaven, and there appears in the presence of
God for us. These were all saving, atoning, and mediating acts for us; that he
might reconcile us to God; that he might blot out our sin; that he might purge
our consciences from dead works; that he might bind the strong man armed --take
away the armor in which he trusted, wash the polluted heart, destroy every foul
and abominable desire, all tormenting and unholy tempers; that he might make the
heart his throne, fill the soul with his light, power, and life; and, in a word,
"destroy
This
perfection is the restoration of man to the state of holiness from which he
fell, by creating him anew in Christ Jesus, and restoring to him that image and
likeness of God which he has lost. A higher meaning than this it cannot have; a
lower meaning it must not have. God made man in that degree of perfection which
was pleasing to his own infinite wisdom and goodness. Sin defaced this divine
image; Jesus came to restore it. Sin must have no triumph; and the Redeemer of
mankind must have his glory. But if man be not perfectly saved from all sin,
sin does triumph, and Satan exult, because they have done a mischief that Christ
either cannot or will not remove. To say he cannot, would be shocking
blasphemy against the infinite power and dignity of the great Creator; to say he
will not, would be equally such against the infinite benevolence and
holiness of his nature. All sin, whether in power, guilt, or defilement is the
work of the devil; and he, Jesus, came to destroy the work of the devil; and as all
unrighteousness is sin, so his blood cleanses from all sin, because
it cleanses from all unrighteousness.
Many
stagger at the term perfection in Christianity; because they think that what is
implied in it is inconsistent with a state of probation, and savors of pride and
presumption: but we must take good heed how we stagger at any word of God; and
much more how we deny or fritter away the meaning of any of His sayings, lest he
reprove us, and we be found liars before him. But it may be that the term is
rejected because it is not understood. Let us examine its import.
The word
"perfection," in reference to any person or thing signifies that such
person or thing is complete or finished; that it has nothing redundant, and is
in nothing defective. And hence that observation of a learned civilian is at
once both correct and illustrative, namely, "We count those things perfect
which want nothing requisite for the end whereto they were instituted." And
to be perfect often signifies "to be blameless, clear,
irreproachable;" and according to the above definition of Hooker, a man
may be said to be perfect who answers the end for which God made him; and as God
requires every man to love him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and
his neighbor as himself; then he is a perfect man that does so; he answers
the end for which God made him; and this is more evident from the nature of that
love which fills his heart: for as love is the principle of obedience, so he
that loves his God with all his powers, will obey him with all his powers; and
he who loves his neighbor as himself will not only do no injury to him, but, on
the contrary, labor to promote his best interests. Why the doctrine which
enjoins such a state of perfection as this, should be dreaded, ridiculed, or
despised, is a most strange thing; and the opposition to it can only be from
that carnal mind that is enmity to God; "That is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be." And
had I no other proof that man is fallen from God, his opposition to Christian
holiness would be sufficient to me.
The
whole design of God was to restore man to his image, and raise him from the
ruins of his fall; in a word, to make him perfect; to blot out all his sins,
purify his soul, and fill him with holiness; so that no unholy temper, evil
desire, or impure affection or passion shall either lodge or have any being
within him; this and this only is true religion or Christian perfection; and a
less salvation than this would be dishonorable to the sacrifice of Christ, and
the operation of the Holy Ghost; and would be as unworthy of the appellation of
Christianity," as it would be of that of "holiness or
perfection."
They who
ridicule this are scoffers at the word of God; many of them totally irreligious
men, sitting in the seat of the scornful. Those who deny it, deny the whole
scope and design of divine revelation and the mission of Jesus Christ. And they
who preach the opposite doctrine are either speculative Antinomians, or pleaders
for Baal. When St. Paul says he "warns every man, and teaches every man in
all wisdom, that he may present every man PERFECT in Christ Jesus," he must
mean something. What then is this something? It must mean "that holiness
without which none shall see the Lord." Call it by what name we please, it
must imply the pardon of all transgression, and the removal of the whole body of
sin and death; for this must take place before we can be like him, and see him
as he is, in the radiance of his own glory. This fitness, then, to appear before
God, and thorough preparation for eternal glory, is what I plead for, pray for,
and heartily recommend to all true believer, under the name of Christian
perfection. Had I a better name, one more energetic, one with a greater
plenitude of meaning, one more worthy of the efficacy of the blood that bought
our peace, and cleanses from all unrighteousness, I would gladly adopt and use
it. Even the word "perfection" has, in some relations, so many
qualifications and abatements that cannot comport with that full and glorious
salvation recommended in the gospel, and bought and sealed by the blood of the
cross, that I would gladly lay it by, and employ a word more positive and
unequivocal in its meaning, and more worthy of the merit of the infinite
atonement of Christ, and of the energy of his almighty Spirit; but there is none
in our language; which I deplore as an inconvenience and a loss.
Why
then are there so many, even among sincere and godly ministers and people, who
are so much opposed to the term, and so much alarmed at the profession? I
answer, because they think no man can be fully saved from sin in this life. I
ask, where is this in unequivocal words, written in the New Testament? Where,
in that book is it intimated that sin is not wholly destroyed till death takes
place, and the soul and the body are separated? Nowhere. In the popish
baseless doctrine of purgatory, this doctrine, not with more rational
consequences, is held: this doctrine allows that, so firmly established is this
sin that it cannot be wholly destroyed even in death; and that a penal fire, in
a middle state between heaven and hell, is necessary to atone for that
which the blood of Christ had not cancelled; and to purge from that which the
energy of the almighty Spirit had not cleansed before death.
