The Biblical Basis for
Entire Sanctification
Abridged and edited from
Entire Sanctification
By
Rev. C.B. Jernigan
Jeff Paton - Editor
Most of the controversies, which arise between men who fear God, spring from the hurry with which some of them find fault with what they have not yet examined, and speak evil of what they do not understand."
- John Fletcher
Holiness
Webster's International Dictionary thus defines holiness: "1. Perfect moral integrity or purity; freedom from sin ; sanctity, innocence. 2. State of being hallowed or consecrated to God, or His worship.
"Holy, salvation, happiness, whole, well. 1. Set apart to the service or worship of God. 2. Spiritually whole or sound; freedom from sinful affection; pure in heart; godly; pious; irreproachable; guiltless; acceptable to God.
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God is holy |
Isa. 6:37; Rev. 4:8 |
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Heaven a holy place |
Psalm 20:6 |
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Nothing unclean shall enter |
Rev. 21:27 |
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Scriptures holy |
Romans 1:2 |
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Commandments holy |
Romans 7:12 |
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Chosen to be holy |
Ephesians 1:4 |
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Holiness lost in the fall |
Romans 5:12 |
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Restored in Christ |
Col. 1:22 |
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A holy church |
Eph. 5:27 |
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Holiness commanded |
Lev. 11:14; 1 Peter 1:15, 16 |
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Ye shall be holy |
Lev. 19:2 |
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A holy people |
Deut. 7:6; 14:2 |
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Shall be called holy |
Isa. 62:12 |
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The way of holiness |
Isa. 35:8 |
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God calls to holiness |
1 Thes. 4:7 |
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Partakers of His holiness |
Heb. 12:10 |
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Holy Ghost makes holy |
1 Cor. 3:16, 17 |
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Fruit unto holiness |
Romans 6:22 |
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Holy men |
2 Peter 1:21; 2 Kings 4:9; Psalm 86:2 |
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Bishops must be holy men (some fight holiness today!) |
Titus 1:7, 8 |
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Paul found holy brethren |
Heb. 3:1; 1 Thes. 5:27 |
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Holy women |
1 Peter 3:5 |
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Holiness or hell |
Heb. 12:14 |
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God swore an oath that we should live holy everyday of our lives. Who says we cannot? |
Luke 1:68-75 |
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Entire Sanctification
"Sanctify: 1. To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy of religious use; to consecrate by appropriate rites; to hallow. 2. To make free from sin; to cleanse from moral corruption and pollution; to purify."
"Sanctification: The act of making holy; the state of being sanctified or made holy. Theologically - 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 of God. Also the state of being thus purified or sanctified." - Webster's Dictionary.
| Sanctify yourselves | Lev. 20:7 |
| Sanctify: keep from flesh | Num. 11:18 |
| Sanctify yourselves | Josh. 3:5 |
| I sanctify myself (Jesus) | John 17:19 |
| Sanctify them (the Apostles) | John 17:17 |
| Sanctify: cleanse the Church | Eph. 5:25, 27 |
| Sanctify: purge conscience | Heb. 19:13, 14 |
| Purge, sanctify | 2 Tim. 2:21 |
| Sanctify, wash | Ex. 19:10 |
| The priests cleansed the inner house/ type of heart purity | 2 Chron. 29:15-19 |
| Holy Ghost brings purity | Acts 15:8, 9 |
| Heart circumcision | Deut. 30:6 |
| God of peace sanctify | 1 Thes. 5:23 |
| He that sanctifies | Heb. 2:11 |
| Jesus suffered to sanctify | Heb. 13:12 |
| By God the Father | Jude 1 |
| By the Holy Ghost | Rom. 15:16 |
| Through the Spirit | 2 Thes. 2:13 |
| God wills sanctification | 1 Thes. 4:3 |
| According to His will | Heb. 10:9, 10 |
| By faith in Jesus | Acts 26:18 |
| Holy Ghost a witness | Heb. 10:15 |
