Section III.—The Application Of Christ’s Redemption In Its Continuation.

Under this head we treat of Sanctification and of Perseverance. These two

are but the divine and the human sides of the same fact, and they bear to

each other a relation similar to that which exists between Regeneration

and Conversion.

I. Sanctification.

1. Definition of Sanctification.

Sanctification is that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit, by which

the holy disposition imparted in regeneration is maintained and

strengthened.

Godet: “The work of Jesus in the world is twofold. It is a work

accomplished _for us_, destined to effect _reconciliation_ between

God and man; it is a work accomplished _in us_, with the object of

effecting our _sanctification_. By the one, a right _relation_ is

established between God and us; by the other, the _fruit_ of the

reëstablished order is secured. By the former, the condemned

sinner is received into the state of grace; by the latter, the

pardoned sinner is associated with the life of God.... How many

express themselves as if, when forgiveness with the peace which it

procures has been once obtained, all is finished and the work of

salvation is complete! They seem to have no suspicion that

salvation consists in the health of the soul, and that the health

of the soul consists in holiness. Forgiveness is not the

reëstablishment of health; it is the crisis of convalescence. If

God thinks fit to declare the sinner righteous, it is in order

that he may by that means restore him to holiness.” O. P. Gifford:

“The steamship whose machinery is broken may be brought into port

and made fast to the dock. She is _safe_, but not _sound_. Repairs

may last a long time. Christ designs to make us both safe and

sound. Justification gives the first—safety; sanctification gives

the second—soundness.”

Bradford, Heredity and Christian Problems, 220—“To be conscious

that one is forgiven, and yet that at the same time he is so

polluted that he cannot beget a child without handing on to that

child a nature which will be as bad as if his father had never

been forgiven, is not salvation in any _real_ sense.” We would

say: Is not salvation in any _complete_ sense. Justification needs

sanctification to follow it. Man needs God to continue and

preserve his spiritual life, just as much as he needed God to

begin it at the first. Creation in the spiritual, as well as in

the natural world, needs to be supplemented by preservation; see

quotation from Jonathan Edwards, in Allen’s biography of him, 371.

Regeneration is instantaneous, but sanctification takes time. The

“developing” of the photographer’s picture may illustrate God’s

process of sanctifying the regenerate soul. But it is development

by new access of truth or light, while the photographer’s picture

is usually developed in the dark. This development cannot be

accomplished in a moment. “We try in our religious lives to

practise instantaneous photography. One minute for prayer will

give us a vision of God, and we think that is enough. Our pictures

are poor because our negatives are weak. We do not give God a long

enough sitting to get a good likeness.”

Salvation is something past, something present, and something

future; a past fact, justification; a present process,

sanctification; a future consummation, redemption and glory.

David, in Ps. 51:1, 2, prays not only that God will blot out his

transgressions (justification), but that God will wash him

thoroughly from his iniquity (sanctification). E. G. Robinson:

“Sanctification consists _negatively_, in the removal of the penal

consequences of sin from the moral nature; _positively_, in the

progressive implanting and growth of a new principle of life....

The Christian church is a succession of copies of the character of

Christ. Paul never says: ‘_be ye imitators of me_’ (_1 Cor.

4:16_), except when writing to those who had no copies of the New

Testament or of the Gospels.”

Clarke, Christian Theology, 366—“Sanctification does not mean

perfection reached, but the progress of the divine life toward

perfection. Sanctification is the Christianizing of the

Christian.” It is not simply deliverance from the penalty of sin,

but the development of a divine life that conquers sin. A. A.

Hodge, Popular Lectures, 343—“Any man who thinks he is a

Christian, and that he has accepted Christ for justification, when

he did not at the same time accept him for sanctification, is

miserably deluded in that very experience.”

This definition implies:

(_a_) That, although in regeneration the governing disposition of the soul

is made holy, there still remain tendencies to evil which are unsubdued.

_John 13:10_—“_He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his

feet, but is clean every whit_ [_i. e._, as a whole]”; _Rom.

6:12_—“_Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye

should obey the lusts thereof_”—sin _dwells_ in a believer, but it

_reigns_ in an unbeliever (C. H. M.). Subordinate volitions in the

Christian are not always determined in character by the

fundamental choice; eddies in the stream sometimes run counter to

the general course of the current.

This doctrine is the opposite of that expressed in the phrase:

“the essential divinity of the human.” Not culture, but

crucifixion, is what the Holy Spirit prescribes for the natural

man. There are two natures in the Christian, as Paul shows in

_Romans 7_. The one flourishes at the other’s expense. The vine

dresser has to cut the rank shoots from self, that all our force

may be thrown into growing fruit. Deadwood must be cut out; living

wood must be cut back (_John 15:2_). Sanctification is not a

matter of course, which will go on whatever we do, or do not do.

It requires a direct superintendence and surgery on the one hand,

and, on the other hand a practical hatred of evil on our part that

coöperates with the husbandry of God.

(_b_) That the existence in the believer of these two opposing principles

gives rise to a conflict which lasts through life.

_Gal. 5:17_—“_For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the

Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the

other; that ye may not do the things that ye would_”—not, as the

A. V. had it, “_so that ye cannot do the things that ye would_”;

the Spirit who dwells in believers is represented as enabling them

successfully to resist those tendencies to evil which naturally

exist within them; _James 4:5_ (the marginal and better

reading)—“_That spirit which he made to dwell in us yearneth for

us even unto jealous envy_”—_i. e._, God’s love, like all true

love, longs to have its objects wholly for its own. The Christian

is two men in one; but he is to “_put away the old man_” and “_put

on the new man_” (_Eph. 4:22, 23_). Compare Ecclesiasticus 2:1—“My

son, if thou dost set out to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for

temptation.”

_1 Tim. 6:12_—“_fight the good fight of the faith_”—ἀγωνίζου τὸν

καλὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς πίστεως = the beautiful, honorable, glorious

fight; since it has a noble helper, incentive, and reward. It is

the commonest of all struggles, but the issue determines our

destiny. An Indian received as a gift some tobacco in which he

found a half dollar hidden. He brought it back next day, saying

that good Indian had fought all night with bad Indian, one telling

him to keep, the other telling him to return.

(_c_) That in this conflict the Holy Spirit enables the Christian, through

increasing faith, more fully and consciously to appropriate Christ, and

thus progressively to make conquest of the remaining sinfulness of his

nature.

_Rom. 8:13, 14_—“_for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but

if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall

live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons

of God_”; _1 Cor. 6:11_—“_but ye were washed, but ye were

sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus

Christ, and in the Spirit of our God_”; _James 1:26_—“_If any man

thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue

but deceiveth his heart, this man’s religion is vain_”—see Com. of

Neander, _in loco_—“That religion is merely imaginary, seeming,

unreal, which allows the continuance of the moral defects

originally predominant in the character.” The Christian is

“_crucified with Christ_” (_Gal. 2:20_); but the crucified man

does not die at once. Yet he is as good as dead. Even after the

old man is crucified we are still to mortify him, or put him to

death (_Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5_). We are to cut down the old rosebush

and cultivate only the new shoot that is grafted into it. Here is

our probation as Christians. So “die Scene wird zum Tribunal”—the

play of life becomes God’s judgment.

Dr. Hastings: “When Bourdaloue was probing the conscience of Louis

XIV, applying to him the words of St. Paul and intending to

paraphrase them: ‘_For the good which I would, I do not, but the

evil which I would not, that I do,_’ ‘_I find two men in me_’—the

King interrupted the great preacher with the memorable

exclamation: ‘Ah, these two men, I know them well!’ Bourdaloue

answered: ‘It is already something to _know_ them, Sire; but it is

not enough,—one of the two must perish.’ ” And, in the genuine

believer, the old does little by little die, and the new takes its

place, as “_David waxed stronger and stronger, but the house of

Saul waxed weaker and weaker_” (_2 Sam. 3:1_). As the Welsh

minister found himself after awhile thinking and dreaming in

English, so the language of Canaan becomes to the Christian his

native and only speech.

2. Explanations and Scripture Proof.

(_a_) Sanctification is the work of God.

_1 Thess. 5:23_—“_And the God of peace himself sanctify you

wholly._” Much of our modern literature ignores man’s dependence

upon God, and some of it seems distinctly intended to teach the

opposite doctrine. Auerbach’s “On the Heights,” for example,

teaches that man can make his own atonement; and “The Villa on the

Rhine,” by the same author, teaches that man can sanctify himself.

The proper inscription for many modern French novels is:

“Entertainment here for man and beast.” The _Tendenznovelle_ of

Germany has its imitators in the sceptical novels of England. And

no doctrine in these novels is so common as the doctrine that man

needs no Savior but himself.

