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Troy Day | PentecostalTheology.com
Assemblies of God too believe in ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION
We profess that the believer is entirely sanctified
in an instant zap Walter Polasik [no progression needed]
once and for all Link Hudson [no further sanctification needed]
at the point of salvation Terry Wiles [before receiving the Holy Ghost]
no tarrying, waiting or progressiveness Stan Wayne [no sanctifying crises and sanctifying grace]
Isn’t this much more drastic than the Pentecostal Renewal belief of entire sanctification as Second Work of Grace defined by John Wesley? Melvin Harter
What virtually all Pentecostal denominations believe concerning SANCTIFICATION?
Stan Wayne
What we have here is a failure to communicate
Varnel Watson
What we have here is a failure to get sanctified holy
Link Hudson
Troy Day i have said I believe we are anctified when we are saved and sanctification is also ongoing. You misrepresented my stance on the issue.
Varnel Watson
Where and how did I misinterpret your (otherwise unclear) stance on the issue?
Link Hudson
Read my laat post. A good summary of my views ie consistently benn presenting on the group.
Varnel Watson
Which one? You have so many crossposts like that and it is hard to follow. How did I misrepresent your view if I have not even read your post ?
Link Hudson in the last thing I read by you you said:
The COG denomination or precursor to the denomination apparently got the three-step idea after Cashwell went to Azusa Street.
This is simply NOT true! The COG denomination or precursor to the denomination claim Holy Spirit baptism as early as 1896 and taught sanctification much much earlier. Cashwell came around them about 15-20 years later
Link Hudson
Troy Day, I posted I might have been mistaken. it may have been tongues as initial evidence doctrine. How common was teaching a three step ‘saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost’ in the COG (Cleveland) denomination before Cashwell started preaching it? Sorry if I offended you with that comment.
But can we stick to the topic if we are going to discuss it?
What is your own view of what happens at sanctification?
Can you show me in the Bible where there is a distinct experience of entire sanctification, all at once, some time after the individual becomes a Christian?
Link Hudson
Troy Day, I did not say there was no further sanctification needed after salvation. That clearly contradicts what I have written in this group. I have written that sanctification occurs at salvation and that the believer must continually be sanctified.
I also do not see sanctification as being exclusively about abstaining from sin. you could sanctify yourself during a period of prayer and fasting. The Israelites sanctified themselves by washing their clothes and abstaining from sexual relations for the night.
Varnel Watson
Link Hudson I really dont know what you believe You have shown lack of knowledge in classical Pentecostal doctrine You understanding of entire (not merely instant) and progressive sanctification is NOT what these doctrines are all about But never-mind the subject at hand, where and how do you feel I misrepresented your belief and how is this even possible under the circumstances? Is it even a scholarly discussion any longer when you blame your lack of knowledge on the other side’s understanding?
Link Hudson
(quasi?-)Wesleyan entire sanctification doctrine is a doctrine believes by a small subset of Pentecostalism, not really ‘Pentecostal doctrine.’ Maybe in 1906 it was the doctrine of the Pentecostal movement. But the A/G is a lot bigger, worldwide, than a lot of the Holiness denominations in the Southeast. Those denominations have lots of preachers who don’t teach a ‘three step’ process. It’s hard to keep them preaching it when they can’t find it in the Bible. Also, in some cases, the overseas branches of the Holiness movement denominations do not teach the three-step process either. Do you know of any Pentecostal denominations outside of the US that actually teach three steps like that?
I pointed out… how many times… that I did not say that sanctification is done and not needed anymore after salvation. Since I’ve ‘cross posted’ it– whatever that means– within this forum on multiple threads, it should be all the more easier to see that your statement contradicts what I actually said.
Varnel Watson
Paul Hughes Anyway you look at it I’d say this is pretty much it
Paul Hughes
That is NOT TRUE, Troy Day! Nowhere in the Constitution and Bylaws of the A/G is this view and practice approved. Rather, Entire Sanctification falls under “matters of conscience” which may not be “pressed” on others, and “adding conditions to salvation.”