| Christ our sanctification` | 1 Cor. 1:30 |
| God commands His sanctified ones | Isa. 13:3 |
Sin Not A Necessity
| Awake to righteousness, and sin not | 1 Cor. 15:34 |
| Little children, sin not * | 1 John 2:1 |
| Shall we continue in sin? | Romans 6:1, 2 |
| Go, sin no more * | John 5:14; 1 John 8:11 |
| Stand in awe, sin not * | Ps. 4:4 |
| He that committeth sin is of the Devil | 1 John 3:8 |
| Whosoever is born of God doth not sin | 1 John 5:18; 3:9 |
| Jesus came to save from sin | Matt. 1:21 |
| Sanctification preserves the spirit, soul, and body | 1 Thes. 5:23 |
| Let not sin reign in your bodies | Romans 6:12 |
| Sin shall not reign | Romans 6:14 |
| The flesh cannot please God/ You are not in the flesh | Romans 8:8, 9 |
| Blessed are the pure in heart | Matt. 5:8 |
| A pure heart, a clean life | Matt. 15:8 |
| Pure heart, pure thoughts | Mark 7:21, 22 |
| Cleanse hands, purify hearts | James 4:8 |
| Cleanse filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness | 2 Cor. 7:1 |
| There is cleansing in the blood from all sin | 1 John 1:7 |
| The blood of Christ purges | Heb. 9:14 |
| Put off the old man | Eph. 4:20-24 |
| Crucify the old man | Romans 6:6 |
| I am crucified with Christ | Gal. 2:20 |
| A fountain for sin and uncleanness | Zech. 13:1 |
| Fruit-bearing branches already in the vine, yet need cleansing | John 15:2 |
* Sin, taught as a necessity by many false teachers, is considered avoidable by the Holy Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man: and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it." NASB. We are promised that God will not allow a temptation to be so strong that we cannot resist it. Temptation is a test of character where we show forth where our hearts really are.
Christian Perfection
The doctrine of Christian Perfection is badly misunderstood. We do not teach that man can be a perfect God; nor do as perfectly as God; neither be a perfect angel, nor as perfect as Adam was. Not perfect in knowledge; not physical perfection; not perfect before men for the Jews said Jesus was a devil. He drove the money changers out of the Temple with a whip, which from a human standpoint was not perceived as a righteous act by some. Although His actions and motives were misunderstood by many, Jesus was the example of the perfect Christian - Perfect in love. By most "religious" definitions today, Jesus would not be considered "perfect" by their standard either.
| Commanded to be perfect with God | Deut. 18:13 |
| Walk before me and be thou perfect | Gen. 17:1 |
| Be perfect as your Father is perfect | Matt. 5:48 |
| Go on to perfection | Hebrews 6:1 |
| We wish your perfection | 2 Cor. 13:9 |
| Epaphras prays for your perfection | Col. 4:12 |
| I pray night and day for your perfection | 2 Thes. 3:10 |
| Scriptures are given: that the man of God may be perfect | 2 Thes. 3:10 |
| We preach to present every man perfect | Col. 1:28 |
| Finally farewell. Be perfect | 2 Cor. 13:11 |
| God gave some apostles, some evangelists... for the perfecting of the saints | Eph. 4:11-13 |
| If thou will be perfect | Matt. 19:21 |
| Made perfect in one | John 17:23 |
| Same is perfect man | James 3:2 |
| Perfect in love | 1 John 4:17, 18 |
| Love the bond of perfectness | Col. 3:14 |
| Love is the fulfilling of the law | Romans 13:10 |
| Mark the perfect man | Ps. 37:37 |
| Noah was perfect in his generation | Gen. 6:9 |
| Hezekiah had a perfect heart | 2 Kings 20:3 |
| Asa's heart was perfect | 2 Chron. 15:17 |
| I will walk with a perfect heart | Ps. 10:1, 2 |
| Job a perfect man | Job 1:1-8 |
| Perfect way | Ps. 10:1-7 |
| The God of peace, who has the power to bring to life the dead, can make you perfect through the blood of everlasting covenant | Heb. 13:20, 21 |
Entire Sanctification
Sanctification, holiness. purity, and perfection is not just some mythical transfer of character from one person to another. The Scriptures everywhere speak of these traits as being realities in those believers to whom this grace is conferred. The ideas of heart perfection/purity, and that this comprises what constitutes a believer as entirely sanctified, is not an obscure pipedream of some deluded "perfectionist," but a real and Scriptural attainment for every believer in this life. Some have made a career out of terrifying multitudes away from holiness by ridiculing holiness, sanctification, and perfection. Do not allow those who have failed this grace of God to dissuade you from experiencing the promises and blessings guaranteed by God.