(_b_) It is a continuous process.

_Phil. 1:6_—“_being confident of this very thing, that he who

began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus

Christ_”; _3:15_—“_Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be

thus minded: and if in anything ye are otherwise minded, this also

shall God reveal unto you_”; _Col. 3:9, 10_—“_lie not one to

another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings,

and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge

after the image of him that created him_”; _cf._ _Acts

2:47_—“_those that were being saved_”; _1 Cor. 1:18_—“_unto us who

are being saved_”; _2 Cor. 2:15_—“_in them that are being saved_”;

_1 Thess. 2:12_—“_God, who calleth you into his own kingdom and

glory._”

C. H. Parkhurst: “The yeast does not strike through the whole lump

of dough at a flash. We keep finding unsuspected lumps of meal

that the yeast has not yet seized upon. We surrender to God in

instalments. We may not mean to do it, but we do it. Conversion

has got to be brought down to date.” A student asked the President

of Oberlin College whether he could not take a shorter course than

the one prescribed. “Oh yes,” replied the President, “but then it

depends on what you want to make of yourself. When God wants to

make an oak, he takes a hundred years, but when he wants to make a

squash, he takes six months.”

(_c_) It is distinguished from regeneration as growth from birth, or as

the strengthening of a holy disposition from the original impartation of

it.

_Eph. 4:15_—“_speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all

things into him, who is the head, even Christ_”; _1 Thess.

3:12_—“_the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one

toward another, and toward all men_”; _2 Pet. 3:18_—“_But grow in

the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ_”;

_cf._ _1 Pet. 1:23_—“_begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but

of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and

abideth_”; _1 John 3:9_—“_Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no

sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because

he is begotten of God._” Not sin only, but holiness also, is a

germ whose nature is to grow. The new love in the believer’s heart

follows the law of all life, in developing and extending itself

under God’s husbandry. George Eliot: “The reward of one duty done

is the power to do another.” J. W. A. Stewart: “When the 21st of

March has come, we say ‘The back of the winter is broken.’ There

will still be alternations of frost, but the progress will be

towards heat. The coming of summer is sure,—in germ the summer is

already here.” Regeneration is the crisis of a disease;

sanctification is the progress of convalescence.

Yet growth is not a uniform thing in the tree or in the Christian.

In some single months there is more growth than in all the year

besides. During the rest of the year, however, there is

solidification, without which the green timber would be useless.

The period of rapid growth, when woody fibre is actually deposited

between the bark and the trunk, occupies but four to six weeks in

May, June, and July. _2 Pet. 1:5_—“_adding on your part all

diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in your virtue

knowledge_”—adding to the central grace all those that are

complementary and subordinate, till they attain the harmony of a

chorus (ἐπιχορηγήσατε).

(_d_) The operation of God reveals itself in, and is accompanied by,

intelligent and voluntary activity of the believer in the discovery and

mortification of sinful desires, and in the bringing of the whole being

into obedience to Christ and conformity to the standards of his word.

_John 17:17_—“_Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth_”; _2

Cor. 10:5_—“_casting down imaginations, and every high thing that

is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every

thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ_”; _Phil. 2:12,

13_—“_work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it

is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good

pleasure_”; _1 Pet. 2:2_—“_as new‐born babes, long for the

spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby

unto salvation._” _John 15:3_—“_Already ye are clean because of

the word which I have spoken unto you._” Regeneration through the

word is followed by sanctification through the word. _Eph.

5:1_—“_Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children._”

Imitation is at first a painful effort of will, as in learning the

piano; afterwards it becomes pleasurable and even unconscious.

Children unconsciously imitate the handwriting of their parents.

Charles Lamb sees in the mirror, as he is shaving, the apparition

of his dead father. So our likeness to God comes out as we advance

in years. _Col. 3:4_—“_When Christ who is our life, shall be

manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory._”

Horace Bushnell said that, if the stars did not move, they would

rot in the sky. The man who rides the bicycle must either go on,

or go off. A large part of sanctification consists in the

formation of proper habits, such as the habit of Scripture

reading, of secret prayer, of church going, of efforts to convert

and benefit others. Baxter: “Every man must grow, as trees grow,

downward and upward at once. The visible outward growth must be

accompanied by an invisible inward growth.” Drummond: “The

spiritual man having passed from death to life, the natural man

must pass from life to death.” There must be increasing sense of

sin: “My sins gave sharpness to the nails, And pointed every

thorn.” There must be a bringing of new and yet newer regions of

thought, feeling, and action, under the sway of Christ and his

truth. There is a grain of truth even in Macaulay’s jest about

“essentially Christian cookery.”

A. J. Gordon, Ministry of the Spirit, 63, 109‐111—“The church is

Christian no more than as it is the organ of the continuous

passion of Christ. We must suffer with sinning and lost humanity,

and so ‘_fill up ... that which is lacking of the afflictions of

Christ_’ (_Col. 1:24_). Christ’s crucifixion must be prolonged

side by side with his resurrection. There are three deaths: 1.

death in sin, our natural condition; 2. death for sin, our

judicial condition; 3. death to sin, our sanctified condition....

As the ascending sap in the tree crowds off the dead leaves which

in spite of storm and frost cling to the branches all the winter

long, so does the Holy Spirit within us, when allowed full sway,

subdue and expel the remnants of our sinful nature.”

(_e_) The agency through which God effects the sanctification of the

believer is the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

_John 14:17, 18_—“_the Spirit of truth ... he abideth with you,

and shall be in you. I will not leave you desolate; I come unto

you_”; _15:3‐5_—“_Already ye are clean.... Abide in me ... apart

from me ye can do nothing_”; _Rom. 8:9, 10_—“_the Spirit of God

dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he

is none of his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because

of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness_”; _1 Cor.

1:2, 30_—“_sanctified in Christ Jesus ... Christ Jesus, who was

made unto us ... sanctification_”; _6:19_—“_know ye not that your

body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have

from God?_” _Gal. 5:16_—“_Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not

fulfil the lust of the flesh_”; _Eph. 5:18_—“_And be not drunken

with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit_”; _Col.

1:27‐29_—“_the riches of the glory of this mystery among the

Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we

proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all

wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ; whereunto

I labor also, striving according to his working, which worketh in

me mightily_”; _2 Tim. 1:14_—“_That good thing which was committed

unto thee guard through the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us._”

Christianity substitutes for the old sources of excitement the

power of the Holy Spirit. Here is a source of comfort, energy, and

joy, infinitely superior to any which the sinner knows. God does

not leave the soul to fall back upon itself. The higher up we get

in the scale of being, the more does the new life need nursing and

tending,—compare the sapling and the babe. God gives to the

Christian, therefore, an abiding presence and work of the Holy

Spirit,—not only regeneration, but sanctification. C. E. Smith,

Baptism of Fire: “The soul needs the latter as well as the former

rain, the sealing as well as the renewing of the Spirit, the

baptism of fire as well as the baptism of water. Sealing gives

something additional to the document, an evidence plainer than the

writing within, both to one’s self and to others.”

“Few flowers yield more honey than serves the bee for its daily

food.” So we must first live ourselves off from our spiritual

diet; only what is over can be given to nourish others. Thomas à

Kempis, Imitation of Christ: “Have peace in thine own heart; else

thou wilt never be able to communicate peace to others.” Godet:

“Man is a vessel destined to receive God, a vessel which must be

enlarged in proportion as it is filled, and filled in proportion

as it is enlarged.” Matthew Arnold, Morality: “We cannot kindle

when we will The fire which in the heart resides; The Spirit

bloweth and is still; In mystery our soul abides. But tasks in

hours of insight willed Can be in hours of gloom fulfilled. With

aching hands and bleeding feet, We dig and heap, lay stone on

stone; We bear the burden and the heat Of the long day, and wish

’t were done. Not till the hours of light return All we have built

do we discern.”

(_f_) The mediate or instrumental cause of sanctification, as of

justification, is faith.

_Acts 15:9_—“_cleansing their hearts by faith_”; _Rom. 1:17_—“_For

therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith:

as it is written, But the righteous shall live from faith._” The

righteousness includes sanctification as well as justification;

and the subject of the epistle to the Romans is not simply

justification by faith, but rather righteousness by faith, or

salvation by faith. Justification by faith is the subject of

_chapters 1‐7_; sanctification by faith is the subject of

_chapters 8‐16_. We are not sanctified by efforts of our own, any

more than we are justified by efforts of our own.

