ALONE WITH GOD     

The Sanctified Life

There are many misapprehensions regarding the sanctified life. It will not be possible to mention more than a few of them here, nor will it be necessary to notice these few in detail. Some such misapprehensions are extreme in their nature. A number of years ago a religious teacher who at that time was enjoying a great deal of notoriety was conversing with a lady who professed the experience of entire sanctification. This teacher was an opposer of the doctrine. While talking with her up on the subject, he moistened the corner of his handkerchief and, watching his opportunity, he rubbed it across her neck. As she had just alighted from the cars after a long trip, the handkerchief was, as he had expected it to be, soiled somewhat. In triumph he held it up before her, declaring it to be a conclusive argument that she could not possibly be sanctified. Of course, this was ridiculous, but it showed his idea of sanctification. He published the incident with much glee in his paper. To him it was conclusive disproof of the doctrine.

Although few people make such errors as this, there are those who feel that sanctification unfits us for the ordinary employments of life. They think it raises us up to some sort of superhuman state and quite takes us out of and away from ordinary things. This, however, is not true. Sanctification purifies our hearts and fills us with the Holy Spirit, and we are then more than ever in a position to be natural in our life. It makes us pure and holy, but not superhuman. We are still only men with the faculties and powers of men, with this added, that the Holy Ghost dwells in us and possesses us.

Another error is that, to maintain such a life, we must hold ourselves aloof from others, or that it makes one feel that he will be contaminated by contact with others. Sanctification does not make us Pharisees. It does not take us out of the natural relations of life. It only fits us more perfectly for them. Jesus was our perfect example in this respect, and he took part in all the affairs of life and mingled with all sorts and classes of people, yet he kept himself unspotted from the world. He was "separate from sinners" even when he mingled with them and was most closely associated with them. He partook of none of their sins; he kept himself aloof from all that was bad in their lives; but in other things he partook with them. So may we. We may fill our part in the social world and in all the relations of life in a way becoming to Christians and in a way that is pure and holy. To feel that we are better than others and to hold ourselves aloof from them will not attract them to our religion; on the contrary, it will make them despise us. It is only pride that leads to such an isolation. We must not partake of the sins of sinners, and that sometimes will keep us out of their company; but we should not carry the separation farther than is proper. We should be sociable and neighborly at all times.

It is supposed by many and taught by some teachers of holiness that when we once are sanctified we cannot fall from that state. This too is a misapprehension, a doctrine that the Scriptures do not teach. After being sanctified we are still moral agents and have the power of choice; we can still choose the evil as well as the good. We are in a world of temptation, to which we can yield at any time. I John 3:9 is sometimes taken to prove that we cannot sin if we are sanctified. It says, "He cannot sin, because he is born of God." This applies, however, to all that are born of God, and must be considered as a moral, not an actual, impossibility. We can sin if we will to sin, but if we will not to sin, we can refrain from sinning, by the grace of God. We cannot sin while we love God, nor while he has his way in our lives. Hebrews 10:29 is conclusive evidence upon this subject. It says, "Of how much soreer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" This clearly asserts that sanctified people may not only fall, but may become worthy of sore punishment.

A misapprehension allied to the one just considered is that if we do fall we cannot be restored. This finds no foundation in the Scriptures. They teach no such thing. On the contrary, they teach us that all sin except sin against the Holy Ghost is forgiveable; that if a man repents he will be forgiven, and not only forgiven, but restored to his former state through the grace of God.

Another and rather common misapprehension is that if we�are sanctified the human imperfections are all gone, and that we shall therefore make no mistakes. Such a thing would be possible only if we were made infinite in knowledge and power. W e shall never be so; we shall come short in many things on account of the imperfections of our faculties. But mistakes are not sinful in their nature and do not contaminate the soul. Still another error is the supposition that in sanctification all the human passions are destroyed. We are still human, and we shall so continue. God created the human passions for a wise and good purpose, and they still serve that wise and good purpose in the sanctified.

