John Lewis's List: Prayer Research

Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America 1

Nov 27, 08

www.pccna.org/2001_McKinney.php baptismofspirit revival history holyspirit prayresearch
- <table cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td>The Azusa Street Revival </td> </tr> <tr> <td> A lecture presented at Beeson Divinity School, Sanford University in Birmingham, Alabama on October 3, 2001. The Theme of the Conference: “Pilgrims on the Sawdust Trail” By Bishop George D. McKinney, Ph.D., D.D. Copyright 2001 American Urban University Press P.O. Box 740039 San Diego, CA 92174 Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved under International Copyright Laws Contents and/or cannot be produced whole or in part in any form without the express written consent of the author. The Azusa Street Revival Good morning! Dr. Smith, thank you kindly for the warm introduction. It has indeed been a great privilege to visit Beeson again. This is my third visit here. I’m indebted to the Honorable Dean Timothy George for the gracious hospitality and the encouragement that he has given to me on each of these visits. I’m happy to join with you in this wonderful experience of following the Sawdust Trail. It leads us this morning to a broken down shanty, a former livery stable, in a depressed neighborhood, in the city of Los Angeles where the Azusa Revival broke out. I’m a third generation Pentecostal, Holiness member. My grandparents and my parents were saved about ten (10) years after the Azusa Revival. During that period there was a wave of anti-intellectualism, and so thee were those who were certain that Jesus would return most any day. One day my older siblings came home and informed my father, who had only a third grade education, that our pastor told us, “that Jesus is coming real soon, therefore we don’t need to go to school anymore.” My father looked at his children and said, “Yes, you’re going back to school tomorrow and if Jesus comes, he’s going to find you at school.” I had the privilege of growing up in a home where we heard our parents and grandparents talk about the Azusa Revival. The revival started as a concerned group of women gathered in a home in Los Angeles. The prayer meeting had grown and began to touch so many lives that they moved from the home to an address on Bonnie Brae Street. The fervency of the prayer and manifestations of a strong visitation of God, began to attract people from all over the city of Los Angeles. Day after day, it was reported that there was such a crowd of worshipers and spectators that the city fathers took note of this phenomenon. One morning during the exuberance of praise and shouting, the porch collapsed. There was more commotion. Following that experience, the revival soon moved to 312 Azusa Street which had once been a Methodist Church, but had been more recently converted into a livery stable. It was there that the women recognized that they needed help in the revival, and they sent for W. J. Seymour, a preacher from Houston, Texas. He came at their invitation and joined them in prayer until there was an outpouring and a touch that was felt around the world. It was my privilege to be acquainted with some of the men who were involved directly in that great revival. I attended my first Holy Convocation at Mason Temple in Memphis in 1946. I shall never forget the powerful sermon that was preached by Bishop Charles Harrison Mason from Philippians 2: 12-13. I can see and hear him now, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do what pleases Him.” My parents did not have the advantage of hospitalization and health insurance. They were the parents of fourteen (14) children. I was the ninth of the fourteen. Every time mama would get pregnant she would write to Bishop Mason and inform him, “I’m pregnant, pray that the baby will come and be healthy and well.” We were not born in hospitals. There was a mid-wife, Capitola Bennett who delivered us. The cost was $5.00 each. Bishop Mason prayed and the children came, and we were healthy and we were blessed by God. It was Bishop Mason, who founded the Church of God in Christ, in 1897, as a Holiness Church. But in 1906, Bishop Mason along with C. P. Jones, D. J. Young and other left the south for Los Angeles to discover what was happening as the revival fires were burning. It was a great privilege to know Bishop C. H. Mason, a man small in stature, a humble man, who traveled the length and breath of this nation establishing churches. He was contemporary of Father Divine, Sweet Daddy Grace and Prophet Jones. It is significant that the Church of God in Christ had less than a million members when Bishop Mason died in 1961. Today, there are more than five million. When Father Divine, Daddy Grace and Prophet Jones died, their movement generally died with them. It was also my privilege to meet and fellowship with another person who received the baptism of the Holy Ghost at Azusa in 1907. He was Bishop Mack E. Jonas. Bishop Jonas was a very colorful character who was remembered for his fiery preaching. He was interviewed by Leonard Lovett. That interview is included and reported in Vinson Synan’s book on the Aspects of Pentecostal and Charismatic Origins. Jonas became the Bishop of the Church of God in Christ in Ohio. He passed away in about 1973. After I moved to California in 1959, I had a chance to get acquainted with other pioneers who were present at the Azusa Revival, including a colorful evangelist named Elder Kayhee, and a pastor in Los Angeles, Pastor Lawrence Catley, who preached at St. Stephen’s a few months before he went home to be with the Lord. I did not the privilege of meeting other principal participants in the revival, but several of these principals must be noted here. Charles F. Parham who was the founder of the Apostolic Faith movement in Topeka, Kansas. He also founded the Bethel Bible School in 1900. He was a former Methodist pastor. Parham popularized the doctrine, that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Seymour was a student of Parham. This relationship was strained after Parham visited Seymour in 1907 at Azusa, where he objected to the predominant Africa influence in the worship. Also, he objected to the fact that there was what he termed, race mixing in the worship and in the fellowship. Parham for some reason was never able to shake the cultural influence of racism. He was a strong supporter of the Klan and had difficulty accepting what God was doing in Azusa to remove the color barrier. W. J. Seymour was born in 1870 in Centerville, LA, the son of a slave. He moved to Houston where he became acquainted with the Pentecostal teachings and enrolled in Parham’s school. However, because of segregation, he was not allowed to sit in the classroom with the white students. He had to sit outside the window or in the hallway and listen as best as he could. But he was hungry for God and he endured that humiliation and sought after the Word and the living God. It was from Houston that he was called to Los Angeles to join with those praying women who were seeking a new experience of a deeper spiritual life. When he went to Los Angeles, he had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Yet he believed that the blessing was promised to him, so he continued to pray and to seek the in-filling until he received that blessing in 1906. Charles Price Jones, another principal participant, born in 1865, was a great poet, song writer and gospel preacher. He had a wonderful experience with God, but he did not believe that speaking in tongues, was the initial evidence of being filled with the Spirit of God. He and Mason disagreed about this doctrine. This was the basis of the conflict between Price and Mason. They decided to go their separate ways and this conflict resulted in the separation and formation of the Church of Christ in Holiness in 1907. Let’s look at the spiritual climate and attitudes that prevailed preceding the Azusa Revival experience. There were still tremendous influences from the Welch Revival under Evan Roberts. There had been outpourings of the Holy Spirit in various parts of the world. In Los Angeles, there were a group of women who gathered to pray and to seek God. They were gathering in prayer, first, because there was a deep hunger for God. They wanted God’s will. They wanted to see the manifestations of His power and of His presence. Secondly, these women sought God in prayer daily, because there was a deep dissatisfaction with the spiritual status quo. They were tired of religion. They longed for a living relationship with God. The conditions in the church, characterized by worldliness and carnality disturbed them deeply. They wanted something more. Further, these praying women had a desire for intimacy with God. These were captured by a sense of holy expectation. They saw in the Book of Acts a promise that God would send a season of refreshing from His presence. They believed that God would keep that promise. Now, prior to these praying women meeting in Los Angeles, Brother Parham had received the gift of the Holy Spirit in Topeka, Kansas. There were several others who had received this experience and his Bible Schools in Topeka and in Houston were beginning to influence and touch the lives of many people. Yes, there was an atmosphere of expectation. There was deep dissatisfaction. There was also a hunger for God. Something else happened prior to the outpour. Those who gathered in either Topeka, Houston or Los Angeles engaged in repentance for sins and spiritual coldness. There was daily study of the scriptures. There was prayer, prayer, and more prayer. The scriptures that seemed to inform and motivate and inspire included Joel 2: 28, “In the last days I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh.” Also, these prayer warriors saw in the book of Acts the patter for the local fellowship. They believed the promise was for all believers and that miracles, signs and wonders was evidence of revival. They rejected racism, claiming Peter’s sermon in Acts 10: 34-43, settled the issue. Peter declares, “I perceive that God is no respecter of person. Out of every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is acceptable with him.” They were captured by the expression in verse 44. The Holy Ghost fell on the Gentiles from the laying on of hands. They were moved by the experience that is recorded in Acts 19, where the disciples went to Ephesus and found believers who had not yet heard nor received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Another scripture that seemed to have opened up in their minds and in their spirits, was Hebrews 12:14, “Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.” Then there was the clear word of instruction from Jesus recorded in Mark 16: 15-18. A word that gave them clear direction regarding evangelism, “Go ye into all the world....” A word that gave to them the assurance of the believer’s authority in the faith and also God’s promise to demonstrate His power. “Ye shall lay hands upon the sick and cast out demons, and if you drink any deadly thing it will not harm you.” Vinson Synan stated in his book, “The Azusa Street Revival is commonly regarded as the beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement.” Although many persons had spoken in tongues before, but here this practice of speaking in tongues was brought to the attention of the whole world. It served as the catalyst for the formation of scores of Pentecostal denominations. Directly or indirectly, practically all of the Pentecostal groups in existence today can be traced through the lineage to the Azusa Missions. Synan further states, “that Parham laid the foundation, the doctrinal foundation of the movement while Seymour served as the catalytic agent for its popularization.” The early Pentecostal movement was neither Negro or White, but interracial. It was conducted by Seymour on the basis of complete racial and sexual equality. In this atmosphere of racial and sexual equality there emerged a Pentecostal vision of unity predicated on a common life in the Spirit, characterized by a common life of holiness and entire sanctification drawn from the Wesleyan doctrines and teachings. Frank Bartleman, who was present at Azusa, has written an interesting book entitled, Azusa Street. He states that “Brother Seymour was recognized as the nominal leader for the group, but we had no Pope. There was no hierarchy, we were brethren. We had no human program. The Lord himself was leading. No subjects of sermons were announced ahead of time, and no special speakers for such an hour.” As a matter of fact, it is said that Brother Seymour would sit with his head in a shoe box praying during the service. When the Spirit would move upon him, he’d look up and hand the Bible to one of the men and say, “Now you preach.” No one knew what might be coming, what God would do. Bartleman says, “We only recognized God. All were equal.” Not everyone understood or supported this revival. As a matter of fact, there was a front page story ridiculing the Meeting, in the Los Angeles Times dated April 18, 1906. “A new sect of fanatics, breaking loose in a tumbled down shack at 312 Azusa. These devotees are of the weird doctrine practice, the most fanatical rites, preach the wildest theories and work themselves into a state of mad excitement in their peculiar zeal.” This kind of publicity only served to advertise the meeting and increased the interest and attendance. Many of those who came experienced salvation, the baptism of the Holy Ghost and miracles of healing. According to Bartleman and other reporters, the liberating power of the Holy Spirit was manifested. Some were set free. Sinners were born again. The economically and socially depressed were set free. Racist were set free. Women were set free. There was the liberating power of God’s presence that manifested itself in the gathering of people from all races and all ethnic groups in the Los Angeles area and from around the world. Now a word about the worship at Azusa. It was holy disorder, spontaneous and unstructured. At first there were no instruments, no hymnals. They sang as the Spirit gave them a song. The new song; songs that they sang were unrehearsed, but they were beautiful. Some of the major songs that they borrowed from the Sawdust Trail were songs like, “The Comforter Has Come, oh spread the news around wherever men are found, The Comforter had Come!” Another favorite song was, “Fill Me Now with thy hollowed presence, come oh come and fill me now; Joy unspeakable and full of glory.” There was that favorite song, “Love Lifted Me.” The singing was enthusiastic. Then there was prayer, prayer and more prayer. Speaking in tongues, both Glossolalia, the unknown tongues, and in languages that were known. Bartleman tells the story of a missionary from the Philippines who became critical of the meeting and desired to discredit what was going on. But when he heard persons in that meeting speaking in dialects from the Philippines from some of the tribes that he was attempting to penetrate, he recognized that God was at work here. For these people had not been to the Philippines nor had they studied the dialects. There were other critics who came, who were from China, Russia and other parts of the world who heard unlearned men and women, under the power of God, speak in their languages just as had been experienced on the day of Pentecost. It was a marvelous experience. For in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Los Angeles, people heard the gospel and the witness of God’s truth in their own language. From 1906 to 1909, people came from all over the United States and from Africa and Europe. Those who came and experienced the Holy Spirit baptism returned to their homes with fresh vision and power. They were equipped for service with the message of repentance, salvation, worship, healing, holy living, deliverance and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But there were some excesses at Azusa and the disorder was sometimes unbearable. There were times when there was clearly no one in charge. There were occasions when there was a seeming predominance of the flesh and carnality. There were satanic attempts of discredit what God was doing. There were also the Pentecostal pride that emerged. Because of what God was doing, there was a sense that we’ve got a corner on this thing and we’re somehow better than those from whom we have separated. The tragedy of the missed opportunities of Azusa. The record is clear that God did something powerful at the Azusa Revival. During an era when racism, sexism and classism were accepted as normal, the Azusa Revival welcomed all races, classes and sexes in equals in the fellowship. Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics and other groups were represented in the worship and welcomed under the same roof at 312 Azusa. It was reported that as many as fifteen to twenty ethnic and nationality groups would gather at the Communion Table. An observer wrote, The color line was washed away by the blood of Jesus.” No wonder Parham, a racist who came to Azusa in 1907 was unhappy with the integration that he observed. He was unhappy with the integration that he observed. He was unhappy because it did not fit his pattern of how the church should look. He attempted to stop the move of God, but he could not stop what God was doing. For just a brief period then there was a realization of the answer to the prayer that Jesus offered to God in John 17. There was a realization of the answer to that prayer. Regrettably, the power to speak in new tongues, to heal the sick, to cast out demons, was not appropriated to rebuke the spirit of division and racism that surfaced. In 1907, the spirit of division emerged over the issue of speaking in tongues. C. H. Mason and C. P. Jones could not agree on the issue of speaking in tongues being the initial sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit. They failed to appropriate the Holy Ghost power to resolve the conflict, so the first major separation occurred as a result of a conflict between the two black leaders. Mason became the leader of the Church of God in Christ and C. P. Jones separated and became the leader of the Church of God Holiness. Now, the two men continued to be on friendly and speaking terms, but somehow they missed God. They should not have broken relationship. There was no need for another denomination. God had put them together. Then there was another division that arose. This was a division not about speaking in tongues, but it was about race. Segregation laws prohibited Blacks and Whites and Hispanics from social or spiritual mixing. The laws in Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and throughout the south said Blacks and Whites could not worship together. In 1914, Bishop Mason met with the White Elders who were ordained in the Church of God in Christ. In that historic meeting in Hot Springs, White and Black brothers in Christ failed to understand the burden of history and the opportunity to speak Biblical truth to the powers of racism and segregation. It was a Kairos moment when the course of U. S. History could have been changed. A fatal choice was made to conform to the racist laws rather than to resist. God had spoken, he had manifested His power. He had revealed his will for a united church. For a moment just suppose the White, Brown, and Black brethren had appropriated the Holy Ghost power they had received to oppose the evils of segregation and racism. From 1906 to 1914, the Church of God in Christ was racially mixed. Just suppose that the whole Pentecostal/Holiness movement, that is today more than four hundred million strong, had mustered the courage of Martin Luther or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemuller and Martin Luther King, and declared to the powers in each state, “We are brothers and sisters. We are in covenant, we will not be separated by your of laws. We are members of the family of God. We will worship and minister and fellowship together or we will go to jail together or we will die together. He we stand, so help us God.” Without doubt such a position would have resulted in lynchings and martyrdom, but God’s truth would have won in the end. Then the Civil Rights movement would have been fought on spiritual grounds and the church would have fulfilled Christ’s mandate to be salt in a tasteless society and light in that darkness. God visited America in the Azusa Revival in an unlikely place, a former stable. He used unlikely servants including the sons and daughters of slaves. This movement had the full potential of being God’s solution to the American dilemma of racism, sexism, and classism. My thesis is that the leaders of this movement missed a date with divine destiny in Hot Springs. The same opportunity was given by God as had been given to the Protestant reformers and the leaders of the Great Awakening. Their decision to not trust God and to follow their conscience resulted in great social, spiritual and economic changes in the whole society. I believe there was the potential for the healing of the wounds of the Civil War, the years of slavery and the potential for the demonstration of God’s power for forgiveness and reconciliation. Let your sanctified imagination soar for a minute. Imagine what could have been. The Klan would not have had the support of White Christians. There would have been no need for the emergence of the Black Muslim group. The energy of the Civil Rights Movement could have been focused upon evangelism, education and economic development. Just let your sanctified imagination continue to soar. There would have been no letter from the Birmingham Jail. No assassination of Martin Luther King. No final sermon, “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” delivered at the national headquarters of the Church of God in Christ Mason Temple. There seems to be an historical connection between a bad decision by spiritual leaders in Hot Springs in 1914 and the fifty-four years of segregation and suffering that culminated in the death of Martin Luther King in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. Those who met in Hot Springs were undoubtedly good men, saved men, but they did nothing to correct the evils which prevented brothers and sisters from worshiping and serving their God together. Edmond Burke once said, “that the only prerequisite for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Jesus had left clear instructions, “I made you one. I brought you together, stay together.” But a decision in Hot Springs was made to deny the mandate of Christ and to go separate ways based upon skin color and ethnicity. May God help us to obey scripture rather than listen to the directions of culture. May God help us to stay together. While it is true that the Pentecostal/Holiness Leaders who had experienced the Miracle of Azusa missed the opportunity to lead our nation in the Godly resolution of the American dilemma of racism, it may be that God will give another opportunity to experience this transforming and unifying power of the Holy Spirit. The acknowledged leader of this great revival was a black man, W. J. Seymour, the son of a slave. Other sons and daughters of slaves participated equally with sons and daughters of slave owners and confirmed segregationists. For a few years (during the period from 1906-1914), Pentecostal Holiness believers from many ethnic backgrounds in the United States believed and saw many miracles of salvations, healing, deliverance from demon possession, etc., as well as the “the washing away of the color line in the blood of Jesus.” What God had started was hindered by a carnal and unfortunate decision to “conform to culture,” rather than to affirm unity in the family of God and to suffer if necessary. It may be that the Miracle of Memphis in 1994 - when the leaders of several Pentecostal/Holiness denominations met, confessed, repented, washed each other’s feet and pledged to be reconciled was a signal that we are to revisit Azusa and complete the unfinished business of racial reconciliation. Another important development in this process was the formation of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of North America with its integrated shared leadership and its focus on basic Pentecostal/Holiness doctrine and racial reconciliation. Now it is time to prayerfully consider the next step to realize the vision of unity and justice which was only beginning when it was aborted in 1914. The following recommendations are respectfully submitted to the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of North America: <ol> <li>Call for the praying women and all intercessors for a fresh move of God in our day.</li> <li>Affirm and re-establish throughout all of our churches the observance of the Annual Feast of Pentecost as a major Holy day. The leadership of denominations could call for three days of fasting and prayer leading up to Pentecost Sunday. Further, in every city where there are representative churches, there could be a joint service in a local civic auditorium. It would be an annual celebration in every community to worship, preach, witness salvation and miracles that will largely enhance the local Pentecostal/Holiness witness and demonstrate unity.</li> <li>Establish or appoint a commission of theologians, scholars and pastors to report on the impact of the Miracle of Memphis on participating denominations, (what has happened since 1994?).</li> <li>Enter into covenant to mutually recognize ordination of elders and pastors.</li> <li>Call for historical, theological and ethical papers to be presented at each Annual Convocation. These papers would be edited and published. Through this process mature writers and scholars would be encouraged and new talent would be discovered.</li> <li>Initiate an effort to include representation from participating denominations on all college, university and seminary boards with the intent of sharing resources.</li> <li>Recruit and provide scholarships, when appropriate, to minority students to colleges and seminaries.</li> <li>Wherever possible engage in joint ventures in foreign and domestic missions and evangelism, for example in the United States there could be developed a national and local strategy to address the problem of homelessness, hunger AIDS and justice (social, economic and environmental).</li> <li>To always remain open for fresh ideas from heaven so that a healthy balance of word and spirit will save us from the extremes of cold formalism or hot fanaticism.</li> </ol> May God help up to redeem the time, because the days are evil, Ephesians 5: 16. <h5>REFERENCES</h5> Bartleman, Frank. Azusa Street Published by Whittaker House 30 Hunt Valley Circle New Kennigton, PA 1982 Cox, Harvey. Fire From Heaven Published by Addison Wesley Publishing Company Reading, MA 1995 Clemmons, Ithiel. Bishop C. H. Mason and the Roots of the C.O.G.I.C. Published by Pneuma Life Publishing Bakersfield, CA 1996 Synan, Vinson - Editor Aspects of Pentecostal Charismatic Origins 1975 <h5>A Note About the Author – Bishop George D. McKinney</h5> Bishop George D. McKinney was born August 9, 1932 in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Arkansas State College where he received a BA degree. Bishop McKinney received his MA degree from Oberlin College, School of Theology in Glendale, CA and received an honorary D.D. from Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA. Bishop McKinney is the pastor of St. Stephen’s Church of God in Christ. He and his wife, Jean, are also the founders of the St. Stephen’s Nursery School, Southeast Counseling and Consulting Services, American Urban University and the St. Stephens Retirement Center, which are all located in San Diego. Since 1985, Bishop McKinney has served as the Jurisdictional Prelate of the Southern California Second Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the C.O.G.I.C. In November 2001, he was elevated to the General Board (the presidium) of the Church of God in Christ, Inc. A former probation officer and is a renowned licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor, Bishop McKinney is internationally known for his dynamic preaching and teaching ministry, which places him in constant demand as a conference and convention speaker. Bishop McKinney is the author of numerous books. He served as the senior editor for the African-American Devotional Bible, published by Zondervan in April 1977. Currently, he serves as publisher for the San Diego Monitor Newspaper. His literary contributions now include the best-selling book, Cross the Line: Reclaiming the Inner City for God, whom he co-authored with William Kritlow in 1998. He has received numerous honors in the fields of religion and community service. In 1995, the San Diego Rotary Club named Bishop McKinney, “Mr. San Diego.” On March 7, 2001, the National Assn. of Evangelicals (NAE), presented Bishop McKinney with a Racial Reconciliation Man of the Year Award in recognition of all the work he has done for many years in the area of racial unity. Bishop McKinney has been happily married to Jean Brown McKinney for 44 years. They are the proud parents of 5 sons and the grandparents of 13. </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr></tbody></table>
Center for Spiritual Renewal 1