Article IX. B. Section 2. Legalism
a. Matters of conscience. The Assemblies of God strongly affirms that the Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). However, since sincere commitment to holy living sometimes results in sharp differences of opinion among believers on debatable matters of personal conscience, the Assemblies of God disapproves the practice of pressing these debatable matters of personalconscience upon others (Romans 14:1–4).
b. Adding conditions to salvation. The Assemblies of God strongly affirms that salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8,9). Therefore, the Assemblies of God disapproves any teaching or practice that seems to add conditions to salvation (Galatians 3:1–5).
Varnel Watson
Paul Hughes Read where the requirements for HS baptism are listed. Are you now saying a not fully sanctified person can be filled with the Holy Ghost? What exactly are you saying? Please clarify point by point for all
Paul Hughes
Thee ARE no requirements for Spirit Baptism except believing, see Acts 2, 10, 19.
Paul Hughes
MK 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Paul Hughes
Not “them who are sanctified.” The HS is the sanctifier, instantly in eschatological terms, progressively in continual living.
Paul Hughes
A/G Statement of Fundamental Truths
7. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4,8; 1 Corinthians 12:1–31). This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 8:12–17; 10:44–46; 11:14–16; 15:7–9). With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37–39; Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence for God (Acts 2:43; Hebrews 12:28), an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work (Acts 2:42), and a more active love for Christ, for His Word, and for the lost (Mark 16:20).
Paul Hughes
9. Sanctification
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God (Romans 12:1,2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12). Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15,16). Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1–11,13; 8:1,2,13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12,13; 1 Peter 1:5).
Paul Hughes
The word “entire” does not appear in the A/G Const. & Bylaws in relation to sanctification.
Paul Hughes
You concur, Walter Polasik?
Paul Hughes
Jesus said, LK 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
His kingdom is embodied in the receipt of the Holy Spirit. The Lord is eager to give it, as in the “pouring out … upon all flesh” of Acts 2.
Varnel Watson
I dont think so Paul Hughes You are reaching quite a bit
Paul Hughes
Not at all, Troy Day, you just remain ill-informed.
“The men behind the formation of the Assemblies of God were Pentecostals who had come to the conclusion that holiness or sanctification was not a second blessing or a definite experience but instead a lifelong process. This idea of progressive sanctification was believed by many within the Assemblies of God but there were adherents who still held to the theology of the holiness movement.[5]
“The original language on sanctification in the Fundamental Truths was a compromise between Wesleyan and non-Wesleyan members which allowed the two doctrines to coexist.[5] Under the heading “Entire Sanctification, The Goal For All Believers”, it read, “Entire sanctification is the will of God for all believers, and should be earnestly pursued by walking in obedience to God’s Word”.[6] The term “entire sanctification” is distinctly Wesleyan, but the statement actually called “for an ongoing, process of obedience in reliance on, and cooperation with the Holy Ghost”.[7]
“In 1961, the General Council revised the statement significantly, giving it its current form. It eliminated some of the Wesleyan language, such as “entire”. Stanley M. Horton, who served on the revision committee, stated that the committee “… felt that the word entire was ambiguous because we were using it with a different meaning than that promoted by holiness Pentecostals who taught a second definite work.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assemblies_of_God_Statement_of_Fundamental_Truths
Paul Hughes
See also Gohr, Glenn W. (August 2012). “The Historical Development of the Statement of Fundamental Truths”
http://ifphc.org/Uploads/Heritage/2012_08.pdf
Varnel Watson
Paul Hughes You still dont answer my very simple question above
Paul Hughes
I do believe I have covered every aspect of the subject a reasonable person could ask, Troy Day. I think you are just stopping up your ears and gnashing your teeth, lest you hear inconvenient truth, see Acts 7:54, 57.
Varnel Watson
Dont attack me please Just answer the question at hand:
Are you saying that an unsanctified person can be filled with the Holy Ghost?