Even
papists could not see that a moral evil was detained in the soul through its
physical connection with the body; and that it required the dissolution of this
physical connection before the moral contagion could be removed. Protestants,
who profess, and most certainly possess, a better faith, are they alone that
maintain the deathbed purgatory; and how positively do they hold out death as
the complete deliverer from all corruption, and the final destroyer of sin, as
if it were revealed in every page of the Bible! There is not one passage in the
sacred volume that says any such thing. Were this true, then death, far
from being the last enemy, would be the last and best friend, and the greatest
of all deliverers: for if the last remains of all the indwelling sin of all
believers is to be destroyed by death, (and a fearful mass this will make,) then
death, that removes it, must be the highest benefactor of mankind. The truth
is, he is neither the cause nor the means of its destruction.
It is the blood of Jesus alone that cleanses from all unrighteousness. It is supposed that indwelling sin is useful even to true believers, because it humbles them and keeps them low in their own estimation. A little examination will show that this is contrary to the fact. It is generally, if not universally allowed that pride is of the essence of sin, if not its very essence; and the root from where all moral deviation flows. How then can pride humble us? Is this not absurd? Where is there a sincere Christian, whatever his creed may be, that does not deplore his proud, rebellious, and unsubdued heart and will, as being the cause of all his wretchedness; the thing that mars his best sacrifices, and prevents his communion with God? How often do these people say or sing, both in their public and private devotions,--
"But
pride, that busy sin,
Spoils
all that I perform!"
Were
there no pride, there would be no sin; and the heart from which it is cast out
has the humility, meekness, and gentleness of Christ implanted in its stead. But
still it is alleged, as an indubitable fact, that "a man is humbled under a
sense of indwelling sin." I grant that they who see and feel, and deplore
their indwelling sin, are humbled: but is it the sin that humbles? No.
It is the grace of God that shows and condemns the sin that humbles us. Neither
the devil nor his work will ever show themselves. Pride works frequently under a
dense mask, and will often assume the garb of humility. How true is that saying,
and of how many is it the language!
"Proud
I am my wants to see,
Proud
of my humility."
And to
conceal his working, even Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light!
It appears then that we attribute this boasted humiliation to a wrong cause. We
never are humbled under a sense of indwelling sin till the Spirit of God drags
it to the light, and shows us, not only its horrid deformity, but its hostility
to God; and he manifests it, that he may take it away: but a false opinion
causes men to hug the monster, and to contemplate their chains with complacency!
It has
been objected to this perfection, this perfect work of God in the soul, that
"the greater sense we have of our own sinfulness, the more will Christ be
exalted in the eye of the soul: for, if the thing were possible that a man might
be cleansed from all sin in this life, he would feel no need of a Savior; Christ
would be undervalued by him as no longer needing his saving power." This
objection mistakes the whole state of the case. How is Christ exalted in the
view of the soul? How is it that he becomes precious to us? Is it not from a
sense of what he has done for us, and what he has done in us? Did any man ever
love God till he had felt that God loved him? Do we not "love him because
he first loved us?" Is it the name JESUS that is precious to us? or JESUS
the Savior saving us from our sins? Is all our confidence placed
in him because of some one saving act? Or is it because of his continual
operation as the Savior? Can any effect subsist without its cause? Must not the
cause continue to operate in order to maintain the effect? Do we value a good
cause more for the instantaneous production of a good and important effect, than
we do for its continual energy, exerted to maintain that good and important
effect? All of these questions can be answered by a child. What is it that
cleanses the soul and destroys sin? Is it not the mighty power of the grace of
God? What is it that keeps the soul clean? Is it not the same power dwelling in
us? No more can an effect subsist without its cause, than a sanctified soul
abide in holiness without the indwelling Sanctifier. When Christ casts out the
strong-armed man, he takes away that armor in which he trusted, he spoils his
goods, he cleanses and enters into the house, so that the heart becomes the
habitation of God through the Spirit. Then can a man undervalue that very Christ
who not only blotted out his iniquity, but cleansed his soul from all sin; and
whose presence and inward mighty working constitute all his holiness and all his
happiness? Impossible! Jesus was never so highly valued, so intensely loved, so
affectionately obeyed, as now. The great Savior has not his highest glory from
his atoning and redeeming acts, but from the manifestation of his saving power.
"But
the persons who profess to have been made thus perfect are proud and
supercilious, and their whole conduct says to their neighbor, 'Stand by, I am
holier than thou.' " No person that acts so has ever received this grace.
He is either a hypocrite or a self-deceiver. Those who have received it are full
of meekness, gentleness, and long-suffering: they love God with all their hearts
-- they love even their enemies; love the whole human family, and are servants
of all. They know they have nothing but what they have received. In the splendor
of God's holiness they feel themselves absorbed. They have neither light, power,
love, nor happiness, but from their indwelling Savior. Their holiness, though it
fills the soul, yet is only a drop from the infinite ocean. The flame of their
love, though it penetrates their whole being, is only a spark from the
incomprehensible Sun of righteousness. In a spirit and in a way which none but
themselves can fully comprehend and feel, they can say or sing,--
"I
loathe myself when God I see,
And
into nothing fall:
Content
that Christ exalted be;
And
God is all in all."