Nov 27, 08

www.icfsr.org/history.html baptismofspirit revival history holyspirit prayresearch
- <table><tr><td valign="top"><table cellspacing="0" border="0" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" style="padding-top:15px;padding-left:30px"><table cellspacing="0" border="0" width="760" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td>Los Angeles 1906 ~ A New Pentecost <table bgcolor="#cccccc" align="right" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="35%" cellpadding="4" style="border:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204)"> <tbody><tr> <td><div align="center">Quick Links </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204, 204, 204)"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#prior">Pentecost Prior to Azusa Street</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204, 204, 204)"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#fox">Charles Fox Parham influences the Pentecostal Movement</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204, 204, 204)"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#california">Pentecost Comes to California</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204, 204, 204)"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#moving">Moving to Azusa Street</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204, 204, 204)"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#eyewitness">Eyewitness Accounts from Azusa Street</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204, 204, 204)"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#beyond">Beyond Azusa Street</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204, 204, 204)"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#seymour">William Seymour ~ A Brief Biography</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#sources">Sources</a></td> </tr> </tbody></table> Los Angeles, California, was a popular destination at the turn of the twentieth century for many Americans dreaming of greater opportunities and purpose. By 1906 this city was quickly becoming a major hub of activity. In April of that year two events focused the world’s attention on Los Angeles: The city was impacted by a n earthquake that also devastated San Francisco, and services conducted in a small holiness mission on Azusa Street birthed spiritual renewal globally. Thousands of individuals converged on the city to attend the revival at Azusa Street’s mission, where they found a renewed purpose and passion in serving Jesus Christ and were commissioned to share the message of His love and power with others. Almost a century later, the activities of the renowned Azusa Street outpouring in Los Angeles are hailed as one of the greatest events in Christian history. Today, Pentecostal and Charismatic believers throughout the world reflect on the significance of Azusa Street in their spiritual heritage and development. <hr size="1" noshade color="#b6a175"> Pentecost Prior to Azusa Street Los Angeles was not the only place and time of spiritual renewal, however. The Spirit of God was being poured out in other parts of the world simultaneously. Revival was sweeping parts of Europe, specifically in Wales. In the United States the same transforming revivals were taking place in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas. Among the spiritual manifestations accompanying these outpourings included remarkable healings, complete transformations of lifestyle, deliverance from ungodly habits, physical demonstrations of emotion, and speaking in languages unknown to the speaker. For centuries there had been testimonies of some of these same manifestations among isolated groups, such as the Huguenots in France and Irvingites in England. In 1891 Daniel Awrey spoke in other tongues in Delaware, Ohio, and his wife spoke in tongues in 1899 in Beniah, Tennessee. Since the days of the early apostles, there are recordings throughout history of men and women speaking in languages unknown to them. And to those who met at Azusa Street it was viewed as a sign of the restoration of true New Testament Christianity. These early "Pentecostals" believed they were experiencing the same infilling of God’s power as the apostles did on the Day of Pentecost. Obeying the commands of Christ upon His ascension, the early apostles gathered together in Jerusalem to await the promised Holy Spirit, who empowered the Christian Church to complete the work that Christ had started on the earth. Even today, Pentecostal and Charismatic believers reflect on the passages recorded by Luke in Acts, chapter 2: "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance," (Acts 2:1-4, KJV). In addition, sincere Christians in Los Angeles had been praying for revival and seeking more of God for several years prior to the 1906 outpouring. Frank Bartleman, a revival participant, wrote, "It would be a great mistake to attempt to attribute the Pentecostal beginning in Los Angeles to any one man, either in prayer or in preaching…‘Pentecost’ did not drop suddenly out of heaven. God was with us in large measure for a long time before the final outpouring." In addition to Bartleman, some of those early seekers included E. J. Boehmer, Elmer Fisher, Joseph Smale, Demos and Goolisar Shakarian, and Louis and Cena Osterberg. Consumed with the desire for more of God, these men and women prayed, witnessed, preached, and prophesied about a forthcoming outpouring of God’s Spirit. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#top">»Back to top</a> <hr size="1" noshade color="#b6a175"> Charles Fox Parham influences the Pentecostal Movement<a rel="nofollow" name="fox"></a> While great revivals were taking place around the world, perhaps the most noted outpouring prior to the Los Angeles revival occurred in January 1901 at the Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas. After studying the Bible and spending time in prayer, several students experienced glossolalia (speaking in other languages). Agnes Ozman is reported to have been the first to receive the experience, followed by several other students and the teacher, Charles Fox Parham. As a result, Parham soon coined the term that speaking in other tongues was the "Bible evidence" that one had been baptized with the Holy Ghost, becoming convinced that this was in accordance with scripture. Up to this point most holiness adherents believed that one was baptized with the Holy Spirit upon being sanctified. Parham and others, however, taught that there were three works of grace available for the Christian, namely salvation, sanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the "Bible evidence" of speaking in other tongues. Meanwhile, William Seymour was traveling throughout the United States in search of a better life. An African-American from Louisiana, he was the son of former slaves. Much of Seymour’s childhood spiritual influence came from Roman Catholicism and Baptist traditions. It was during his travels that Seymour entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He was converted in Indianapolis and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. A few years later he was "wholly sanctified" in Cincinnati, Ohio, during his affiliation with another holiness group. He became a preacher following a severe case of smallpox that left him blind in one eye and his face disfigured. In 1905 Seymour traveled to Houston, Texas, in search of relatives. There he attended a black holiness congregation pastored by Lucy Farrow. (She was a former slave and the niece of famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass.) Farrow moved to Kansas City to serve as a governess and cook for evangelist Charles Fox Parham, at which time Seymour became the interim pastor for the holiness congregation in Houston. In the late fall of 1905, Farrow returned to Houston and testified of her spiritual experience. She had been baptized with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Soon after Farrow returned to Houston, Parham relocated his ministry there as well. Parham conducted services in Bryan Hall and taught training classes on conviction, repentance, sanctification, healing, the Holy Spirit in different operations, prophecies, and the Book of Revelation. Seymour was faithful in attending Parham’s services and training sessions. However, due to segregation laws of the time Seymour was forced to sit in the hallway while listening to Parham and others teach. He was not even permitted to pray with others while seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, Seymour hungered for more of God and was determined to learn. Parham later noted that Seymour could recite word-for-word the teachings he learned while sitting under Parham’s ministry. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#top">»Back to top</a> <hr size="1" noshade color="#b6a175"> Pentecost Comes to California<a rel="nofollow" name="california"></a> <img vspace="5" src="http://www.icfsr.org/images/Seymour%20standing%20with%20Bible.jpg" hspace="5" align="right" height="171" border="1" width="100">Los Angeles resident Neely Terry, who attended a small holiness church pastored by Julia Hutchins, made a trip to Houston, Texas, in 1905. She attended the church that William Seymour was pastoring. Although Seymour had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues, he was convinced that it was biblical and preached the message with great fervency. Impressed by Seymour’s character and message, Terry told her church about him upon her return to California and they invited him to visit. Seymour agreed to go, much to the shock of Charles Parham and others in Houston. Nonetheless, they laid hands on him and sent him forth for his evangelistic endeavor, which was originally scheduled to last for one month. Seymour arrived in Los Angeles on February 22, 1906, and within two days was preaching at the holiness church pastored by Julia Hutchins. He preached on regeneration, sanctification, faith healing, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues. Hutchins rejected Seymour’s teaching and within a few days locked the doors of the church to keep him from preaching there. A council of elders rejected Seymour’s teaching, predominately because he had not yet experienced the blessing about which he was preaching. Some felt that he should discontinue preaching about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in other tongues. Yet, in the midst of the persecution, Seymour continued to be steadfast and unmovable in his work for the Lord. Those in the congregation who were hungering and thirsting after the deeper things of God felt compelled to spend hours in prayer. Several received confirming visions that God was about to bless Los Angeles with a spiritual outpouring. <img vspace="5" src="http://www.icfsr.org/images/Asbury%20Home%20on%20Bonnie%20Bray%20Street.jpg" hspace="5" align="left" height="120" border="1" width="175">The group continued to gather for prayer and worship, ultimately conducting services in the home of Richard and Ruth Asbery at 214 Bonnie Brae Street. Others learned of the meetings and began to attend, including some white families of nearby holiness churches. Then, on April 9, 1906, a breakthrough occurred as Edward Lee was baptized with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues after Seymour had prayed with him. The two then made their way to the Asbery home. There they had a song, prayers and testimonies, followed by Seymour’s sermon using Acts 2:4 as a text. Following the sermon Lee raised his hands and began to speak in tongues. The Spirit of God moved upon those attending and six others began to speak in tongues that same evening. Jennie Moore, who would later marry William Seymour, was among them. She became the first woman in Los Angeles to receive the Spirit-baptism. She then began to sing in tongues and play the piano under the power of God, having never played the piano prior. A few days later, on April 12, William Seymour finally received his baptism at about four o’clock in the morning, after having prayed all night long. One eye-witness, Emma Cotton, later reminisced about those experiences: They shouted three days and nights. The people came from everywhere. By the next morning, there was no way of getting nearer the house. As the people came in they would fall under the power, and the whole city was stirred. They shouted there until the foundation of the house gave way, but no one was hurt. During those three days, there were many people who received their baptism, who had just come to see what it was. The sick were healed, and sinners were saved just as they came in. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#top">»Back to top</a> <hr size="1" noshade color="#b6a175"> Moving to Azusa Street<a rel="nofollow" name="moving"></a> <img vspace="5" src="http://www.icfsr.org/images/AzusaStreetChurch.jpg" hspace="5" align="right" height="110" border="1" width="175">Following the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Los Angeles, interest grew in the prayer meetings. The crowds became too large for the Asbury home on Bonnie Brae Street and were moved to the yard. Soon this became too limited as well. The group then discovered an available building at 312 Azusa Street, which had originally been constructed as an African Methodist Episcopal Church. Having fallen into disrepair, the building was used as a stable to house hay and livestock. Nonetheless, it was secured and cleaned in preparation for services. Within days, the Los Angeles press learned of the revival services conducted at the Azusa Street Mission and newspaper reports were published throughout the United States and the world. Thousands learned of the revival and were drawn to the meeting. They all came together in worship: men, women, children, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, illiterate, and educated. They flocked to Los Angeles with both skepticism and spiritualhunger. <img vspace="5" src="http://www.icfsr.org/images/Azusa%20Street%20Mission.jpg" hspace="5" align="left" height="117" border="1" width="175">In September 1906 a local newspaper reporter frowned on the events taking place and wrote that the Azusa Street mission was a "disgraceful intermingling of the races…they cry and make howling noises all day and into the night. They run, jump, shake all over, shout to the top of their voice, spin around in circles, fall out on the sawdust blanketed floor jerking, kicking and rolling all over it. Some of them pass out and do not move for hours as though they were dead. These people appear to be mad, mentally deranged or under a spell. They claim to be filled with the spirit. They have a one eyed, illiterate, Negro as their preacher who stays on his knees much of the time with his head hidden between the wooden milk crates. He doesn't talk very much but at times he can be heard shouting, ‘Repent,’ and he's supposed to be running the thing... They repeatedly sing the same song, ‘The Comforter Has Come.’" <img vspace="5" src="http://www.icfsr.org/images/Azusa%20Street%20Mission%202.jpg" hspace="5" align="right" height="110" border="1" width="175">Yet, while some stirred the waters of opposition, the river of God’s Spirit was flowing mightily in Los Angeles. God had proven faithful in answering prayer; revival had come. Within months the Azusa Street mission, known as the Apostolic Faith Mission, was the largest congregation in the city, with as many as 1300 attending the services, and the revival fervor continued for three years. Services were held three times daily, often without a break in the "spontaneous" services. Humility was fundamental at the mission, and Seymour often admonished that "our highest place is low at His [Jesus’] feet." The message was the love of God, and unity and equality were priority. Frank Bartleman noted, "The ‘color line’ was washed away by the blood." Women were provided positions of leadership at the mission as well. The Apostolic Faith, published by the mission and reaching a worldwide distribution of more than 50,000, promoted such unity. In 1907 the paper noted, "One token of the Lord’s coming is that He is melting all races and nations together, and they are filled with the power and glory of God. He is baptizing by one spirit into one body and making up a people thatwill be ready to meet Him when He comes."<img vspace="5" src="http://www.icfsr.org/images/Seymour%20with%20COG%20Leaders.jpg" hspace="5" align="left" height="118" border="1" width="175"> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#top">»Back to top</a> <hr size="1" noshade color="#b6a175"> Eyewitness Accounts from Azusa Street:<a rel="nofollow" name="eyewitness"></a> Revival participant A. C. Valdez, Sr. later wrote: On the platform, a black man [Seymour] sat behind two wooden boxes, one on top of the other. They were his pulpit…. Occasionally, as Pastor Seymour prayed, his head would be so low that it disappeared behind the top wooden box…. Everything about the Azusa Street Mission fascinated me—especially the prayer or "tarrying room" on the second floor. Usually one hundred or more black, brown and white people prayerfully waited there for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Dozens of canes, braces, crutches and blackened smoking pipes leaned against the barnlike walls. Many times waves of glory would come over the tarrying room or meeting room, and people would cry out prayers of thanks or praise as they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Meetings used to go past midnight and into the early hours of the morning. Hours there seemed like minutes. Sometimes after a wave of glory, a lot of people would speak in tongues. Then a holy quietness would come over the place, followed by a chorus of prayer in languages we had never before heard. Many were slain in the Spirit [in a trance-like state], buckling to the floor, unconscious, in a beautiful Holy Spirit cloud, and the Lord gave them visions. How I enjoyed shouting and praising God. During the tarrying, we used to break out in songs about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, "Fill Me Now," "Joy Unspeakable," and "Love Lifted Me." Praise about the cleansing and precious blood of Jesus would just spring from our mouths. In between choruses, heavenly music would fill the hall, and we would break into tears. Suddenly the crowd seemed to forget how to sing in English. Out of their mouths would come new languages and lovely harmony that no human beings could have learned. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#top">»Back to top</a> <hr size="1" noshade color="#b6a175"> Beyond Azusa Street<a rel="nofollow" name="beyond"></a> As a direct result of the Azusa Street outpouring, thousands of individuals were led into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. People began to study the Word of God, become convicted of sin, and surrender their lives to Christ. They were baptized with the Holy Ghost, who led and guided them into greater spiritual truths found in the Word of God. The Spirit of God empowered them with boldness to fulfill the great commission. Signs and wonders followed those who believed, such as blinded eyes being opened, deaf being able to hear, mute being able to speak, the lame made to walk, and the dead raised to life again. Such reports are commonplace among these early Pentecostal believers, and all of these signs testify of the glory and power of the Risen Christ. These early Spirit-filled believers considered everyone to be witnesses, and many sailed to foreign lands as missionaries to share the gospel message. This move of God was not only for Los Angeles, but it was for the whole world—even future generations. What happened at Azusa Street has helped renew Christianity, bringing fresh vision and passion to the Great Commission. Consumed with zeal for God and empowered by the Holy Spirit, individuals have taken the Word of God to diverse villages and races across the globe. As a result many have learned of the love and grace of Christ, ultimately preparing the world for His return. That same power of God is still filling men and women with the Holy Spirit to continue the work of Christ throughout the world. Ultimately hundreds of millions have been reached as an indirect result of Azusa Street. Today there are more than 500 million Pentecostal and Charismatic believers across the globe. May we continue to go forward in the power of the Holy Spirit as witness and ministers to reach this world for Jesus Christ. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#top">»Back to top</a> <hr size="1" noshade color="#b6a175"> William Seymour ~ A Brief Biography<a rel="nofollow" name="seymour"></a> William Joseph Seymour, pastor of the Azusa Street mission, is recognized globally for his influence on the Pentecostal movement of the Twentieth Century. Born on May 2, 1870 in Centerville (St. Mary Parish), Louisiana, his parents had been slaves and his father fought with the Union Army during the US Civil War. Seymour was reared in poverty and began traveling at a young age—living in Memphis, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. At age 25, he worked as a waiter for some of the most upscale restaurants and hotels in Indianapolis. Early Spiritual Experiences It was in Indianapolis that Seymour personally accepted Jesus Christ, although during childhood he was affiliated with the Baptist Church and the Roman Catholic Church. (He was christened in the Catholic tradition on September 4, 1870, at the Church of the Assumption in Franklin, Louisiana.) Upon his adult conversion in Indianapolis he joined the Simpson Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church and became firmly established in the rising Holiness movement. A few years later, while living in Cincinnati, Ohio, he received a deeper spiritual experience and testified of being "wholly sanctified." There he joined the Church of God Restoration Movement, also known as The Evening Light movement. This group taught that a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit would precede the return of Christ, and they were committed to a radical holiness doctrine and promoted Christian unity and racial reconciliation. In 1905 Seymour moved to Houston, Texas, in search of relatives. He attended a black holiness congregation pastored by Lucy Farrow, and soon he served as interim pastor when Farrow moved to Kansas City to work in the home of Charles Fox Parham. Later that year, Farrow returned to Houston and testified of her baptism with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Soon afterward, Charles Fox Parham relocated his ministry to Houston and taught Bible training classes. Seymour faithfully attended these classes despite segregation laws of the time, which forced him to sit in the hallway while listening to Parham and others teach. Seymour was not even permitted to pray with others while seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, Parham later noted that Seymour could recite word-for-word the teachings he learned while sitting under Parham’s ministry. To learn more read the "<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#fox">Charles Fox Parham influences the Pentecostal Movement</a>" section. Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit In 1906 Seymour arrived in Los Angeles, California, upon accepting an invitation to preach at a Holiness mission there. Seymour' preached on the baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues and other subjects. However, because he had not received the Holy Spirit baptism personally, many were skeptical and he was forbidden to preach for the congregation. Seymour then began participating in a Bible study and prayer meeting at the home of Richard and Ruth Asbery at 214 Bonnie Brae Street. Soon several individuals were baptized with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues, including William Seymour. He finally received his Holy Spirit baptism about four o’clock in the morning on April 12th, after having prayed all night. To learn more read the "<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#california">Pentecost Comes to California</a>" section. A Faithful Pastor Interest in the movement increased, and soon the services relocated to 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles. Seymour led these services with the help of a volunteer staff comprised of blacks, whites, men and women. The local press published stories about the spiritual manifestations experienced at the mission, and soon other newspapers throughout the United States and the world were informing readers about the Azusa Street outpouring. Seymour also published The Apostolic Faith magazine that was circulated globally. Upon learning about the revival, thousands of individuals attended the meetings, experienced spiritual transformations, and carried the message of Jesus and His power throughout out the world. The revival continued unabated for about three years, until 1909. During the peak of the Azusa Street meetings, Seymour married Jennie Evans Moore on May 13, 1908. She had been active in the Asbery home Bible studies and was a faithful participant at the Azusa Street mission. She and Seymour formed a ministry team, and she often preached at the mission in his absence. The couple resided in a small apartment above the mission. Leaving a Legacy Following the revival, Seymour continued to serve as pastor of the Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street. He envisioned organizing schools, rescue missions, and planting other congregations, but most of these goals were never actualized before his death. He also traveled throughout the United States, fervently preaching against racism. Ironically, he ultimately suffered rejection from some of his initial converts over racial issues. William Joseph Seymour died on September 28, 1922, and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California. His widow, Jennie, continued to pastor the mission after his death until at least 1931. Hailed by some as the founder of the modern Pentecostal movement, Seymour’s consecrated lifestyle, devotion to prayer, and unwavering commitment to preach Jesus Christ and the full gospel helped spark spiritual renewal in the United States and the world. Today, over half a billion Pentecostal and Charismatic believers throughout the world are a testimony of the pivotal impact that the Azusa Street meetings had on Christianity. Consequently, the Azusa Street revival has been noted as one of the major world events of the Twentieth Century. It is evident that William Seymour was a willing vessel devoted to his Lord, and that God used him in a powerful way to help spread the message of Jesus Christ to all the nations of the earth. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.icfsr.org/history.html#top">»Back to top</a> <hr size="1" noshade color="#b6a175"> Sources<a rel="nofollow" name="sources"></a>Much of this historical material was gleaned from the research of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.azusastreet.org">Larry Martin</a>, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.azusastreet.org">http://www.azusastreet.org</a>, particularly from his books: <ul> <li><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.azusastreet.org">Holy Ghost Revival on Azusa Street: The True Believers</a><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.azusastreet.org">.</a> Joplin, MO: Christian Life Books, 1998.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.azusastreet.org">The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour: and a History of the Azusa Street Revival.</a> Joplin, MO: Christian Life Books, 1999. </li> </ul> Other sources include: Bartleman, Frank. Another Wave Rolls In. Monroeville, PA: Whitaker Books, 1971. Davis, Clara. Azusa Street Till Now: Eyewitness Accounts of the Move of God. Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, 1989. Nickel, Thomas R., Azusa Street Outpouring: as told to me by those who were there. Hanford, CA: Great Commission International, 1979. Robeck, Cecil M. "Azusa Street Revival." In The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, eds. Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. van der Maas, 344-350. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. Robeck, Cecil M."William Joseph Seymour." In The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, eds. Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. van der Maas, 1053-1058. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. Valdez, A.C and James F. Scheer. Fire on Azusa Street. Costa Mesa, CA: Gift Publications, 1980. Special thanks to Louis Morgan for compiling the material for the Historical Section of this website.</td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" background="http://www.icfsr.org/images/layout/menu-bg.jpg"> </td> <td valign="top"><div align="center"> Site Designed and Maintained by <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.winworld.com">WinWorld</a> </div></td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><img src="http://www.icfsr.org/images/layout/menu-btm.jpg" height="18" width="182" alt=""></td></tr></table>