Assemblies of God do NOT support such claim. Neither does the Bible !
Varnel Watson
here we go Amazon Terry just remove the word DAILY in brackets
9. Sanctification
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God (Romans 12: 1,2; 1
Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12). The Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see
the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). By the power of the Holy Ghost we are able to obey the command, “Be ye holy,
for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:5).
Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection,
and by faith reckoning [daily] upon the fact of that union and by offering every faculty continually to the
dominion of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-11; 8:1,2,13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12,13; 1 Peter 1:5)
PLS note progressive does not mean ENTIRE It simply means that it progresses until its entire and it should become entire soon not for ever
ALSO the daily part is not about progression BUT by faith reckoning [daily] upon the fact of that union and by offering every faculty continually to the
dominion of the Holy Spirit
you can be entirely sanctified and still be reckoning daily
SO there is NOTHING in TRUTH #9 that contradicts ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION in Assemblies of GOD
Actually as per #9
The Scriptures teach a life of “holiness – NOW
Sanctification is an act of separation – when? NOW
SO you see Gary Micheal Epping for this reason we need positional papers to explain if entire or partial / pre or post trib is meant
Terry Wiles
Not true. That’s not their statement. You put “daily” in brackets. They leave daily in with no brackets
Varnel Watson
yes I NOTED I am putting daily in brackets – remove daily and you have ENTIRE sanctification
Terry Wiles
Troy Day yes. However Ag has a progressive bent and not the second definite work of grace like the COG
Terry Wiles
You say they believe sanctification is a second definite work of grace.
Here is what they say, direct copy, no brackets.
9. SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God.
Romans 12:1,2 [KJV/NIV]
1 Thessalonians 5:23 [KJV/NIV]
Hebrews 13:12 [KJV/NIV]
The Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.”
Hebrews 12:14 [KJV/NIV]
By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:15,16 [KJV/NIV]
Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by the faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:1-11 [KJV/NIV]
Romans 6:13 [KJV/NIV]
Romans 8:1,2 [KJV/NIV]
Romans 8:13 [KJV/NIV]
Galatians 2:20 [KJV/NIV]
Philippians 2:12,13 [KJV/NIV]
1 Peter 1:5 [KJV/NIV]
(TOP)
Varnel Watson
HOW can one have LIFE of holiness if DONT get sanctified until LIFE is OVER – are you reading what you wrote 🙂
Terry Wiles
Troy Day I didn’t write it. It is direct copy and paste from their statement. Go to the source. Ask them.
Varnel Watson
You are correct Terry Wiles and this is WHY we need position papers Gary Micheal Epping
Terry Wiles
Troy Day. Position papers carry very little weight as to credentials. Simply state the standard theology and provide a boarder if there is a major problem.
Gary Micheal Epping
Troy Day Yeah, like the one on the doctrine of creation supporting YEC?
Varnel Watson
I dont say any of that BUT I Do say our AG believes you cant get the Holy Ghost in unclean heart – so how?
Joe Absher
“And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.”
– Mark 1:41
Joshwa Bedford
I believe in the traditional Progressive sanctification. I’m no longer who I was yesterday but I’m not who I will be.
Varnel Watson
there is NO traditional Progressive doctrine – ALL early holiness groups from which American Pentecostalism emerged were 2nd work of grace Wesleyan and entire sanctification as Terry Wiles already said earlier
Joshwa Bedford
Troy Day Calvin taught of progressive sanctification. Here is a good article from Ligioner Ministries
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/being-and-becoming/
Terry Wiles
Troy Day No. I didn’t not say that. You are the one that believes like the COG.
That distinctive doctrine is what separate COG and Ag.
Varnel Watson
I dont believe as the COG I believe as the early pentecostals believed in 2nd work of Grace just like John Wesley proposed and we received it
Terry Wiles
Troy Day then you don’t believe as the Ag does today.
Varnel Watson
of course I do and adhere BUT you’ve got to get sanctified some day – how else would you live a holy life?
