Tag: sanctification

By James G. Owen

Jesus is the author of eternal salvation having first established the kingdom of a spiritual type on earth fulfilling two covenants, namely the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. He is the author having taught the law in his ministry to the people of moral behavior to live righteously, raised the dead, healed the sick, lame, deaf and blind. In his ministry he has set the captive spirit free of all types of bondages including demon possession. The best qualifier of his authorship is his death on the Cross as a perfect sacrifice, and his resurrection after being crucified on the Cross three days later as prophesied by the story of Joel and the whale. This not only established his authorship, but also fulfilled the promise given to Eve in Genesis.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Genesis 3:15

This scripture tells of two seeds. One is of the serpent in the garden that we know is identified as Satan, and the other seed is the Messiah who later is revealed as Emmanuel, God is with us, prophesied by Isaiah 7:14 and revealed to Joseph in a dream to accept Mary as his wife. Jesus fulfilled this promise by overcoming Satan’s temptations of turning a stone into bread, and not accepting the kingdoms that Satan could give him thus placing enmity between Satan and Jesus began. The furtherance of the defeat of Satan would be in the miracles, and the casting out of the demons in the town of Gadarene. The ultimate fulfillment in which salvation was established permanently was the bruising of Satan’s head by Jesus being nailed to the Cross. Salvation was brought to every man present and future from the place of Golgotha.

What is salvation?

Salvation was a plan created by God before the foundation of the world and creation. He knew his creation would be defiled by sin because of man and their sin of disobedience, so a plan was put in place. That plan was to redeem man through the atoning blood of Jesus to save men from their sin through the grace of God. This enabled the relationship that was severed in the Garden of Eden by sin to be reestablished through man asking for the forgiveness of his sins and becoming “born again”, meaning the spirit of the man being changed from the old sinful man to a new creation, thus being changed from the corruption of sin to incorruption spiritually. It is through salvation that we can receive eternal life.

How does the plan of salvation work?

 First, for salvation to come into our lives we must acknowledge God the Father in who he is. He is our creator, the one and only true God. We acknowledge him through believing upon him and the proof he exists is that he has placed a desire to worship in our hearts. That desire is innate. We also see proof he exists in looking all around us in the intricate design of creation, including ourselves made in his image. Secondly, we must realize that all of us, mankind, are guilty of sin, that none of us are righteous, and that sin (original sin, being inborn in man) is a curse from the disobedience of Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden. Next, in Romans 5:8 we read that God exhibited his love by extending salvation to us, a way to correct ourselves to become new again, and this is his plan for us to escape eternal death which is hell.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

It is our decision to make whether to choose God, or not. If we choose his way, then we are to confess our sins, and call up on the name of Jesus in prayer asking him to forgive us of all our sins while believing and enacting our faith that we are being changed. When we call upon the name of Jesus believing we will be saved. In this aspect of explaining salvation, we are being changed on the inside, our hearts and mind.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Romans 10:9-10

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:13

Believe, trust, and faith, an interaction.

When we begin to believe what we have heard, read, or seen, then we trust that source as being truth. There is an interaction going on here I think between the three upon hearing the gospel. Our heart and mind tell us its truth because the Holy Spirit is working about us convicting us of our sins and speaking to us to come to repentance. Within ourselves we may be fighting the truth, we may question, but that is the flesh fighting our decision. Our flesh wants the desires of this world, but our mind says we must change. It is a war, a battle of carnality and flesh that is going on here. Once we believe then the three begins its interaction because we have made the decision to change because we have believed, trusted the source as truth, and faith has entered the decision by becoming loyal to God and his son Jesus. Belief, trust, and faith are similar, yet separate enough to understand how God has created us to think and make decisions. The result of the interaction of belief, trust, and faith is hope. We now have hope to continue living after we pass from this world to eternal life, and that hope also tells us we will be with our Heavenly Father in a restful, peaceful place. Having believed and trusted we reacted by stepping out in faith feeling secure and acting with confidence. Faith is loyalty, and that faith has become a spiritual marriage. Faith is a structure of doctrinal beliefs. Those beliefs should come from strict scriptural study being literal, historical, and cultural. Faith through doctrine is a statement of our morality and values.

 This is the basics of salvation, but this is not all that we can receive from God. There is always more. We will discuss this later in the article. Next let us discuss a doctrine that many of us has heard in discussion or reading, and others may have been told at the time we were saved.

The Doctrine of Eternal Security: Unconditional Security

As I begin to examine the doctrine of Eternal Security, I will explain it in two forms. One as unconditional and secondly as conditional. The unconditional form comes to us from Calvinism in which I will address from the TULIP, which is an acronym for total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints. There is an additional portion to the unconditional form, and that is the five points of Calvinism. I will not include it here, but I may choose to discuss it in another article so that I may have the time to research it fully.

Total depravity I will explain as a man in a boat fishing on a lake. The lake is sin, and the boat is man’s ark of safety. When man disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, he capsized the boat and Adam and Eve fell into the lake being totally submerged. Sin had caused a separation of God and man by placing the veil of sin between them, and it made all of creation imperfect and impure. We were totally soaked in sin from the outside to the inside. From skin to the mind and heart of man. There was no way out in our perspective and ability, but God the Father had a plan of salvation to defeat sin and depravity.