Calvinistic Sanctification 1

Nov 27, 08

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Calvinistic Sanctification
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What are the basics of Calvinistic sanctification?

Calvinistic sanctification is a view of sanctification that emphasizes God's sovereignty in the process. Calvinistic sanctification teaches that believers have very little or even no influence in the process of sanctification. God will sanctify believers in His timing and in His manner. It is undeniably true that God is sovereign (Daniel 4:35). God is in control of the process of sanctification (Romans 8:29-30). At the same time, though, God's sovereignty over the process of sanctification does not mean believers have no input or influence on the process.

It is impossible for us finite human beings to fully comprehend an infinite God. Whenever we attempt to create a system that defines God, we will fail. God is indefinable, unexplainable, and incomprehensible. Calvinism is a system designed to explain the relationship of God's sovereignty with the free will of mankind. Calvinism strongly emphasizes God's sovereignty, sometimes to the extent that it teaches mankind has no free will whatsoever. Extreme Calvinism relegates mankind to nothing but robots doing exactly what God has pre-programmed us to do. The opposite of Calvinism, Arminianism, emphasizes mankind's free will, sometimes to the extent that God is not sovereign and/or is not in complete control. Extreme Arminianism relegates God to a being who does not know the future and is limited in what He can do. Neither extreme is biblical. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between. God is sovereign and mankind has a free will. How these two fact work together, again, is incomprehensible to our finite human minds. In the mind of God, though, they work together perfectly (Romans 11:33-36).

Calvinistic sanctification is an overemphasis of God's sovereignty over the process of sanctification. It relegates believers to passive participants in the Christian life. Calvinistic sanctification argues that God is the agent of spiritual growth whether believers cooperate in the process or not. Undeniably, yes, God is the agent and power of sanctification. That does not mean believers are uninvolved. The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit produces fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). The Bible also instructs us to sacrifice our lives, continually, to God's service (Romans 12:1-2). It is God who saves and sanctifies us, but we are called to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16) and to obey God (1 John 5:3). Without Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5), but through Christ we can do anything (Philippians 4:13). That is the biblical balance in sanctification. We rely on God and recognize His sovereignty, but at the same time we put forth our best effort, through His strength, to conform our lives to Christ's image.

Entire Sanctification 1

Nov 27, 08

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Entire Sanctification
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Entire sanctification - How does this doctrine differ from other views on sanctification?

Entire sanctification is the belief that Christians can attain complete sinlessness in this lifetime. Christians are sanctified "positionally" meaning that God views Christians as being perfectly holy because of Christ. Christians are sanctified "progressively" meaning that God transforms a Christian's life to produce less and less of the acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:19-21) and more and more of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Christians will one day be sanctified "ultimately" meaning that Christians will one day be absolutely free from the power and presence of sin. Entire sanctification teaches that ultimate sanctification is attainable in this lifetime.

The Bible describes Christians being ultimately sanctified in 1 John 3:2, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." It is clear in this Scripture that we will be like Christ once we see Him. This is something that only occurs at death, or will occur at the coming of Christ in the rapture. 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 describes the bodies that Christians will receive once they are glorified/ultimately sanctified. In this passage as well, death and/or eternity are in view - not the earthly life.

The Bible also consistently teaches that no one in this world is free from sin. 1 John 1:8 declares, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Ecclesiastes 7:20 tells us, "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins." So, it seems clear that sinless perfection is not possible in this life. Entire sanctification should be our goal and desire. The Bible commands us to be holy: "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). However, entire sanctification is not possible in the life. Until we are freed from our fallen bodies and delivered from this sinful world - we will always have to struggle against sin. But praise God for our ultimate victory, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).

Sanctification 1 1

Nov 27, 08

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- Sanctification - Set Apart
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  Sanctification - Biblical Meaning
  Sanctification is a biblical doctrine that is emphasized a great deal in Christian teaching. Yet despite its importance, it is often perceived as a religious notion too complex to comprehend. Though sanctification may at first seem to be a foreign concept, it is one of the greatest things that has and is happening to every believer in Jesus Christ. Here we will explore the basic biblical doctrine of sanctification and discuss the key role it plays in a Christian's spiritual growth.
  
  Sanctification comes from the verb sanctify. Sanctify originates from the Greek word hagiazo, which means to be "separate" or to be "set apart." In the Bible, sanctification generally relates to a sovereign act of God whereby He "sets apart" a person, place, or thing in order that His purposes may be accomplished. In the book of Exodus, God sanctifies a place of worship. "And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory," says Exodus 29:43. Even a day can be sanctified as seen in Genesis 2:3 where the seventh day is "set apart" as a holy day of rest. "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
  
  Similarly, when a person is sanctified he or she is being set apart by God for a specific divine purpose. The very moment we are saved in Christ we are also immediately sanctified and begin the process of being conformed to the image of Christ. As God's children we are "set apart" from that moment to carry out His divine purposes unto eternity. Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." Are you set apart for God?
  Sanctification - Different Than Salvation
  It is important to differentiate between justification and sanctification. Justification is another word for salvation. Jesus gave his life on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. His blood washes away our sins and frees us from an eternity of suffering and condemnation. Believers are saved because of what Christ has already done. We can do nothing to earn salvation, it is the gift given to every child of God regardless of race, age, maturity, or merit. Sanctification occurs as a result of salvation. At the moment of conversion, the Holy Spirit enters our life. We are no longer held hostage by death, but are free to live the life God desires for us. We are thus sanctified simply because of our standing as lost souls saved by grace.
  Sanctification - A Continuing Process
  Sanctification does not stop with salvation, but rather it is a progressive process that continues in a Christian's life. Unlike the things and places that are sanctified by God in the Bible, people have the capacity to sin. Even though we have been "set apart" as God's children, we continue to behave in ways that are contrary. As Christians, we realize shortly after we have been saved that there is a new inner battle being waged within us - a battle between our old sin-lead nature and new Spirit-lead nature. Paul in Galatians best describes this inner struggle in Galatians 5:17: "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."
  
  Like Paul, our heart's desire is to please and obey God, but our flesh is weak making sin difficult to resist. Yet, it is in our continual struggle with sin and obedience to God that sanctification does its work.
  
  But what is the work of sanctification? What does it practically mean to be "set apart"? Sanctification can be described as an inward spiritual process whereby God brings about holiness and change in the life of a Christian by means of the Holy Spirit. The effects of living in a fallen world have harmed everybody differently. We all face different issues, struggle with sin, and past hurts of varying degrees, hindering our ability to live the life God desires for us. Once we accept Jesus Christ into our lives, the Holy Spirit enters our life to start a transformation process (progressive sanctification). He convicts us on areas that need to be changed, helping us to grow in holiness. We begin to view the world, people, and personal difficulties from a more biblical perspective. Our choices begin to be motivated by love and truth and not selfishness. For instance, we may have misplaced our confidence and security on beauty, wealth, and materialism, but God may ordain difficult circumstances to liberate us from these growth-hindering snares. The transformation process may be painful, but it is always motivated by God's love for us. Further, God promises in His Word to not give us more than we are able to handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).
  
  This is the working process of sanctification is the life of every believer. Though the process is personal for each individual, the end goal is to prevent sin and produce spiritual growth. Note that sanctification has nothing to do with living in sinless perfection. We will never be sinless in this life. In fact, the Bible warns against such false teachings in 1 John 1:8: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
  
  Sanctification is not about trying to be sinless in order to earn the favor of God. Rather, sanctification is for our own benefit. God commands us to pursue sanctification so that through it we may be blessed.
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Progressive Sanctification 1

Nov 27, 08

www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org/ressive-sanctification-faq.htm theology sanctification prayresearch
- What is progressive sanctification?
  
  Progressive sanctification is the process in a Christian's life in which he or she is made progressively more holy. The word "sanctify" means to "set apart, make holy." Sanctification has three aspects: (1) Positional sanctification, (2) Progressive sanctification, and (3) Ultimate sanctification.
  
  Positional sanctification is the fact that God declares a Christian to be absolutely holy the moment he or she believes in Jesus Christ. When God looks at a Christian, He sees the righteousness and holiness of Christ. Ultimate sanctification is what occurs at death, when a Christian is absolutely and permanently free from the very presence of sin and is perfected in God's sight. 1 John 3:2 describes ultimate sanctification, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." So, progressive sanctification is the process of taking what we are positionally, and what we will be ultimately - and progressively making it reality in our Christian life.
  
  In 1 Corinthians 1:2, the Apostle Paul describes the relationship between positional sanctification and progressive sanctification, "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy…" Christians are both "sanctified in Christ Jesus" and "called to be holy." The Greek words for "sanctified" and "holy" are from the same root word. A Christian is holy and called to be holy at the same time.
  
  The process of progressive sanctification is described in Galatians 5:19-23. Progressive sanctification is the journey of producing less and less of the acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:19-21) and more and more of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Progressive sanctification is a process empowered by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and enabled through prayer and the study of God's Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
  
  The Bible declares, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17)! Progressive sanctification is the calling of every Christian. We are all called to become more and more like Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:15-16 reminds us, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." It should be our goal each and every day to become more set apart for God and His purposes.
  