The doctrine of entire sanctification is reasonable. It appeals to our reason; and if we look at it as it really is, it is convincing, it is beautiful and uplifting. It excites our admiration and makes us long for the experience.

There is no small difference between the justified life and the sanctified life. The line dividing them is no imaginary line. In the justified life we have "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." We have the grace to live above sin; otherwise we could not keep justified. We have within our hearts the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, "Abba, Father." This Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. The blessing of God is upon our lives and upon our hearts. We are often enriched by his presence. We are often filled with thankfulness and appreciation, and sometimes our joy overflows. The justified life is a high and holy life. It is a glorious lie, far beyond and above the ways of sin. But above and beyond this life is the sanctified life. It not only includes all that is good in the justified life, but includes all beyond it that it is God's will to give us here. Some of these greater things we shall now notice.

The sanctified life means a closer union with God. In the justified life the Spirit of God is with us and in us as the Spirit of adoption. This Spirit leads, guides, and directs our lives. He has a powerful influence over us, and it is through his power that we live justified lives. In the sanctified life the Spirit of God comes into us as the Sanctifier. He comes to us to possess us in a new and higher and greater sense than before. He comes in all his fullness, glory, and power. He is the Comforter, the Preserver, the Sanctifier. When we are wholly sanctified, we know from practical experience what it means to be "filled with the Holy Ghost." From henceforth we are the tabernacles in which he abides. In us he works the good pleasure of God. This important feature often remains almost unnoticed because of the great emphasis placed upon the cleansing feature of sanctification. The cleansing, however, is only a negative thing. It is merely a step in the process of God's possessing us more fully; only a taking out of the way of barriers to his full possession. The coming into our hearts of the Holy Spirit is the really great thing in the sanctified experience.

True, the cleansing is very necessary; there can be no sanctification without it; and the Spirit will not come into us until we are cleansed; but if we magnify too much this particular feature, it will cause us to base our hope of sanctification or our faith in our sanctification on what we consider as the internal evidences of that cleansing. This opens the door to all sorts of spiritual trouble. This is the reason why so may people never become established. They are always looking within at their own feelings, their own emotions, and the things that concern them; whereas the real question is, Is the Holy Ghost abiding in me? Has the Holy Ghost come into my heart? Is it he who is working therein to do the good pleasure of God?

Let us not overlook this fact, that in sanctification there is a presence within us, an abiding presence ever and always with us. I do not mean that it is always being manifested to our emotions and our sensibilities; it is, however, always present in our lives; its power is there, and it is working there whether we can feel it and be conscious of it or not. The Spirit is not always saying to us, "I am here, I am here, I am here." He is often quiet, but when the need comes, he shows his presence and his power. A wire may be highly charged with electricity, and still we cannot discern the fact by looking at the wire, nor by listening to it, nor by any motion that it may have; but when there is opportunity, that power is manifested. So it is with the Spirit in our lives. Sometimes we cannot tell by our feelings that he is present, nor by any emotion nor in any other way except through faith; but if he is there, when the opportunity and the need come, he will manifest himself and will work and show that he is indeed the Spirit of God. After he comes into us, he is never absent, unless we grieve him away. We must carefully distinguish between his presence and his manifestations. If we do not, we throw open the door for all s orts of doubts.