It has
been no small mercy to me, that, in the course of my religious life, I have met
with many persons who professed that the blood of Christ had saved them from all
sin, and whose profession was maintained by an immaculate life; but I never knew
one of them that was not of the spirit above described. They were men of the
strongest faith, the purest love, the holiest affections, the most obedient
lives, and the most useful in society. I have seen such walking with God for
many years: and as I had the privilege of observing their walk in life, so have
I been privileged with their testimony at death, when their sun appeared to grow
broader and brighter at its setting; and, though they came through great
tribulation, they found that their robes were washed and made white through the
blood of the Lamb. They fully witnessed the grand effects which in this life
flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification; namely, assurance of
God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and
perseverance in the same to the end of their lives. O God! let my death be like
that of these righteous I and let my end be like theirs! Amen.
It is
scarcely worth mentioning another objection that has been started by the
ignorant, the worthless, and the wicked. "The people that profess this,
leave Christ out of the question; they either think that they have purified
their own hearts, or that they have gained their pretended perfection by their
own merits." Nothing can be more false than this slander. I know that
people well in whose creed the doctrine of "salvation from all sin in this
life " is a prominent article. But that people hold most conscientiously
that all our salvation, from the first dawn of light in the soul to its entry
into the kingdom of glory, is all by and through Christ. He alone convinces the
soul of sin, justifies the ungodly, sanctifies the unholy, preserves in this
state of salvation, and brings to everlasting blessedness. No soul ever was or
can be saved but through his agony and bloody sweat, his cross and passion, his
death and burial, his glorious resurrection and ascension, and continued
intercession at the right hand of God.
If men
would but spend as much time in fervently calling upon God to cleanse by the
blood that which He has not cleansed, as they spend in decrying this doctrine,
what a glorious state of the church should we soon witness! Instead of
compounding with iniquity, and tormenting their minds to find out with how little
grace they may be saved, they would renounce the devil and all his works, and be
determined never to rest till they had found that He had bruised him under their
feet, and that the blood of Christ had cleansed them from all unrighteousness.
Why is it that men will not try how far God will save them? nor leave off
praying and believing for more and more, till they find that God has held his
hand? When they find that their agonizing faith and prayer receive no farther
answer, then, and not till then, they may conclude that God will be no farther
gracious, and that He will not save to the uttermost them who come to him
through Christ Jesus.
But it
is farther objected, that even St. Paul himself denies this doctrine of
perfection, disclaiming it in reference to himself: "Not as though I had
already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after," Phil.
iii. 12. This place is mistaken: the apostle is not speaking of his restoration
to the image of God; but to completing his ministerial course, and receiving the
crown of martyrdom; as I have fully shown on my notes on this place, and to
which I must beg to refer the reader. (Editor’s
Note: Just three verses later, Paul claims the perfection of others and
himself, saying, “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded.”)
There is another point that has been produced, at least indirectly, in the
form of an objection to this doctrine: "Where are those adult, those
“perfect” Christians? We know none such; but we have heard that some persons
professing those extraordinary degrees of holiness have become scandalous in
their lives." When a question of this kind is asked by one who fears God,
and earnestly desires his salvation, and only wishes to have full evidence that
the thing is attainable, that he may shake himself from the dust and arise and
go out, and possess the good land -- it deserves to be seriously answered. To
such I would say, There may be several, even in the circle of your own religious
acquaintance, whose evil tempers and unholy affections God has destroyed; and
having filled them with is own holiness, they are enabled to love Him with all
their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and their neighbor as themselves. But
such make no public professions: their conduct, their spirit, the whole tenor of
their life, is their testimony. Again: there may be none such among your
religious acquaintance, because they do not know their privilege, or they
unfortunately sit under a ministry where the doctrine is decried; and in such
congregations and churches holiness never abounds; men are too apt to be
slothful, and unfaithful to the grace they have received; they need not their
minister's exhortations to beware of looking for or expecting a heart purified
from all unrighteousness; striving or agonizing to "enter in at the strait
gate" is not pleasant work to flesh and blood; and they are glad to have
anything to countenance their spiritual indolence; and such ministers have
always a powerful coadjutor; the father of lies, and the spirit of error will
work in the unrenewed heart, filling it with darkness, and prejudice, and
unbelief. No wonder, then, that in such places, and under such a “ministry”
there is no man that can be "presented perfect in Christ Jesus." But
wherever the trumpet gives a certain sound, and the people go forth to battle,
headed by the Captain of their salvation, there the foe is routed, and the
genuine believers brought into the liberty of the children of God.
As to some having professed to have
received this salvation, and afterward become scandalous in their lives (though
in all my long ministerial labors, and extensive religious acquaintance, I never
found but one example), I would just observe that they might possibly have been
deceived; thought they had what they had not; or they might have become
unfaithful to that grace and lost it; and this is possible through the whole
range of a state of probation. There have been angels who kept not their first
estate; and we all know, to our cost, that he who was the head and fountain of
the whole human family, who was made in the image and likeness of God, sinned
against God, and fell from that state. And so may any of his descendants fall
from any degree of the grace of God while in their state of probation; and any
man and every man must fall, whenever he or they cease to watch unto prayer, and
cease to be "workers together with God." Faith must ever be kept in
lively exercise, working by love; and that love is only safe when found exerting
its energies in the path of obedience.
An
objection of this kind against the doctrine of Christian perfection will apply
as forcibly against the whole revelation of God as it can do against one of the
doctrines; because that revelation brings the account of the defection of angels
and of the fall of man. The truth is, no doctrine of God stands upon the
knowledge experience, faithfulness, or unfaithfulness of man; it stands on the
veracity of God who gave it. If there were not a man to be found who was
justified freely through the redemption that is by Jesus; yet the doctrine of
"justification by faith" is true; for it is a doctrine that stands on
the truth of God. And suppose not one could be found in all the churches of
Christ whose heart was purified from all unrighteousness, and who loved God and
man with all his regenerated powers, yet the doctrine of Christian perfection
would still be true; for Christ was manifested that he might destroy the works
of the devil; and his blood cleanses from all unrighteousness. And
suppose every man be a liar, God is true.