  Learn More about Sanctification!
Sanctification 1

Nov 27, 08

www.bible-knowledge.com/sanctification-article.html prayresearch
- <h2 align="center">Sanctification</h2><img src="http://www.bible-knowledge.com/images/cap-a.gif" style="width:26px;height:27px">s you will see in the Scripture verses I will list below - God's ultimate and highest aim for all of us is our sanctification in Him. God wants to make us more holy like Himself. He wants to transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bible-knowledge.com/sanctification-article.html#" style="text-decoration:underline ! important">Christ</a>. He wants to consecrate and set us apart unto Himself.<div><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.adbrite.com/mb/commerce/purchase_form.php?opid=904588&afsid=1" style="font-weight:bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:13px">Your Ad Here</a></div>The wording in these verses is veryintense. One of the verses will tell us that God wants tosanctify us completely in all three parts of our being - body,soul and spirit. Jesus Himself tells us that He wants us to beperfect just like His Father in heaven is perfect.When you first look at these verses, you wonder how anyonecould ever begin to achieve any real state of holiness in thecursed and fallen world we live in. With all of the lusts ofour flesh and with all of the different temptations of thisworld, many Christians never even attempt to give God a chanceto start this sanctification process in their life. They feelthis bar is simply too high to even begin to strive for in thislife.The Bible tells us that all men and all women have sinnedand have fallen way short of the glory of God. We are so farfrom the perfection that God is really wanting from each one ofus, that we see no real way to be able to obtain it to anysignificant degree in this life. As a result, many Christiansnever ask or seek after God to get this sanctification processstarted in their life - and as a result, there is very little,if any true <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bible-knowledge.com/sanctification-article.html#" style="text-decoration:underline ! important">spiritual growth</a> over the course of most of theirlives.However, if you will study the specific wording in some ofthese verses, God the Father is showing you very clearly howthis sanctification process can start to occur in this life.You don't have to wait until you get to heaven to get thissanctification process started with Him.One of the first verses I will list below is telling us thatwe get three specific things as a result of Jesus dying on thecross for all of our sins. We get redemption, righteousnessand sanctification.Most Christians know about the first two - redemption andrighteousness - but they either forget or do not pick up on thethird thing that we all have available to us - and that is oursanctification in the Lord!This sanctification is a progressive process. It is notsomething that occurs instantaneously at our conversions. It isa progressive work done by the Holy Spirit over the course ofour entire life.<blockquote> The apostle Paul tells us that we have to "work out" our salvation with fear and trembling. He is telling us that there are things that have to be worked out - and I believe one of those things is our sanctification in the Lord - the process where God the Father begins to set us apart unto Himself and to transform us into becoming more holy instruments of righteousness for His use.</blockquote>The different Bible dictionaries and commentaries define theword "sanctification" as follows:<ul> <li>The state of growing in divine grace</li> <li>To set apart for holy purposes</li> <li>The process of being made holy resulting in a changed <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bible-knowledge.com/sanctification-article.html#" style="text-decoration:underline ! important">lifestyle</a> for the believer</li></ul>Noted Bible scholar Jack Hayford, in his excellent booktitled: "<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFF&p=1021989&item_no=50347">Hayford's Bible Handbook</a>," defines sanctification asfollows:<blockquote> "The work of God's grace by which the believer is separated from sin and becomes dedicated to God's righteousness. Accomplished by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, sanctification results in holiness, or purification from the guilt and power of sin. Sanctification is instantaneous before God through Christ and progressive before man through obedience to the Holy Spirit and the Word."</blockquote>To those of you who have never really sought after the Lordto release this kind of supernatural work in your life - studythese verses very, very carefully. God is giving you anincredible spiritual secret that can dramatically change thequality of your life down here on this earth.As I said at the top of this article, you don't have to waituntil you get to heaven to have God start this sanctificationand transformation process in your life. It can literally startright where you are at right now if you are willing to fullysurrender your entire life over to the Lord and then ask Him tobegin to start this sanctification process in your life.Before I go to the actual Scripture verses on all of this,consider one last thing. Even though this sanctificationprocess appears to be a major leap to be able to make in theLord - realize that God will start you off with small babysteps to get this process worked into your life. Rome was notbuilt overnight - and neither will your sanctification in theLord.Many in our society have no drawing towards the spiritualthings of God. Their only goal in this life is to get as muchof the material things in this life as they possibly can, notreally caring who they hurt and run over in the process.Many think that trying to become more holy in the Lord is"corny." Many of these types of Christians have been labeled asbeing "not cool" and "goody two shoes" by their peers, by theirclassmates or by some of their fellow workers in the workplace.Many of our teenagers are made fun of in their schools if theydon't join the crowds in abusing alcohol, doing drugs orengaging in pre-marital sex.<blockquote> The ways of our God are not the ways of this world! This is why God tells us that we will become His enemies if we ever become too friendly with the things and ways of this world. This is why God is calling and separating us unto Himself in this sanctification process that He wants to start with each and everyone of us. To become more holy and more righteous in the Lord may not be cool with the rest of the world, but it is definitely cool with the Lord. And when everything is all finally said and done, and we have finally departed from this life and have to face God for our own personal judgments - the only thing that will really matter is what God thinks - not what the world thinks. We will all be judged by how God views things, not how the world or other people view things.</blockquote>I'll leave you with one last thought before going into theactual Scripture verses on this topic:If you really watch and study people - what is the one thingthat most people are really searching for and seeking afterthese days?Why is it that so many people are tempted into entering alife of drugs or <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bible-knowledge.com/sanctification-article.html#" style="text-decoration:underline ! important">alcohol abuse</a>? Why are so many peoplecommitting adultery behind their spouse's back? Why are so manybusiness-minded people chasing after their one and onlyall-personal god - the almighty dollar? Why are so many peopleengaging with other alternative forms of spirituality, such asdelving into the occult and the many facets of the New Agemovement?If you really bottom-line all of the seeking that isoccurring in these areas - they are all looking for one thing -and that one thing is an incredible sense of well-being.They are all looking for that "high" that will make them"feel good."To those who are seeking after the almighty dollar - theyare looking for that high that will give them a sense ofapproval and a sense of accomplishment. They are looking forall the material things that this money can buy them - thinkingthat all of these material things will make them feel good onthe inside and completely fill the emptiness and void that ison the inside of each one of them.To those chasing after drugs, alcohol or illicit sexualencounters - they are looking for immediate gratification ofphysical, mental or sexual pleasures. They want to feel goodright now, and they will do anything they can to try and getthat next high.However, as we all know, all of the free sex, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bible-knowledge.com/sanctification-article.html#" style="text-decoration:underline ! important">drugs andalcohol</a>, and all of the money in this world, and all of thematerial things this money can buy us, will never buy us thattrue state of inner happiness - that true state of well-beingthat we are all really searching for.All of the material things that we can buy in this life willonly keep us high for a very short period of time. Then oncethat high starts to wear off, we have to find something else wecan buy - thinking that the next purchase will make us feelgood for a longer period of time. And then it happens again.The high starts to wane, and we are once more looking for thatnext material thing, that next great adventure that will makeus feel good about ourselves.Many people are constantly chasing the wind, but neverreally being able to reach it or grab a hold of it - thusalways continuing to fall short of being able to reach thatelusive state of well-being that will give them the love, joyand peace they are really searching after.Even many Christians are missing the mark on all of this.Too many Christians have become more attached to the things ofthis world rather than to God and the things that He wants usto get involved in. As a result, there are many Christians whoare no more happy and no more fulfilled with their lives thanmany nonbelievers are.Once you become saved and born again by accepting Jesus asyour personal Lord and Savior - this is just the beginning. NowGod wants to start to build you up in Him and all of His waysfor your life.The first thing that God will want you to do is to bewilling to enter into a full surrender with Him of you and yourentire life, so that He can then set you on the path that Hewill want you to follow so that you can accomplish His perfectwill for your life. The next thing God will want from you isthat you attempt to establish a one-on-one, intimate, personalrelationship with Him.However, this will now lead us into the next big step. ManyChristians have done both of these things, but they still feelthere is something missing in their lives.They are following God's perfect will for their lives, theyknow how to be led by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis toaccomplish what needs to be accomplished, they have establishedvery good personal relationships with the Lord - but yet therestill seems to be something missing in their lives and theycan't seem put their finger on it.<ul> <li>Where is that feeling of well-being that I should be having more of?</li> <li>Where is that love, joy and peace of mind I should be having more of?</li> <li>Why is it that at times I'm no more happier and no more fulfilled than many nonbelievers are?</li></ul>I personally believe that the missing ingredient in manybeliever's life is this sanctification process. Thissanctification process is a deeper work in the Lord - and manyhave not entered into it either because they have never beenshown how to properly enter into it, or they really do not wantto go this far with the Lord.Once you enter into this sanctification process with theLord, it can be a bit painful at times, since God will beworking with you to expose and prune out all of the negativequalities that He will not want have operating in yourpersonality.I'll be doing additional articles in the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://bible-knowledge.com/Sanctification.html">Sanctification</a>Section of our site, giving you all of the verses that willgive you the specifics on what it is you should be seekingafter in order to be able to work with the Lord in thissanctification process. As you will see in the some of theverses listed below, it is the Holy Spirit who will really bethe One to sanctify you and help you to become more holy in theeyes of the Lord.However, you will still have to do your part in all of this.As I said in another article in this section titled: "<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bible-knowledge.com/Renewing-of-Your-Mind.html">Mindset: Being Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind</a>,"you will have to be the one to attempt to "put on" thepositive qualities that God will want to instill in yourpersonality and "put away" all of the negative qualitiesthat He will not want operating in your personality.You will have to really work in partnership and cooperationwith the Holy Spirit in order to be able to get God to move youinto this deeper realm of making you to become more holy. Butfor those of you who are willing to let the Lord take this nextextra step with you - you will find and obtain what everyone isreally searching after and cannot find these days - anincredible sense of well-being that all of the money, materialpossessions, drugs, alcohol and sex will never be able to bringyou in this life.This incredible sense of well-being can only be found in theprocess of allowing God to work His very nature into your ownpersonality, thereby making you to become more holy. A perfectexample of this is the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit. These 9fruits are His fruits, not ours - such as love, joy, peace,self-control, kindness, etc.This means that God will start to transmit and impart Hislove, His peace and His kindness into our personalities. Andonce this kind of sanctification process starts to occur, thisis when you will really be able to start to feel and experiencethe sense of well-being that God initially created us to havein Him.<blockquote> It is only when the very life of God Himself, through the Holy Spirit, starts to enter into your mind, your soul, and your spirit will you feel that high that everyone is really looking for these days. And the only way that you can get the very life of God to start to enter into your mind, soul and spirit is by entering into this sanctification process with the Lord. There is no other way. There are no shortcuts to this process. I really believe this is one of the main missing ingredients in many believer's walks with the Lord.</blockquote>Now I'll go to the actual Scripture verses showing you thatGod really does want to start this sanctification process witheach and everyone of us. I'll then end this article giving youa simple 4 step process to get God to move you into thissanctification process if you are not afraid of it and arewilling to work with Him on it.<h4>1. We Are Now Sanctified in Christ Jesus</h4>In the above definition from Jack Hayford on sanctification,you will note that he says that sanctification is"instantaneous before God through Christ" but that it is"progressive before man through obedience to the Holy Spiritand the Word."As you will see in the first two Scripture verses I willlist below, these verses are telling us that we are now"sanctified in Christ Jesus" and that we now receivesanctification, along with redemption and righteousness,through the blood that Jesus has personally shed for all of uson the cross. This is what Mr. Hayford means by the first partof this definition in that our sanctification is instantaneousbefore God through Christ.However, as you will see in several verses I will list inthe second caption below, this sanctification is alsoprogressive in nature as far as we are individually concerned.This means we have to go through a progressive process throughthe Holy Spirit and the Word in order to become more sanctifiedin the Lord.What I believe the Lord is trying to tell us in these firsttwo verses is that we have already received His sanctification,like we have already received His redemption and righteousnessas a result of being saved and born again. Here are the twoverses:<ol> <li>"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 ..." (1 Corinthians 1:2) </li> <li>"But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption ..." (1 Corinthians 1:30)</li></ol>To think that God the Father has given us a full redemptionand a full pardon for all of our sins - and then to add to thispackage the process of being able to be sanctified through thepower of His Holy Spirit to become the saints that He wants usto become in Him - is enough to knock you right off the couchif you really stop and think what is in these three words:<blockquote> Redemption, Righteousness and Sanctification!</blockquote>And to think that all of this is coming direct from the oneand only Almighty God of the entire universe if we are willingto accept His free gift of eternal salvation through His SonJesus and His sacrificial death on the cross.It really doesn't get any better than this that God andJesus would go to this type of extreme length to bring us backto Themselves - and then allow us to become partakers in thissanctification process where God the Father can then start tomold, shape and transform us into the express image of His SonJesus Christ.<h4>2. Sanctification is a Progressive Process</h4>Now here are the two verses that will show us that becomingsanctified in the Lord is a progressive process. The two keyswords in both of these verses are "beingsanctified."If we were all instantaneously sanctified at the moment ofour conversions with Jesus, then the Bible would not be usingthese two words of "being sanctified." The word"being" is telling us that this is a progressive andongoing process.<ol> <li>"For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren ..." (Hebrews 2:11) </li> <li>"For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14)</li></ol>Again, with God the Father being willing to open up thissanctification process to each born-again believer - this isreally an incredible privilege and the highest of all honorsthat we can receive from the Lord.<h4>3. God is Calling All of Us to Sanctification</h4>As you will see in the next set of verses, God is callingall of us to this sanctification in Him. These verses are allvery direct and straight to the point. The first verse I willlist below is telling us that God wants to sanctify us"completely" in all three parts of our being - body,soul and spirit!When God uses the word "completely" - He is using amaximum intense kind of word. He wants to take us all the wayin this realm if we are willing to yield to it and work withHim during the process.If you really study the wording in all of these verses, youcan really feel the importance that God is placing on thissanctification process - and that this is something that Hewants all of His children to become a part of, not just a fewof His select saints.<ol> <li>"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23) </li> <li>"... but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15) </li> <li>"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God ... For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness." (1 Thessalonians 4:3,7) </li> <li>"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1) </li> <li>"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." (2 Timothy 2:20) </li> <li>"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) </li> <li>"I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness ... What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 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." (Romans 6:19-22)</li></ol>When you first read the way these verses are worded, it isvery easy to become dismayed and distraught. If you are reallyhonest with yourself, you can really feel and sense how far ofa gap there is between where you are at right now with the Lordin your present level of spiritual development and how far Godwould really like to take you in this realm.Many Christians, when they first read these kinds of verses,realize they are simply too far away from this type of holinessin their present state of spiritual development and they thusthrow in the towel - never even attempting to give God achance, through the Holy Spirit, to start this sanctificationprocess through them in this life.This will now lead us into the next section. These next setof verses will tell you exactly how God can get thissanctification process started in your life right in the middleof wherever your present level of spiritual development may bein Him - no matter how bad you think it may be.<h4>4. Sanctification is Done By the Word and the HolySpirit</h4>Study these next set of verses very, very carefully. Tryingto achieve the state of holiness that God the Father would liketo bring us up into is completely impossible if we try to do itthrough our own flesh and through our own efforts.Many Christians are trying to achieve this state of holinesswithout the presence and power of the Holy Spirit helping themout. You can easily spot those who are being properlysanctified through the Holy Spirit and those who are not.The ones who are trying to achieve this sanctification outof their own efforts and out of their own flesh not do notappear to be genuine. Their acts of holiness do not appear tobe coming from the heart. You get the sense they are justtrying to put on a show. There just seems to be something fakeand plastic about them and the way they operate. Even mostnonbelievers can see right through them. There is a sense offalse piety about them that does not seem to ring true.However, with the person who is being properly sanctified bythe Holy Spirit, you can really tell there is somethingdifferent about this type of person. This person does notflaunt his piety, goodness or holiness. They are very humbleabout it. Everything they do comes from the heart andeverything appears to be done very naturally. There is nopretentiousness or sense of false piety in their actions orattitudes.This sense of real holiness they are projecting throughtheir personalities literally has a drawing power to it. Youfind yourself gravitating to these types of people. You canalmost sense or see a radiance or glow about them. The love ofGod just radiates from their countenance. You are verycomfortable in being in their presence and talking with them.You can see that their holiness is genuine and that it reallyis coming from the heart of God Himself.<blockquote> This is why these next set of verses are so specific on how this sanctification process is done in the Lord. Bottom line - sanctification in the Lord is done by the power of the Holy Spirit operating through the knowledge that the Word will give you. In other words - it is the Word and the Spirit working together that will cause this sanctification process to begin and occur in your life. It really is the Holy Spirit that will be the One to cause this type of transformation to occur in your personality. However, the Holy Spirit will not work without the Word. Why? Because the Word of God will give you the knowledge that you will need in order to be really able to work with the Holy Spirit in this process. You have to know exactly what it is that God wants to change about you before the Holy Spirit will move to cause some of these changes to start to take place in your personality.</blockquote>Example - you have to learn from the Bible what some of thespecific qualities are that God will want to impart into yourpersonality. A good example of this are the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://bible-knowledge.com/fruits-of-the-Holy-Spirit.html">9fruits of the Holy Spirit</a>.The Bible will tell you exactly what these nine fruits are.Then once you know exactly what they are - then you can startto work with the Holy Spirit to get more of these fruitsmanifested and imparted into your personality. But if you don'tlearn exactly what these specific fruits are to begin with byreading about them from the Bible - then the Holy Spirit willhave nothing to work with and He thus may not do much with youin this realm.All Christians have the Holy Spirit living on the inside ofthem. The Holy Spirit is only too anxious to get the ballrolling with you in every area of your life where you may needHis help on - especially in the area of being sanctified in theLord. However, many Christians have not spent much time in theWord and they are thus lacking the "working knowledge"they will need to work with the Holy Spirit in this deeperrealm. As a result, there is very little, if any true spiritualgrowth over the course of most of their lives.As you can tell by the way these verses are worded, thissanctification realm is for the real seekers. The real seekerswill be diving into God and His Word to find out exactly whatit is God wants to do with them, and then will only be tooanxious to work with the Holy Spirit during this process -having no fear of doing it, and being willing to fully submitto the Lord with how He wants to handle all of it.These verses in particular are giving you the "key"that will open this door of sanctification to come into yourlife and change it forever.<ol> <li>" ... because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth ... " (2 Thessalonians 2:13) </li> <li>"And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11) </li> <li>"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18) </li> <li>" ... elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace be multiplied." (1 Peter 1:2) </li> <li>"For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:13) </li> <li>"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bible-knowledge.com/sanctification-article.html#" style="text-decoration:underline ! important">wrinkle</a> or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25) </li> <li>"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever ... " (1 Peter 1:22)</li></ol>Notice in the last verse it says that your soul can becomepurified by "obeying the truth through the Spirit." Youcan only get God's truth in you if you read His Word. Learn thetruth by studying the Word, and then combine this with walkingin the power of the Holy Spirit, and then your soul can becomepurified.The verse right above it says that Jesus can cleanse andsanctify His church, which are the individual body ofbelievers, by the "washing of water by the word." Inother words, you can be washed clean by His Word if you arewilling to soak into the Scripture verses like you would soakin a bath or shower water to clean off. The Word of God hasthat kind of power in it!The truth from God can set you free in many areas of yourlife - but you first have to learn what those truths are beforethey can start to work to set you free. And the only way tofind the spiritual truths that will change the quality of yourlife and help set you free is by reading and studying from theBible. There is no other way!<blockquote> The first 5 verses specifically tell us it is by the Holy Spirit Himself that this sanctification process is done in your life. Put all of these verses together, and God the Father is telling you exactly how this sanctification process can be done in this life - and that is by the power of the Holy Spirit operating through the knowledge that the Word will give you. In other words, it's the Word and the Holy Spirit working together in a believer, who is actively seeking after God and His Word, that will get God to release the Holy Spirit to start this transformation and sanctification process within your mind, body, soul and spirit.</blockquote><h3 align="center">Conclusion</h3>Though all of the above may seem like a tall order in thetype of world we live in today - it really isn't. I havepersonally seen God do a sanctifying work in several people Iknow, and the results and changes in these people's personalityhave been dramatic and powerful. They are no longer the peopleI used to know. They are now true saints in every sense of theword.The Holy Spirit is powerful and He is God Almighty Himself.Once You see Him really get a hold of a believer, and thenstart this sanctifying work in them to make them to become moreholy and Christ-like in their souls and personalities - it istruly is an incredible sight to behold! In my opinion, this iseven more miraculous than watching Him heal someone of aphysical ailment or a disease.To those of you who would like to tread into this type ofdeeper waters with the Lord, but are somewhat fearful of whatHe may do with you - the one thing that I can personally tellyou is that you can completely trust God the Father to beginthis work in you. He knows you better than you can ever knowyourself. Since God is totally and completely perfect in Hisvery nature and in His personality - then this means He willknow how to perfectly handle you with this sanctificationprocess.I'll end this article with a very simple 4 step process thatwill lead you into this sanctification realm if you decide youwant to give God a full and solid green light to start thisprocess within you. However, what I can't give you is exactlywhat God will be personally doing with each and everyone of youonce this sanctification process starts up.Everyone is operating at different levels of spiritualdevelopment with the Lord. Some people have more baggage toclean up than others. Some people will be more resistant to theHoly Spirit wanting to remove certain negative qualities thanothers will. Some will progress at a faster rate of speed thanothers will because they will be more honest with the Lord andwill be more open to receiving revelation on exactly what it isGod wants to put in them and exactly what it is He wants totake out of them.This sanctification is a process. It is not something thatwill done overnight. You can trust God to perfectly handle thetime frame in which He wants to operate in. He will notoverwhelm you. He will give you plenty of reasonable time towork with the Holy Spirit once the Holy Spirit starts to impartrevelation and knowledge to you on exactly what it is He wantsto come after.For those of you who would really like to get serious withthe Lord on getting this sanctification process started in yourlife - here is a very simple 4 step process that will get youin if you decide you want to take the plunge.<h4>1. Decide If You Really Want It</h4>The first thing you will need to do is to make a personaldecision as to whether or not you really want to enter intothis sanctification realm with the Lord. Many Christians reallydo not want God to do any type of sanctifying work in theirlives. The reason for this is that they know He will be comingafter some of their vices and character flaws, and they aresimply not willing to give up some of these vices or attempt totry and work with Him to change certain parts of theirpersonalities.So the first thing you will have to do
Sanctification, by A.A. Hodge & B.B. Warfield 1

