PARTIAL CONSECRATION

IS THERE SUCH A THING?

     It would be as proper to speak of a partial truth as a partial or incomplete consecration. A truth is all truth, and anything less than this is a falsehood. So consecration is either complete or incomplete, and if incomplete, it is not acceptable with God, as it is no consecration at all.

     The popular teaching of holiness is that when a soul is converted he simply submits and surrenders, but when he comes to seek holiness, he makes an entire consecration of everything to God. Those who hold this opinion say that a sinner is dead in trespasses and sins, and consequently has nothing to consecrate, but when he comes to seek holiness, he has that which the Lord wants and can use, hence he must make a full and complete consecration.

     We wish to briefly call attention to two characters in the New Testament, as examples of partial consecration, viz., Ananias and the rich young man.

     Read the account of Ananias and his wife, in Acts 5:1-12, and see how fearfully God regarded their failure to yield and give up everything.

     Let us notice more fully the rich young man spoken of in Matthew 19:16-22. It is simply astonishing to see how modern holiness teachers can consider this young man a proper candidate for holiness. A modern commentator says:

     "The rich young man described by St. Matthew is certainly a most beautiful and lovable Christian character, walking in all the commandments blameless, and actuated by a glowing and irrepressible enthusiasm to gain the chief desideratum of an intelligent being, i. e., eternal life. But like nearly all rich people, and countless myriads who are not rich, he was not saved from the love of money. He needed the climacteric blessing of Pentecostal perfection to sanctify him wholly, burning and exterminating all the avaricious predilections of Adam the first, giving him a clean heart. Our Savior preached to him the most efficient gospel of conviction for Christian perfection, by commanding him to sell out and give all to the poor and become His faithful ambassador."

     Notice, this young man "was not saved from the love of money," and yet he is considered "a beautiful and lovable Christian character, walking in all the commandments blameless." What says the Word? "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph. 5:5).

     Wesley, Benson, and others, in commenting on the passage in question, say that the young man imagined, and perhaps had kept these commandments as to the letter; but not as to the spirit, which our Lord immediately shows." If thou desirest to be perfect -- "that is, to be a real Christian -- Sell that thou hast. He who reads the heart saw his bosom sin was love of the world; and knew he could not be saved from this, but by literally renouncing it. For him that was necessary to salvation. The young man went away sorrowful --not being willing to have salvation at so high a price." The word "perfect" here simply means a "real Christian," as Wesley says, and can not mean Christian perfection as a second work of grace. It is said of Job that he was a "perfect man," I. e., a perfect Christian as to living a holy, Christlike life, and yet he was not wholly sanctified until later on. (See Clarke's closing comments on Book of Job.)

     "But is not the consecration deeper and up to more light in seeking holiness than in regeneration?" No! "Man does not consecrate to do this or that, but he consecrates to God; and when the will of God is presented he proceeds to perform the same in harmony with his consecration." The principle of consecration and submission is planted in the heart at conversion, and when anything is presented, relative to obedience or duty, that principle responds immediately. True, there may remain the tendencies to shrink, fear, etc., but the principle of consecration and obedience so predominates that the obedient soul proceeds to obey God any way. It may be on some point that he never anticipated when he first knelt and yielded to God, but if you call this a deeper and more thorough consecration, then we will never be thoroughly consecrated, for there will be new crosses and duties revealed to us all the way from here to the "pearly gates."

     That consecration can not be partial or incomplete and meet God's approval, or be a condition in seeking holiness, is proven from the fact that when clearly justified souls come to seek holiness they are not anxious to give up something, but to get rid of something. The "old man" cannot be consecrated to God for He has no use for him. "He must die and from his resting place be cast." "In conversion you get something you never had. In entire sanctification you get rid of something you always had."