In this first of a two-part series on sanctification, Robert Coleman, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, says Calvinists and Wesleyans can agree on the essential character of the holy life

Archive: What Does it Mean To Be Sanctified?

Off the coast of Scotland there is a little island where Christianity first took root in the nation. To accommodate the many tourists who want to make the trip across the bay to visit the historic site, there is a rental shop where transportation can be obtained. Over the door of the small building, emblazoned in bold letters, is the signboard: “VISIT THE HOLY ISLE.” Then, more to the point, underneath are the words: “WE CAN TAKE YOU.”

In a much more profound sense those last words express what the church should be doing—taking people where the saints have trod. In practical terms this means bringing men and women into the deeper and ever-expanding dimensions of holiness.

Such ministry does not for a moment minimize the necessity of conversion, for the kingdom life cannot be entered until one is born of the Spirit. But the mandate of Christ is not to make converts but to “make disciples”—followers of Jesus—persons who will develop in the likeness of the Master (Matt. 28:19-20). Herein is the genius of His plan of world evangelization. For disciples of Christ grow in the character of their Lord and thereby become involved in His mission. Mature disciples thus become disciplers of others, and as they in turn make disciples through the process of reproduction, a church someday will be gathered from every tongue and tribe and nation.

John Wesley focused this strategy of the Great Commission in his charge to the preachers, not only to bring sinners to repentance, but “to build them up in that holiness without which they cannot see the Lord.”[1] To him evangelism always consummates in building saints.

Echoing this basic tenet of the Wesleyan revival, John McClintock, who was to become the first president of Drew Theological Seminary, fervently declared in a Methodist centenary service in 1867,

Our work is a moral work; that is to say, the work of making men holy. Our preaching is for that, our church agencies are for that, our schools, colleges, universities and theological seminaries are for that. There is our mission—there is our glory—there is our power, and there shall be the ground of our triumph. God keep us true.[2]

HOLINESS IN MISSION

We would hope that what is affirmed in these words is not the triumphalism of a church asserting her superior piety, as has been sometimes alleged. Rather it is the announcement of persons overwhelmed with the knowledge of redeeming grace that the Lord Almighty, of purer eyes than to behold evil, wants to make a people to display His own glory: “‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:16; cf.Lev.11:45). If there is any boasting it cannot be by virtue of any righteousness inherent in the saints, but only in that they belong to Him who loved them and died for their sin.

This sense of divine ownership through the blood of Christ lies at the heart of holiness. The terms “saint” and “sanctify” come from the same root, meaning to set apart or to be God’s possession.

Certainly this state cannot be claimed as the exclusive property of Methodism or any other favored body of believers. Holiness, as the reflection of the divine nature, is the fabric of all Christian experience, by whatever name it is called.

The manifestation of this character has been the basis of God’s program to reach the world. The commission came into bold announcement when Abraham was called to leave the old haunts of sin and go out with his Lord by faith (Gen. 12:1-3; cf. Heb. 11:8-10). To this end Israel was chosen to be His witness among the nations, that people beholding their holy manner of life would want to follow their God (Zech. 8:23; Isa. 55:4-5; Jer. 10:7; Ps. 2:8, 46:10). When the Jews succumbed to the sensate culture about them, the Lord sent His Messiah-Son to raise up a new Israel, a holy nation, of which His life was witness (Isa. 49:6, 53:11-12; Gen. 49:10; Zech. 9:10; Dan. 7:13-14). The Spirit now is fashioning the Church in that image in order to show the glory of God to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8; cf., Rev. 5:9-10; 7:9).

TO BE LIKE CHRIST

It is this likeness of Christ in the saints that makes holiness beautiful. Worldlings can see that persons who bear His name are different. There is a graciousness about their lifestyle, a humility of servanthood that finds expression in deeds of love. Precept and example blend together in authentic witness. Obedience is joyful. Even amid sufferings, when ridiculed and oppressed, the bitterness of the world does not keep the saints from praising God from whom all blessings flow. Such a life creates a mystery; it is so utterly uncharacteristic of a fallen race, and those who are most observing, just like the Church-watchers of the apostolic era, have to admit that His disciples “have been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). The print of His character is upon them.

That is what sanctification is all about It transforms disciples of Christ into His image, “from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). This is no outward show of good works, least of all some kind of legalistic code of religious behavior. Nor can it be equated with any manifestation of a particular spiritual gift. The focus of holiness is always Jesus Christ; He is the Word made flesh, whom the Spirit glorifies (John 16:5-16). The only holiness we can know is in relationship to His.

This character does not make one immune to the beguiling enticements of Satan, nor does it cause one to escape the persecutions that come for righteousness’ sake. Indeed by following Christ we may expect to encounter some difficulties in our pagan environment that might otherwise be avoided. Let no one imagine that sanctity preempts humanity from having to face the realities of this fallen age.

PURITY OF DESIRE

Moreover, unlike the Lord who had no inherent sin, saints have to contend all through life with their own depraved minds. Though education can correct some consequences of a darkened intelligence, holy people are going to make decisions unbecoming to the nature of Christ. That is part of our human situation. Notwithstanding these limitations, however, a holy desire to please the Lord can still shine through the life of His saints.