God does not share with us the glory of sanctification, any more

than he shares with us the glory of justification. He must do all,

or nothing. William Law: “A root set in the finest soil, in the

best climate, and blessed with all that sun and air and rain can

do for it, is not in so sure a way of its growth to perfection, as

every man may be whose spirit aspires after all that which God is

ready and infinitely desirous to give him. For the sun meets not

the springing bud that stretches toward him with half that

certainty as God, the source of all good, communicates himself to

the soul that longs to partake of him.”

(_g_) The object of this faith is Christ himself, as the head of a new

humanity and the source of truth and life to those united to him.

_2 Cor. 3:18_—“_we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a

mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image

from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit_”; _Eph.

4:13_—“_till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the

knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the

measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ._” Faith here is

of course much more than intellectual faith,—it is the reception

of Christ himself. As Christianity furnishes a new source of life

and energy—in the Holy Spirit: so it gives a new object of

attention and regard—the Lord Jesus Christ. As we get air out of a

vessel by pouring in water, so we can drive sin out only by

bringing Christ in. See Chalmers’ Sermon on The Expulsive Power of

a New Affection. Drummond, Nat. Law in the Spir. World,

123‐140—“Man does not grow by making efforts to grow, but by

putting himself into the conditions of growth by living in

Christ.”

_1 John 3:3_—“_every one that hath this hope set on him_ (ἐπ᾽

αὐτῷ) _purifieth himself, even as he is pure._” Sanctification

does not begin from within. The objective Savior must come first.

The hope based on him must give the motive and the standard of

self‐purification. Likeness comes from liking. We grow to be like

that which we like. Hence we use the phrase “I like,” as a synonym

for “I love.” We cannot remove frost from our window by rubbing

the pane; we need to kindle a fire. Growth is not the product of

effort, but of life. “_Taking thought_,” or “_being anxious_”

(_Mat. 6:27_), is not the way to grow. Only take the hindrances

out of the way, and we grow without care, as the tree does. The

moon makes no effort to shine, nor has it any power of its own to

shine. It is only a burnt out cinder in the sky. It shines only as

it reflects the light of the sun. So we can shine “_as lights in

the world_” (_Phil. 2:15_), only as we reflect Christ, who is

“_the Sun of Righteousness_” (_Mal. 4:2_) and “_the Light of the

world_” (_John 8:12_).

(_h_) Though the weakest faith perfectly justifies, the degree of

sanctification is measured by the strength of the Christian’s faith, and

the persistence with which he apprehends Christ in the various relations

which the Scriptures declare him to sustain to us.

_Mat. 9:29_—“_According to your faith be it done unto you_”; _Luke

17:5_—“_Lord, increase our faith_”; _Rom. 12:2_—“_be not fashioned

according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of

your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and

perfect will of God_”; _13:14_—“_But put ye on the Lord Jesus

Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts

thereof_”; _Eph. 4:24_—“_put on the new man, that after God hath

been created in righteousness and holiness of truth_”; _1 Tim.

4:7_—“_exercise thyself unto godliness._” Leighton: “None of the

children of God are born dumb.” Milton: “Good, the more

communicated, the more abundant grows.” Faith can neither be

stationary nor complete (Westcott, Bible Com. on _John 15:8_—“_so

shall ye become my disciples_”). Luther: “He who _is_ a Christian

is _no_ Christian”; “Christianus non in esse, sed in fieri.” In a

Bible that belonged to Oliver Cromwell is this inscription: “O. C.

1644. Qui cessat esse melior cessat esse bonus”—“He who ceases to

be better ceases to be good.” Story, the sculptor, when asked

which of his works he valued most, replied: “My next.” The

greatest work of the Holy Spirit is the perfecting of Christian

character.

_Col. 1:10_—“_Increasing by the knowledge of God_”—here the

instrumental dative represents the knowledge of God as the dew or

rain which nurtures the growth of the plant (Lightfoot). Mr.

Gladstone had the habit of reading the Bible every Sunday

afternoon to old women on his estate. Tholuck: “I have but one

passion, and that is Christ.” This is an echo of Paul’s words:

“_to me to live is Christ_” (_Phil. 1:21_). But Paul is far from

thinking that he has already obtained, or is already made perfect.

He prays “_that I may gain Christ, ... that I may know him_”

(_Phil. 3:8, 10_).

(_i_) From the lack of persistence in using the means appointed for

Christian growth—such as the word of God, prayer, association with other

believers, and personal effort for the conversion of the

ungodly—sanctification does not always proceed in regular and unbroken

course, and it is never completed in this life.

_Phil. 3:12_—“_Not that I have already obtained, or am already

made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that

for which also I was laid hold on by Jesus Christ_”; _1 John

1:8_—“_If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and

the truth is not in us._” Carlyle, in his Life of John Sterling,

chap. 8, says of Coleridge, that “whenever natural obligation or

voluntary undertaking made it his duty to do anything, the fact

seemed a sufficient reason for his _not_ doing it.” A regular,

advancing sanctification is marked, on the other hand, by a

growing habit of instant and joyful obedience. The intermittent

spring depends upon the reservoir in the mountain cave,—only when

the rain fills the latter full, does the spring begin to flow. So

to secure unbroken Christian activity, there must be constant

reception of the word and Spirit of God.

Galen: “If diseases take hold of the body, there is nothing so

certain to drive them out as diligent exercise.” Williams,

Principles of Medicine: “Want of exercise and sedentary habits not

only predispose to, but actually cause, disease.” The little girl

who fell out of bed at night was asked how it happened. She

replied that she went to sleep too near where she got in. Some

Christians lose the joy of their religion by ceasing their

Christian activities too soon after conversion. Yet others

cultivate their spiritual lives from mere selfishness. Selfishness

follows the line of least resistance. It is easier to pray in

public and to attend meetings for prayer, than it is to go out

into the unsympathetic world and engage in the work of winning

souls. This is the fault of monasticism. Those grow most who

forget themselves in their work for others. The discipline of life

is ordained in God’s providence to correct tendencies to

indolence. Even this discipline is often received in a rebellious

spirit. The result is delay in the process of sanctification.

Bengel: “Deus habet horas et moras”—“God has his hours and his

delays.” German proverb: “Gut Ding will Weile haben”—“A good thing

requires time.”

(_j_) Sanctification, both of the soul and of the body of the believer, is

completed in the life to come,—that of the former at death, that of the

latter at the resurrection.

_Phil. 3:21_—“_who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation,

that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to

the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto

himself_”; _Col. 3:4_—“_When Christ, who is our life, shall be

manifested, then shall we also with him be manifested in glory_”;

_Heb. 12:14, 23_—“_Follow after peace with all men, and the

sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord ... spirits

of just men made perfect_”; _1 John 3:2_—“_Beloved, now are we

children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be.

We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for

we shall see him even as he is_”; _Jude 24_—“_able to guard you

from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory

without blemish in exceeding joy_”; _Rev. 14:5_—“_And in their

mouth was found no lie: they are without blemish._”

A. J. Gordon, Ministry of the Spirit, 121, puts the completion of

our sanctification, not at death, but at the appearing of the Lord

“_a second time, apart from sin, ... unto salvation_” (_Heb. 9:28;

1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23_). When we shall see him as he is,

instantaneous photographing of his image in our souls will take

the place of the present slow progress from glory to glory (_2

Cor. 3:18; 1 John 3:2_). If by sanctification we mean, not a

sloughing off of remaining depravity, but an ever increasing

purity and perfection, then we may hold that the process of

sanctification goes on forever. Our relation to Christ must always

be that of the imperfect to the perfect, of the finite to the

infinite; and for finite spirits, progress must always be

possible. Clarke, Christian Theology, 373—“Not even at death can

sanctification end.... The goal lies far beyond deliverance from

sin.... There is no such thing as bringing the divine life to such

completion that no further progress is possible to it.... Indeed,

free and unhampered progress can scarcely begin until sin is left

behind.” “O snows so pure, O peaks so high! I shall not reach you

till I die!”

As Jesus’ resurrection was prepared by holiness of life, so the

Christian’s resurrection is prepared by sanctification. When our

souls are freed from the last remains of sin, then it will not be

possible for us to be holden by death (_cf._ _Acts 2:24_). See

Gordon, The Twofold Life, or Christ’s Work for us and in us; Brit.

and For. Evang. Rev., April, 1884:205‐229; Van Oosterzee,

Christian Dogmatics, 657‐662.

3. Erroneous Views refuted by these Scripture Passages.

A. The Antinomian,—which holds that, since Christ’s obedience and

sufferings have satisfied the demands of the law, the believer is free

from obligation to observe it.

The Antinomian view rests upon a misinterpretation of _Rom.

