ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION IS RECEIVED INSTANTANEOUSLY

A -- OUTLINE

Scripture Reading:-- Acts 2:1-21; 15:6-11.

Introduction

There is usually a process between conversion and entire sanctification. The time involved varies with each individual.

There is a process after entire sanctification. It is very important for the entirely sanctified to grow in grace.

But our emphasis in this lesson is that entire sanctification is received instantaneously or in a crisis. There is growth in grace before and after entire sanctification, but the blessing is bestowed instantly.

I. The Arguments from the Authority of the Bible

1. Christ's prayer that His disciples might be sanctified was answered on the Day of Pentecost. They were all sanctified suddenly by the baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-6).
2. They were sanctified by faith and, therefore, instantaneously (Acts 15:8, 9; 26:16-18).
3. The aorist tense is often the form of the Greek verb which is translated sanctify. This tense would not have been used by the writer if his purpose had been to emphasize process or growth (John 17:17; Gal. 5:24; Col. 3:5; I Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:12; I John 1:9).
4. There are certain commands and promises in the Bible which imply that the blessing of entire sanctification can be obtained now (I Pet. 1:15, 16; Matt. 5:48; Heb. 12:14; I John 1:7).
5. There are many types or symbols of entire sanctification which at least suggest that this blessing is received instantaneously. Among these are circumcision, crossing the Jordan River into Canaan, crucifixion, baptism, sealing (Col. 2:11; Josh. 3:14-17; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:4; II Cor. 1:21, 22).
6. There is as much biblical ground for believing that entire sanctification comes in an instant as there is for believing that regeneration or the new birth comes in an instant.
7. Thus far our argument has been built around the Scriptures, which are the supreme authority. In the final analysis, we shall all be judged by the teaching of the Bible.

II. The Arguments from Reason

1. We must call attention again to the interpenetration of the arguments from the Bible and from reason. No complete line of demarcation can be drawn between them.
2. Wesley argues from the fact that there is a moment of completion in a process. Wesley's illustration is that there is a moment when one who is dying is dead.
3. Inbred sin is a psychical unit and cannot be removed in parts. If removed at all, it must be removed all at once.
4. Great changes are brought about by crises. Entire sanctification is a supernatural trauma or shock experience.
5. Since it is God that entirely sanctifies, the blessing must be instantaneous. When God makes wine by the usual method -- with the assistance of man and nature -- it takes a long time, but when He does it directly and alone it takes place at once. It may take the Christian a long time to make the proper consecration and believe, but when he has consecrated his all and believed, God sanctifies at once.
6. There are many reasons why the unsanctified need the blessing now. Therefore, the provision must be adequate for the need -- this blessing must be attainable now.

III. The Arguments from Experience

1. Do men get the blessing of entire sanctification instantaneously? There is a sense in which this is the crucial question. If no one ever received the experience in an instant, it would be difficult to convince people that it comes by this method, even on the basis of the Bible and reason. Those who have obtained the blessing testify that they got it immediately and not by growth.
2. What do J. A. Wood and John Wesley have to say on instantaneousness as over against gradualism? They are definitely for the former as against the latter.
3. The writer received this blessing at once. It took me time to meet the conditions; but when I did, God did the work immediately.
4. The growth theory as to entire sanctification really means naturalism as opposed to supernaturalism. Thus the immediate or miraculous action of God is excluded in this connection.

B -- LESSON TWO STUDY

Scripture Reading:

Acts 2:1-21 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 16:6-11 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. 8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. 10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. 11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;

The Church of the Nazarene teaches that the blessing of entire sanctification is received instantaneously. There usually is growth preceding entire sanctification, that is, between conversion and entire sanctification. This involves time that will vary with the light which one has had and the conditions which surround him. Therefore, no one can say for sure just what length of time must intervene between the first blessing and the second blessing. With some it might be only a few hours or perhaps less even than that. On the other hand, with others it may stretch out into months or even years. Certainly this intervening time between these two experiences should not be long for those who have been reared in a holiness environment and who are now receiving teaching along this line. Whatever else may be said, we know that the quicker a genuinely saved person can move on into the blessing of holiness the better it will be -- provided a proper foundation of truth for this experience has been laid.

There is also a process of growth after the blessing of entire sanctification has been received. This is very important. Without such growth in grace, those who are entirely sanctified cannot hope to retain the blessed experience of holiness. This glorious development should be intensified as the years in the sanctified experience increase. Thus, while we are to discuss especially the crisis experience of entire sanctification in this chapter, we do not intend, thereby, to imply that there is only crisis and no growth in the Christian life. There must be definite progress both before and after the acquisition of this great instantaneous blessing. There is no growth into grace -- either the grace of regeneration or the grace of entire sanctification -- but there is growth in grace leading up to and following each of these crisis experiences.