An experience with my son many years ago illustrates what I mean. It was a hot day at the end of the harvest season. Jim, who was then no more than three or four years old, saw me working, and it occurred to him that I might be thirsty. So he pulled a chair up to the kitchen sink, found a dirty glass and filled it with water from the hydrant. The next thing I knew my name was being called. As I turned around, I saw my son coming across the garden holding that smudgy glass of warm water and saying, “Daddy, I thought you were thirsty, so I brought you a drink.” And as he held up the glass a smile stretched across his face from one ear to the other.

You might think, “Couldn’t he do better than that? Why, that is not cool water; that’s not even pure water.” And you would be right. But when you looked at his face, you would have to say that it was pure love. He was doing the best he knew to please his daddy.

In some similar way that is how every Christian can live in this world. Though we continually make errors in judgment and fall woefully short of our desire to be like Christ, still in our hearts we can do the best we know to please Him.

PERFECT LOVE

Herein is the essence of what Wesley called “Christian perfection.” It is not a maturity in knowledge or in attainment but a “purity of intention,” so that “one desire and design” rules the affections.[3] To the question, “How shall we avoid setting perfection too high or low?” he answered,

By keeping to the Bible, and setting it just as high as the Scripture does. It is nothing higher and nothing lower than this,—the pure love of God and man; the loving God with all our heart and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves. It is love governing the heart and life, running through all our tempers, words, and actions.[4]

In this expectation he was only echoing the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40), which becomes the constraining force of the Great Commission (2 Cor. 5: 14). Such love is holy because it is of God—His own nature infused in the heart of His people by the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 5:5; 1 John 4:7-8, 16).

Firmly convinced that this was the substance of every moral obligation of Scripture, John Wesley did not hesitate to make it the “grand depositum” of his teaching.[5] Having seen love in its “own shape,” he asked, “Who will fight against it?” Indeed, “it must be disguised before it can be opposed.”[6] Then in the words of the prayer so often heard in church, he affirmed,

Yea, we do believe, that [God] will in this world “so cleanse the thoughts of our hearts, by the inspirations of his Holy Spirit, that we shall perfectly love Him and worthily magnify His holy Name”[7]

SIN UNDERSTOOD AS CONTINUING

The question might be asked, though, is this devotion the common experience of everyone at the time he or she is born of the Spirit, or is it a commitment disciples come to in the process of sanctification? At this point different answers are forthcoming depending upon the theological system in which holiness is cast. Unfortunately most of us tend to view sainthood so much through the glasses of our own tradition that we fail to appreciate how others see it using different colored lenses. Basically these variances of perspective settle along the lines of Calvinism on the one side and Arminianism on the other—positions which solidify in the churches they represent

Much of the contention could be resolved in a better understanding of terms, particularly the way sin is defined. In the Reformed tradition, of which Calvin would be chief spokesman, sin is seen as any deviation from the absolute holiness of God, whether it is realized or not. No allowance is made for human infirmities over which we have little control, such as ignorance, a weak physical body, hereditary handicaps, psychological quirks going back to childhood and many other involuntary human traits. From this perspective everyone comes short of the standard of righteousness in Christ, whatever the person’s state of grace. To do otherwise would require perfect knowledge and no residue of human depravity. So far as any experience of absolute holiness on this earth is concerned, it would be blasphemy to speak of being free of sin. The only sense in which this could be allowed is from the vantage point of heaven, where, because of identity with the Son by faith, God imputes to saints the righteousness of Christ. Complete experiential sanctification, however, must await the day when believers are delivered from a corrupted body in glorification.

By keeping clear the infinite perfection of the Lord, this position makes us ever mindful of our human failing in the flesh, even as it points us to the endless possibilities of improvement. As an unrelenting judge of superficiality in Christian experience, this perspective should also help us with humility. John Wesley appreciated this viewpoint and, taking a cue from the Westminster Catechism, made it a practice to confess continually those unconscious sins committed against the divine Majesty in “thought, word, and deed,” a custom still followed by Methodists every time we take holy communion.

HOLINESS IN A SINLESS PERSPECTIVE

But in terms of transgression of the known will of God, Wesley, reflecting an Arminian perspective, believed that it was possible by grace to live blamelessly in this present life. He could make this claim because of his differentiation between sins of intent and sins of ignorance or mistakes. A sin of intent is a wrong choice issuing from an unholy motive. A mistake is a wrong choice issuing from a holy motive. This does not make the mistaken action any less short of God’s perfection, nor does it absolve the sinner from the consequence resulting from the transgression, but it does allow that the heart is condemned only for willful disobedience.[8]

Within this framework Wesley also made a distinction between traits of the fallen human nature and the willful, carnal nature of self-centeredness. Since after regeneration human infirmities remain in the physical body, at best fleshly characteristics can only be restrained or counter-balanced. But that selfish carnal disposition sapping spiritual vitality need not be endured, since it exists by our permission. When recognized, like any volitional perversion, it can be confessed and cleansed.