It is
not the profession of a doctrine that establishes its truth; it is the truth of
God, from which it has proceeded. Man's experience may illustrate it; but it is
God's truth that confirms it. In all cases of this nature, we must forever cease
from man, implicitly credit God's testimony, and look to him in and through whom
all the promises of God are yea and amen.
To be
filled with God is a great thing; to be filled with the fullness of God is still
greater; to be filled with all the fullness of God is greatest of all. This
utterly bewilders the sense and confounds the understanding, by leading at once
to consider the immensity of God, the infinitude of His attributes, and the
absolute perfection of each! But there must be a sense in which even this
wonderful petition was understood by the apostle, and may be comprehended by us.
Most people, in quoting these words, endeavor to correct or explain the apostle
by adding the word communicable. But this is as idle as it is useless and
impertinent. Reason surely tells us that St. Paul would not pray that they
should be filled with what could not be communicated. The apostle certainly
meant what he said, and would be understood in his own meaning; and we may soon
see what this meaning is.
By the
"fullness of God," we are to understand all the gifts and graces which
he has promised to bestow on man in order to his full salvation here, and his
being fully prepared for the enjoyment of glory hereafter. To be filled with all
the fullness of God is to have the heart emptied of and cleansed from all sin
and defilement, and filled with humility, meekness, gentleness, goodness,
justice, holiness, mercy, and truth, and love to God and man. And that this
implies a thorough emptying of the soul of every thing that is not of God, and
leads not to him, is evident from this, that what God fills, neither sin nor
Satan can fill, nor in any wise occupy; for, if a vessel be filled with one
fluid or substance, not a drop or particle of any other kind can enter it,
without displacing the same quantum of the original matter as that which is
afterward introduced. God cannot be said to fill the whole soul while any
place, part, passion, or faculty is filled, or less or more occupied, by sin or
Satan: and as neither sin nor Satan can be where God fills and occupies the
whole, so the terms of the prayer state that Satan shall neither have any
dominion over that soul nor being in it. A fullness of humility precludes all
pride; of meekness, precludes anger; of gentleness, all ferocity; of goodness,
all evil; of justice, all injustice; of holiness, all sin; of mercy, all
unkindness and revenge; of truth, all falsity
Some say
"The body of sin in believers is, indeed, an enfeebled, conquered, and
deposed tyrant, and the stroke of death finishes its destruction." So,
then, the death of Christ and the influences of the Holy Spirit were only
sufficient to depose and enfeeble the tyrant sin; but our death must come in to
effect his total destruction! Thus our death is, at least partially, our Savior,
and thus that which was an effect of sin, ("for sin entered into the
world, and death by sin,") becomes the means of finally destroying it: that
is, the effect of a cause can become so powerful as to react upon that cause and
produce its annihilation! The divinity and philosophy of this sentiment are
equally absurd. It is the blood of Christ alone that cleanses from all
unrighteousness; and the sanctification of a believer is no more dependent on
death than his justification. If it be said that, "believers do not
cease from sin till they die," I have only to say they are such believers
as do not make a proper use of their faith: and what can be said more of the
whole herd of transgressors and infidels? They cease to sin when they cease to
breathe. If the Christian religion bring no other privileges than this to
its upright followers, well may we ask, "Wherein doth the wise man differ
from the fool, for they have both one end!" But the whole gospel teaches a
contrary doctrine. It is strange there should be found a person believing the
whole gospel system and yet living in sin! "Salvation from sin"
is the long continued sound, as it is the spirit and design, of the gospel. Our
Christian name, our baptismal covenant, our profession of faith in Christ, and
avowed belief in his word, all call us to this: can it be said that we have any
louder calls than they? How will we answer this question to God: "How shall
I escape if I neglect so great salvation?" And then, as your conscience
shall answer, let your mind and thy hand begin to act.
As there
is no end to the merits of Christ incarnated and crucified; no bounds to the
mercy and love of God; no let or hindrance to the almighty energy and
sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit; no limits to the improvability of the
human soul; so there can be no bounds to the saving influence which God will
dispense to the heart of every genuine believer. We may ask and receive, and our
joy shall be full! Well may we bless and praise God, "who has called us
into such a state of salvation;" a state in which we may be thus saved;
and, by the grace of that state, continue in the same to the end of our lives!
As
sin is the cause of the ruin of mankind, the gospel system, which exhibits it
cure, is fitly called "good news, or glad tidings;" and it is good
news, because it proclaims Him who saves his people from their
sins; and it would indeed be dishonorable to that grace, and the infinite merit
of Him who procured it, to suppose, much more to assert, that sin had made
wounds which grace would not heal. Of such a triumph Satan shall ever be
deprived. "He that committeth sin is of the devil." Hear this, ye
who plead for Baal, and cannot bear the thought of that doctrine that states
believers are to be saved from all sin in this life! He who committeth sin
is a child of the devil, and shows that he has still the nature of the devil in
him; "for the devil sinneth from the beginning:" he was the father of
sin,-- brought sin into the world, and maintains sin in the world by living in
the hearts of his own children, and thus leading them to transgression; and
persuading others that they cannot be saved from their sins in this life, that
he may secure a continual residence in their heart. He also knows that if he has
a place throughout life, he will probably have it at death; and, if so,
throughout eternity.