Let us turn now to the authority of the Holy Scriptures. What do they have to teach as to the instantaneous character of the experience of entire sanctification? In the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus prayed that His disciples -- they were Christians and not sinners -- might be sanctified. We have every reason to believe that this prayer of the Master was answered on the Day of Pentecost. There, one hundred and twenty Christians, after having spent ten days in a prayer meeting, were all filled with the Holy Spirit In being filled with the Holy Spirit they were all cleansed from sin, or sanctified. In this way, the prayer of Christ that they might be sanctified was gloriously realized.

In Acts 2:1-6, we have the account of this remarkable experience. Among other things, it declares that this came upon the one hundred and twenty suddenly. In the flash of a second they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They did not have to wait a decade, year, month, week, day, or even an hour in order to be filled little by little by the Holy Spirit and thus be sanctified. They became the recipients of this marvelous purifying and empowering experience immediately.

It took time to prepare for it, and it will doubtless take time for the saved today to get to the place where they are willing to consecrate their all and then fully trust God to send the baptizing fire of the Holy Spirit, but when these prerequisites have been met, sanctifying fire from heaven will fall instantaneously and burn out all of the dross of inbred sin.

Another teaching in the Bible which undoubtedly points to the fact that we are sanctified instantaneously and not gradually is the fact that this blessing comes by faith. In Acts 15:8 and 9 we have these significant words: "And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." Notice please, that their hearts were purified by faith. Likewise, in Acts 26:16-18 we have the following somewhat lengthy statement as to the special commission which Paul received on the road to Damascus:

"But rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."

Here again the Gentiles to whom Paul is to minister are not only to receive forgiveness of sins, but are also to be sanctified by faith that is in Christ. Yes, sanctification is to come by faith, according to the teachings of the Bible, and faith works at once. Wesley's great argument for the fact that the blessing of entire sanctification is instantaneous is that it comes by faith.

For years he did his best to work his way into regeneration, but he did not get it. Finally, he sought it by faith and got it in an instant. Then, soon after this, God informed him that just as he had been saved by faith, so he must be sanctified by faith. He could not get the blessing of holiness gradually or by growth any more than he could get the blessing of regeneration in that way. Thereupon, he ceased his effort to work his way into entire sanctification. Instead, he believed God that He would now bestow the blessing upon him and the blessing came without delay.

The aorist tense in the Greek language is not exactly the same as any one tense in the English language. It is closely akin to our past or imperfect tense. This aorist tense in contradistinction to the imperfect tense in the Greek used to be called the "lightning tense." It was so named because its use was supposed to indicate that something had taken place at once or in an instant. Today Greek scholars realize that its meaning is not limited to this. It may refer to a process when thought of as a whole as well as to an act which happens all at once. Because of the new light which has come to Greek scholars on this subject, the aorist tense is no longer as significant a proof for the fact that the blessing of entire sanctification is instantaneous as it once was thought to be. However, it still has some value.

In the first place, many of the passages in the New Testament which refer to this blessing are in the aorist tense in the Greek. This cannot be denied. In the second place, while this tense is not limited as it once was thought to be, it certainly does not emphasize that which comes by a process or which is achieved gradually. If the writers of the New Testament had been intent upon teaching that this experience comes by growth, they would most certainly have used the imperfect tense in the Greek rather than the aorist. Therefore, by implication at least, the aorist tense, which is used so many times in the New Testament in connection with the verbs that have to do with this sanctifying grace, teaches that we secure this blessing instantaneously and not by growth.

Another line of argument which indicates that this blessing of entire sanctification is received instantaneously is found in certain of the commands and promises of the Bible. They are as follows: "Be ye holy; for I am holy" (I Pet. 1:15, 16), "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48), "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14), "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (I John 1:7). There are many other commands and promises which are similar to these which might be given. What is the significance of these quotations from Scripture in this connection? They set forth the truth that the blessing which they command or promise can now be realized. They do not leave the impression that waiting or delay is necessary for their realization. In other words, this experience is commanded and promised as if it could be had at once. Thank God for this truly wonderful fact.

There are many types or symbols of entire sanctification in both the Old and New Testaments which suggest that it is received instantaneously. Circumcision of the heart or entire sanctification is an act and not a growth. Crossing the Jordan into Canaan typifies getting sanctified (Josh. 3:14-17), but it does not signify a gradual acquisition. It illustrates the fact that we get this blessing by merely crossing the boundary line which divides it from the life which has gone before. The same may be said as to crucifixion (Gal. 2:20), baptism (Rom. 6:4), and sealing (II Cor. 1:21, 22). They are all acts and not processes and as such typify the fact that we can get sanctified now or in a moment of time.