Admittedly this delicate distinction between the involuntary and deliberate aspects of sin may be difficult to apply in practice. After all, can one ever be sure that he or she has utilized every privilege of grace to know the mind of Christ? In this regard slothfulness in seeking the truth can be very deceptive. No wonder Calvinists look askance at our claims. But in theory, at least, the Wesleyan perspective offers an expedient for believing that an obedient disciple, in standing before God as well as in personal experience, can be free of conscious condemnation.

When this basic difference in the definition of sin is understood, there is no reason why Calvinists and Wesleyans cannot agree on the essential character of the holy life.[9] Of necessity our terminology explaining justification and sanctification will differ, but we can embrace the same reality.

Perhaps in divine providence, both of these foundational evangelical systems of thought are given support in Scripture to make all of us more sensitive to our own finite inability to comprehend “with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. …” (Eph. 3:18-19). I suspect that in the end we will discover that God does not value our definitions of theology nearly as much as He does a broken and contrite spirit.

ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION

Both Calvinists and Arminians believe that the condition for full salvation is simple faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. In terms of consciousness, this means offering all that we know of ourselves to all that we know of Him. Such commitment begins at conversion and continues throughout life as we “do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4).

What is sometimes called “entire sanctification,” as the compound word in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 may be translated, is a term that points to a particular moment in the developing life of grace when carnality is confronted. While it involves a definite confrontation of truth in relation to the self-life, it is only a part of the ongoing sanctifying process. However, because the nature of this point in Christian obedience requires the deepest commitment of the will, the decision it forces for many stands out as a monumental crisis. With others the decision may come so gradually, interwoven with so many other things, that knowledge of its reality may only be the quiet assurance that it is settled. What matters is not the manner of the submission, nor any accompanying sign, but the release it brings from the bondage to self.

For Wesleyans who interpret this experience as the cleansing of the carnal mind, distinguishing it from the ever-present human nature, it is sometimes referred to as a “second work of grace.”

The expression is not meant to depreciate the grace already received but rather to say that when a saint comes to see the conflict caused by self-centeredness and is willing to surrender the problem to God, the Spirit already working in the life can also meet this deeper need.

CONTINUAL GROWTH

There will be many other problems to face in the growing experience of holiness. Some of these issues will occasion very real spiritual battles, but in meeting them the saint can draw upon the strength of a heart fully yielded to the will of God. It is a commitment which must be continually renewed, for everything that comes up—in the family, at school, on the job—involves holiness. For this reason it would be better not to think of cleansing as a crisis but as a life. The life is made up of a constant series of decisions, and how each one is made will determine the blessedness of holiness.

Surely endless corrections will be called for as persons being sanctified seek to follow the Lord. Renouncing our own rights and taking up His cross have implications in prayer and service which we may only faintly comprehend now, but the Spirit will be faithful to bring them to our attention as we seek His guidance. As moral failure is perceived, we must confess the sin and align our will with the sanctifying Word.

Thanks be to God, there is never a foreclosure on progress. No matter what has been experienced thus far, there is more to learn. As the character of the life in Christ is more fully understood and faith enlarges to embrace it, there will be unceasing expansion in the Spirit’s fullness, even as life lengthens into the timeless dimensions of eternity.

The goal is nothing less than the very perfection of our Savior. While it remains ever a vision infinitely beyond our experience, it is nevertheless a glorious incentive to press on to higher ground, reaching always “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). If we are growing in faith the closer we get to the heavenly city, the more our soul will long to see His face. And though it does not yet appear what we shall be, we know that when He appears at last we shall be “like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Dr. Robert E. Coleman is director of the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School of World Mission and Evangelism in Deerfield. Illinois.

FOOTNOTES

[1] John Wesley, Minutes of Several Conversations, The Works of John Wesley, ed. by T. Jackson, VIl (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1957), p. 310.

[2] Quoted by Timothy Smith, Revivalism and Social Reform (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 137.

[3] John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, Works, XI op. cit., p. 444

[4] Ibid., p. 397.

[5] John Wesley, Lener to Robert Carr Brackenbury, Sept. 15, 1790, The Letters of the Rev. John Wesley, ed. by John Telford, VIl (London: The Epworth Press, 1931), p. 238.

[6] John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, Works, XI, op. cit., p. 445.

[7] Ibid., pp. 445-446.

[8] The Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechism, in The Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church in the United States Together with the Larger Catechism and the Shorter Catechism (Richmond: John Knox Press, 1964), pp. 330,428. cf. Prayer of General Confession in the Order for the Administration of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, The United Methodist Church. It should be noted that since Wesley believed there is not perfection in this life which excludes involuntary transgressions, he said “sinless perfection is a phrase I never use, lest I should seem to contradict myself.” John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, Works, XI, op. cit., p. 396.

[9] It should not be assumed from this position that persons who have never heard the gospel are excused from the consequences of rejecting Christ. For Wesley, in classical evangelical reasoning, insisted that sufficient direction came through natural revelation to make everyone accountable. Those who have not had opportunity to sit under the preaching of the Word, thus, still must answer for their chosen way of iniquity.