6:14_—“_Ye are not under law, but under grace._” Agricola and

Amsdorf (1559) were representatives of this view. Amsdorf said

that “good works are hurtful to salvation.” But Melanchthon’s

words furnish the reply: “Sola fides justificat, sed fides non est

sola.” F. W. Robertson states it: “Faith alone justifies, but not

the faith that is alone.” And he illustrates: “Lightning alone

strikes, but not the lightning which is without thunder; for that

is summer lightning and harmless.” See Browning’s poem, Johannes

Agricola in Meditation, in Dramatis Personæ, 300—“I have God’s

warrant, Could I blend All hideous sins as in a cup, To drink the

mingled venoms up, Secure my nature will convert The draught to

blossoming gladness.” Agricola said that Moses ought to be hanged.

This is Sanctification without Perseverance.

Sandeman, the founder of the sect called Sandemanians, asserted as

his fundamental principle the deadliness of all doings, the

necessity for inactivity to let God do his work in the soul. See

his essay, Theron and Aspasia, referred to by Allen, in his Life

of Jonathan Edwards, 114. Anne Hutchinson was excommunicated and

banished by the Puritans from Massachusetts, in 1637, for holding

“two dangerous errors: 1. The Holy Spirit personally dwells in a

justified person; 2. No sanctification can evidence to us our

justification.” Here the latter error almost destroyed the

influence of the former truth. There is a little Antinomianism in

the popular hymn: “Lay your deadly doings down, Down at Jesus’

feet; Doing is a deadly thing; Doing ends in death.” The colored

preacher’s poetry only presented the doctrine in the concrete:

“You may rip and te‐yar, You may cuss and swe‐yar, But you’re jess

as sure of heaven, ’S if you’d done gone de‐yar.” Plain Andrew

Fuller in England (1754‐1815) did excellent service in

overthrowing popular Antinomianism.

To this view we urge the following objections:

(_a_) That since the law is a transcript of the holiness of God, its

demands as a moral rule are unchanging. Only as a system of penalty and a

method of salvation is the law abolished in Christ’s death.

_Mat. 5:17‐19_—“_Think not that I came to destroy the law or the

prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say

unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle

shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be

accomplished. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least

commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the

kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall

be called great in the kingdom of heaven_”; _48_—“_Ye therefore

shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect_”; _1 Pet.

1:16_—“_Ye shall be holy; for I am holy_”; _Rom. 10:4_—“_For

Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to every one that

believeth_”; _Gal. 2:20_—“_I have been crucified with Christ_”;

_3:13_—“_Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having

become a curse for us_”; _Col. 2:14_—“_having blotted out the bond

written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to

us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the

cross_”; _Heb. 2:15_—“_deliver all them who through fear of death

were all their lifetime subject to bondage._”

(_b_) That the union between Christ and the believer secures not only the

bearing of the penalty of the law by Christ, but also the impartation of

Christ’s spirit of obedience to the believer,—in other words, brings him

into communion with Christ’s work, and leads him to ratify it in his own

experience.

_Rom. 8:9, 10, 15_—“_ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if

so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath

not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ is in

you, the body is dead because of sin; but __ the spirit is life

because of righteousness.... For ye received not the spirit of

bondage again unto fear: but ye received the spirit of adoption,

whereby we cry, Abba, Father_”; _Gal. 5:22‐25_—“_But the fruit of

the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, meekness, self‐control; against such there is no

law. And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh

with the passions and the lusts thereof_”; _1 John 1:6_—“_If we

say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we

lie, and do not the truth_”; _3:6_—“_Whosoever abideth in him

sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth

him._”

(_c_) That the freedom from the law of which the Scriptures speak, is

therefore simply that freedom from the constraint and bondage of the law,

which characterizes those who have become one with Christ by faith.

_Ps. 119:97_—“_O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the

day_”; _Rom. 3:8, 31_—“_and why not (as we are slanderously

reported, and as some affirm that we say), Let us do evil, that

good may come? whose condemnation is just.... Do we then make the

law of none effect through faith? God forbid: nay, we establish

the law_”; _6:14, 15, 22_—“_For sin shall not have dominion over

you: for ye are not under law, but under grace. What then? shall

we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid

... now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye

have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life_”;

_7:6_—“_But now we have been discharged from the law, having died

to that wherein we were held; so that we serve in newness of the

spirit, and not in oldness of the letter_”; _8:4_—“_that the

ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after

the flesh, but after the Spirit_”; _1 Cor. 7:22_—“_he that was

called in the Lord being a bondservant, is the Lord’s freedman_”;

_Gal. 5:1_—“_For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast

therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage_”; _1

Tim. 1:9_—“_law is not made for a righteous man, but for the

lawless and unruly_”; _James 1:25_—“_the perfect law, the law of

liberty_.”

To sum up the doctrine of Christian freedom as opposed to Antinomianism,

we may say that Christ does not free us, as the Antinomian believes, from

the law as a rule of life. But he does free us (1) from the law as a

system of curse and penalty; this he does by bearing the curse and penalty

himself. Christ frees us (2) from the law with its claims as a method of

salvation; this he does by making his obedience and merits ours. Christ

frees us (3) from the law as an outward and foreign compulsion; this he

does by giving to us the spirit of obedience and sonship, by which the law

is progressively realized within.

Christ, then, does not free us, as the Antinomian believes, from

the law as a rule of life. But he does free us (1) from the law as

a system of curse and penalty. This he does by bearing the curse

and penalty himself. Just as law can do nothing with a man after

it has executed its death‐penalty upon him, so law can do nothing

with us, now that its death‐penalty has been executed upon Christ.

There are some insects that expire in the act of planting their

sting; and so, when the law gathered itself up and planted its

sting in the heart of Christ, it expended all its power as a judge

and avenger over us who believe. In the Cross, the law as a system

of curse and penalty exhausted itself; so we were set free.

Christ frees us (2) from the law with its claims as a method of

salvation: in other words, he frees us from the necessity of

trusting our salvation to an impossible future obedience. As the

sufferings of Christ, apart from any sufferings of ours, deliver

us from eternal death, so the merits of Christ, apart from any

merits of ours, give us a title to eternal life. By faith in what

Christ has done and simple acceptance of his work for us, we

secure a right to heaven. Obedience on our part is no longer

rendered painfully, as if our salvation depended on it, but freely

and gladly, in gratitude for what Christ has done for us.

Illustrate by the English nobleman’s invitation to his park, and

the regulations he causes to be posted up.

Christ frees us (3) from the law as an outward and foreign

compulsion. In putting an end to legalism, he provides against

license. This he does by giving the spirit of obedience and

sonship. He puts love in the place of fear; and this secures an

obedience more intelligent, more thorough, and more hearty, than

could have been secured by mere law. So he frees us from the

burden and compulsion of the law, by realizing the law within us

by his Spirit. The freedom of the Christian is freedom _in_ the

law, such as the musician experiences when the scales and

exercises have become easy, and work has turned to play. See John

Owen, Works, 3:366‐651; 6:1‐313; Campbell, The Indwelling Christ,

73‐81.

Gould, Bib. Theol. N. T., 195—“The supremacy of those books which

contain the words of Jesus himself [_i. e._, the Synoptic Gospels]

is that they incorporate, with the other elements of the religious

life, the regulative will. Here for instance [in John] is the

gospel of the contemplative life, which, ‘_beholding as in a

mirror the glory of the Lord is changed into the same image from

glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord_’ (_2 Cor. 3:18_).

The belief is that, with this beholding, life will take care of

itself. Life will never take care of itself. Among other things,

after the most perfect vision, it has to ask what aspirations,

principles, affections, belong to life, and then to cultivate the

will to embody these things. Here is the common defect of all

religions. They fail to marry religion to the common life. Christ

did not stop short of this final word; but if we leave him for

even the greatest of his disciples, we are in danger of missing

it.” This utterance of Gould is surprising in several ways. It

attributes to John alone the contemplative attitude of mind, which

the quotation given shows to belong also to Paul. It ignores the

constant appeals in John to the will: “_He that hath my

commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me_” (_John

14:21_). It also forgets that “_life_” in John is the whole being,

including intellect, affection, and will, and that to have Christ

for one’s life is absolutely to exclude Antinomianism.

B. The Perfectionist,—which holds that the Christian may, in this life,

become perfectly free from sin. This view was held by John Wesley in

England, and by Mahan and Finney in America.

Finney, Syst. Theol., 500, declares regeneration to be “an

instantaneous change from entire sinfulness to entire holiness.”

The claims of Perfectionists, however, have been modified from

“freedom from all sin,” to “freedom from all known sin,” then to

“entire consecration,” and finally to “Christian assurance.” H. W.