Regeneration is a crisis, it is a birth, a re-creation, a revolution or transformation which comes from God and takes place in an instant. This truth is still admitted by all evangelical Christians. Therefore, if God can forgive one's sins and quicken his dead spirit into the newness of life, it does not seem to me that there is anything to hinder Him from cleansing the sinful heart of all of its dreadful and dangerous pollution. The Bible teaching for the instantaneousness of regeneration or conversion is not any stronger or more in evidence than its precepts as to the lightning-like character of entire sanctification. Those who contend that we can grow into entire sanctification according to the teaching of the Bible are too often soon inclined to make a like argument for the first blessing or the experience of the new birth.

Thus far we have built our discussion around the Scriptures. They are the supreme authority. They provide us with the "thus saith the Lord." In the last analysis, we shall all be judged by their teaching. If this be the case, then, we should all hold fast to the belief that the blessing of entire sanctification comes in a moment of time to the person who has previously been saved and who now places his all on the altar and definitely believes that the work is done.

Let us turn now to the arguments which are largely based on reason rather than authority or the Bible. Of course we must remember that arguments from the Bible have reason in them, and proofs from reason or on the basis of reason are not contrary to the authority of the Bible. Further, the latter may even to some extent be interwoven with the Scriptures. Thus, while there is a line of demarcation here it is not an absolute one, and we must fully recognize this as we pass from one form of argument to another.

One proof that John Wesley gave for the fact that entire sanctification is received instantaneously was that is a moment of completion even in a process. He used the fact of death as an illustration of what he meant. He said that a man might be some time dying and yet there would be an instant when the dissolution would be consummated and the individual pronounced dead. This is surely not the most conclusive argument, but it has some significance. A development should finally reach its climax; and when it does, there is an instantaneous achievement of the goal or experience desired

A more satisfactory reason for belief in entire sanctification as instantaneous is the fact that inbred sin is a unit. As a unit, this evil principle which effects the whole human nature cannot be removed in parts. If eradicated, it must be eradicated all at once This bars the possibility of a second blessing that is attained merely by growth. To die out to sin does not mean that the old man or the carnal mind is little by little destroyed. It signifies the truth that the Christian is gradually placing all on the altar so that he can believe that God does now, at this very second, entirely crucify the sin nature within.

The instantaneous theory agrees with the psychological method involved in the forward advance of human nature. Someone has well said that great changes in the individual human life come by means of crises. Entire sanctification as the destruction of the Adamic nature of sin is certainly an unusual transformation, and as such it could be brought about by no other means than that of a crisis. We read about trauma shock experiences in psychology which revolutionize some phase of one's nature or life. Is it too much then, to expect God to work as rapidly and wonderfully in His redeeming power. The answer must be no! Even in the process of education, which is wholly natural, sudden changes or crises are recognized as having a definite function. This is proven by the fact that practically all educational psychologists give some place to the saltatory, staircase, or elevator theory of learning as well as the ramp view, which emphasizes the notion of easy and gradual progress. If progress in the natural realm makes provision for quick transformations of purpose and conduct, why should this possibility be ruled out of the sphere of the supernatural -- where the cause must be more dynamic than any natural force could ever be?

The blessing of entire sanctification is a gift of grace, a divine bestowal. It is not something that man achieves for himself. He does not arrive at it by human efforts or works. Of course, if man did get it in this way, the time element would necessarily be involved. On the other hand, since it is awarded to him when he meets certain conditions, it must be instantaneous.

Closely akin to the line of thought which has just been presented is the truth that since God sanctifies, the obtainment of the experience must be timeless. When God works with nature or man, provision must be made for the time element. This is not essential when God acts directly or without secondary causes. When God turns water into wine by the usual method, He calls on nature and man to assist Him. The grape vines are first planted, then they must have a period of growth, and finally they put on bunches of grapes which in time ripen. After this, the grapes are gathered and the juice extracted from them. Making wine thus is a long process in which not only man but also nature comes to the assistance of God. Over against this method, there is the making of wine by direct divine intervention This is what Jesus did at the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. There the hostess ran out of wine. Finally Jesus stepped in and had the servants draw wine from the vessels which had just been filled with water. This was a case of extraordinary or immediate divine action. In other words, Jesus here performed a miracle. He did not make use of either man or nature, that is, of secondary causes. Therefore, the time element was not involved. The turning of water into wine was instantaneous. Likewise, when God sanctifies, He does it instantaneously. It may take the Christian some time to meet the conditions for this blessing, that is, make a full consecration of everything to God and then exercise the proper faith; but when this has been done, God sanctifies at once, He performs a spiritual miracle and the crisis of freedom from sin takes place.

