SANCTIFICATION: BEING AND BECOMING HOLY, PART 1

According to Millard J. Erickson, “after the miraculous work of salvation, God continues the transforming process to make the believer into the image of Christ.” 1 I think that sanctification is the process of being set apart from sin towards becoming holy and towards the goal of leading an almost sinless life.

By ‘holy’ Erickson means ‘bearing an actual likeness to God.’2 So it is a continuation of regeneration, what is called the ‘new-birth’ or being ‘born-again.’ In other words, it is the Holy Spirit’s applying to the life of the believer the work done by Jesus Christ. The word ‘sanctified’, in one sense, means to ’belong to the Lord’(1 Peter 2: 9); in another sense, it means, ‘moral goodness or spiritual worth’(Ephesians 4:1).

According to Vinson Synan 3, Wesley’s initial ideas on theology, that shaped the Methodist Movement, were two separate phases of experience for the believer: first, it was justification and the second was sanctification or Christian perfection. He believed that a Christian retained a ‘residue of sin within’ even after being pronounced ‘not guilty’. This remaining ‘inbred sin’ was the result of Adam’s fall and had to be dealt with by a ‘second blessing’, that is, ‘sanctification’. This experience purified the believer of inward sin and gave a person ‘perfect love’ towards God and humanity. Later on, the holiness movement taught that sanctification was also the baptism with the Holy Spirit. But William J. Seymour, the leader of the Asuza Street Revival, which led to the Pentecostal Movement, was taught by Charles Fox Parham, that ‘sanctification’ and ‘baptism with the Holy Spirit’ were two separate experiences, were sanctification cleansed and purified the believer, while the baptism with the Holy Spirit brought great power for service and the evidence of it was speaking in tongues.

According to Erickson, “one major issue over which there has been disagreement throughout church history is whether the process of sanctification is ever completed within the earthly lifetime of the believer.”4 So, do we ever come to the point where we no longer sin here on earth? The perfectionist Armenians say ‘yes’, even though not all Armenians are perfectionists; Calvinists are usually non-perfectionists! According to online source ,”sanctification does not stop with salvation, but rather it is a progressive process that continues in a Christian’s life.”5 In other words, believers have the capacity to sin. And even though they have been ‘set apart’ as God’s children , believers continue to behave in ways that are contrary. As Christians, shortly after being ‘born-again’ , they become aware that there is a new inner battle being waged within them—between their ‘old man’ or ‘sin-led nature’ and their ‘new man’ or ‘Spirit-led nature’. Galatians 5: 17 says the following: “ For the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” So here is seen a struggle going on between the Spirit and the flesh! I believe no one becomes completely perfect in this life-time even though some people are nearer to it than others! I believe it is a matter of where in their walk they find themselves in, but also that at each step, they have either yielded to the will of God for their lives or not! So in this concept of achieving perfection or not in this life-time I believe more like the Calvinists.

NOTES

1Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology,(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006),979.
2Ibid., 980.
3Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Tradition, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 1997),6.
4Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology,(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006),983.
5http://www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org/sanctification.htm(February 25, 2011),1.