Nov 27, 08

homepage.mac.com/...aabbsanctif.htm prayresearch
- Sanctificationby A.A.Hodge; revisedby B.B. Warfield The followingshort essay was originally published Originallypublished in Johnson's Cyclopaedia,1896. Theelectronic edition of this article was scanned and edited by ShaneRosenthal for Reformation Ink. It is in the public domainand may be freely copied and distributed.<hr align="left">Sanctification (from Lat. sanctificatio[deriv. of sanctificare, sanctify; sanctus, holy;facere, make], trans. of Gr. agiazein, hallow, make holy,deriv. of agioß, holy) is the work of God's grace by whichthose who believe in Christ are freed from sin and built up inholiness. In Protestant theology it is distinguished from justificationand regeneration, both of which lie at its root, and from neitherof which is it separable in fact; inasmuch as the term justificationis confined to the judicial act or sentence of God, by which thesinner is declared to be entitled, in consideration of what Christhas done in his behalf, to the favor of God, and of which sanctificationis the efficient execution; and the term regeneration is confinedto the initial efficient act by which the new life is imparted,of which sanctification is the progressive development. Both regenerationand justification are momentary acts, and acts of God in whichthe sinner is passive; sanctification, on the other hand, is aprogressive work of God, in which the sinner co-operates.The nature of sanctification,as well as its method and the relation of the divine and humanfactors in its prosecution, is differently conceived by the severaltypes of theology.1. The Pelagian andRationalistic view excludes the action of the Holy Spirit altogether;and makes sanctification to be nothing more than continued rightaction, in the native powers of the free moral agent, by whichhe gradually conquers evil tendencies' and builds up a holy character.2. The Medieval andRoman view refuses to distinguish between justification and sanctification;and makes both justification and sanctification to be the cleansingfrom sin, and the infusion of gracious habits by the Holy Ghostfor Christ's sake by the instrument of baptism, upon which subjectivechange the removal of guilt and the divine favor is conditioned.1 It is therefore held to be progressive,and to be advanced by good works, which possess real merit, anddeserve and secure increase of grace; 2 as well as by penances, prayers,fastings, etc., which satisfy God's justice and purify the soul.3 If the believer dies beforethe process of deliverance from sin is perfected, he must completeit in purgatory, the pains of which are expiatory and purifying;and there he may be assisted by the prayers and masses and dispensingpower of the Church on earth. 4 But it is possible, even beforedeath, for a believer perfectly to conform to all the demandsof God's law as graciously adjusted to this life; 5 and it is even possible, out of love,to perform supererogatory service by obedience to the councilsof Christ, which are advisory but not obligatory until voluntarilyundertaken. These are voluntary poverty, celibacy, and obedienceto monastic rule; and they merit more than the mere salvationof the person, and contribute to the "treasury of merits"at the disposal of the Church, which is imputable at the discretionof those holding the jurisdiction to believers on earth or inpurgatory not yet fully justified. 63. The Mystical viewof sanctification, though never embodied in any church creed,has existed as a doctrine and as a tendency in all ages and amongall Christian denominations. Christian mysticism more or lessdepreciates the dependence of the soul for light upon the objectiverevelation of the word of God, and the necessity of the meansof grace and human effort, and emphasizes spiritual intuition,the regulative value of religious feeling, the physical communionof the soul with the substance of God, conditioned on quiet andpassivity of mind. Such views gained great currency in the Churchthrough the writings of the Pseudo- Dionysius, which were publishedin Greek in the sixth century, and translated into Latin by JohnScotus Erigena in the ninth century. They qualified the teachingof many eminent evangelical Schoolmen, such as Bernard of Clairvaux,Hugo and Richard of St. Victor, and subsequently Thomas a Kempis.They were taught with great influence among the early Protestantsby Schwenckfeld (14901561), Paracelsus (1493-1541), Weigel (1533-1588),and Jacob Bohme (1575-1620); and among the Roman Catholics bySt. Francis of Sales (1567-1622), Molinos (16401697), Madame Guyon(1648-1717), and Archbishop Fenelon (1651-1715). The originalQuakers held similar views, as is seen in the writings of GeorgeFox (d. 1691), William Penn (d. 1718), and Robert Barclay (1648-1690).A mystical conception is present whenever sanctification is conceived,not as the goal of effort, but as an immediate gift to the waitingsoul.4. The evangelical doctrineof sanctification common to the Lutheran and Reformed Churchesincludes the following points: (1) The soul after regenerationcontinues dependent upon the constant gracious operations of theHoly Spirit, but is, through grace, able to co-operate with them.(2) The sanctifying operations of the Spirit are supernatural,and yet effected in connection with and through the instrumentalityof means: the means of sanctification being either internal, suchas faith and the co-operation of the regenerated will with grace,or external, such as the word of God, sacraments, prayer, Christianfellowship, and the providential discipline of our heavenly Father.(3) In this process the Spirit gradually completes the work ofmoral purification commenced in regeneration. The work has twosides: (a) the cleansing of the soul from sin and emancipationfrom its power, and (b) the development of the implanted principleof spiritual life and infused habits of grace, until the subjectcomes to the stature of perfect manhood in Christ. Its effectis spiritually and morally to transform the whole man, intellect,affections, and will, soul, and body. (4) The work proceeds withvarious degrees of thoroughness during life, but is never consummatedin absolute moral perfection until the subject passes into glory.In opposition to thisdoctrine a theory of perfect sanctification in this life has beentaught from several distinct points of view, e.g.:<blockquote> 1. According to the principles of Pelagianism, a man is perfect who obeys the laws of God to the measure of his present natural ability, since the moral law is a sliding scale, adjusting its demands to the varying ability of its subject; and this is possible to every man. 2. According to the Mystical idea, perfection consists in absorption in the divine essence, or, in a less extreme form, in the absorption of human desires and will into the divine will, in a disinterested love; and this may be attained by anyone through persistent detachment from self and meditation on God. 3. According to the Roman or Ritualistic theory, perfection consists in perfect conformity to the law of God, graciously for Christ's sake adjusted to the capacities of the regenerated man in this life; and this perfection is attained by means of meritorious works and penances, prayers, fasts, acts of voluntary self-denial, and ecclesiastical obedience. Not only is this within the reach of men, but so is even the rendering of supererogatory service in the way of extra-legal self-denial from a principle of evangelical love. 4. The Wesleyan theory of perfection conceives that the satisfaction and merit of Christ have made it consistent with divine justice to offer salvation to men on easier terms than the old Adamic law of absolute perfection; and that perfection is attained when these lower terms have been complied with. "Christian character is estimated by the conditions of the gospel; Christian perfection implies the perfect performance of these conditions, and nothing more."7 <blockquote> Notes 1. Council of Trent, sess. 6, can. 7. 2. Council of Trent, sess. 6, can. 32. 3. Council of Trent, sess. 14, ch. viii; sess. 6, cans. 29 and 30. 4. Bellarmin, Purgator., ii. 9. 5. Council of Trent, sess. 6, ch. xvi, can. 25. 6. Bellarmin, De Monachiis, chs. vi and vii. 7. Wesley's tract, Christian Perfection: Methodist Doctrinal Tracts; Dr. George Peck's Christian Doctrine of Perfection.</blockquote></blockquote>
Sanctification byAbraham Kuyper (1837-1920) This article is extra...

Nov 27, 08

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Sanctification

byAbraham Kuyper (1837-1920)

This article is extracted from Kuyper's classic book, The Workof the Holy Spirit (1888; American edition 1900) vol. 3, chapters1-2. The electronic edition of this article was scanned and editedby Shane Rosenthal for Reformation Ink. It is in the publicdomain and may be freely copied and distributed. Original paginationhas been kept for purposes of reference.
ABRAHAM KUYPER, THE WORK OFTHE HOLY SPIRIT, 1900, Page 431

Of Him ye are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."--1 Cor. 1:30.

SANCTIFICATION is one of the most glorious gifts which, by the Covenant of Grace, the Mediator bestows upon the saint. It covers his entire mental, spiritual, and physical nature. We -should, therefore, thoroughly understand it, and learn how to obtain it, and every believer, whatever the measure of his faith, should be fully aware of his attitude toward it; for erroneous views concerning this will surely lead us astray from the living Christ.

It is foolish to think that, although present-day heresies have affected the doctrines of Christ, Sin, and Regeneration, Sanctification is so simple as not to be affected. Yet even ministers fall into this sad delusion. Men of spiritual fervor, they strictly oppose heresies concerning these others, in their catechetical and pulpit instructions, and in their writings, regarding such as fundamental error; but somehow they never realize that the doctrine of sanctification can be imperiled, and they fail to put the Church on guard.

Such imperiling was impossible; and so, indeed, they hardly care to have sanctification distinguished as a dogma at all. "On the contrary," they say, "it is the beauty of sanctification that it is life; hence utterly independent of the mysteries of a dogma. In the life of sanctification believers may be charged with neglect, careless living, slow progress--in brief, with faulty doing and working; for what is sanctification but betterment of self and daily,
ABRAHAM KUYPER, THE WORK OFTHE HOLY SPIRIT, 1900, Page 432

growth in holiness? but never with faulty confessing, with faulty views of the doctrine; for sanctification is not doctrine, but life." In this way they have come to deny it the value and dignity of a dogma or doctrine; to make it almost synonymous with bettering of life; hence to make it the common property of all that try to lead earnest and pious lives.

Then the idea naturally grew that many persons of unsound doctrine might lead more spiritual lives. This supposed fact was even fortified with the word of Jesus, that publicans and harlots go into the Kingdom of God before us; and the congregations often received the impression that rationalism itself might lead to better results than sometimes flow from an orthodox belief. And the result was that this so-called sanctification led to a weakening of the faith, to a considering of purity of doctrine as immaterial; until finally it assumed a hostile attitude toward the mysteries of the truth. This was the natural effort of confounding self-betterment with sanctification, and of opposing life to doctrine as gold to tinsel.

The spread of these false ideas of sanctification has not benefited Christianity in these provinces, but, as in pre-Reformation days, it has led the people astray from its pure doctrine.

Rome once suffered and suffers still from the same evil. Not as though it surrendered or even slighted its doctrine; but, even in the flourishing days of its hierarchy, the necessity of reformation of life was so strongly felt that it resulted in a one-sided urging of sanctification. Its favorite motto was: "Good works." They were of greatest importance: not words, but power; not the confession, but the earnestness and willingness to do good, not merely in secret, but openly so that men could see it! This was carried so far that finally Rome ceased to be satisfied with good works as fruit of conversion, and even began to look upon them as a primary and meritorious cause of salvation; and thus it broke down the mystery of faith by a false preaching of sanctification. As now, unintentionally, by the cry, "Not doctrine, but life," men are driven, as by iron necessity, first to underestimate the value of doctrine, then to disapprove of it, and lastly to pronounce it injurious, yea, even dangerous; so did the cry for good works induce Rome gradually to divorce the mystery of the forgiveness of sin from the cross of Cal. vary, not in the confession, but in the conscience of its members.

For the sake of clearer insight and safer procedure, we must return to the definite teaching that sanctification is a doctrine, an integral
ABRAHAM KUYPER, THE WORK OFTHE HOLY SPIRIT, 1900, Page 433

part of the confession, a mystery, just as much as the doctrine of reconciliation, and therefore a dogma. In fact, in the treatment of sanctification we penetrate the very heart of the confession, the dogma which scintillates in the doctrine of sanctification.

Of course we are not to divorce sanctification from life. No child of God denies that the doctrine has its application in life; there is no truth whose operation is not felt in his life. To him every doctrine is instinct with life, a live coal, a radiating fire, a lamp always burning, a well of living water springing up to eternal life. The content of every doctrine, of every mystery, is something in the living God or in His creature; the confession of a condition, a power, a working, a person who actually exists, who lives, who works. The blood of atonement means, not those particular drops which flowed from the cross, and were lost in the inhospitable ground of Calvary; but a treasure in the living Christ, unceasingly at work in heaven, by which He enriches His children on earth, the glorious power of which they know and experience.

And this is true of every mystery, as our confession of the Holy Trinity shows, which says of this deepest and most incomprehensible dogma: "That God's children know this as well from the testimonies of Holy Writ as from the operations of the divine Persons, and chiefly by those we feel in ourselves" (art. ix.).

And this applies to the doctrine of sanctification as well as to all other doctrines; for it is not, any more than the other dogmas, the confession of a lifeless matter, but the confession of an awful power, which lives and works effectually in us. Hence sanctification must be preached once again as a doctrine; it must be confessed, examined, and studied as a doctrine; to be followed by an appropriate application like the preaching of any other doctrine; and godliness, spiritual life, and good works will be the result. But to obtain this result a clear exposition of the cause and animating power of sanctification is necessary.

When on a cold morning the fire does not bum, and the family suffers, it is foolish to say: "Since the fire does not burn remove it, and get warm without it." To keep from freezing requires more fire; not the fire, but the cause of its failure, must be removed. And this applies to sanctification. There is a general and bitter complaint of the coldness that has fallen upon the Church; and it requires the powerful working of sanctification to save the Church.

But the means employed frequently show poor judgment.
ABRAHAM KUYPER, THE WORK OFTHE HOLY SPIRIT, 1900, Page 434

Formerly the Church confessed a pure doctrine by which it kept close to the source of vital heat which is given us in God's Word; and the powers and workings deposited in the Mediator for the Church radiated in glorious activity. Then the Church flourished and faith celebrated its greatest triumphs. It was severely cold without, but, while the world lay perishing in its cerements, truth filled the Church with light and heat, and the sacred fire of a pure doctrine glowed and sparkled. But the light grew dim, and the fire went out; and the Church of God became dark and cold. And the saints, half frozen and stiff, became deeply conscious of the loss they had suffered, and of the need of light and heat. And now, instead of advising them to light the lamp of truth and rekindle the fire of the confession, that their souls may be revived and comforted, many say: "Dear brethren, there is no salvation in dogma or confession; they are utterly unprofitable; nothing remains but to kindle light and heat in your souls without them." And thus the Church is threatened with death and destruction.

In quiet assurance of the blessing of God, we proceed in the opposite direction, and advise the brethren to fill the lamp of the divine mysteries with oil, to put more fuel upon the fire of the confession; then there shall be light and heat, and the Church shall be saved. This shall be so, provided--and this needs no emphasis--that the doctrine be really confessed. To confess is not merely to say, "There is a comfortable fire in the house," and then to stay out in the cold; but to accept its comfort and benefit for others as well as for ourselves.

The cry, "Not dogma, but life," is folly and unbelief. Let us rather oppose the shallow and unsound teaching of the day. The doctrine should be a faithful expression of the mystery; the mystery should stand clearly before the spiritual eye and illuminate the soul, as it radiates from the living Christ, according to the design of salvation. Instead of turning the people away from the doctrine, we should make them see how little they understand it; how they have trifled with it, and not confessed it; that their soul's welfare requires its earnest study, that so the act of confessing may deepen and enrich their spiritual life. And then let us imagine, not that the fruit of life must still be imported from elsewhere, but that the doctrine, rightly confessed, becomes its own instrument to manifest its power in us.

Thus sanctification should be treated.
ABRAHAM KUYPER, THE WORK OFTHE HOLY SPIRIT, 1900, Page 435

Sanctification is a Mystery.

Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." --2 Cor. 7:1.

SANCTIFICATION belongs to the mysteries of faith; hence it can not be confessed but as a dogma.

By this statement we intend to cut off at once every representation which makes "sanctification" to consist of the human effort to make oneself holy or holier.

To become more holy is undoubtedly the duty which rests upon every man. God has condemned all unholiness as an accursed thing. Inferior holiness can not exist before Him. Every man more or less holy is bound to forsake all unholiness, to resign all lesser holiness, and let perfect holiness dwell and be manifest in him instantly. The commandment, "Be ye holy as I am holy," may not be weakened. The laxity of the current morale requires that God's absolute right to demand absolute holiness of every man be incessantly presented to the conscience, bound as a memorial upon the heart, and proclaimed to all with no uncertain sound.

In the innumerable territories of heaven where God gathers His redeemed, all unholiness is excluded and absolute holiness is the never-failing characteristic. And as it is in heaven, so it ought to be on earth. God, the sovereign Ruler of all the kingdoms of this world, has strictly forbidden the least unholiness in heart or home or any other place on earth under the penalty of death. In fact, there is on earth no unholiness, of whatever name or form, that does not exist in defiance of His express will.

It must be conceded, therefore, that it is His revealed will and commandment that all this unholiness must cease immediately, and be replaced directly by what is holy and good. He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.

It must be equally conceded that it is every man's duty to remove
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unholiness, and to advance the things that are holy. He caused the hurt must also heal it. He that destroyed must also restore the things destroyed. He that desecrated the holy must also reconsecrate it. Men still alive to a sense of justice will not contradict us.

The obligation to resanctify this world's life rests in its deepest sense upon Satan. He instilled into our veins the poison which generates the diseases of our souls. The spark that caused the fire of sinful passions to break out in human nature was kindled by him. That Satan is hopelessly lost and condemned, does not annul God's eternal right. Even Satan himself, according to this right, ought immediately to repent and stand before God holy as in the beginning. And this world of men, which he corrupted, was not his, but belonged to God. He should never have touched it. Hence the obligation continues to rest upon him not only to stop his unholy working in it, but also to reconsecrate perfectly what he has so bitterly and maliciously profaned.

That Satan neither will nor can do this justifies his fearful judgment; but it does not annul God's right and never will. If in Paradise man had unwillingly fallen a victim to Satan, the obligation to resanctify the life of this world would have rested upon Satan, but not upon him. But man fell willingly; sin owes its existence not only to the fatherhood of Satan, but also to the motherhood of man's soul; hence man himself is involved in the guilt and included under the judgment of death, and therefore obliged to restore what he has ruined.