Joshwa Bedford
Troy Day on your knees
Varnel Watson
members of our churches need to be encouraged to believe that
spiritual warfare is an ongoing reality that all of us have been, are, and will continue to
experience. Though the Bible seems to suggest that the intensity of this supernatural conflict may
increase as the time of Christ’s return draws near (e.g., see Rev. 2:10-11; cf. 12:12) we must not
defer our getting serious about putting on the armor of God to a later time. Indeed, an argument
could be made for the idea that one’s ability to function in the armor of God then is very much
dependent upon our being careful to learn how to do so now!
Varnel Watson
Terry Wiles I didnt claim you wrote it but I did say it says what it says – and what is says is very very close to entire (dont confuse that with instant)
Robert Erwine
its like being ‘a little pregnant ‘ either you are or you are not , eventually the fruit will come to bloom .
Varnel Watson
I’ve done some work in isolating the sanctification issue with AG in America – how is it with AG other places? Australia? Philippines where I understand to be a split of doctrine RichardAnna Boyce
So when they say progressive WHAT do they mean? What kind of progression – does it EVER end? Because one has to sanctified with clean heart before the Spirit enters it
FOR it really bowls down to THIS ONE issue – how does one receive the HS in an un sanctified heart? Shall the Spirit live with demons Isara Mo Joe Absher
RichardAnna Boyce
AOG believes in adding SANCTIFICATION Perseverance of Saints on as an after the fact condition to JUSTIFICATION. ….. . Free Grace teaches that the grace of salvation is absolutely free, since the word grace (Greek charis) essentially means a free and undeserved gift.
That does not mean it is free to the giver, God, but it means that no payment or merit is required from those to whom it is offered, which would be all unsaved and undeserving sinners. Romans 3: 24 distinguishes between the free gift to the recipient and the cost to the Giver: “having been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
2. Free Grace means that the grace of salvation can be received only through faith. Since we as sinners can do nothing to earn God’s grace, it has to be given as a gift. By faith (or believing, which is from the same Greek word), we mean the human response of accepting something as true and trustworthy. It is a conviction, an inner persuasion. This definition precludes any other conditions of works, performance, or merit (Rom. 4: 4-5). Faith cannot be defined by obedience to Christian commands, baptism, surrender, commitment of one’s life to God, or turning from sins. These things can and should be the results of faith, but they are distinct from faith itself, otherwise grace ceases to be grace (Rom. 11: 6). Ephesians 2: 8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, not by works . . .” Faith is a simple response, but that does not mean that it is an easy one. Many who hold to Free Grace believe that repentance, as a change of mind or heart about unbelief, can sometimes be used to describe the aspect of faith in which we come to a conviction or persuasion about something (ie to believe). Free Grace proponents do not think repentance (as turning from sins) has any role in salvation or saving faith.
3. Free Grace believes the object of faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith must always have an object, because faith itself is not the effective cause of our salvation (We are saved “by grace”), but the instrumental means through which we are saved (“ through faith”). The One who actually saves us is the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is not any Jesus, it is Jesus as the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again and guarantees eternal salvation to all who believe in Him.
4. Free Grace holds to the finished work of Christ. Grace is free because Jesus Christ did all the work on our behalf. His proclamation “It is finished” on the cross means that He made the final and full payment for the penalty of our sins. It also means we cannot add anything to what Jesus accomplished. We cannot do anything to earn our salvation or to keep our salvation. Free Grace therefore teaches eternal security for the believer.
5. Free grace provides the only basis for assurance of salvation. Any system or belief that requires our performance cannot give assurance of salvation. Human performance is subjective, variable, unpredictable, and always imperfect. Faith must rest in Jesus Christ and His promise as revealed in the Word of God. The person and work of Christ and the Word of God are objective truths that cannot change. Therefore, Free Grace offers the only basis for full assurance of salvation.
Isara Mo
Troy Day
//FOR it really bowls down to THIS ONE issue – how does one receive the HS in an un sanctified heart? Shall the Spirit live with demons?””//
Did Ananias and Safira have the Holy Spirit?