Now,
as Christ was manifested to take away our sins, to destroy
the works of the devil; and as his blood cleanses from all sin and
unrighteousness, is it not evident that God means that believers in Christ shall
be saved from all sin? For if his blood cleanses from all
sin, if he destroys the works of the devil, (and sin is
the work of the devil,) and if he who is born of God does not commit sin,
then he must be cleansed from all sin; and while he continues in
that state, he lives without sinning against God, for the seed of God remains in
him, and he cannot sin, because he is born, or begotten of God. How strangely
warped and blinded by prejudice and system must men be who, in the face of such
evidence as this, will still dare to maintain that no man can be saved from his
sin in this life; but must daily commit sin in thought, word, and deed, as the
Westminster divines have asserted! That is, every man is laid under the
fatal necessity of sinning as many ways against God as the devil does through
his natural wickedness and malice; for even the devil himself can have no
other way of sinning against God, except by thought, word, and
deed. And yet, according to these and others of the same creed,
"even the most regenerate sin against God as long as they live." It is
a miserable salvo to say "they do not sin so much as they used to do; and
they do not sin habitually, only occasionally." Alas for this system! Could
not the grace that saved them partially save them perfectly? Could not that
power of God that saved them from habitual sin save them from occasional or
accidental sin? Shall we suppose that sin, no matter how potent it may be,
is as potent as the Spirit and grace of Christ? And may we not ask, If it was
for God's glory and their good that they were “partially” saved, would it
not have been more for God's glory and their good if they had been
“perfectly” saved? But the letter and spirit of God's word, and the design
and end of Christ's coming, is to save his people from their sins.
The
perfection of the gospel system is not that it makes allowances
for sin, but that it makes an atonement for it; not that it tolerates
sin, but that it destroys it. No matter how addictive the disease
of sin may be, the grace of the Lord Jesus is more that sufficient to fully cure
it. God sets no bounds to the communications of his grace and Spirit to them
that are faithful. And as there are no bounds to the graces, so there should be
none to the exercise of those graces. No man can ever feel that he loves God too
much, or that he loves man too much for God's sake. Be so purified and refined
in your souls, by the indwelling Spirit, that even the light of God shining into
your hearts shall not be able to discover a fault that the love of God has not
purged away.
"Be
thou perfect, and thou shalt be perfection," that is, altogether perfect:
be just such as the holy God would have thee to be, as the Almighty God can make
thee, and live as the sufficient God shall support thee; for He alone who makes
the soul holy can preserve it in holiness. Our blessed Lord appears to have
these very words pointedly in view, "Ye shall be perfect, as your Father
who is in heaven is perfect," Matt. v. 48. But what does this imply? Why,
to be saved from all the power, the guilt, and the contamination of sin. This is
only the negative part of salvation, but it has also a positive part; to be made
perfect --to be perfect as our Father who is in heaven is perfect, to be filled
with the fullness of God, to have Christ dwelling continually in the heart by
faith, and to be rooted and grounded in love. This is the state in which man was
created; for he was made in the image and likeness of God. This is the state
from which man fell; for he broke the command of God. And this is the state into
which every human soul must be raised who would dwell with God in glory; for
Christ was incarnated and died to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. What
a glorious privilege! And who can doubt the possibility of its attainment who
believes in the omnipotent love of God, the infinite merit of the blood of the
atonement, and the all-pervading and all-purifying energy of the Holy Ghost? How
many miserable souls employ that time to dispute and cavil against the
possibility of being saved from their sins, which they should devote to praying
and believing that they might be saved out of the hands of their enemies! But
some may say, "You overstrain the meaning of the term; it signifies only,
Be sincere; for, a perfect obedience is impossible, God accepts of sincere
obedience." If by sincerity the objection means "good desires, and
generally good purposes, with an impure heart and spotted life," then I
assert that no such thing is implied in the text, nor in the original word. But
if the word sincerity is to be taken in its proper and literal sense, I have no
objection to it. Sincere is compounded of the Latin words, sine cera,
" without wax;" and, applied to moral subjects, is a
God never gives a precept but he offers sufficient grace to enable thee to perform it. Believe, as He would want you to believe, act, as He empowers and strengthens you, and then you will believe all things to the saving of your soul, and do all things well.
God is
holy; and this is the eternal reason why all his people should be holy -- should
be purified from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God. No faith in any particular creed, no religious observance, no
acts of benevolence and charity, no mortification, attrition, or contrition can
be a substitute for this. We must be made partakers of the divine nature. We
must be saved from our sins -- from the corruption that is in the world, and be
holy within and righteous without, or never see God. For this very purpose Jesus
Christ lived, died, and revived, that he might purify us unto himself; that
through faith in his blood our sins might be blotted out, and our souls restored
to the image of God. Reader, art thou hungering and thirsting after
righteousness? Then, blessed art thou, for thou shalt be filled. God is ever
ready, by the power of his Spirit, to carry us forward to every degree of life,
light, and love, necessary to prepare us for an eternal weight of glory. There
can be little difficulty in attaining the end of our faith, the salvation of our
souls from all sin, if God carry us forward to it; and this he will do, if we
submit to be saved in his own way, and on his own terms.
Many
make a violent outcry against the doctrine of perfection; that is, against the
heart being cleansed from all sin in this life, and filled with love to God and
man; because they judge it to be impossible! Is it too much to say of these,
that they know neither the Scripture nor the power of God? Surely, the Scripture
promises the thing, and the power of God can carry us on to the possession of
it. The object of all God's promises and dispensations was to bring fallen man
back to the image of God, which he had lost. This, indeed, is the sum and
substance of the religion of Christ. We have partaken of an earthly, sensual,
and devilish nature; the design of God, by Christ, is to remove this, and to
make us partakers of the divine nature, and save us from all the corruption, in
principle and fact, which is in the world.