Another argument for the instantaneousness of this blessing is man's need. The Christian needs entire sanctification now. He will not have a spiritually integrated personality until he is free from the carnal mind. Further, he cannot live among his fellows and have the influence that he should have for God until he has been cleansed within. Again, he is not ready to enter into a holy heaven until he has been sanctified wholly. All of this indicates that a Christian should be sanctified in the present and not after certain years, months, weeks, days, or even hours have passed. The need is so pressing or critical that God must have surely provided for its immediate satisfaction. When you as a Christian become conscious of your dire lack and have made the necessary preparation for the relief of the same, it seems only reasonable to expect God to take care of the situation at once. Certainly, He would not tantalize you by giving it to you little by little.

Everything that we stand for in connection with the doctrine of entire sanctification must ultimately be judged at the bar of human experience. It is very important to establish the fact that the Bible teaches the instantaneousness of entire sanctification. This type of proof was presented in the first part of this discussion. It is also essential to show that reason upholds the contention that this blessing is received in an instant. This line of argument was presented in the second section of this lesson. However, it matters not how much the Bible might teach and the reason confirm this truth, this discussion would have a serious weakness if it could not be shown that experience is on our side. If those who have this blessing all testified that they had secured it by growth, it would be very difficult to convince people that it comes as a crisis-experience, even though there was much in the Bible and from the standpoint of reason that points to its instantaneous character.

Therefore, there is a sense in which the most crucial question of all is, do Christians get this blessing at once or by a gradual process? Here the answer is that they testify universally that they get it instantaneously. The writer has read or heard hundreds of testimonies from those who have this blessing, and not one of them claimed that he got it by growth. Those who argue for the growth theory are not those who profess to have it. Those who hold that they are growing into it never get to the place where they have receive it. One man confessed that he had been growing into entire sanctification for fifty years, but when questioned, he acknowledged that he was no nearer to it then than he was at the beginning.

In this connection, permit me to give you two quotations on this subject. The first is from J.

A. Wood, a Methodist, and one of the early leaders of the Holiness Movement in America. He wrote thus:

"The uniform experience of all who are clear in the light of personal holiness teaches that purification is instantaneous and not gradual. Experience has but one voice on this subject, i.e., that it was sought by consecration and faith, and received the same as regeneration, by direct divine power. Gradualism does not accord with the experience of those who profess perfect love. The instantaneous does."

The second quotation is from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. It reads as follows:

"Indeed, this is so evident a truth that well nigh all the children of God, scattered abroad, however they differ in other points, yet generally agree in this: That although we may "by the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body," "resist and conquer both outward and inward sin," although we may weaken our enemies day by day, yet we cannot drive them out. By all the grace which is given at justification we cannot extirpate them. Though we watch and pray ever so much, we cannot wholly cleanse either our hearts or hands. Most sure we cannot, till it please our Lord to speak to our hearts again -- to speak the second time, "Be clean"; and only then the leprosy is cleansed. Only then the evil root, the carnal mind, is destroyed and inbred sin subsists no more. But if there be no such second change, if there be nothing but a gradual work of God (that there is a gradual work none denies), then we must be content, as well as we can, to remain full of sin till death."

The writer received this blessing instantaneously. This is an excellent place for him to testify to the grace and glory of God. It was in the first year of my sojourn in Peniel College, Peniel, Texas (now Bethany-Peniel College, Bethany, Oklahoma). I was reclaimed during the first part of the school year. Then I went along until near the close of that school year before I was entirely sanctified. Soon after I was reclaimed I got the light on holiness but I struggled over making a complete consecration. I believed in it and I knew numbers of people who had the blessing. More than that, I was desperately hungry for this experience. Finally, after much prayer, I made a full consecration, trusted God completely, and He did the work at once. It took me quite some time to meet the conditions, but there was no delay in the reception of the blessing after I had done my part. How well do I remember the satisfaction and the wonderful peace, the peace of God which passeth all understanding, which filled my poor heart that memorable night. God did the work and to Him be all of the praise.

There is a final word which is fundamental to this whole discussion of instantaneousness. Those who advocate the growth theory and deny that this second blessing can be obtained instantaneously are thereby starting down the path of naturalism. They turn over the task of cleansing the human heart largely to man himself, and in this connection wholly exclude the immediate or supernatural action of God. The natural conclusion of such reasoning is: God has created the universe and man, but He cannot intervene directly in behalf of either; He can work through secondary causes or naturally, but cannot move upon man or nature immediately and without the assistance of secondary causes. Of course this is only a beginning, but if one once starts down the path of naturalism, it is easy to go further. Soon it will be easy to explain regeneration as a process with no crisis in connection with it. This is exactly what has been done by many religious leaders already. They have not only eliminated direct divine activity from the experience of entire sanctification, they have also done the same for regeneration. And when we have gone this far, it will be easy to go a little farther, and then a little farther still, until we will have dispensed with God altogether. Above everything else, let us hold on to God and give Him a place of immediate action in entire sanctification and refuse to take the first step toward belief in a God who is so far away from man that He does not have any interest in man's needs.