Or Simon the Sorcerer?
Both of these has accepted Jesus in their hearts calloused as their hearts were and am sure they had the Holy Spirit..No one at salvation has a sanctified heart…
Were all the believers on the day of Pentecost
have sanctified hearts to receive the Holy Spirit?
A holy heresy has it that the Holy Spirit cannot do exist with a demon…
It is a heresy…someone plse PROVE TO ME SCRIPTURALLY that the Holy Spirit cannot indwell an unsanctided heart..
RichardAnna Boyce
6. Free Grace distinguishes between salvation and discipleship. The condition for eternal salvation (believe) is distinct from the many conditions for discipleship (deny oneself, take up your cross, follow Christ, abide in His Word, love Christ more than your family, etc.). Since grace is absolutely free, it cannot demand these conditions or it ceases to be grace. Free Grace believes that the commitments of discipleship should be the result of salvation, not the requirement. To make them conditions of salvation inserts works and human merit into the gospel of grace.
7. Free Grace teaches that the Christian life is also by grace through faith. Since we are saved by grace and kept saved by grace, we also grow by grace that is accessed through faith. Grace provides everything we don’t deserve and more for anything we need. Just as in salvation, the grace to grow is available to us through faith: “through whom [the Lord Jesus Christ] also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand . . .” (Rom. 5: 2; cf. Gal. 2: 20).
8. Free Grace provides the best motivation for godly living. If salvation is by human performance, there is no assurance, and if there is no assurance, a motivation for good conduct easily becomes to prove we are saved or to avoid hell. Guilt, fear, and doubt can produce good conduct, but not necessarily godly conduct. Godly conduct includes the inner motivations of love and gratitude. The assurance of God’s grace and the finished work of Christ allow Christians to grow in an environment of freedom and unconditional love (Titus 2: 11-12).
9. Free Grace holds that the Christian is accountable. According to Free Grace, the believer is set free from any demands of the law or works as a basis for eternal salvation. But Free Grace also teaches that Christians should live godly lives because: 1) We should be grateful for what God has done (Rom. 12: 1-2); 2) God wants us to have good works (Eph. 2: 10); 3) We have a new position in Christ (Rom. 6: 1-14); 4) We have a new Master— Jesus (Rom. 6: 15-23); and 5) We have a new power— the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8: 1-11). Because of these things, Free Grace teaches that God will hold us accountable for the kind of lives we lead. God can discipline us in this life (Heb. 12: 5-11), and we will face the future Judgment Seat of Christ where believers will give an account to God (Rom. 14: 10-12; 1 Cor. 3: 11-4: 5; 2 Cor. 5: 10). In this judgment, believers will be rewarded or denied rewards. In no way does Free Grace teach that Christians can sin without consequence.
10. Free Grace is committed first to an accurate interpretation of the Bible. This should go without saying, but is necessary because many have forced their theological systems on their interpretations instead of letting the Bible speak for itself. The Free Grace system is the result of a literal and plain sense approach to the Bible that considers God’s various ways of administering His plan for the world through the ages, and the proper contexts of any Bible passage. The Free Grace system seeks above all to be biblical. Its first commitment is not to a theological system, but to what the Bible says, even if some particulars cannot be reconciled easily to other teachings or traditional interpretations. Therefore, the Free Grace position allows for various interpretations of some biblical passages as long as they are consistent with good principles of Bible interpretation and the clear teaching of God’s free grace.
Conclusion
Free Grace theology begins with the plain and clear teaching of the Bible that grace is absolutely free. From this, the Bible’s teachings about salvation, faith, security, assurance, the Christian life, and discipleship are viewed consistent with the unconditional nature of grace. The free grace of God should motivate Christians to worship, serve, and live godly for the “God of all grace” (1 Pet. 5: 10) who “first loved us” (1 John 4: 19).