God created man holy, with the power to continue holy; holy also by virtue of the increasing development of the implanted germ. But man ruined God's work in his heart. He soiled the undefiled raiment of holiness. And doing this he violated the right. If he had belonged to himself, if God had allowed him to do with himself as he pleased, the right would not have been violated. But He did not give man to himself; He retained him for Himself as His own property. The hand that ruined and desecrated man destroyed God's property, encroached upon the divine right of sovereignty--yea, upon His very right of ownership, and thus became liable (1) to the penalty for this encroachment, and (2) to the obligation of restoring the ruined property to its original state.

Hence the undeniable and positive obligation of man's self. sanctification. This obligation rests, not upon God, nor upon the
ABRAHAM KUYPER, THE WORK OFTHE HOLY SPIRIT, 1900, Page 437

Mediator, but upon man and Satan. The prayer, "Lord, sanctify me," upon the lips of the unconverted, not under the Covenant of Grace, is most unbecoming. First wilfully to destroy God's property, and then to take the ruined thing to Him demanding that He heal and restore it, antagonizes the right and reverses the ordinances. Nay, outside of the mysteries of the Covenant of Grace, under the obligations of simple justice, we are not to ask: "Lord, sanctify Thou us," but God is to enforce His righteous claim: Sanctify thyself."

Sanctify thyself does not mean that man should fulfill the law. The keeping of the law and sanctification are two entirely different things. Let the sinner first be sanctified, and then he shall also fulfill the law. First sanctification, then fulfillment of the law.

It is like a harp with broken strings. The harp was made to produce music by the harmonious vibration of the strings. But the production of music is not the mending of the harp. The broken strings must be replaced, the new strings must be tuned, and then is it possible to strike the melodious chords. The human heart is like that harp: God created it pure that we might keep the law; which an impure heart can not do. Hence being profaned and unholy, it must be sanctified; then it will be able to fulfil the law.

For the sake of clearness, two acknowledged facts should be noticed:

First, if man had never been profaned by sin, it would never have entered his mind to sanctify himself; and yet the law would have been fulfilled without disturbance. This shows that sanctification and fulfillment of the law are two entirely different things.

Second, sanctification continues until a man dies and enters heaven. Then he is holy. Hence there is no sanctification in heaven. Yet the only occupation of the saints in heaven is the doing of that which is good. Hence sanctification is a matter by itself; it does not consist in the doing of good works, but must be an accomplished fact before a single good work can be done.

Since man profaned himself, he is called of God to resanctify himself. Hence the claim of sanctification contains not even the shadow of a mystery. It has nothing to do with the mysteries, therefore is no dogma. It is the simplest and most natural verdict of God's right in the conscience. That we speak of unholiness implies that we are convinced that we ought to be holy.
ABRAHAM KUYPER, THE WORK OFTHE HOLY SPIRIT, 1900, Page 438

Is there contradiction, then, when we say, first, that sanctification itself is a mystery, and can be confessed only in the dogma; second that the demand of sanctification has nothing to do with the dogma?

Not in the least. Sinners of whom God demands that they sanctify themselves are, individually and collectively, totally unable to satisfy that demand. To a certain extent they can withdraw from sin and worldliness, and often have done so. Many unconverted men have done many praiseworthy works. In many cases lives have been reformed, the whole tone of existence has been improved from mere impulse, without a trace of real conversion. And, conceiving sanctification to consist in the doing of less evil and of more good, and that from an improved motive, it was thought that unholy man, though unable to satisfy this divine claim perfectly, might satisfy it to some extent. But all this has nothing in common with sanctification, and can be accomplished wholly without it. With all his self-betterment he can not effect the least part of it; though told a thousand times to sanctify himself, he is both unwilling and unable.

Hence the question: How, then, is sanctification to be accomplished? And since the question never received an answer from any of the sages, but only from God in His Word, therefore not the demand, but the means, of sanctification is for us incomprehensible and mysterious. Hence the character of sanctification must be emphasized as a mystery.

And what is the reason for denying that sanctification is a mystery, ie., the content of a dogma? The supposition that it is of human origin, that man is not totally unable, and that sanctification is betterment of character and life. Hence it is tantamount to (1) a lowering of holiness to the human standpoint; (2) an opposing sanctification as a work of God. And this is a very serious matter. We should again become clearly conscious of the fact that the holiness without which no man shall see God is not attained by the departing from some evil and the habitual doing of some good.

The demand of sanctification belongs to the Covenant of Works; sanctification itself to the Covenant of Grace. This makes the difference very obvious. Not as though the Covenant of Works commanded man to sanctify himself; given to holy men, it excluded sanctification. But God gave the Covenant of Grace to unholy
ABRAHAM KUYPER, THE WORK OFTHE HOLY SPIRIT, 1900, Page 439

men. And the only connection between the demand for sanctification and the Covenant of Works is, that the latter ever pursues fallen man with this demand, and with the terror of Horeb. Unholiness destroys the foundation of the Covenant of Works and renders compliance with its conditions impossible. Hence the absolute contradiction between it and the sinner's personal life. The one must make room for the other; they can not stand together.

In this painful conflict we are often tempted to ask whether God is not unjust in His law to demand of us the impossible, and to lay the blame on Him; for did He not make us so? And from this difficulty the Arminian in our own heart seeks to escape, either by denying that there ever was a Covenant of Works, or by substituting the fulfillment of the law for sanctification.

Wherefore it is our aim, especially regarding this doctrine, to escape from this harmful confusion of ideas, and to arrive at a correct understanding and purity of expression. The preaching must not add to the chaos, but lead us to clear insight and understanding.

Instead of sweetly cradling ourselves upon the Word, we must earnestly endeavor to understand it. In city and country church the Word must be preached persistently, and with ever-increasing purity, until, convicted of personal unholiness, men begin to see that by absolute sanctification, not mere self-betterment, they must restore unto God His right; until, feeling their inability, with broken hearts they turn to God to receive the Mystery of Sanctification from the treasures of the Covenant of Grace.

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sanctification definition | Dictionary.com 1

Nov 27, 08

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- sanctification - 5 dictionary results
 
 sanc⋅ti⋅fy
 
 –verb (used with object), -fied, -fy⋅ing.
 
 1. to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.
 
 2. to purify or free from sin: Sanctify your hearts.
 
 3. to impart religious sanction to; render legitimate or binding: to sanctify a vow.
 
 4. to entitle to reverence or respect.
 
 5. to make productive of or conducive to spiritual blessing.
 
 Origin:
 1350–1400; < LL sānctificāre (see Sanctus, -ify ); r. ME seintefien < OF saintifier < L, as above
 
 Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
 Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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 sanc·ti·fy
 
 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
 Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
 Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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 sanctification
 
 noun
 a religious ceremony in which something is made holy
 
 WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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 Sanctification
 Sanc`ti*fi*ca"tion\, n. [L. sanctificatio: cf. F. sanctification.]
 1. The act of sanctifying or making holy; the state of being sanctified or made holy; esp. (Theol.), the act of God's grace by which the affections of men are purified, or alienated from sin and the world, and exalted to a supreme love to God; also, the state of being thus purified or sanctified.
 God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. --2 Thess. ii. 13.
 2. The act of consecrating, or of setting apart for a sacred purpose; consecration. --Bp. Burnet.
 
 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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 Sanctification
 
 involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man (Rom. 6:13; 2 Cor. 4:6; Col. 3:10; 1 John 4:7; 1 Cor. 6:19). It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13). Faith is instrumental in securing sanctification, inasmuch as it (1) secures union to Christ (Gal. 2:20), and (2) brings the believer into living contact with the truth, whereby he is led to yield obedience "to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come." Perfect sanctification is not attainable in this life (1 Kings 8:46; Prov. 20:9; Eccl. 7:20; James 3:2; 1 John 1:8). See Paul's account of himself in Rom. 7:14-25; Phil. 3:12-14; and 1 Tim. 1:15; also the confessions of David (Ps. 19:12, 13; 51), of Moses (90:8), of Job (42:5, 6), and of Daniel (9:3-20). "The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, self-abhorring, and the more sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ. The moral imperfections which cling to him he feels to be sins, which he laments and strives to overcome. Believers find that their life is a constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm, and watch while they pray. They are always subject to the constant chastisement of their Father's loving hand, which can only be designed to correct their imperfections and to confirm their graces. And it has been notoriously the fact that the best Christians have been those who have been the least prone to claim the attainment of perfection for themselves.", Hodge's Outlines.
 
 Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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What is sanctification? What is the definition of Christian sanctification? ...

Nov 27, 08

prayresearch

What is sanctification? What is the definition of Christian sanctification?

Question: "What is sanctification? What is the definition of Christian sanctification?"

Answer: Jesus had a lot to say about sanctification in the Book of John, chapter 17. In verse 16 the Lord says, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world,” and this is before His request: “Sanctify them in the truth: Thy word is truth.” Sanctification is a state of separation unto God; all believers enter into this state when they are born of God: “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). This is a once-for-ever separation, eternally unto God. It is an intricate part of our salvation, our connection with Christ (Hebrews 10:10).

Sanctification also refers to the practical experience of this separation unto God, being the effect of obedience to the Word of God in one’s life, and is to be pursued by the believer earnestly (1 Peter 1:15; Hebrews 12:14). Just as the Lord prayed in John 17, it has in view the setting apart of believers for the purpose for which they are sent into the world: “As Thou didst send Me into the world, even so send I them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth” (v. 18, 19). That He set Himself apart for the purpose for which He was sent is both the basis and the condition of our being set apart for that for which we are sent (John 10:36). His sanctification is the pattern of, and the power for, ours. The sending and the sanctifying are inseparable. On this account they are called saints, hagioi in the Greek; “sanctified ones.” Whereas previously their behavior bore witness to their standing in the world in separation from God, now their behavior should bear witness to their standing before God in separation from the world.

There is one more sense that the word sanctification is referred to in Scripture. Paul prayed in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “The God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul also wrote in Colossians of “the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel” (Colossians 1:5). He later speaks of Christ Himself as “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27) and then mentions the fact of that hope when he says, “When Christ, who is our Life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with Him be manifested in glory” (Colossians 3:4). This glorified state will be our ultimate separation from sin, total sanctification in every aspect. “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

To summarize, sanctification is the same Greek word as holiness, “hagios,” meaning a separation. First, a once-for-all positional separation unto Christ at our salvation. Second, a practical progressive holiness in a believer’s life while awaiting the return of Christ. Third, we will be changed into His perfect likeness—holy, sanctified, and completely separated from the presence of evil.

Recommended Resource: So Great Salvation by Charles Ryrie.

http://www.gotquestions.org/sanctification.html
Justification and Sanctification: What is the Difference? ...

Nov 27, 08

justification sanctification prayresearch

Justification and Sanctification: What is the Difference?

     Understanding the difference between justification and sanctification can be as important as understanding the difference between salvation and damnation. Rightly dividing between the two is of crucial importance. When you understand what they are, you can then draw a line in the sand and say, "This is what saves. This is not what saves."
     Justification is the work of God where the righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to the sinner so the sinner is declared by God as being righteous under the Law (Rom. 4:3; 5:1,9; Gal. 2:16; 3:11). This righteousness is not earned or retained by any effort of the saved. Justification is an instantaneous occurrence with the result being eternal life. It is based completely and solely upon Jesus' sacrifice on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24) and is received by faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9). No works are necessary whatsoever to obtain justification. Otherwise, it is not a gift (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, we are justified by faith (Romans 5:1).
     Sanctification, on the other hand, involves the work of the person. But it is still God working in the believer to produce more of a godly character and life in the person who has already been justified (Phil. 2:13). Sanctification is not instantaneous because it is not the work of God alone. The justified person is actively involved in submitting to God's will, resisting sin, seeking holiness, and working to be more godly (Gal. 5:22-23). Significantly, sanctification has no bearing on justification. That is, even if we don't live a perfect life, we are still justified.
     Where justification is a legal declaration that is instantaneous, sanctification is a process. Where justification comes from outside of us, from God, sanctification comes from God within us by the work of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the Bible. In other words, we contribute to sanctification through our efforts. In contrast, we do not contribute to our justification through our efforts.

Does this mean that those justified by grace can sin as much as they want?

     Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in it?"
     1 Thess. 4:7 says, "God has called us not for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification."
     The Scriptures teach us that we are to live holy lives and avoid sin (Col. 1:5-11). Just because we are saved and eternally justified before God (John 10:28), that is no excuse to continue in the sin from which we were saved. Of course, we all sin (1 John 1:8). But the war between the saved and his sin is continuous (Rom. 7:14-20) and it won't be until the return of Jesus that we will be delivered from this body of death (Rom. 7:24). To continually seek sin and use God's grace to excuse it later is to trample the blood of Christ underfoot (Heb. 10:29) and to reveal the person's true sinful, unsaved nature (1 John 2:4; 2:19). (Other verses worth checking out are: Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:14-16; and 1 Pet. 2:21-22.)

What the cults do with justification and sanctification

     The cults consistently blur the meanings of the two terms and misapply the truths taught in God's word. The result is a theology of works righteousness, of earning their salvation which only leads to damnation. This is because by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified (Gal. 2:16). Man cannot contribute to his salvation (Gal. 5:1-8). Because man is sinful even his best deeds are stained and filthy before God (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, making a person right before God can only be God's work (Gal. 2:20).
     Typically, in cult theologies, a person is not justified (declared righteous in God's eyes) until the final day of judgment when his works are weighed and a reward is given or he is found worthy of his place with God. Thus, a person with this errant theology can not claim 1 John 5:13 as their own which says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God."
      Contextually, "These things" refers to loving God, being obedient to Him, belief in Christ, and eternal life in Jesus. Therefore, 1 John 5:13 can be considered a test. If you are believing and doing the right things, then you will know if you have eternal life. Can a cultist know he has eternal life? No. He cannot. But a Christian can.
     People in cults don't understand the difference between justification and sanctification. Therefore, they must depend upon a cooperative effort with God to have their sins forgiven which is, essentially, combining the filthy works of man (Isaiah 64:6) with the holy work of God. They don't mix. They can't. Hence, salvation is by grace through faith, alone. To believe anything else is to miss salvation.