Webb‐Peploe, in S. S. Times, June 25, 1898—“The Keswick teaching

is that no true Christian need wilfully or knowingly sin. Yet this

is not sinless perfection. It is simply according to our faith

that we receive, and faith only draws from God according to our

present possibilities. These are limited by the presence of

indwelling corruption; and, while never needing to sin within the

sphere of the light we possess, there are to the last hour of our

life upon the earth powers of corruption within every man, which

defile his best deeds and give to even his holiest efforts that

‘nature of sin’ of which the 9th Article in the Church of England

Prayerbook speaks so strongly.” Yet it is evident that this

corruption is not regarded as real sin, and is called “nature of

sin” only in some non‐natural sense.

Dr. George Peck says: “In the life of the most perfect Christian

there is every day renewed occasion for self‐abhorrence, for

repentance, for renewed application of the blood of Christ, for

application of the rekindling of the Holy Spirit.” But why call

this a state of perfection? F. B. Meyer: “We never say that self

is dead; were we to do so, self would be laughing at us round the

corner. The teaching of _Romans 6_ is, not that self is dead, but

that the renewed will is dead to self, the man’s will saying Yes

to Christ, and No to self; through the Spirit’s grace it

constantly repudiates and mortifies the power of the flesh.” For

statements of the Perfectionist view, see John Wesley’s Christian

Theology, edited by Thornley Smith, 265‐273; Mahan, Christian

Perfection, and art. in Bib. Repos. 2d Series, vol. IV, Oct.

1840:408‐428; Finney, Systematic Theology, 586‐766; Peck,

Christian Perfection; Ritschl, Bib. Sac., Oct. 1878:656; A. T.

Pierson, The Keswick Movement.

In reply, it will be sufficient to observe:

(_a_) That the theory rests upon false conceptions: first, of the law,—as

a sliding‐scale of requirement graduated to the moral condition of

creatures, instead of being the unchangeable reflection of God’s holiness;

secondly, of sin,—as consisting only in voluntary acts instead of

embracing also those dispositions and states of the soul which are not

conformed to the divine holiness; thirdly, of the human will,—as able to

choose God supremely and persistently at every moment of life, and to

fulfil at every moment the obligations resting upon it, instead of being

corrupted and enslaved by the Fall.

This view reduces the debt to the debtor’s ability to pay,—a short

and easy method of discharging obligations. I can leap over a

church steeple, if I am only permitted to make the church steeple

low enough; and I can touch the stars, if the stars will only come

down to my hand. The Philistines are quite equal to Samson, if

they may only cut off Samson’s locks. So I can obey God’s law, if

I may only make God’s law what I want it to be. The fundamental

error of perfectionism is its low view of God’s law; the second is

its narrow conception of sin. John Wesley: “I believe a person

filled with love of God is still liable to involuntary

transgressions. Such transgressions you may call sins, if you

please; I do not.” The third error of perfectionism is its

exaggerated estimate of man’s power of contrary choice. To say

that, whatever may have been the habits of the past and whatever

may be the evil affections of the present, a man is perfectly able

at any moment to obey the whole law of God, is to deny that there

are such things as character and depravity. Finney, Gospel Themes,

383, indeed, disclaimed “all expectations of attaining this state

ourselves, and by our own independent, unaided efforts.” On the

Law of God, see pages 537‐544.

Augustine: “Every lesser good has an essential element of sin.”

Anything less than the perfection that belongs normally to my

present stage of development is a coming short of the law’s

demand. R. W. Dale, Fellowship with Christ, 359—“For us and in

this world, the divine is always the impossible. Give me a law for

individual conduct which requires a perfection that is within my

reach, and I am sure that the law does not represent the divine

thought. ‘_Not that I have already obtained, or am already made

perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for

which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus_’ (_Phil.

3:12_)—this, from the beginning, has been the confession of

saints.” The Perfectionist is apt to say that we must “take Christ

twice, once for justification and once for sanctification.” But no

one can take Christ for justification without at the same time

taking him for sanctification. Dr. A. A. Hodge calls this doctrine

“Neonomianism,” because it holds not to one unchanging, ideal, and

perfect law of God, but to a second law given to human weakness

when the first law has failed to secure obedience.

(1) The law of God demands perfection. It is a transcript of God’s

nature. Its object is to reveal God. Anything less than the demand

of perfection would misrepresent God. God could not give a law

which a sinner could obey. In the very nature of the case there

can be no sinlessness in this life for those who have once sinned.

Sin brings incapacity as well as guilt. All men have squandered a

part of the talent intrusted to them by God, and therefore no man

can come up to the demands of that law which requires all that God

gave to humanity at its creation together with interest on the

investment. (2) Even the best Christian comes short of perfection.

Regeneration makes only the dominant disposition holy. Many

affections still remain unholy and require to be cleansed. Only by

lowering the demands of the law, making shallow our conceptions of

sin, and mistaking temporary volition for permanent bent of the

will, can we count ourselves to be perfect. (3) Absolute

perfection is attained not in this world but in the world to come.

The best Christians count themselves still sinners, strive most

earnestly for holiness, have imputed but not inherent

sanctification, are saved by hope.

(_b_) That the theory finds no support in, but rather is distinctly

contradicted by, Scripture.

First, the Scriptures never assert or imply that the Christian may in this

life live without sin; passages like 1 John 3:6, 9, if interpreted

consistently with the context, set forth either the ideal standard of

Christian living or the actual state of the believer so far as respects

his new nature.

_1 John 3:6_—“_Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever

sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him_”; _9_—“_Whosoever

is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him:

and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God._” Ann. Par.

Bible, _in loco_:—“John is contrasting the states in which sin and

grace severally predominate, without reference to degrees in

either, showing that all men are in one or the other.” Neander:

“John recognizes no intermediate state, no gradations. He seizes

upon the radical point of difference. He contrasts the two states

in their essential nature and principle. It is either love or

hate, light or darkness, truth or a lie. The Christian life in its

essential nature is the opposite of all sin. If there be sin, it

must be the afterworking of the old nature.” Yet all Christians

are required in Scripture to advance, to confess sin, to ask

forgiveness, to maintain warfare, to assume the attitude of ill

desert in prayer, to receive chastisement for the removal of

imperfections, to regard full salvation as matter of hope, not of

present experience.

John paints only in black and white; there are no intermediate

tints or colors. Take the words in _1 John 3:6_ literally, and

there never was and never can be a regenerate person. The words

are hyperbolical, as Paul’s words in _Rom. 6:2_—“_We who died to

sin, how shall we any longer live therein_”—are metaphorical; see

E. H. Johnson, in Bib. Sac., 1892:375, note. The Emperor William

refused the request for an audience prepared by a German‐American,

saying that Germans born in Germany but naturalized in America

became Americans: “Ich kenne Amerikaner, Ich kenne Deutsche, aber

Deutsch‐Amerikaner kenne Ich nicht”—“I know Americans, I know

Germans, but German‐Americans I do not know.”

Lowrie, Doctrine of St. John, 110—“St. John uses the noun _sin_

and the verb _to sin_ in two senses: to denote the power or

principle of sin, or to denote concrete acts of sin. The latter

sense he generally expresses by the plural _sins_.... The

Christian is guilty of particular acts of sin for which confession

and forgiveness are required, but as he has been freed from the

bondage of sin he cannot habitually practise it nor abide in it,

still less can he be guilty of sin in its superlative form, by

denial of Christ.”

Secondly, the apostolic admonitions to the Christians and Hebrews show

that no such state of complete sanctification had been generally attained

by the Christians of the first century.

_Rom. 8:24_—“_For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is

not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth?_” The party

feeling, selfishness, and immorality found among the members of

the Corinthian church are evidence that they were far from a state

of entire sanctification.

Thirdly, there is express record of sin committed by the most perfect

characters of Scripture—as Noah, Abraham, Job, David, Peter.

We are urged by perfectionists “to keep up the standard.” We do

this, not by calling certain men perfect, but by calling Jesus

Christ perfect. In proportion to our sanctification, we are

absorbed in Christ, not in ourselves. Self‐consciousness and

display are a poor evidence of sanctification. The best characters

of Scripture put their trust in a standard higher than they have

ever realized in their own persons, even in the righteousness of

God.

Fourthly, the word τέλειος, as applied to spiritual conditions already

attained, can fairly be held to signify only a relative perfection,

equivalent to sincere piety or maturity of Christian judgment.