Unconditional election is a doctrine of works, that our salvation is based on good deeds. It furthers itself by stating that God had determined who would be saved and who would receive damnation, and who would be in a relationship with him and this was known before the foundation of the world.

Limited atonement is explained that atonement would be for some, but not for all. That some would be excluded. The unconditional election and limited atonement cause me to think of the interpretation of predestination by some to mean that God had predestined an elect to be his Church and those would serve in his kingdom.

Irresistible grace is the calling of people he had chosen to come to repentance and extended grace to them.

The perseverance of the saints is explained by the adage, “once saved, always saved”, that once a person is in God’s saving grace they will always stay within the hand of God until the person achieves eternal life. In my understanding, this is the unconditional part of this Calvinist doctrine, along with unconditional election, meaning no matter what action is taken in life after accepting Jesus, even sinning while claiming salvation one will go to heaven regardless of how they have lived their life.

The Doctrine of Eternal Security: Conditional Eternal Security

Simply, salvation is provided for all mankind and is given freely by the grace of God because he loved us all enough to give us the chance and make the decision for ourselves whether to choose him, or to choose eternal damnation. Whether to be in a loving, free relationship with God the Father, or choose the life and the pleasures of sin. In my explanation, this form will begin in John 3:16, that God loved us so much he gave his son Jesus and believed upon him as their Savior would have eternal life. Further in my discourse it is explained in the Roman road to Salvation at the beginning of this article. That we have all sinned and must come to that knowledge of being born into sin and acknowledging that we have a God that we must answer to for how we are living our lives. We must confess our sin and live a righteous and holy life to enter heaven. Also, know that God calls us to repentance, and he does so by the drawing of the person by the Holy Spirit. In Pentecostal terminology we call it conviction. He draws us by convicting us of our sins. Scripture tells us he must draw us by his Spirit, and I think that is what Calvin failed to bring out in his irresistible grace doctrine. In differing with unconditional security, I would state God calls all men, and gives us all the chance to repent and have eternal life, not an elect populace.

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:44

The Roman Road to Salvation is the basic form of coming to the Lord for eternal security, but there is more to salvation than living the basics form of salvation. We are to live our lives without spot, or wrinkle. We must show good fruit in loving people by helping them or ministering to any kind of need. We must live a life of holiness, and it will take the Holy Spirit to help us live in holiness for we cannot make ourselves holy by living and doing good works.  Living in holiness and salvation has conditions, and boundaries that we must not cross to achieve eternal life.

Losing the Eternal Security Gained

The question asked many times is can one who confessed his sin, became saved, lose their salvation? In my experience and belief is yes one can. My experience having been saved and then time passes by, I find myself not resisting the temptation that faced me, or the mocking I received when I confessed my faith. When I succumbed to the mocking and the temptations my conscience told me I had done wrong. If I had just asked God for forgiveness then, the dirt and the dust that came spiritually on my soul and conscience would not have settled.

The bible tells us that we cannot enter heaven with sin in our lives, and to be able to come into God’s presence to receive of him we cannot proceed with the sin in our lives. Yes, Christians can sin, and that sin will cause you to no longer be in the Kingdom of God if you do not take responsibility and take care of it.

“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Revelation 21:27

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5:19-21

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,”

1 Corinthians 6:9

Turning our back on God after being saved and going back into the sin we found ourselves out is called backsliding. We have slidden from God’s kingdom back into Satan’s kingdom and have found ourselves in bondage again. The turning back towards our past and committing sin is marital unfaithfulness, that our relationship between God and us is like a marriage, intimate relationship in that we confide in him about our needs, times when we need to feel safe, and just want to worship him. Sin separates us from that relationship. The sinful life will be a form of idolatry because we have our minds and hearts in sin and not on God who created us.

The story of Elisha and Elijah in 1 Kings 19:20 illustrates backsliding. Elisha is called by Elijah to go with him to minister the word of God, but Elisha wants to say goodbye to his mother and father before following him, but Elijah says go on back for I have done to you. Elijah, a prophet of God had chosen Elisha for service in God’s kingdom. His purpose was to look forward and not backward. What was before him in God’s kingdom and is wonderful and full of life, but he looks backward to what he had, and had not look forward to the riches and eternal life he would gain. Jesus teaching to the people on this subject told them what he thought of backsliding and was teaching them to move forward in life and follow him.

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:62

Jesus statement in Luke 9 is blunt. Sometimes bluntness is needed to get people to understand the consequences of sin. The spiritual situation can be remedied if we repent of our sin and move forward.

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

Revelation 2:5

Eternal Security is continuous only if we stay within the grace of God and his boundaries. Sinning has consequences and that consequence is eternal damnation in the lake of fire, which is Satan’s kingdom headquarters. Paul, the apostle gives us words of encouragement in his letter of Philippians.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”

Philippians 3:13

His words are to move forward, never looking backwards. Life is going to be tough, but we are to have faith, to keep the faith, and understand that God will bring us through every situation, and that we have the victory already won. The victory was won on the Cross by Jesus’s death.