It is
said that Enoch not only "walked with God," setting him always before
his eyes -- beginning, continuing, and ending every work to His glory -- but
also that "he pleased God," and had "the testimony that he did
please God." Hence we learn that it was then possible to live so as not to
offend God: consequently so as not to commit sin against him, and to have the
continual evidence or testimony that all that a man did and purposed was
pleasing in the sight of Him who searches the heart, and by whom devices are
weighed: and if it was possible then, it is surely, through the same source,
possible now; for God, and Christ, and faith are still the same.
The
petition "Thy will be done in earth, as is in heaven," certainly
points out a deliverance from all sin; for nothing that is unholy can consist
with the divine will; and, if this be fulfilled in man, surely sin shall be
banished from his soul. Again: the holy angels never mingle iniquity with their
loving obedience; and, as our Lord teaches us to pray that we do his will here
as they do in heaven, can it be thought he would put a petition into our mouths
the fulfillment of which was impossible?
The
reader is probably amazed at the small number of large stars in the whole
firmament of heaven. Will he permit me to carry his mind a little farther, and
either stand astonished at, or deplore with me the fact that, out of the
millions of Christians in the vicinity and splendor of the eternal Sun of
Righteousness, how very few are found of the first order! How very few can stand
examination by the test laid down in 1 Cor. 13! How very few love God with all
their heart, soul mind, and strength, and their neighbors as themselves! How few
mature Christians are found in the church! How few are, in all things, living
for eternity! How little light, how little heat, and how little influence and
activity, are to be found among them that bear the name of Christ! How few stars
of the first magnitude will the Son of God have to deck the crown of His glory!
Few are striving to excel in righteousness; and it seems to be a principal
concern with many, to find out how little grace they may have, and yet escape
hell; how little conformity to the will of God they may have, and yet get to
heaven. In the fear of God I register this testimony, that I have perceived
it to be the labor of many to lower the standard of Christianity, and to soften
down, or explain away, those promises of God that Himself has linked with
duties; and because they know they cannot be saved by their good works, they are
contented to have no good works at all; and thus the necessity of Christian
obedience, and Christian holiness, makes no prominent part of some modern
creeds. Let all those who retain the apostolic doctrine, that the blood of
Christ cleanses from all sin in this life, press every believer to go on to
perfection, and expect to be saved, while here below, into the fullness of the
blessing of the gospel of Jesus. To all such my soul says, Labor to show
yourselves approved unto God; workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth; and may the pleasure of the Lord prosper in your hands! Amen.
Many
employ that time in brooding and mourning over their impure hearts, which should
be spent in prayer and faith before God, that their impurities might be washed
away. What a minority are the members of the Christian church! I am afraid that
what some persons call their infirmities may rather be called their strengths;
the prevailing and frequently ruling power of pride, anger, ill will, &c.;
for how few think evil tempers
"If
they sin against thee, for there is no man that sinneth not," 1 Kings viii.
46. On this verse we may observe that the second clause, as it is here
translated, renders the supposition in the first clause entirely
self-contradictory and worthless; for if there be no man that
sinneth not, it is useless to say, "If they sin;" but this
contradiction is taken away by reference to the original, which should be
translated, "If they shall sin against thee;" or, "Should they
sin against thee; for there is no man that may not sin;" that
is, There
1. The
text speaks no such doctrine; it only speaks of the possibility of every man
sinning; and this must be true of a state of probation.
2.
There is not another text in the divine records that is more to the
purpose than this.
3.
The doctrine is flatly in opposition to the design of the gospel; for
Jesus came to save his people from their sin, and to destroy the
work of the devil.
4. It
is a dangerous and destructive doctrine, and should be blotted out of every
Christian's creed. There are too many who are seeking to excuse their crimes by
all means in their power; and we need not embody their excuses in a creed, to
complete their deception, by stating that their sins are unavoidable.
The
soul was made for God, and can never be united to him, nor be happy, till saved
from sin. He who is saved from his sin, and united to God, possesses the utmost
happiness that the human soul can enjoy, either in this or the coming world.
Where
a soul is saved from all sin, it is capable of being fully employed in the work
of the Lord: it is then, and not till then, fully fitted for the Master's use.
All who are taught of Christ are not only saved, but their understandings are
much improved. True religion, civilization, mental improvement, common sense,
and orderly behavior, go hand in hand. When the light of Christ dwells fully in
the heart, it extends its influence to every thought, word, and action; and
directs its possessor how he is to act in all places and circumstances. Our
souls can never be truly happy till our wills be entirely subjected to, and
become one with, the will of God. While there is an empty, longing heart, there
is a continual overflowing fountain of salvation. If we find, in any place, or
at any time, that the oil ceases to flow, it is because there are no empty
vessels there; no souls hungering and thirsting for righteousness. We find fault
with the dispensations of God's mercy, and ask, "Why were the former days
better than these?" Were we as much in earnest for our salvation as our
forefathers were for theirs, we should have equal supplies, and as much reason
to sing aloud of divine mercy.
"Be
ye holy," saith the Lord, "for I am holy." He who can give thanks
at the remembrance of his holiness is one who loves holiness; who hates sin; who
longs to be saved from it, and takes encouragement at the recollection of
God's holiness, as he sees in this the holy nature which he is to share; and the
perfection which he is here to attain. But most who call themselves
Christians hate the doctrine of holiness, never hear it inculcated without pain;
and the principal part of their studies and those of their pastors, is to find
out with how little holiness they can rationally expect to enter into the
kingdom of heaven. O fatal and soul-destroying delusion! How long will a holy
God suffer such abominable doctrines to pollute his church, and destroy the
souls of men.