_1 Cor. 2:6_—“_We speak wisdom, however, among the perfect,_” or,

as the Am. Revisers have it, “_among them that are fullgrown_”;

_Phil. 3:15_—“_Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus

minded._” Men are often called perfect, when free from any fault

which strikes the eyes of the world. See _Gen. 6:9_—“_Noah was a

righteous man, and perfect_”; _Job 1:1_—“_that man was perfect and

upright._” On τέλειος, see Trench, Syn. N. T., 1:110.

The τέλειοι are described in _Heb. 5:14_—“_Solid food is for the

mature_ (τελείων) _who on account of habit have their perceptions

disciplined for the discriminating of good and evil_” (Dr.

Kendrick’s translation). The same word “_perfect_” is used of

Jacob in _Gen. 25:27_—“_Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents_”

= a harmless man, exemplary and well‐balanced, as a man of

business. Genung, Epic of the Inner Life, 132—“_’Perfect’_ in Job

= Horace’s ‘integer vitæ,’ being the adjective of which

‘integrity’ is the substantive.”

Fifthly, the Scriptures distinctly deny that any man on earth lives

without sin.

_1 K. 8:46_—“_there is no man that sinneth not_”; _Eccl.

7:20_—“_Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth

good, and sinneth not_”; _James 3:2_—“_For in many things we all

stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man,

able to bridle the whole body also_”; _1 John 1:8_—“_If we say

that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in

us._”

T. T. Eaton, Sanctification: “1. Some mistake regeneration for

sanctification. They have been unconverted church members. When

led to faith in Christ, and finding peace and joy, they think they

are sanctified, when they are simply converted. 2. Some mistake

assurance of faith for sanctification. But joy is not

sanctification. 3. Some mistake the baptism of the Holy Spirit for

sanctification. But Peter sinned grievously at Antioch, after he

had received that baptism. 4. Some think that doing the best one

can is sanctification. But he who measures by inches, for feet,

can measure up well. Some regard sin as only a voluntary act,

whereas the sinful nature is the fountain. Stripping off the

leaves of the Upas tree does not answer. 6. Some mistake the power

of the human will, and fancy that an act of will can free a man

from sin. They ignore the settled bent of the will, which the act

of will does not change.”

Sixthly, the declaration: “ye were sanctified” (1 Cor. 6:11), and the

designation: “saints” (1 Cor. 1:2), applied to early believers, are, as

the whole epistle shows, expressive of a holiness existing in germ and

anticipation; the expressions deriving their meaning not so much from what

these early believers were, as from what Christ was, to whom they were

united by faith.

When N. T. believers are said to be “_sanctified_,” we must

remember the O. T. use of the word. “Sanctify” may have either the

meaning “to make holy outwardly,” or “to make holy inwardly.” The

people of Israel and the vessels of the tabernacle were made holy

in the former sense; their sanctification was a setting apart to

the sacred use. _Num. 8:17_—“_all the firstborn among the children

of Israel are mine.... I sanctified them for myself_”; _Deut.

33:3_—“_Yea, he loveth the people; all his saints are in thy

hand_”; _2 Chron. 29:19_—“_all the vessels ... have we prepared

and sanctified._” The vessels mentioned were first immersed, and

then sprinkled from day to day according to need. So the Christian

by his regeneration is set apart for God’s service, and in this

sense is a “_saint_” and “_sanctified_.” More than this, he has in

him the beginnings of purity,—he is “_clean as a whole_,” though

he yet needs “_to wash his feet_” (_John 13:10_)—that is, to be

cleansed from the recurring defilements of his daily life. Shedd,

Dogm. Theol., 2:551—“The error of the Perfectionist is that of

confounding _imputed_ sanctification with _inherent_

sanctification. It is the latter which is mentioned in _1 Cor.

1:30_—‘_Christ Jesus, who was made unto us ... sanctification._’ ”

Water from the Jordan is turbid, but it settles in the bottle and

seems pure—until it is shaken. Some Christians seem very free from

sin, until you shake them,—then they get “riled.” Clarke,

Christian Theology, 871—“Is there not a higher Christian life?

Yes, and a higher life beyond it, and a higher still beyond. The

Christian life is ever higher and higher. It must pass through all

stages between its beginning and its perfection.” C. D. Case: “The

great objection to [this theory of] complete sanctification is

that, if possessed at all, it is not a development of our own

character.”

(_c_) That the theory is disapproved by the testimony of Christian

experience.—In exact proportion to the soul’s advance in holiness does it

shrink from claiming that holiness has been already attained, and humble

itself before God for its remaining apathy, ingratitude, and unbelief.

_Phil. 3:12‐14_—“_Not that I have already obtained, or am already

made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that

for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus._” Some of the

greatest advocates of perfectionism have been furthest from

claiming any such perfection; although many of their less

instructed followers claimed it for them, and even professed to

have attained it themselves.

In _Luke 7:1‐10_, the centurion does not think himself worthy to

go to Jesus, or to have him come under his roof, yet the elders of

the Jews say: “_He is worthy that thou shouldest do this_”; and

Jesus himself says of him: “_I have not found so great faith, no,

not in Israel_.” “_Holy to Jehovah_” was inscribed upon the mitre

of the high priest (_Ex. 28:36_). Others saw it, but he saw it

not. Moses knew not that his face shone (_Ex. 34:29_). The truest

holiness is that of which the possessor is least conscious; yet it

is his real diadem and beauty (A. J. Gordon). “The nearer men are

to being sinless, the less they talk about it” (Dwight L. Moody).

“Always strive for perfection: never believe you have reached it”

(Arnold of Rugby). Compare with this, Ernest Renan’s declaration

that he had nothing to alter in his life. “I have not sinned for

some time,” said a woman to Mr. Spurgeon. “Then you must be very

proud of it,” he replied. “Indeed I am!” said she. A pastor says:

“No one can attain the ‘Higher Life,’ and escape making mischief.”

John Wesley lamented that not one in thirty retained the blessing.

Perfectionism is best met by proper statements of the nature of the law

and of sin (Ps. 119:96). While we thus rebuke spiritual pride, however, we

should be equally careful to point out the inseparable connection between

justification and sanctification, and their equal importance as together

making up the Biblical idea of salvation. While we show no favor to those

who would make sanctification a sudden and paroxysmal act of the human

will, we should hold forth the holiness of God as the standard of

attainment, and the faith in a Christ of infinite fulness as the medium

through which that standard is to be gradually but certainly realized in

us (2 Cor. 3:18).

We should imitate Lyman Beecher’s method of opposing

perfectionism—by searching expositions of God’s law. When men know

what the law is, they will say with the Psalmist: “_I have seen an

end of all perfection; thy commandment is exceeding broad_” (_Ps.

119:96_). And yet we are earnestly and hopefully to seek in Christ

for a continually increasing measure of sanctification: _1 Cor.

1:30_—“_Christ Jesus, who was made unto us ... sanctification_”;

_2 Cor. 3:18_—“_But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a

mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image

from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit_.” Arnold of

Rugby: “Always expect to succeed, and never think you have

succeeded.”

Mr. Finney meant by entire sanctification only that it is possible

for Christians in this life by the grace of God to consecrate

themselves so unreservedly to his service as to live without

conscious and wilful disobedience to the divine commands. He did

not claim himself to have reached this point; he made at times

very impressive confessions of his own sinfulness; he did not

encourage others to make for themselves the claim to have lived

without conscious fault. He held however that such a state is

attainable, and therefore that its pursuit is rational. He also

admitted that such a state is one, not of absolute, but only of

relative, sinlessness. His error was in calling it a state of

entire sanctification. See A. H. Strong, Christ in Creation,

377‐384.

A. J. Gordon, Ministry of the Spirit, 116—“It is possible that one

may experience a great crisis in his spiritual life, in which

there is such a total surrender of self to God and such an

infilling of the Holy Spirit, that he is freed from the bondage of

sinful appetites and habits, and enabled to have constant victory

over self instead of suffering constant defeat.... If the doctrine

of sinless perfection is a heresy, the doctrine of contentment

with sinful imperfection is a greater heresy.... It is not an

edifying spectacle to see a Christian worldling throwing stones at

a Christian perfectionist.” Caird, Evolution of Religion,

1:138—“If, according to the German proverb, it is provided that

the trees shall not grow into the sky, it is equally provided that

they shall always grow toward it; and the sinking of the roots

into the soil is inevitably accompanied by a further expansion of

the branches.”

See Hovey, Doctrine of the Higher Christian Life, Compared with

Scripture, also Hovey, Higher Christian Life Examined, in Studies

in Ethics and Theology, 344‐427; Snodgrass, Scriptural Doctrine of

Sanctification; Princeton Essays, 1:335‐365; Hodge, Syst. Theol.,

3:213‐258; Calvin, Institutes, III, 11:6; Bib. Repos., 2d Series,

1:44‐58; 2:143‐166; Woods, Works, 4:465‐523; H. A. Boardman, The

“Higher Life” Doctrine of Sanctification; William Law, Practical

Treatise on Christian Perfection; E. H. Johnson, The Highest Life.