The term Justification and Sanctification are not used in a technical sense or critical sense, but rather in a general sense as referring to experience.
| In Justification there is life | In Sanctification there is life more abundant |
| In Justification the "old man" is repressed | In Sanctification the "old man" is destroyed |
| In Justification there is "peace with God" | In Sanctification there is the "peace of God" |
| In Justification there is love | In Sanctification there is perfect love which casteth out fear |
| In Justification we "put on the new man" | In Sanctification we "put off the old man and his deeds" |
| Justification gives us a right to heaven | Sanctification gives the fitness for heaven |
| In Justification there is joy - intermittent joy | In Sanctification there is fullness of joy - abiding joy |
| Justification includes pardon, which is a judicial act ** | Sanctification includes cleansing, which is a priestly function |
| Justification is obtained by surrender, repentance, and faith | Sanctification is obtained by consecration, obedience, and faith |
| Justification delivers from guilt and condemnation | Sanctification delivers from unholy tempers and abnormal appetites |
| Justification comprehends adoption, making us children of God | Sanctification comprehends anointing, making us kings and priests unto God |
| Justification separates us from the world, so we are no longer of the world | Sanctification takes the world out of us; worldly desires and ambitions |
| Justification is illustrated by the rescue of the sinking man from the water | Sanctification is getting the water out of the lungs of the drowning man |
| Justification is conditioned on confession of sin (1 Jn. 1:9) | Sanctification is conditioned on "walking in the light as he is in the light" (1 Jn. 1:7) |
| Justification has to do with sin as an act - sins committed | Sanctification has to do with sin as a principle - the sin nature, the result of the curse |
| Justification restores us to the favor of God which we had lost through our own disobedience | Sanctification restores us to holiness or the moral likeness of God, which we had lost through Adam's disobedience |
| Justification is the impartation of a spiritual nature, bringing us into possession of eternal life | Sanctification is the crucifixion and destruction of our carnal nature, making us dead indeed unto sin |
| Justification makes us free from outward sin and condemnation | Sanctification makes us "free indeed." Gives the "deed" to our freedom with all the mortgages paid off. Freedom from fear, and doubt, and pride. |
| In Justification we are united as the branch to the vine | In Sanctification we receive the purging promised to the living and fruitful vine, that we may "bring forth more fruit." (John 15:2) |
| In Justification the experience is a "well of water" (John 4:14). A well for personal use | In Sanctification there is a fullness of blessings so that out of our inward parts "shall flow rivers of living water" (John 6:38, 39). A river cannot be confined to personal use, but will bless and fructify wherever it flows |
| Justification: "The forensic, judicial, or gracious act of God by which the sinner is declared righteous, or justly free from the obligation to penalty and fully restored to divine favor." - Standard Dictionary | Sanctification: "To make holy; cleanse from sin. Specially in theology, the gracious work of the Holy Spirit whereby the believer is freed from sin, and exalted to holiness of heart and life." - Standard Dictionary |
| A perfection of LOVE,
"When entire sanctification is come, then love becomes perfect. With hatred gone, and envy no more, and jealousy driven away, and pride cast out, and anger transformed and malice removed, and unholy ambition sanctified, and self seeking banished, and avarice nailed to the Cross, and covetousness clean gone forever, the heart, now released from its bondage to moral corruption, swells with ecstasy of perfect love to God, perfect fellowship with God's children, and a tender compassion for the lost members of Adam's race." - Dr. J.G. Morrison
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1 John 2:5, 6; 4:16-21
Matt. 5:43-48 |
| "The nature of Christian Perfection; it is perfect
love."
- John Fletcher |
"The seat of this perfect love, a heart
cleansed from its own thoughts."
"The Blessed effect of it, a worthy magnifying of God's holy name." "Its author, God, of whom the blessing is asked." "The immediate mean of it, the inspiration of his Holy Spirit." "And, lastly, the gracious procurer of it, our Lord Jesus Christ." |
** Inherited depravity or sin is not something in which we are personally guilty of, and as such, cannot be forgiven. Depravity is not something in which we can repent and turn from. It is something that that we need cleansing from. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION By Adam Clarke UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN HOLINESS