Increase in the image and favor of God. Every grace and divine influence which ye have received is a seed, a heavenly seed, which, if it be watered with the dew of heaven from above, will endlessly increase and multiply itself. He who continues to believe, love, and obey, will grow in grace, and continually increase in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, his Sacrifice, Sanctifier, Counselor, Preserver, and final Savior. The life of a Christian is growth: he is at first born of God, and is a little child: becomes a young man and a father in Christ. Every father was once an infant; and had he not grown, he would never have been a man. Those who content themselves with the grace they received when converted to God, are, at best, in continual state of infancy; but we find, in the order of nature, that the infant that does not grow, and grow daily too, is sickly, and soon dies: so, in the order of grace, those who do not grow up into Jesus Christ are sickly and will soon die -- die to all sense and influence of heavenly things. There are many who boast of the grace of their conversion; persons who were never more than babes, and have long since lost even that grace, because they did not grow in it. Let him that readeth understand. In order to get a clean heart, a man must know and feel its depravity, acknowledge and deplore it before God, in order to be fully sanctified.
Few are
pardoned, because they do not feel and confess their sins; and few are
sanctified and cleansed from all sin, because they do not feel and confess their
own sore and the plague of their hearts. As the blood of Jesus Christ, the
merit of his passion and death, applied by faith, purges the conscience from all
dead works, so the same cleanses the heart from all unrighteousness. As all
unrighteousness is sin, so he that is cleansed from all unrighteousness is
cleansed from all sin. To attempt to evade this, and plead for the continuance
of sin in the heart through life, is ungrateful, wicked, and blasphemous; for,
as he who says he has not sinned, makes God a liar, who has declared the
contrary through every part of His revelation, so he that says the blood of
Christ either cannot or will not cleanse us from all sin in this life, gives
also the lie to his Maker, who has declared the contrary, and thus shows that
the word, the doctrine of God, is not in him. Reader, it is the birthright of
every child of God to be cleansed from all sin, to keep himself unspotted from
the world, and so to live as never more to offend his Maker. All things are
possible to him that believeth, because all things are possible to the
infinitely meritorious blood and energetic Spirit of the Lord Jesus. Every man
whose heart is full of the love of God, is full of humility; for there is no man
so humble as he whose heart is cleansed from all sin. It has been said that
indwelling sin humbles us; never was there a greater falsity: pride is the very
essence of sin; he who has sin has pride; and pride, too, in proportion to his
sin: this is a mere popish doctrine; and, strange to tell, the doctrine on which
their doctrine of merit is founded! They say, God leaves concupiscence in the
heart of every Christian, that, in striving with and overcoming it from time to
time, he may have an accumulation of meritorious acts. Certain Protestants say,
"It is a true sign of a very gracious state when man feels and deplores his
inbred corruption." How near do these come to the Papists, whose doctrine
they profess to detest and abhor! The truth is, it is no sign of grace whatever;
it only argues, as they use it, that the man has received light that shows him
his corruptions, but he has not yet relied on the grace to destroy them. He is
convinced that he should have the mind of Christ, but he feels that he has the
mind of Satan; he deplores it; and, if his flawed theology does not get in the
way and stop him, he will not rest till he feels the blood of Christ cleansing
him from all sin. Can any man expect to be saved from his inward sin in the
other world? None, except those that hold the popish, anti-scriptural doctrine
of purgatory. "But this deliverance is expected at death." Where is
the promise that it shall then be given? There is not one such in
the whole Bible! And to believe that such a thing is essential to our
glorification, without any Scriptural promise to support such an absurd
doctrine, especially in reference to the point to which it is exercised, is a
doctrinal desperation that argues as well the absence of true faith as it does
of right reason. Multitudes of such persons are continually deploring their
want of faith, even where they have the clearest and most explicit promises; and
yet, strange to tell, risk their salvation at the hour of death on a deliverance
that is nowhere promised in the sacred oracles! "But who has got this
blessing?" Every one who has come to God in the right way for it!
"Where is such a one?" Seek the blessing as you should do, and you
will soon be able to answer the question. "But it is too great a blessing
to be expected." Nothing is too great for a believer to expect, which God
has promised, and Christ has purchased with his blood. "If I had such a
blessing, I should not be able to retain it." All things are possible to
him that believeth. Besides, like all other gifts of God, it comes with a
principle of preservation with it; "and upon all thy glory there shall be a
defense." "Still, such an unfaithful person as I cannot expect
it." Perhaps the infidelity you deplore came through the want of this
blessing: and as to worthlessness, no soul under heaven deserves the least of
God's mercies. It is not for thy worthiness that He has given thee any thing,
but for the sake of his Son. You can say, "When I felt myself a sinner,
sinking into perdition, I did then flee to the atoning blood, and found pardon:
but this sanctification is a far greater work." No; speaking after the
manner of men, justification is far greater than sanctification. When you were a
sinner, ungodly, and an enemy in your mind, and by wicked works, a child of the
devil, an heir of hell, God pardoned you on the basis of your faith that cast
your soul on the merit of the great sacrificial offering: your sentence was
reversed, thy state was changed, you were put among the children, and the Holy
Spirit witnessed to your spirit that you were a child of God.