So, here in this part of the examen the doctrine that I live by and I believe is the most scriptural to keep myself in holiness is the conditional eternal security. I know I cannot live life in sin, and to say I am saved, then go live a life of sin I cannot excuse that kind of life, nor will I be able to defend myself before God in his court. As I told you earlier, there is more to salvation. What should we expect next in our walk-in salvation? Let us look at what I am naming the Wesleyan Effect.

The Wesleyan Effect. What is it?

John Wesley had met the Moravians in his travels between American and Europe. He was told of a doctrine of justification (justification by faith is also Martin Luther) and what is known now as sanctification. He was intrigued with the doctrine, that was new to him, and wandered why his mentor had never told him of this doctrine. When he studied in his scriptures to see about this new knowledge he began to believe and seek a joy he had not known. As time went by, he found the joy he was seeking, and from this experience that was profound to him, he considered himself not a Christian until his new spiritual experience. In this life changing event, John Wesley had found what it meant to be truly born again. Here, he found what St. Paul was talking about in the scriptures of the peace with God through Jesus. He also found that to be justified we would not only need to believe in Jesus, but to have the fulness of faith of which our hearts can hold. To believe in Jesus with zeal. Our justification does not come by works, but by faith, even though good works is showing fruit of out testimony, it is the light of faith that shows our souls have been forgiven and that the Holy Spirit reigns within our hearts.  In justification it is meant that we are not held guilty for our sins, and justification is the action in the process of salvation that is after our prayer of confession of sins, and before sanctification. Justification is the pardoning of sin, that God as the judge in his court found us not guilty and giving us grace and love forgiving us of our trespasses. Justification must occur before the action of sanctification.

Sanctification is the process of washing of the spirit of man to wash away the sin, trespasses, transgressions, iniquities, and abominations that have spotted and trashed the spirit of man. The action is done by the Holy Spirit washing us in the blood of Jesus that takes every sin away.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

Romans 5:1

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Galatians 2:16

If we continue to see God after knowing we have had the experience of sanctification, we will experience the infilling of the Holy Spirit in which we will speak with tongues and fire. This is the experience of the disciples of Jesus and the people gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem in Acts 2. Some people believe that tongues has ceased, but they have not. It continues unto this day and will continue until the Last Day that the book of John speaks. How do we know that we are sanctified? John Wesley preached it as assurance, in other words by the experience you will know by faith and know without a doubt that your temple has been swept cleaned. You will know intellectually.

Sanctification, the Wesleyan Effect, is described above as the instantaneous sanctification. We are responsible for keeping our temple clean, and we do this by prayer asking God to take away any sin, spot, or wrinkle, that we may have done unknowingly. This is called purging. We must keep our souls washed every day spiritually and is called daily sanctification. What helps us to stay pure is to abstain from sin. To keep ourselves separate by not participating in other people’s activities in which we know they do not have the salvation experience. We are to witness to them to bring them to Christ, but we must not fellowship with them lest we be led astray. The purging is also explained by the transformation of our minds, that we are changed, made anew, a new creation in Christ, and being born again. We have come to a position that we are no longer separated from God, and a relationship has opened between God and us.

“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”

Ephesians 5:3-7

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

Ephesians 5:11

We are to witness to them in love telling them we no longer participate in sin, and that we have found salvation in Jesus and found a new love that will lead us to eternal life. We are to disapprove of the sin and not partake of it being the light and witness to draw them into the love of God. By living our testimony in front of them we are showing them a life of holiness.

How do we become holy? We ourselves cannot make ourselves holy, but we can live righteous and by the work of the Holy Spirit he brings us into holiness. The purging of sin daily assures us that we will remain in holiness.

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

2 Corinthians 7:1

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.; Neither give place to the devil.”

Ephesians 4: 22,24, 27

The works of justification by faith, instantaneous and daily sanctification, purging and living a life in holiness is the Wesleyan Effect. I pray that you will come to know this experience after reading this article, hoping the Roman road will lead you to salvation if you do not know Jesus.  I invite you to read the scriptures for yourself and then ask God for confirmation if needed. This is the path in which I was raised and taught as a youngster, and now I am older and still believe this is the scriptural path of full salvation, the conditional form of eternal security, the gift that God has given us. He wanted us to have this full gift, and the power of the Holy Spirit by coming into our body and changing our spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us boldness and anointing to stay on the path, to give us strength and knowledge in situations when we will need that knowledge and gives us the power (dunamis) to serve.

Notes:

All scripture used was taken from the King James Version, Public Domain, BibleGateway.

biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/faith.html

reformed.org/calvinism/tulip-an-introduction-by-jonathan-barlow/

reformed.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/RLDabney5PointsofCalvinism.pdf

churchofgod.org.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/doctrine-and-polity-papers/Martin-Repentance-English.pdf

John Wesley, by John H. Overton M.A., Methuen & Co. 18, Bury Street, London, WC, 1891.