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SANCTIFICATION 1

Nov 27, 08

www.gracegems.org/...sanctification.htm sanctification prayresearch
- <table cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="0" dir="ltr"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><blockquote> <blockquote> SANCTIFICATION by Thomas Watson "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification." 1 Thessalonians 4:3 The word sanctification signifies to consecrate and set apart to a holy use: thus they are sanctified people who are separated from the world, and set apart for God's service. Sanctification has a privative and a positive part. I. A privative part, which lies in the purging out of sin. Sin is compared to leaven, which sours; and to leprosy, which defiles. Sanctification purges out "the old leaven." Though it does not take away the life of sin—yet it takes away the love of sin. II. A positive part, which is the spiritual refining of the soul; which in Scripture is called a "renewing of our mind," and a "partaking of the divine nature." The priests in the law were not only washed in the great laver—but adorned with glorious apparel. Exodus 28:2. Just so, sanctification not only washes from sin—but adorns with purity. What is the NATURE of sanctification? It is a principle of grace savingly wrought, whereby the heart becomes holy, and is made after God's own heart. A sanctified person bears not only God's name—but his image. In opening the nature of sanctification, I shall lay down these seven positions: (1.) Sanctification is a SUPERNATURAL thing; it is divinely infused. We are naturally polluted, and to cleanse, God takes to be his prerogative. "I am the Lord, who sanctifies you." Weeds grow by themselves. Flowers must be planted and cultivated. Sanctification is a flower of the Spirit's planting, therefore it is called, "The sanctification of the Spirit." 1 Pet 1:2. (2.) Sanctification is an INTERNAL thing; it lies chiefly in the heart. It is called "the adorning the hidden man of the heart." 1 Pet 3:4. The dew wets the leaf—but the sap is hidden in the root. Just so, the religion of some consists only in externals—but sanctification is deeply rooted in the soul. "In the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom." Psalm 51:6. (3.) Sanctification is an EXTENSIVE thing: it spreads into the whole man. "May the God of peace sanctify you wholly." As original corruption has depraved all the faculties—"the whole head is sick, the whole heart faint," no part sound, as if the whole volume of blood were corrupted; just so, sanctification goes over the whole soul. After the fall, there was ignorance in the mind; but in sanctification, we are "light in the Lord." After the fall, the will was depraved; there was not only impotence to good—but obstinacy. In sanctification, there is a blessed pliableness in the will, with the will of God. After the fall, the affections were misplaced on wrong objects; in sanctification, they are turned into a sweet order and harmony—the grief placed on sin, the love on God, the joy on heaven. Thus sanctification spreads itself as far as original corruption; it goes over the whole soul. "May God of peace sanctify you wholly." He is not a sanctified person who is good only in some part—but who is all over sanctified; therefore, in Scripture, grace is called a "new man," not a new eye or a new tongue—but a "new man." Col 3:10. A good Christian, though he is sanctified but in part—yet in every part. (4.) Sanctification is an intense and ARDENT thing. Its properties burn within the believer. "Fervent in spirit." Rom 12:2. Sanctification is not a dead form—but it is inflamed into zeal. We call water hot, when it is so in the third or fourth degree. Just so, he is holy whose true religion is heated to some degree, and his heart boils over in love to God. (5.) Sanctification is a BEAUTIFUL thing. It makes God and angels fall in love with us. "The beauties of holiness." Psalm 110:3. As the sun is to the world, so is sanctification to the soul, beautifying and bespangling it in God's eyes. That which makes God glorious must needs make us so. Holiness is the most sparkling jewel in the Godhead. "Glorious in holiness." Sanctification is the first fruit of the Spirit; it is heaven begun in the soul. Sanctification and glory differ only in degree. Sanctification is glory in the seed; and glory is sanctification in the flower. Holiness is the quintessence of happiness. (6.) Sanctification is an ABIDING thing. "His seed remains in him." He who is truly sanctified, cannot fall from that state. Indeed, mere seeming holiness may be lost—colors may wash off. Sanctification may suffer an eclipse. "You have left your first love." True sanctification is a blossom of eternity. "The anointing which you have received, abides in you." He who is truly sanctified can no more fall away, than the angels which are fixed in their heavenly orbs. (7.) Sanctification is a PROGRESSIVE thing. It is growing; it is compared to seed which grows: first the blade springs up, then the ear, then the ripe corn in the ear. Such as are already sanctified may be more sanctified. Justification does not admit of degrees; a believer cannot be more elected or justified than he is—but he may be more sanctified than he is. Sanctification is still increasing, like the morning sun, which grows brighter to the full meridian. Knowledge is said to increase, and faith to increase. Col 1:10; 2 Cor 10:5. A Christian is continually adding an inch to his spiritual stature. It is not with us as it was with Christ, who received the Spirit without measure; for Christ could not be more holy than he was. We have the Spirit only in measure, and may be still augmenting our grace; as Apelles, when he had drawn a picture, would be still mending it with his pencil. The image of God is drawn but imperfectly in us, therefore we must be still mending it, and drawing it in more lively colors. Sanctification is progressive; if it does not grow—it is because it does not live. Thus you see the nature of sanctification. What are the COUNTERFEITS of sanctification? There are things which look like sanctification—but are not. (1.) The first counterfeit of sanctification is MORAL VIRTUE. To be just, to be temperate, to have a kind demeanor; not to have one's escutcheon blotted with ignominious scandal, is good—but not enough; it is not sanctification. A field-flower differs from a garden-flower. Many heathen have attained to morality; as Cato, Socrates, and Aristides have. Civility is but nature refined; there is nothing of Christ there, and the heart may be foul and impure. Under these beautiful leaves of civility the worm of unbelief may be hidden! A moral person has a secret antipathy against grace: he hates vice, and he hates grace as much as vice. The snake has a beautiful color—but a sting. A person adorned and cultivated with moral virtue, has a secret spleen against sanctity. The Stoics who were the chief of the moralized heathens, were the bitterest enemies Paul had. Acts 17:18. (2.) The second counterfeit of sanctification is SUPERSTITIOUS DEVOTION. This abounds in Popery; adorations, images, altars, vestments, and holy water—are far from sanctification. This religious frenzy does not put any intrinsic goodness into a man, it does not make a man better. If the legal purifications and washings, which were of God's own appointing, did not make those who used them more holy; and the priests, who wore holy garments, and had holy oil poured on them—were not more holy without the anointing of the Spirit; then surely those superstitious innovations in religion, which God never appointed, cannot contribute any holiness to men. A superstitious holiness costs no great labor; there is nothing of the heart in it. If to count over a few beads, or bow to an idol, or sprinkle themselves with holy water were sanctification, and all that is required of those who should be saved—then hell would be empty, none would go there! (3.) The third counterfeit of sanctification is HYPOCRISY; when men make a pretense of that holiness which they have not. As a comet may shine like a star—a luster may shine from their profession, which dazzles the eyes of the beholders. "Having a form of godliness—but denying the power." These are lamps without oil; whited sepulchers, like the Egyptian temples, which had beautiful outsides—but within were filled with spiders and vermin. The apostle speaks of true holiness, Eph 4:24; implying that there is holiness which is spurious and sham. "You have a name to live—but are dead;" like pictures and statues which are destitute of a vital principle. "Clouds without water." They pretend to be full of the Spirit—but are empty clouds. This show of sanctification is a self-delusion. He who takes copper instead of gold, wrongs himself; the most counterfeit professor deceives others while he lives—but deceives himself when he dies! To pretend to holiness when there is none, is a vain thing. What were the foolish virgins the better, for their fine lamps, when they lacked oil? What is the lamp of profession, without the oil of saving grace? What comfort will a show of holiness yield at last? Will painted gold enrich? Will painted wine refresh him who is thirsty? Will painted holiness be a cordial at the hour of death? A pretense of sanctification is not to be rested in. Many ships, that have had the name of 'the Hope', 'the Safeguard', 'the Triumph', have been dashed and destroyed upon rocks. Just so, many who have had the name of saints—have been cast into hell. (4.) The fourth counterfeit of sanctification is RESTRAINING grace—when men forbear vice, though they do not hate it. This may be the sinner's motto, "Gladly I would—but I dare not." The dog has a mind to the bone—but is afraid of the cudgel. Just so, men have a mind to lust—but conscience stands as the angel, with a flaming sword, and affrights them. They have a mind to revenge—but the fear of hell is a curb-bit to check them. There is no change of heart; sin is curbed—but not cured. A lion may be in chains—but is a lion still. (5.) The fifth counterfeit of sanctification is COMMON grace—which is a slight, transient work of the Spirit—but does not amount to conversion. There is some light in the judgement—but it is not humbling. There are some checks in the conscience—but they are not awakening. This looks like sanctification—but is not. Men have convictions wrought in them—but they break loose from them again, like the deer, which, being shot, shakes out the arrow. After conviction, men go into the house of mirth, and take the harp to drive away the spirit of sadness—and so all dies and comes to nothing. Wherein appears the NECESSITY of sanctification? In six things: (1.) God has called us to it. "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3. We are called to goodness, as well as glory. "God has not called us to uncleanness—but unto holiness." We have no call to sin; we may have a temptation—but no call to sin; no call to be proud, or unclean; but we have a call to be holy. (2.) Without sanctification, there is no evidencing our justification. Justification and sanctification go together. "But you are sanctified—but you are justified." "Pardoning iniquity," Micah 7:18; there is justification. "He will subdue our iniquities," 5:19; there is sanctification. "Out of Christ's side came blood and water;" blood for justification; water for sanctification. Such as have not the water out of Christ's side to cleanse them, shall never have the blood out of his side to save them. (3.) Without sanctification we have no title to the new covenant. The covenant of grace is our charter for heaven. The condition of the covenant is, "That God will be our God." But who are savingly interested in the covenant, and may plead the benefit of it? Sanctified people only. "A new heart will I give you, and I will put my Spirit within you, and I will be your God." If a man makes a will, none but such people as are named in the will, can lay claim to the will. Just so, God makes a will and testament—but it is limited to such as are sanctified; and it is high presumption for anyone else to lay claim to the will. (4.) There is no going to heaven without sanctification. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." God is a holy God, and he will allow no unholy creature to come near him. A king will not allow a man with plague-sores to approach into his presence. Heaven is not like Noah's ark—where the clean beasts and the unclean entered. No unclean beasts come into the heavenly ark; for though God allows the wicked to live awhile on the earth, he will never allow heaven to be pestered with such vermin! Are they fit to see God—who wallow in wickedness? Will God ever lay such vipers in his bosom? "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." It must be a clear eye that sees a bright object: only a holy heart can see God in his glory. Sinners may see God as an enemy—but not as a friend! They will have an affrighting vision of him—but not a beatific vision! They will see the flaming sword—but not the mercy-seat! Oh then, what need is there of sanctification! (5.) Without sanctification all our holy things are defiled. "Unto those who are defiled, is nothing pure." Under the law, "If one of you is carrying a holy sacrifice in his robes and happens to brush against some bread or stew, wine or oil, or any other kind of food—will it also become holy?" No, the holy sacrifice would not purify the other things—but it would be polluted by those things. Hag 2:12, 13. This is an emblem of a sinner's polluting his holy offering. A foul stomach turns the best food into ill humours. Just so, an unsanctified heart pollutes prayers, alms, and sacraments. This evinces the necessity of sanctification. Sanctification makes our holy things accepted. A holy heart is the altar, which sanctifies the offering; if not to our satisfaction, yet to God's acceptance. (6.) Without sanctification we can show no sign of our election. 2 Thess 2:13. Election is the cause of our salvation, sanctification is our evidence. Sanctification is the ear-mark of Christ's elect sheep. What are the SIGNS of sanctification? First, such as are sanctified, can remember a time when they were unsanctified. "Once we too were foolish and disobedient. We were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy. We hated others, and they hated us. But then God our Savior showed us his kindness and love. He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit." Titus 3:3-5. We were in our blood, and then God washed us with water, and anointed us with oil. Ezek 16:9. Those trees of righteousness which blossom and bear almonds, can remember when they were like Aaron's dry rod—not one blossom of holiness growing. A sanctified soul can remember when it was estranged from God through ignorance and vanity—and when free grace planted this flower of holiness in it. A second sign of sanctification is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. "The Holy Spirit which dwells in us." An unclean spirit dwells in the wicked and carries them to pride, lust, revenge; the devil enters into these swine! But the Spirit of God dwells in the elect, as their guide and comforter. The Spirit possesses the saints. God's Spirit sanctifies the imagination, causing it to mint holy thoughts; and sanctifies the will by putting a new bias upon it, whereby it is inclined to godliness. He who is sanctified, has the influence of the Spirit, though not the essence of the Spirit. A third sign of sanctification is an antipathy against sin. "I hate every wrong path." Psalm 119:104. A hypocrite may leave sin—yet love it; as a serpent casts its coat—but keeps its sting! But a sanctified person can say he not only leaves sin—but loathes it. In a sanctified soul, there is a holy antipathy against sin; and antipathies can never be reconciled. Because a man has an antipathy against sin—he cannot but oppose it, and seek the destruction of it. A fourth sign of sanctification is the spiritual performance of duties, with the heart, and from a principle of love. The sanctified soul prays out of a love to prayer. A man may have gifts to admiration; he may speak as an angel dropped out of heaven—yet he may be carnal in spiritual things; his services may not come from a renewed principle, nor be carried upon the wings of delight in duty. A sanctified soul worships God in the Spirit. "You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5. God judges not of our duties by their length—but by the love from which they spring. A fifth sign is a holy life. "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." 1 Peter 1:15. Where the heart is sanctified, the life will be holy. The temple had gold without, as well as within. A coin has the king's image and superscription stamped on it. Just so, where there is sanctification, there is not only God's image in the heart—but a superscription of holiness written in the life. Some say they have good hearts—but their lives are wicked. "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness." If the water is foul in the bucket, it cannot be clean in the well. "The king's daughter is all glorious within." Psalm 45:13. There is holiness of heart. "Her clothing is of wrought gold." There is holiness of life. Grace is most beautiful, when its light so shines that others may see it; this adorns true religion, and makes proselytes to the faith. A sixth sign is steadfast resolution. He is resolved never to part with his holiness. Let others reproach it—he loves it the more. Let water be sprinkled on the fire—it burns the more. He says, as David, when Michal reproached him for dancing before the ark, "If this is to be vile—I will yet be more vile!" Let others persecute him for his holiness, he says as Paul, "None of these things move me!" He prefers sanctity before safety; and had rather keep his conscience pure than his skin whole. He says as Job, "My integrity I will hold fast, and not let it go!" He will rather part with his life, than his conscience. Use one: The main thing a Christian should look after, is sanctification. This is "the one thing needful." Sanctification gives us a pure complexion, it makes us as the heavens, bespangled with stars. Sanctification is our nobility, by it we are born of God, and partake of the divine nature. Sanctification is our riches, therefore compared to rows of jewels, and chains of gold. Canticles 1:10. Sanctification is our best certificate for heaven. What evidence have we else to show? Have we knowledge? So has the devil. Do we profess religion? Satan often appears in Samuel's mantle, and transforms himself into an angel of light. But our certificate for heaven is sanctification. Sanctification is the first fruits of the Spirit; the only coin that will pass current in the other world. Sanctification is the evidence of God's love. We cannot know God's saving love by his giving us health, riches, or success; but only by the drawing his image of sanctification on us, by the pencil of the Holy Spirit—it is known. Oh the misery of such as are destitute of a principle of sanctification! They are spiritually dead. Eph 2:1. Though they breathe—yet they do not live. The greatest part of the world remains unsanctified. "The world lies in wickedness." That is, the major part of the world. Many call themselves Christians—but blot out the word 'saints'. You may as well call him a man—who lacks reason; as him a Christian—who lacks grace. Some are buoyed up to such a height of wickedness, that they hate and deride sanctification. They hate it. It is bad to lack holiness—it is worse to hate it. They embrace the form of religion—but hate the power. As the vulture hates sweet smells—so they hate the the perfume of holiness. They say in derision, 'These are your holy ones!' To deride sanctification argues a high degree of atheism, and is a black brand of reprobation. Scoffing Ishmael was cast out of Abraham's family; and such as scoff at holiness shall be cast out of heaven! Use two: Above all things pursue after sanctification. Seek grace more than gold. "Keep her, for she is your life!" What are the chief INDUCEMENTS to sanctification? (1.) It is the will of God that we should be holy. "This is the will of God—your sanctification." As God's Word must be the rule, so his will must be the reason of our actions. This is the will of God—our sanctification. Perhaps it is not the will of God we should be rich—but it is his will that we should be holy. God's will is our warrant. (2.) Jesus Christ has died for our sanctification. Christ shed his blood to wash off our impurity. The cross was both an altar and a laver. "Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:13-14. If we could be saved without holiness, Christ needed not have died. Christ died, not only to save us from wrath—but from sin! (3.) Sanctification makes us resemble God. It was Adam's sin—that he aspired to be like God in omniscience; but we must endeavor to be like him in sanctity. It is a clear glass—in which we can see a face; it is a holy heart—in which something of God can be seen. Nothing of God can be seen in an unsanctified man—but you may see Satan's picture in him. Envy is the devil's eye, hypocrisy his cloven foot; but nothing of God's image can be seen in him. "Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written--Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:15-16. (4.) Sanctification is that which God bears a great love to. God is not drawn to any person's outward beauty, great abilities, noble blood, or worldly grandeur. But he is drawn to a heart embellished with holiness! Christ never admired anything but the beauty of holiness. He slighted the glorious buildings of the temple—but admired the woman's faith, and said, "O woman, great is your faith." As a king delights to see his image upon a piece of coin; so where God sees his likeness—he gives his love. The Lord has two heavens to dwell in—and the holy heart is one of them! (5.) Sanctification is the only thing which makes us differ from the wicked. God's people have his seal upon them. "The foundation of God stands sure, having this seal—The Lord knows those who are his. And, Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." 2 Tim 2:19. The godly are sealed with a double seal—a seal of election, "The Lord knows who are his;" and a seal of sanctification, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." This is the name by which God's people are known, "The people of your holiness." Isa 63:18. As chastity distinguishes a virtuous woman from a harlot, so sanctification distinguishes God's people from others. "You have received an anointing from the Holy One." I John 2:20. (6.) It is as great a shame to have the name of a Christian—yet lack sanctity—as to have the name of a steward and lack fidelity; or the name of a virgin, and lack chastity. It exposes true religion to reproach—to be baptized into the name of Christ while unholy, and to have eyes full of tears on a sabbath, and on a week-day eyes full of adultery! To be so devout at the Lord's table, as if they were stepping into heaven; and so profane the day after, as if they came out of hell! To have the name of 'Christian' while living unholy, is a scandal to true religion, and makes the ways of God to be evil spoken of. (7.) Sanctification fits for heaven. "Who has called us to glory and virtue." Glory is the throne, and sanctification is the step by which we ascend to it. As you first cleanse the vessel, and then pour in the wine; just so, God first cleanses us by sanctification, and then pours in the wine of glory. Solomon was first anointed with oil, and then was a king. First God anoints us with the holy oil of his Spirit, and then sets the crown of happiness upon our head. Pureness of heart and seeing God are linked together. Matt 5:8. How may sanctification be ATTAINED? (1.) Be conversant in the word of God. "Sanctify them through your truth." John 17:17. The Word is both a mirror to show us the spots of our soul, and a laver to wash them away. The Word has a transforming virtue in it; it irradiates the mind, and consecrates the heart. (2.) Get faith in Christ's blood. "Having purified their hearts by faith." She in the gospel, who touched the hem of Christ's garment, was healed. A touch of faith purifies! Nothing can have a greater force upon the heart, to sanctify it, than faith. If I believe Christ and his merits are mine—how can I sin against him? Justifying faith does that in a spiritual sense, which miraculous faith does—it removes mountains, the mountains of pride, lust, envy. True faith, and the love of sin, are inconsistent. (3.) Breathe after the Spirit. "The sanctification of the Spirit." The Spirit sanctifies the heart, as the storm purifies the air, and as fire refines metals. The Spirit at work, generates his own likeness. The Spirit stamps the impression of its own sanctity upon the heart, as the seal prints its likeness upon the wax. The Spirit of God in a man perfumes him with holiness, and makes his heart a picture of heaven. (4.) Associate with sanctified people. They may, by their counsel, prayers, and holy example, be a means to make you holy. As the communion of saints is in our creed, so it should be our company. "He who walks with the wise shall be wise." Association begets assimilation. (5.) Pray for sanctification. Job propounds a question. "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" God can do it! Out of an unholy heart—he can produce grace! Oh! make David's prayer your own, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." Lay your heart before the Lord, and say, "Lord, my unsanctified heart pollutes all it touches. I am not fit to live with such a heart, for I cannot honor you; nor die with such a heart, for I cannot see you. Oh create in me a new heart! Lord, consecrate my heart, and make it your temple, and your praises shall be sung there forever!" Use three: Has God brought a clean thing out of an unclean? Has he sanctified you? Wear this jewel of sanctification with THANKFULNESS. "Always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people, who live in the light." Colossians 1:12. Christian, you could defile yourself—but you could not sanctify yourself. But God has done it—he has not only chained up sin—but changed your nature—and made you as a king's daughter—all glorious within! He has put upon you the breastplate of holiness, which, though it may be shot at, can never be shot through. Are there any here who are sanctified? God has done more for you than for millions, who may have many temporal blessings—but are not sanctified. He has done more for you than if he had made you an earthly king! Are you sanctified? Heaven is begun in you—for happiness is nothing but the quintessence of holiness. Oh, how thankful should you be to God! Do as that blind man in the gospel did after he had received his sight, who "followed Christ, glorifying God." Make heaven ring with God's praises! </blockquote></blockquote></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gracegems.org/">HOME</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gracegems.org/gq.htm">QUOTES</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gracegems.org/SERMONS.htm">SERMONS</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gracegems.org/BOOKS.htm">BOOKS</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

Commentary on This Week's News > A Brief History of Prayer 1

Jul 02, 08

www.ucg.org/...historyprayer.htm prayer history prayresearch

A Brief History of Prayer

A commentary by Randy Stiver
United Church of God pastor, Coos Bay, Eugene and Roseburg, Oregon

Some people said America didn't have a prayer at the millennial turn. They were wrong.

In the slipstream of 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq and the war on terror, Americans pray again. President Bush's, genuine, non-photo-op, not-crying-on-cue example of personal prayer and faith presents a huge motivating factor. Yes, amazing but true, prayer has come back to America.

But why do modern education and Hollywood, the two major purveyors of unprayerful cultural values, still not get the point?

The answer is found in a brief history of prayer.

Prayer began in the Garden of Eden. God made the first family, Adam and Eve. He talked to them as in, "Adam, name the animals." Adam then needed to talk with God about the lack of finding a gender counterpart for himself (Genesis 2:18-20). Eve was clearly communicative, and with access to just two other sentient beings in the garden, she spoke to her husband and prayed to God. Thus, we have the first prayers.

Then came the snake. But where was God when the Devil tempted Eve?