II. Perseverance.

The Scriptures declare that, in virtue of the original purpose and

continuous operation of God, all who are united to Christ by faith will

infallibly continue in a state of grace and will finally attain to

everlasting life. This voluntary continuance, on the part of the

Christian, in faith and well‐doing we call perseverance. Perseverance is,

therefore, the human side or aspect of that spiritual process which, as

viewed from the divine side, we call sanctification. It is not a mere

natural consequence of conversion, but involves a constant activity of the

human will from the moment of conversion to the end of life.

Adam’s holiness was mutable; God did not determine to keep him. It

is otherwise with believers in Christ; God has determined to give

them the kingdom (_Luke 12:32_). Yet this keeping by God, which we

call sanctification, is accompanied and followed by a keeping of

himself on the part of the believer, which we call perseverance.

The former is alluded to in _John 17:11, 12_—“_keep them in thy

name.... I kept them in thy name.... I guarded them, and not one

of them perished, but the son of perdition_”; the latter is

alluded to in _1 John 5:18_—“_he that was __ begotten of God

keepeth himself._” Both are expressed in _Jude 21, 24_—“_Keep

yourselves in the love of God.... Now unto him that is able to

guard you from stumbling..._”

A German treatise on Pastoral Theology is entitled: “Keep What

Thou Hast”—an allusion to _2 Tim. 1:14_—“_That good thing which

was committed unto thee guard through the Holy Spirit which

dwelleth in us._” Not only the pastor, but every believer, has a

charge to keep; and the keeping of ourselves is as important a

point of Christian doctrine as is the keeping of God. Both are

expressed in the motto: _Teneo, Teneor_—the motto on the front of

the Y. M. C. A. building in Boston, underneath a stone cross,

firmly clasped by two hands. The colored preacher said that

“Perseverance means: 1. Take hold; 2. Hold on; 3. Never let go.”

Physically, intellectually, morally, spiritually, there is need

that we persevere. Paul, in _1 Cor. 9:27_, declares that he smites

his body under the eye and makes a slave of it, lest after having

preached to others he himself should be rejected; and in _2 Tim.

4:7_, at the end of his career, he rejoices that he has “_kept the

faith_.” A. J. Gordon, Ministry of the Spirit, 115—“The Christian

is as ‘_a tree planted by the streams of water, that bringeth

forth its fruit in its season_’ (_Ps. 1:3_), but to conclude that

his growth will be as irresistible as that of the tree, coming as

a matter of course simply because he has by regeneration been

planted in Christ, is a grave mistake. The disciple is required to

be consciously and intelligently active in his own growth, as the

tree is not, ‘_to give all diligence to make his calling and

election sure_’ (_2 Pet. 1:10_) by surrendering himself to the

divine action.” Clarke, Christian Theology, 379—“Man is able to

fall, and God is able to keep him from falling; and through the

various experiences of life God will so save his child out of all

evil that he will be morally incapable of falling.”

1. Proof of the Doctrine of Perseverance.

A. From Scripture.

_John 10:28, 29_—“_they shall never perish, and no one shall

snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who hath given them unto

me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of

the Father’s hand_”; _Rom. 11:29_—“_For the gifts and the calling

of God are without repentance_”; _1 Cor. 13:7_—“_endureth all

things_”; _cf._ _13_—“_But now abideth faith, hope, love_”; _Phil.

1:6_—“_being confident of this very thing, that he who began a

good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ_”;

_2 Thess. 3:3_—“_But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish

you, and guard you from the evil one_”; _2 Tim. 1:12_—“_I know him

whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard

that which I have committed unto him against that day_”; _1 Pet.

1:5_—“_who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a

salvation ready to be revealed in the last time_”; _Rev.

3:10_—“_Because thou didst keep the word of my patience, I also

will keep thee from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come

upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth._”

_2 Tim. 1:12_—τὴν παραθήκην μου—Ellicott translates: “_the trust

committed to me_,” or “_my deposit_” = the office of preaching the

gospel, the stewardship entrusted to the apostle; _cf._ _1 Tim.

6:20_—“_O Timothy, keep thy deposit_”—τὴν παραθήκην; and _2 Tim.

1:14_—“_Keep the good deposit_”—where the deposit seems to be the

faith or doctrine delivered to him to preach. Nicoll, The Church’s

One Foundation, 211—“Some Christians waken each morning with a

creed of fewer articles, and those that remain they are ready to

surrender to a process of argument that convinces them. But it is

a duty to _keep_. ‘_Ye have an anointing from the Holy One, and ye

know_’ (_1 John 2:20_).... Ezra gave to his men a treasure of gold

and silver and sacrificial vessels, and he charged them: ‘_Watch

ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them ... in thy chambers of the

house of Jehovah_’ (_Ezra 8:29_).” See in the Autobiography of C.

H. Spurgeon, 1:225, 256, the outline of a sermon on _John

6:37_—“_All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me;

and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out._” Mr.

Spurgeon remarks that this text can give us no comfort unless we

see: 1. that God has given us his Holy Spirit; 2. that we have

given ourselves to him. Christ will not cast us out because of our

great sins, our long delays, our trying other saviors, our

hardness of heart, our little faith, our poor dull prayers, our

unbelief, our inveterate corruptions, our frequent backslidings,

nor finally because every one else passes us by.

B. From Reason.

(_a_) It is a necessary inference from other doctrines,—such as election,

union with Christ, regeneration, justification, sanctification.

Election of certain individuals to salvation is election to bestow

upon them such influences of the Spirit as will lead them not only

to accept Christ, but to persevere and be saved. Union with Christ

is indissoluble; regeneration is the beginning of a work of new

creation, which is declared in justification, and completed in

sanctification. All these doctrines are parts of a general scheme,

which would come to naught if any single Christian were permitted

to fall away.

(_b_) It accords with analogy,—God’s preserving care being needed by, and

being granted to, his spiritual, as well as his natural, creation.

As natural life cannot uphold itself, but we “_live, and move, and

have our being_” in God (_Acts 17:28_), so spiritual life cannot

uphold itself, and God maintains the faith, love, and holy

activity which he has originated. If he preserves our natural

life, much more may we expect him to preserve the spiritual. _1

Tim. 6:13_—“_I charge thee before God who preserveth all things

alive_” (R. V. marg.)—ζωογονοῦντος τὰ πάντα = the great Preserver

of all enables us to persist in our Christian course.

(_c_) It is implied in all assurance of salvation,—since this assurance is

given by the Holy Spirit, and is based not upon the known strength of

human resolution, but upon the purpose and operation of God.

S. R. Mason: “If Satan and Adam both fell away from perfect

holiness, it is a million to one that, in a world full of

temptations and with all appetites and habits against me, I shall

fall away from imperfect holiness, unless God by his almighty

power keep me.” It is in the power and purpose of God, then, that

the believer puts his trust. But since this trust is awakened by

the Holy Spirit, it must be that there is a divine fact

corresponding to it; namely, God’s purpose to exert his power in

such a way that the Christian shall persevere. See Wardlaw, Syst.

Theol., 2:550‐578; N. W. Taylor, Revealed Theology, 445‐460.

_Job 6:11_—“_What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is

mine end, that I should be patient?_” “Here is a note of self‐

distrust. To be patient without any outlook, to endure without

divine support—Job does not promise it, and he trembles at the

prospect; but none the less he sets his feet on the toilsome way”

(Genung). Dr. Lyman Beecher was asked whether he believed in the

perseverance of the saints. He replied: “I do, except when the

wind is from the East.” But the value of the doctrine is that we

can believe it even when the wind _is_ from the East. It is well

to hold on to God’s hand, but it is better to have God’s hand hold

on to us. When we are weak, and forgetful and asleep, we need to

be sure of God’s care. Like the child who thought he was driving,

but who found, after the trouble was over, that his father after

all had been holding the reins, we too find when danger comes that

behind our hands are the hands of God. The Perseverance of the

Saints, looked at from the divine side, is the Preservation of the

Saints, and the hymn that expresses the Christian’s faith is the

hymn: “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for

your faith in his excellent word!”

2. Objections to the Doctrine of Perseverance.

These objections are urged chiefly by Arminians and by Romanists.

A. That it is inconsistent with human freedom.—Answer: It is no more so

than is the doctrine of Election or the doctrine of Decrees.