Varnel Watson
RichardAnna Boyce this is not about free grace
RichardAnna Boyce
i am drawing a comparison between AG and FG for research and comment
Varnel Watson
I already did that in my AG post – did you see it?
RichardAnna Boyce
Troy Day sorry no i didn’t see any mention of FG or their beliefs.
Charles Page
COG doctrine of sanctification and AOG doctrine of sanctification is incompatible. It is as different as Pelagianism is from Biblical Salvation.
Varnel Watson
RichardAnna Boyce COG doctrine of sanctification and AOG doctrine of sanctification is incompatible IF we are talking church folk and NOT the Bible The Bible is pretty clear about the need of a definite sanctification BEFORE one receives the Holy Ghost
RichardAnna Boyce
Troy Day i am FG Biblicist, Show me Biblical arguement for a definite sanctification BEFORE one receives the Holy Ghost. Biblical hermeneutics will prevent us talking at cross purposes about ‘sanctification’ and ‘salvation.’
Varnel Watson
SURE http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/back-to-the-basics-of-sanctification-greek-words-for-sanctification/
RichardAnna Boyce
There is a failure to see a clear separation between justification and progressive sanctification. Lordship Salvation teachers believe that perseverance in the faith—and hence in personal holiness— is a condition of eternal salvation. Anyone who fails to persevere is said to have never been saved in the first place.
According to Lordship thinking, if progressive sanctification is not in clear evidence in a person’s life, then past sanctification probably never really occurred. This naturally leads Lordship teachers to view progressive sanctification as the sine qua non of past sanctification (rather than the other way around)!
A.W. Pink, himself a strong Calvinist, decried the tendency in Reformed circles to ignore past sanctification and to link assurance to progressive sanctification. Referring to the Westminster Confession’s statement on sanctification he writes:
Instead of placing before the believer that complete and perfect sanctification which God has made Christ to be unto him, it occupies him with the incomplete and progressive work of the Spirit. Instead of moving the Christian to look away from himself with all his sinful failures, unto Christ in whom he is “complete” (Col 2:10), it encouraged him to look within, where he will often search in vain for the fine gold of the new creation amid all the dross and mire of the old creation. This is to leave him without the joyous assurance of knowing that he has been “perfected forever” by the one offering of Christ (Heb 10:14); and if he be destitute of that, then doubts and fears must constantly assail him, and the full assurance of faith elude every striving after it… Let the young believer be credibly assured that he will “more and more die unto sin and rise unto newness of life,” and what will be the inevitable outcome?…Why this: if the Catechism-definition be correct then I was sadly mistaken, I have never been sanctified at all (italics his).2
RichardAnna Boyce
I have come up with four types of past sanctification: pre-conversion, forensic, intrinsic, and positional.5 Let us briefly consider each now.
A. Pre-Conversion Sanctification6
Even before a person is born again, God is at work in his life. He works in the lives of unbelievers to draw them to Christ. He does this in a number of ways.
One way an unbeliever is sanctified—yes, unbelievers can be sanctified!—is by their home environment. An unbelieving spouse or child is sanctified if one of the spouses is a Christian:
For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy (1 Cor 7:14).
RichardAnna Boyce
B. Forensic Sanctification7
This type of past sanctification is identical to justification, hence the name forensic sanctification.
Forensic sanctification is a legal declaration by God that a person has right standing before Him.
In the Book of Hebrews the terms sanctification (hagiasmos), and sanctify (hagiazo) occur four and two times respectively. Most, if not all, of these uses concern forensic sanctification.
For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified [better = those who are sanctified, compare Heb 10:10, 29] are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. (Heb 2:11).
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb 9:13-14).
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb 10:10).
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified [or, better, those who are sanctified—compare Heb 10:10, 29] (Heb 10:14).8
…the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified… (Heb 10:29).
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate (Heb 13:12).
All but one of these references clearly links the sanctification under consideration with the Cross. Three of the references indicate that this sanctification is accomplished by or with the blood of Christ (Heb 9:13-14; 10:29; 13:12); one refers to the offering of the body of Jesus Christ (Heb 10:10); and another (Heb 10:14) is in that immediate context. The Cross is the basis of forensic sanctification.