What a change! What a blessing! What then
is this complete sanctification? It is the cleansing of the blood that has not
been cleansed; it is washing the soul of a true believer from the remains of
sin; it is the making one, who is already a child of God, more holy, that he may
be more happy, more useful in the world, and bring more glory to his heavenly
Father. Great as this work is, how little, humanly speaking, is it when compared
with what God has already done for you? But suppose it were ten thousand times
greater, is any thing too hard for
God? Are not all things possible to him that believes? And does not the blood of
Christ cleanse from all unrighteousness? Arise, then, and be baptized with a
greater effusion of the Holy Ghost, and wash away thy sin, calling on the name
of the Lord. Are you weary of that carnal mind which is enmity to God? Can you
be happy while you are unholy? Do you know anything of God's love to you? Do you
not know that he has given his Son to die for you? Do you love him in return for
his love? Have you even a little love for Him? And can you love him even a
little, without desiring to love him more? Do you not feel that your happiness
grows in proportion to your love and subjection to Him? Do you wish to be happy?
And do you not know that holiness and happiness are as inseparable as sin and
misery? Can you have too much happiness or too much holiness? Can you be made
holy and happy too soon? Are you weary of a having a sinful heart? Do you have
bad tempers, pride, anger, peevishness, fretfulness, covetousness, and the
various unholy passion that too often agitate your soul, a source of misery and
sorrow to you? And can you remain be unwilling to have them destroyed? Arise,
then, and shake yourself from the dust, and call upon your God! His ear is not
heavy that it cannot hear; his hand is not shortened that it cannot save.
Behold, now is the accepted time! Now is the day of salvation! It was necessary
that Jesus Christ should die for you, that you might be saved; seeing that He
gave up his life for you two thousand eighteen hundred years ago! And He Himself
invites you to come, for all things are now ready.
Such is
the nature of God that he cannot be more willing to save you in any future time
than he is now. He wills that you should love him now with all thy
heart; but he knows that you can not love him until the enmity of the carnal
mind is removed; and this he is willing this moment to destroy. The power of the
Lord is therefore present to heal. Turn from every sin; give up every idol; cut
off every right hand; pluck out every right eye. Be willing to part with your
enemies that you may receive your Greatest Friend. The day is far spent, the
night is at hand, the graves are ready for you, and here you have no interest. A
month, a week, a day, an hour, yea, even a moment, may send you into eternity.
And if you die in your sins, where God is you shall never come. Do not expect
redemption in death: it can do nothing for thee even under the best
consideration: it is your last enemy. Remember then that nothing but the blood
of Jesus can cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Lay hold,
therefore, on the hope that is set before you. The gate may appear strait; but
strive, and you shall pass through! "Come unto me," says Jesus. Hear
His voice, believe at all risks, and struggle into God. Amen and Amen!
In no
part of the Scriptures are we directed to seek holiness through a slow process
or by a gradual cleansing. We are to come to God as well for an instantaneous
and complete purification from all sin, as we did for an instantaneous pardon.
There is neither a gradual pardon, nor a gradual purification to be found in the
Bible. It is when the soul is purified from all sin that it can properly grow in
grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ: --as the field may be
expected to produce a good crop, and all the seed vegetate, when the thorns,
thistles, briers, and noxious weeds of every kind are grubbed out of it. From
every view of the subject, it appears that the blessing of a clean heart, and
the happiness consequent on it, may be obtained in this life; because here, not
in the future world, are we to be saved. Whenever, therefore, such blessings are
offered, they may be received; but all the graces and blessings of the gospel
are offered at all times; and when they are offered, they may be received. Every
sinner is exhorted to turn from the evil of his way, to repent of sin, and
supplicate the throne of grace for pardon. In the same moment in which he is
commanded to turn, in that moment he may and should return. He does not receive
the exhortation to repentance today that he may become a penitent at some future
time. Every penitent is exhorted to believe on the Lord Jesus, that he may
receive remission of sins: -- he does not, he cannot, understand that the
blessing thus promised is not to be received today, but at some future time. In
like manner, to every believer the new heart and the right spirit are offered in
the present moment; that they may in that moment, be received. For as the work
of cleansing and renewing the heart is the work of God, his almighty power can
perform it in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. And as it is this moment our
duty to love God with all our heart, and we cannot do this till he cleanse our
hearts, consequently he is ready to do it this moment, because he wills that we
should in this moment love him. Therefore we may justly say, "Now is the
accepted time, now is the day of salvation." He who in the beginning caused
light in a moment to shine out of darkness, can in a moment shine into our
hearts, and give us to see the light of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
This moment, therefore, we may be emptied of sin, filled with holiness, and
become truly happy.
Such
cleansed people never forget the horrible pit and miry clay out of which they
have been brought. And can they then be proud? No! They loathe themselves in
their own sight. They can never forgive themselves for having sinned against so
good a God and so loving a Savior. And can they undervalue Him by whose blood
they were bought, and by whose blood they were cleansed? No! That is impossible:
they now see Jesus as they ought to see him; they see him in his splendor,
because they feel him in his victory and triumph over sin. To them that thus
believe he is precious; and he was never so precious as now. As to their not
needing him when thus saved from their sins, we may as well say, as soon may the
creation does not need the sustaining hand of God, because the works of God are
finished! Learn this, that as it requires the same power to sustain creation as
to produce it; so it requires the same Jesus who cleansed to keep clean. They
feel that it is only through his continued indwelling that they are kept holy,
and happy, and useful. Were he to leave them, the original darkness and kingdom
of death would soon be restored.
BIBLICAL THEOLOGY ETERNAL SECURITY