God was standing by in the garden, (where else would He be after creating the first two human beings?) waiting for them to pray for His counsel about whether serpents should talk, or for His help to come whack the snake. He was waiting for a prayer they didn’t pray, while they left themselves without a prayer against the deceptive, misinformative powers of the Adversary (Genesis 3:1-6).

Afterward, "they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8).

At the most critical moment, Adam and Eve refused to pray to God for help. Thus they made the most colossal mistake in human history! Then, instead of praying for forgiveness, they hid themselves from God—and mankind has been hiding from God ever since.

For centuries humanity hid behind idols of stone, metal and wood (plastic, celluloid and digital disks hadn’t been invented yet). With idols, you could make your own god in your own image, rather than the other way round (Genesis 1:26-27). You could easily hide behind a god you're comfortable with, who doesn't get in your face . . . because who cares? After all, your god isn't a "who"!

But beware the hollow downside. Praying to a god who isn't there, who is made in your image, is a lot like praying to yourself. Big help that is! And as we both know, people make poor gods.

Yet through it all, true prayer to the true God lived on in the lives of the faithful few. And just past halfway through human history, prayer got uniquely clarified. Clarified by Jesus whose role was "prayee" (on the receiving end of prayers) before His human birth, and who came to know directly what it was like to be the "pray-er".

Interestingly, President Bush impresses nay-sayers and yea-sayers alike for two reasons: his prayer and his faith. What a fascinating combination! He is both respected and vilified because of his religious beliefs.

Once Jesus found a fig tree with nothing on it but fig leaves—like the ones Adam and Eve tried to hide behind (Genesis 3:7). Being hungry, He cursed that tree and it withered and died in a day. Impressed, His disciples had to know how the poor fig could give up osmosis so soon.

Explaining how faith and prayer go together, Jesus told them and us that if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can fry fig trees too! What’s more, you can tell a whole mountain to go jump in deep blue sea, and it’ll happen! "And whatever things you ask in prayer believing, you will receive" (Matthew 21:18-22).

Great power—prayer mixed with faith—is available to all who truly believe. In the history of prayer it’s the great, untapped power. It has been rediscovered by some like President Bush, but is missed by the most of mankind because we’re always hiding from God—hiding behind the fig leaves of modern education, wrong-valued Hollywood, idolatrous materialism and whatever else. It’s time to come out from behind the trees of the garden and write your own history of prayer to the God of true faith who made you!

(To learn more, request or download our free booklet, You Can Have Living Faith.)

For further insights on today's headlines from other sources, checkout Current World News & Trends.

Lessons on Prayer: Abraham and Moses « The Hesitant Prize Fighter 1

Jun 29, 08

tben.wordpress.com/...ns-on-prayer-abraham-and-moses prayresearch
- Lessons on Prayer: Abraham and Moses
  June 29, 2008 — tben
  These was a summary of one of my sharing with fellow students. In this sharing, I was talking about successful prayers, and I shared an examples of 2 Old testament character and their successful prayers
  Abraham (Gen 18:16-33)
  In this bible story, God was about to pronouce his judgement on the city of Sodom and Gomorrah as their sins are great. The Lord was intending to go into the city and to witness the sins for himself. (Gen 18:20)
  Abraham then started to intercede for the city, saying “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen 18:23-25)
  Therefore God listened to the prayer of Abraham and will spare the city if 50 righteous. We all know that Abraham prayed many times and the conditions were reduced to 45,40,30,20 and 10. Over here i believed that if he continued to 1, he would have won and saved the City (At least Lot is righteous). But he stopped at 10. And the reason is because the household of Lot contains, (Lot, His wife, his 2 daughters, 2 Sons in law )has at least 6 members. Lot being a rich man, should have more then 4 servants.
  Therefore, what we can learn from this is
  1. Abraham’s prayer are effective, because he caught hold of the nature of God, which is Justice. and he used it to make his point before the Lord. And God being just, will listen.
  2. Abraham stopped at 10 (Approx Lots household number). tells us that even as we make our petition known to God, we must know when to stop, or when our request becomes unreasonable. Always remember God is not the Genie in Aladdin’s lamp who will grant whatever wishes to whoever.
  Moses (Deut 9:25-29, Ex 32:31-32)
  In this incident, the people has sinned against God in mount sinai, and build for themselves a golden calf to replace God. This action made God very angry, as they have taken his glory and turn them into a beast that walked the fields. The worst part of the matter is, the people were unrepentant, and God’s judgement to the people are imminent. He wanted the Moses to move away from the people so that he can destroy them/
  At this time, Moses prayed to the Lord, and this is his prayer.
  ” ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin, lest the land from which You brought us should say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.” Yet they areYour people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’” (Deut 9:26-29)
  In another occassion, Moses prayed like this
  “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” (Ex 32:31-32)
  What we can learn from Moses is this
  1. Similar to Abraham, Moses held on to the following nature of God
  a. God is a God who keeps his covenant (When he said, remember Abraham, Issac and Jacob)
  b. God is a God of love (He reminded God that he brought the people out with his mighty hand)
  2. As Moses pray, he always puts the glory of God in his mind (He told God how the Egyptians will react should He destroy the people)
  3. Moses deep love for the people moved him to tell God to blot his name out of the book of life if he would not forgive the people.
  From the 2 examples we can also gather many other points as conclusion
  1. As we pray, we should always hold on to Gods nature, which is Love and Justice, as well as the God who keeps promises
  2. Intercessory prayers are very important
  a. Abraham intercedes for Sodom because of his love for the people, and for Lot
  b. Moses intercedes for the Israelites, because of his deep love for people, even though they never
  treated him nicely
  3. In our prayers, we must always keep te glory of God in mind. We should always pray that Gods name be spread far and wide, and for his church to be strong.
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Jun 29, 08

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What is intercessory prayer? 1

Jun 29, 08

www.gotquestions.org/intercessory-prayer.html prayer studies intercession prayresearch
- What is intercessory prayer?
  
  Question: "What is intercessory prayer?"
  
  Answer: Quite simply, intercessory prayer is the act of praying on behalf of others. The role of mediator in prayer was prevalent in the Old Testament (as in Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel, Hezekiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.) But Christ is pictured in the New Testament as the ultimate intercessor; and because of this all Christian prayer becomes intercession since it is offered to God through and by Christ. Jesus closed the gap between us and God when He died on the cross. He was the greatest mediator (intercessor) that ever lived. Because of this we can now intercede in prayer on behalf of other Christians, or for the lost, asking God to grant them repentance according to His will. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us" (Romans 8:34).
  
  A wonderful model of intercessory prayer is found in Daniel 9 as he prayed for his people who had turned away from God. It has all the elements of true intercessory prayer. It is in response to the Word (v. 2); characterized by fervency (v. 3) and self-denial (v. 4); identified unselfishly with God’s people (v. 5); strengthened by confession (v. 5-15); dependent on God’s character (vv. 4,7,9,15); and has as its goal God’s glory (vv. 16-19). Like Daniel, Christians are to come to God on behalf others in a heartbroken and repentant posture, recognizing our own unworthiness and with a sense of self-denial. Daniel doesn’t come and say, "I have a right to demand this out of You, God, because I am one of your special, chosen intercessors." He comes and says, "I'm a sinner," and, in effect, he says, "I don't have a right to demand anything." True intercessory prayer seeks to not only know God’s will and see it fulfilled, but to see it fulfilled no matter whether it benefits us and no matter what it costs us. It seeks God’s glory, not our own.
  
  The following is only a partial list of those for whom we are all to offer up intercessory prayers: all in authority (1 Timothy 2:2); ministers (Philippians 1:19); the Church (Psalm 122:6); friends (Job 42:8); fellow countrymen (Romans 10:1); the sick (James 5:14); enemies (Jeremiah 29:7); those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44); those who forsake us (2 Timothy 4:16); and all men (1 Timothy 2:1).
  
  There is an erroneous idea in contemporary Christianity that those who offer up intercessory prayers for others are a special class of super-Christians, called by God to a ministry of intercession. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible is clear that all Christians are called to be intercessors. All Christians have the Holy Spirit in our hearts and, just as He intercedes for us in accordance with God’s will (Romans 8:26-27), we are to intercede for one another. This is not a privilege limited to an exclusive Christian elite; this is the command to all. In fact, not to offer up intercession for others is sin. “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you” (1 Samuel 12:23).
  
  Certainly Peter and Paul, when asking others to intercede for them, did not limit their request to those with a special calling to intercession. “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (Acts 12:5). Notice it was the whole church that prayed for him, not just those with a gift of intercession. In Ephesians 6:16-18, Paul exhorts the Ephesian believers—all of them—on the fundamentals of the Christian life. “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Clearly, intercessory prayer is part of the Christian life for all believers.
  
  Further, Paul sought the prayer of all the Roman believers on his behalf: “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me” (Romans 15:30). He also urged the Colossians to intercede for him: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains” (Colossians 4:2-3). Nowhere in any biblical request for intercession is there any indication whatsoever that only a certain group of people could intercede. On the contrary, those who seek others to intercede for them can use all the help they can get! The idea that intercession is the privilege and calling of only some Christians is without biblical basis. Worse, it is a destructive idea that often leads to pride, a sense of entitlement, and Gnosticism.
  
  What a wonderful and exalted privilege we have in being able to come boldly before the throne of Almighty God with our prayers and requests. Praise Him for His incredible mercy and love!
  
  Recommended Resource: Prayer, The Great Adventure by David Jeremiah.
How can I have my prayers answered by God? 1

Jun 29, 08

www.gotquestions.org/prayer-answered.html prayer studies prayresearch
- How can I have my prayers answered by God?
  
  Question: "How can I have my prayers answered by God?"
  
  Answer: Many people view an “answered prayer” as God granting a prayer request that is offered to Him. If a prayer request is not granted, it is often understood as an unanswered prayer. However, this an incorrect understanding of prayer. God answers every prayer that is lifted to Him. What we have to remember is that sometimes God answers "no" or "wait." God only promises to grant our prayers when we ask according to His will. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him.”
  
  What does it mean to pray according to God’s will? Praying according to God’s will is praying for things that honor and glorify God and/or praying for things the Bible clearly reveals it is God’s will for us to have. If we pray for something that is not honoring to God or not God’s will for our lives, God will not give what we ask for. How can we know what God’s will is? God promises to give us wisdom when we ask for it. James 1:5 proclaims, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” Familiarize yourself with what the Bible says about God’s will for your life. The better we understand God’s Word, the better we will know what to pray for. The better we know what to pray for, the more effective our prayer lives will be.
  
  Recommended Resource: Prayer, The Great Adventure by David Jeremiah.
  
  This page is also available in: Chinese, Indonesia,Hebrew,Korean, Română,Arabic, Español,Thai,Português,Nederlands,Polski,Français,Russian,Srpski,Hrvatski,Italiano,Greek
  
  Related Topics:
  
  What are some hindrances to effective prayer?
  
  What is the power of prayer?
  
  How is prayer communicating with God?
  
  Is it acceptable to "lay out a fleece" before God in prayer?
  
  What is the connection between prayer and fasting?
What are some hindrances to effective prayer? 1

Jun 29, 08

www.gotquestions.org/prayer-hindrances.html prayer studies prayresearch
- What are some hindrances to effective prayer?
  
  Question: "What are some hindrances to effective prayer?"
  
  Answer: The most obvious hindrance to effective prayer is the presence of iniquity and unconfessed sins in the heart of the pray-er. Because our God is holy, there is a barrier that exists between Him and us when we come to Him with unconfessed sin in our lives. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). David concurred, knowing from experience that God is far from those who try to hide their sin from God: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalms 66:18).
  
  The Bible refers to several areas of sin that are hindrances to effective prayer. First, when we are living according to the flesh, rather than in the Spirit, our desire to pray and our ability to effectively communicate with God are hindered. Although we receive a new nature when we are born again, that new nature still resides in our old flesh and that old “tent” is corrupt and sinful. The flesh can gain control of our actions, attitudes and motives unless we are diligent to “put to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13) and be led by the Spirit in a right relationship with God. Only then will He hear and answer our prayers.
  
  One way living in the flesh manifests itself is in selfishness, another hindrance to effective prayer. When our prayers are selfishly motivated, when we ask God for what we want rather than for what He wants, our motives hinder our prayers. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). Asking according to God’s will is the same as asking in submission to whatever His will may be, whether or not we know what that will is. As in all things, Jesus is to be our example in prayer. He always prayed in the will of His Father: “yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Selfish prayers are always those that are intended to gratify our own selfish desires, and we can’t expect God to respond to such prayers. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3).
  
  Living according to selfish, fleshly desires will also hinder our prayers because it produces a hardness of heart toward others. If we are indifferent to the needs of others, we can expect God to be indifferent to our needs. When we go to God in prayer, our first concern should be His will. The second should be the needs of others. This stems from the understanding that we are to consider others better than ourselves and be concerned about their interests over and above our own (Philippians 2:3-4).
  
  A major hindrance to effective prayer is a spirit of unforgiveness toward others. When we refuse to forgive others, a root of bitterness grows up in our hearts that chokes our prayers. How can we expect God to pour out His blessings upon us—undeserving sinners—if we harbor hatred and bitterness toward others and an unwillingness to forgive? This principle was beautifully illustrated in the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:23-35. The principle in this story is that God has forgiven us a debt that is beyond measure (our sin) and he expects us to forgive others as we have been forgiven. To refuse to do so is to hinder our prayers.
  
  Another major hindrance to effective prayer is unbelief and doubt. This does not mean, as some suggest, that because we come to God convinced that He will grant our requests, He is somehow obligated to do so. Praying without doubt means praying in the secure belief and understanding of God’s character, nature and motives. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). When we come to God in prayer, doubting His character, purpose and promises, we insult Him terribly. Our confidence must be in His ability to grant any request that is in accordance with His will and purpose for our lives and with the understanding that whatever He purposes is the best possible scenario. “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:6-7).
  
  Finally, discord in the home is a definite obstacle to prayer. Peter specifically mentions this as a hindrance to the prayers of a husband whose attitude toward his wife is less than godly. “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7). Where there is a serious conflict in family relationships and the head of the household is not demonstrating the attitudes Peter mentions, his prayer communication with God is seriously hampered. Likewise, wives are to follow the biblical principles of submission to their husbands’ headship if their own prayers are not to be hindered (Ephesians 5).
  
  Fortunately, all these prayer hindrances can be dealt with at once by coming to God in prayer characterized first by repentance. First John 1:9 assures us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Once we have done that, we enjoy a clear and open channel of communication with God, and our prayers will not only be heard and answered, they will be filled with a deep sense of joy.
  
  Recommended Resource: Prayer, The Great Adventure by David Jeremiah.
  
  This page is also available in:Español
  
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  How can I have my prayers answered by God?
  
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Is corporate prayer important? Is corporate prayer more powerful than an indi... 1

Jun 29, 08

www.gotquestions.org/corporate-prayer.html prayer studies prayresearch
- Is corporate prayer important? Is corporate prayer more powerful than an individual praying alone?
  
  Question: "Is corporate prayer important? Is corporate prayer more powerful than an individual praying alone?"
  
  Answer: Corporate prayer is an important part of the life of the church, along with worship, sound doctrine, communion, and fellowship. The early church met regularly to learn the doctrine of the apostles, break bread and pray together (Acts 2:42), beginning immediately after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:14) and continuing to this day. When we pray together with other believers, the effects can be very positive. Corporate prayer edifies and unifies us as we share our common faith. The same Holy Spirit that dwells within each believer causes our hearts to rejoice as we hear praises to our Lord and Savior, knitting us together in a unique bond of fellowship found nowhere else in life.
  
  To those who may be alone and struggling with life’s burdens, hearing others lift them up to the throne of grace can be a great encouragement. It also builds in us love and concern for others as we intercede for them. Corporate prayer also teaches younger believers how to pray and brings them into the intimate fellowship of the body of Christ. At the same time, corporate prayer will only be a reflection of the hearts of the individuals who participate. We are to come to God in humility (James 4:10), truth (Psalm 145:18), and obedience (1 John 3:21-22), with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6) and confidence (Hebrews 4:16). Sadly, corporate prayer can also become a platform for those whose words are directed, not to God, but to their hearers. Jesus warned against such behavior in Matthew 6:5-8 where he exhorts us not to be showy, long-winded, or hypocritical in our prayers, but to pray secretly in our own rooms in order to avoid such temptation.
  
  There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that corporate prayers are “more powerful” than individual prayers in the sense of moving the hand of God. Far too many Christians equate prayer with “getting things from God,” and group prayer becomes mainly an occasion to recite a list of our wants. Biblical prayers, however, are multi-faceted, encompassing the whole of the desire to enter into conscious and intimate communion with our holy, perfect, and righteous God. That such a God would bend an ear to His creatures causes praise and adoration to pour forth in abundance (Psalm 27:4; 63:1-8), produces heartfelt repentance and confession (Psalm 51; Luke 18:9-14), generates an outpouring of gratitude and thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6; Colossians 1:12), and creates sincere intercessory pleas on behalf of others (2 Thessalonians 1:11; 2:16).
  
  Petition for the pray-er is not found in the prayers of Paul or Jesus, except where they state their desires, but always in submission to God’s will (Matthew 26:39; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Prayer, then, is cooperating with God to bring about His plan, not trying to bend Him to our will. As we abandon our own desires in submission to the One who knows our circumstances far better than we ever could, and who “knows what you need before you ask” (Matthew 6:8), our prayers reach their highest level. Prayers offered in submission to the Divine will, therefore, are always answered positively, whether offered by one person or a thousand. Here is true power in prayer.
  
  The idea that corporate prayers are more likely to move the hand of God comes largely from a misinterpretation of Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as regarding anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” These verses come from a larger passage which addresses the procedures to be followed in the case of church discipline of a sinning member. To interpret them as promising believers a blank check for anything they might agree to ask God for, no matter how sinful or foolish, not only does not fit the context of church discipline, but it denies the rest of Scripture, especially the sovereignty of God and the many commands for believers’ obedient submission to His will, not the other way around.
  
  In addition, to believe that when “two or three are gathered” to pray, some kind of magical power boost is automatically applied to our prayers is nonsense. Of course Jesus is present when two or three pray, but He is equally present when a believer prays alone, even if that person is separated from others by thousands of miles. The misinterpretation of these verses shows us why it’s important to read and understand passages in their context and in the light of all of Scripture.
  
  Recommended Resource: Prayer, The Great Adventure by David Jeremiah.
  
  This page is also available in: Chinese, Indonesia,Hebrew,Korean, Română,Arabic, Español,Thai,Português,Nederlands,Polski,Français,Russian,Srpski,Hrvatski,Italiano,Greek
  
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  Silent prayer - is it Biblical?

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A commentary by Randy Stiver
United Church of God pastor, Coos Bay, Eugene and Roseburg, Oregon