The doctrine is simply this, that God will bring to bear such

influences upon all true believers, that they will freely

persevere. Moule, Outlines of Christian Doctrine, 47—“Is grace, in

any sense of the word, ever finally withdrawn? Yes, if by grace is

meant any free gift of God tending to salvation; or, more

specially, any action of the Holy Spirit tending in its nature

thither.... But if by grace be meant the dwelling and working of

Christ in the truly regenerate, there is no indication in

Scripture of the withdrawal of it.”

B. That it tends to immorality.—Answer: This cannot be, since the doctrine

declares that God will save men by securing their perseverance in

holiness.

_2 Tim. 2:19_—“_Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth,

having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his: and, Let

every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from

unrighteousness_”; that is, the temple of Christian character has

upon its foundation two significant inscriptions, the one

declaring God’s power, wisdom, and purpose of salvation; the other

declaring the purity and holy activity, on the part of the

believer, through which God’s purpose is to be fulfilled; _1 Pet.

1:1, 2_—“_elect ... according to the foreknowledge of God the

Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and

sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ_”; _2 Pet. 1:10,

11_—“_Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your

calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall

never stumble: for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the

entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ_.”

C. That it leads to indolence.—Answer: This is a perversion of the

doctrine, continuously possible only to the unregenerate; since, to the

regenerate, certainty of success is the strongest incentive to activity in

the conflict with sin.

_1 John 5:4_—“_For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the

world; and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even

our faith_.” It is notoriously untrue that confidence of success

inspires timidity or indolence. Thomas Fuller: “Your salvation is

his business; his service your business.” The only prayers God

will answer are those we ourselves cannot answer. For the very

reason that “_it is God who worketh in you both to will and to

work, for his good pleasure_,” the apostle exhorts: “_work out

your own salvation with fear and trembling_” (_Phil. 2:12, 13_).

D. That the Scripture commands to persevere and warnings against apostasy

show that certain, even of the regenerate, will fall away.—Answer:

(_a_) They show that some, who are apparently regenerate, will fall away.

_Mat. 18:7_—“_Woe unto the world because of occasions of

stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe

to that man through whom the occasion cometh_”; _1 Cor.

11:19_—“_For there must be also factions_ [lit. ‘_heresies_’]

_among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among

you_”; _1 John 2:19_—“_They went out from us, but they were not of

us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us:

but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they all

are not of us_.” Judas probably experienced strong emotions, and

received strong impulses toward good, under the influence of

Christ. The only falling from grace which is recognized in

Scripture is not the falling of the regenerate, but the falling of

the unregenerate, from influences tending to lead them to Christ.

The Rabbins said that a drop of water will suffice to purify a man

who has accidentally touched a creeping thing, but an ocean will

not suffice for his cleansing so long as he purposely keeps the

creeping thing in his hand.

(_b_) They show that the truly regenerate, and those who are only

apparently so, are not certainly distinguishable in this life.

_Mal. 3:18_—“_Then shall ye return and discern between the

righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him

that serveth him not_”; _Mat. 13:25, 47_—“_while men slept, his

enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away....

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast

into the sea, and gathered of every kind_”; _Rom. 9:6, 7_—“_For

they are not all Israel, that are of Israel: neither, because they

are Abraham’s seed, are they all children_”; _Rev. 3:1_—“_I know

thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art

dead_.” The tares were never wheat, and the bad fish never were

good, in spite of the fact that their true nature was not for a

while recognized.

(_c_) They show the fearful consequences of rejecting Christ, to those who

have enjoyed special divine influences, but who are only apparently

regenerate.

_Heb. 10:26‐29_—“_For if we sin wilfully after that we have

received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a

sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment,

and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man

that hath set at nought Moses’ law dieth without compassion on the

word of two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment,

think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot

the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant

wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite

unto the Spirit of grace?_” Here “_sanctified_” = external

sanctification, like that of the ancient Israelites, by outward

connection with God’s people; _cf._ _1 Cor. 7:14_—“_the

unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife_.”

In considering these and the following Scripture passages, much

will depend upon our view of inspiration. If we hold that Christ’s

promise was fulfilled and that his apostles were led into all the

truth, we shall assume that there is unity in their teaching, and

shall recognize in their variations only aspects and applications

of the teaching of our Lord; in other words, Christ’s doctrine in

_John 10:28, 29_ will be the norm for the interpretation of

seemingly diverse and at first sight inconsistent passages. There

was a “_faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints_,”

and for this primitive faith we are exhorted “_to contend

earnestly_” (_Jude 3_).

(_d_) They show what the fate of the truly regenerate would be, in case

they should not persevere.

_Heb. 6:4‐6_—“_For as touching those who were once enlightened and

tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy

Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the

world to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them

again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son

of God afresh, and put him to an open shame._” This is to be

understood as a hypothetical case,—as is clear from _verse 9_

which follows: “_But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of

you, and things which accompany salvation, though we thus speak_.”

Dr. A. C. Kendrick, Com. _in loco_: “In the phrase ‘_once

enlightened_,’ the ‘_once_’ is ἅπαξ = once for all. The text

describes a condition subjectively possible, and therefore needing

to be held up in earnest warning to the believer, while

objectively and in the absolute purpose of God, it never

occurs.... If passages like this teach the possibility of falling

from grace, they teach also the impossibility of restoration to

it. The saint who once apostatizes has apostatized forever.” So

_Ez. 18:24_—“_when the righteous turneth away from his

righteousness, and committeth iniquity ... in them shall he die_”;

_2 Pet. 2:20_—“_For if, after they have escaped the defilements of

the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last

state is become worse with them than the first_.” So, in _Mat.

5:13_—“_if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be

salted?_”—if this teaches that the regenerate may lose their

religion, it also teaches that they can never recover it. It

really shows only that Christians who do not perform their proper

functions as Christians become harmful and contemptible (Broadus,

_in loco_).

(_e_) They show that the perseverance of the truly regenerate may be

secured by these very commands and warnings.

_1 Cor. 9:27_—“_I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest

by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself

should be rejected_”—or, to bring out the meaning more fully: “_I

beat my body blue_ [or, ‘strike it under the eye’], _and make it a

slave, lest after having been a herald to others, I myself should

be rejected_” (“unapproved,” “counted unworthy of the prize”);

_10:12_—“_Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed

lest he fall_.” Quarles, Emblems: “The way to be safe is never to

be secure.” Wrightnour: “Warning a traveler to keep a certain

path, and by this means keeping him in that path, is no evidence

that he will ever fall into a pit by the side of the path simply

because he is warned of it.”

(_f_) They do not show that it is certain, or possible, that any truly

regenerate person will fall away.

The Christian is like a man making his way up‐hill, who

occasionally slips back, yet always has his face set toward the

summit. The unregenerate man has his face turned downwards, and he

is slipping all the way. C. H. Spurgeon: “The believer, like a man

on shipboard, may fall again and again on the deck, but he will

never fall overboard.”

E. That we have actual examples of such apostasy.—We answer:

(_a_) Such are either men once outwardly reformed, like Judas and Ananias,

but never renewed in heart;

But, _per contra_, instance the experience of a man in typhoid

fever, who apparently repented, but who never remembered it when

he was restored to health. Sick‐bed and death‐bed conversions are

not the best. There was one penitent thief, that none might

despair; there was but one penitent thief, that none might

presume. The hypocrite is like the wire that gets a second‐hand

electricity from the live wire running parallel with it. This

second‐hand electricity is effective only within narrow limits,

and its efficacy is soon exhausted. The live wire has connection

with the source of power in the dynamo.

(_b_) Or they are regenerate men, who, like David and Peter, have fallen

into temporary sin, from which they will, before death, be reclaimed by

God’s discipline.

Instance the young profligate who, in a moment of apparent

drowning, repented, was then rescued, and afterward lived a long

life as a Christian. If he had not been rescued, his repentance

would never have been known, nor the answer to his mother’s

prayers. So, in the moment of a backslider’s death, God can renew

repentance and faith. Cromwell on his death‐bed questioned his

Chaplain as to the doctrine of final perseverance, and, on being

assured that it was a certain truth, said: “Then I am happy, for I

am sure that I was once in a state of grace.” But reliance upon a

past experience is like trusting in the value of a policy of life

insurance upon which several years’ premiums have been unpaid. If

the policy has not lapsed, it is because of extreme grace. The

only conclusive evidence of perseverance is a present experience

of Christ’s presence and indwelling, corroborated by active

service and purity of life.

On the general subject, see Edwards, Works, 3:509‐532, and 4:104;

Ridgeley, Body of Divinity, 2:164‐194; John Owen, Works, vol. 11;

Woods, Works, 3:221‐246; Van Oosterzee, Christian Dogmatics,

662‐666.