RichardAnna Boyce
C. Intrinsic Sanctification
This type of past sanctification is a product of the new birth. When a person is regenerated, he or she experiences an internal transformation.
This inner change is something which cannot be felt or directly observed. Only its effects are capable of scrutiny—and even then human observations are by no means infallible.10
All born-again people have within them a sinless, perfectly holy self. This is the eternal self or the essential self. In the NT this is called “the new man.” In Eph 4:24 Paul wrote, “put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness” (see also Col 3:10). It is also called the one “born of God.” In I John 3:9 John wrote, “whoever has been born of God (= the born-again new man) does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”
Passages which speak of intrinsic sanctification include the following:
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin (Rom 6:6).11
But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life (Rom 6:22).
…that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word (Eph 5:26).
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb 9:13-14).
He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still (Rev 22:11).
Note that the last two passages cited (Heb 9:13-14 and Rev 22:11) link intrinsic and progressive sanctification. He who is holy intrinsically is expected and commanded to be holy extrinsically.
RichardAnna Boyce
D. Positional Sanctification
New Testament positional sanctification is accomplished by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:13). The Holy Spirit places people into the Body of Christ. Anyone who is in the Body of Christ is no longer in the world in a positional sense. That is, such a person has been set apart in Christ (en Christo).12
On the one hand, there are three NT passages which deal with positional sanctification which use the verb sanctify (hagiazo):13
And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20:32).
…to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me (Acts 26:18).
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified 14 by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ (Jude 1).
On the other hand, there are sixty-four NT passages dealing with positional sanctification which use the noun saints (hagioi). All of these passages are listed in Appendix 3. A few representative passages are as follows:
But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints (Rom 15:25).
Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them (Rom 16:15).
To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours (1 Cor 1:2).
For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints (I Cor 14:33).
To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia (2 Cor 1:lb).
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons (Phil 1:lb).
Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you (Heb 13:24).
As can be easily seen in the passages just cited, the term saints is a synonym for Christians. Christians are saints. Thus, positional sanctification (being put into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit) is very common in the NT, although the words sanctify or sanctification are not found in most of those references.
The English reader must remember whenever he reads the word saint that it is merely a noun form of the Greek word for sanctify.
It would have been helpful, albeit cumbersome, if each place the Greek noun hagios occurred it had been translated “the sanctified one” (or “the sanctified ones”). So, for example, Rom 15:25 could be translated, “But now I am going to Macedonia and Achaia to make contributions for the poor among the sanctified ones who are in Jerusalem.”
Saints are sanctified people. They are not a special category of “super-Christians.” If you are a Christian, you are one who has been set apart, placed into the Body of Christ.
RichardAnna Boyce
Which one(s) are part of Pentecostal Theology?
RichardAnna Boyce
A. Question #1: What Is Past Sanctification?
As noted in the introductory article to this series on sanctification, the word sanctification basically means set apart.15 In this article we are considering those aspects of sanctification that have already fully occurred for every believer—hence the name past sanctification.
Every believer has already been sanctified or set apart in four ways.
First, before being saved, all believers were drawn by the Holy Spirit via pre-conversion sanctification. Second, at the moment of faith all believers are forensically sanctified. This is a synonym for justification. Third, when a person believes, he is intrinsically sanctified—that is, he gains the life of God so that the inner (i.e., born-again) man is totally holy and pure. Fourth, all NT believers at the moment of belief are positionally sanctified by being placed into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
B. Question #2: How Is Perfection Related to Past Sanctification?
Experiential perfection (i.e., sinless perfection) will occur for every recipient of forensic, intrinsic, and positional sanctification; however, it will not happen until he or she dies or is raptured (cf. 1 John 1:8, 10; 3:2). That is called future (or ultimate) sanctification. See also question 4 below.
C. Question #3: How Does Past Sanctification Relate to Progressive Sanctification?
Past sanctification is the ground upon which progressive sanctification is built.16 Without past sanctification, progressive sanctification would be impossible.
No level of progressive sanctification is guaranteed in this life to the person who has experienced past sanctification. Great growth in holiness is possible. So, too, little growth—or even a decrease in holiness!—is a sad possibility. Believers must be diligent in order for progressive sanctification to be experienced to the fullest degree.
D. Question #4: How Does Past Sanctification Relate to Ultimate Sanctification?
At the point of faith, God sets every believer apart forensically, intrinsically, and positionally. No longer is a believer a member of the world—at least not in a positional sense. Henceforth he is a citizen of heaven.
Past sanctification guarantees that ultimate sanctification will occur when one dies or is raptured. Another way to say that is this: What is now true of believers in their position (i.e., forensically) will eternally be true of them in their experience. Or, what is now true of believers intrinsically (in the innermost self) will be true of them totally at the Lord’s coming (1 John 3:2).
E. Question #5: How Does Past Sanctification Compare with Justification?
Justification is a legal term in all of its biblical uses relating to justification by or before God. When God justifies people He declares them righteous. That is, He legally grants them right standing before Him.
Forensic sanctification is that type of past sanctification which is synonymous with justification. The author of the Book of Hebrews largely referred to this type of past sanctification. Intrinsic and positional sanctification can only take place because justification (= forensic sanctification) has occurred as well. Thus justification is the ground of intrinsic and positional sanctification.
F. Question #6: Does Intrinsic Sanctification Necessarily Result in a Constitutional Change?
All whom God has set apart have undergone a change in their inner self. God grants them “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet 1:3). He destroys sin’s lordship over their lives (Rom 6:1-14). He gives them a new view of the world (2 Corinthians 5). Other believers are seen as brothers and sisters, and unbelievers are viewed as outside of God’s family and needing reconciliation (2 Cor 5:16-21).
Yes, intrinsic sanctification does necessarily result in a constitutional change.
G. Question #7: Does Intrinsic Sanctification Necessarily Result in Behavioral Change?
A change in one’s inner self need not necessarily result in a change of behavior. Hypothetically, at least, a person could undergo intrinsic sanctification and manifest absolutely no behavior changes prior to death. In reality, however, unless a person dies immediately upon believing in Christ, there surely will be some behavioral changes— though they may not be observable to others.
Each day we are faced with a myriad of moral choices. When God changes a person constitutionally, it is fairly certain that some, if not many or most, of those choices will be handled differently by the one who has been intrinsically sanctified.
In addition, it is important to remember that all who have been intrinsically sanctified will one day be ultimately sanctified. While believers may experience major behavioral changes in this life, they will experience more radical changes once they die or are raptured. Calvin said that all believers sin daily.17 That is true only in this life. Once believers are ultimately sanctified, they will never sin again. Their behavior will then be sinless (1 John 3:2).
Intrinsic sanctification lays the groundwork for ultimate sanctification and experiential perfection.
H. Question #8: What Must One Do to Obtain Past Sanctification?
As indicated above, forensic, intrinsic, and positional sanctification occur at the moment of faith. Thus the sole condition for those three types of past sanctification is faith in Christ and Him alone.
Pre-conversion sanctification is something God sovereignly does without any stated condition imposed upon the unbeliever.
Varnel Watson
Good copy pasting RichardAnna Boyce now what is your personal take? Are you yourself sanctified holy yet?
RichardAnna Boyce
Troy Day all of the above statements apply to me. I am positionally holy; but being transformed progressively experientially holy as i co-operate with Holy Spirit. But there by the grace of God go i, as no good thing dwells in my flesh; and i am capable of apostasy :-); but even then will still go through the fire eternally saved. But thank God i am 73 and gratefully living a simple life in Philippines, with a beautiful 57 spiritual Filipina wife; away from most of life’s temptations.
Varnel Watson
does positionally holy mean entirely holy ?