In sanctification there is a deepening and enriching of the spiritual life. To suppose that we are sanctified when the current of life runs no deeper and is no richer than before is to be mistaken. All the fruits of our righteousness are increased. All the graces of the Spirit are multiplied. How inconsistent it is for one to profess to be sanctified when his life is superficial and occupied by frivolities and trifles! and how sad it is to hear the lament of such a one when he cries out, "My leanness, my leanness"! Is this truly the sanctified state? Is this all that it means? I grant that people who have once been really sanctified may come to such a state, but how sad that state and how far from the normal condition of a sanctified life! God means that we have a bountiful supply of his grace; that we be rich in grace, in faith, and in all the things that go to make up the experience of entire sanctification. The sanctified man has a heart full of treasures. If he grows impoverished and lean, it is because he is well on the way to a backslidden state. The channel of grace has become closed, and the supply has been cut off. The Spirit of God is hampered and hindered, and his spiritual life is not normal in any respect. Sanctification touches and enriches the deepest depths of man's nature. It brings out all his better qualities, and increases and develops them; and as the years go by and he develops more and more in the divine life, he is more and more enriched and ripened, and more and more glorifies God.

The sanctified life excels the justified life in power. The coming of the Holy Spirit means that we receive an enduement of heavenly power. Jesus said, "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). The Holy G host is not a weakling; instead, he is clothed with all the power of the Almighty. When he comes into our souls as an abiding Comforter, it means the bringing into us of a power that never was there before. It is not a power that seizes hold of us and makes us do unseemly things; it is not a power that takes hold of us and operates us independently of our own will. God does not act in this way. He acts in us only when he can act in conformity to our will and his own at the same time. The power th at we receive is a power to be what God designs that we shall be in our inner lives. It is the power to be victorious over sin, and the power to rule our own lives. It is the power of self-control, and the power to yield to God and be completely under his control. It is the power to be pure within. It is the power to be in subjection to the will of God. It is the power to love God with a pure heart fervently. It is the power to keep from loving other things more than we should. It is t he power to preserve our spiritual balance.

It is the power over temptations, so that they may not rule us, so that we may resist and conquer them, no matter what may be the form in which they come nor the strength with which they come. It is the power that gives mastery over natural desires. It is the power to say "no" and to enforce it. It is the power to keep under our bodies, to keep them in subjection to the will of God. It is the power to live right in our everyday life. It is the power to translate the Bible into human life in al l its beauty and grace.

It is the power that enables us to overcome timidity and man-fear and to be witnesses for Christ. IT not only enables us to witness for Christ, but puts into that witnessing a power that makes it convincing and effective. Many a sermon is powerless and many a testimony falls flat because the power of the Holy Ghost is not in it and through it. Look upon the timed apostles, fearing and shrinking before the day of Pentecost, and behold them thereafter. What boldness! what power! what authority! W hat was it that wrought all this change? It was the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them in power. He wants to come into our lives in like manner and mark them with his power. He wants to put into our words the same power that he put into the words of Peter and John. He wants to put into our hearts the same boldness that they had, the same unshrinking courage and fortitude. How many sermons are merely words, words, words! How little the hearers are moved! how little they are pricked in their hearts! Ah! The power of the Holy Ghost is not there! But when we are full of might and of power by the Spirit of the Lord, the words that we speak have in them this power of the Holy Ghost to take hold upon men's hearts, to stir them to consider their condition, and to make them feel that it is the voice of God and not the voice of man that is speaking to them. He will manifest himself not only in public testimony, but in our ordinary conversations. If we are full of the Holy Ghost, his power and presence will manifest themselves in our words and they will be effective in bringing conviction to the hearts of those who hear. Empty words are of little avail. Words full of the Holy Ghost and power are full of something that touches the spring of life.

This enduement of power fits us to serve. A truly�consecrated man is one who is willing to fill his hands with busy labors for the Lord. He is saved to serve. He does not serve for honor, for the applause of his fellow men; he serves because he delights to do so. The sanctified man does not need to be offered a reward in order to be induced to serve; he does not have to be bribed to do his duty. If honor comes, well and good, but he does not live for honor alone. He serves not for w hat he may receive, but he counts serving a privilege. There is a disposition among many "holiness" people to want to be the "bell sheep." They strive to excel that they may be leaders. Such a disposition does not come from the workings of the Holy Spirit. It is from man, pure and simple. It is opposed to the Spirit of God and his workings. If we are sanctified, we are willing to serve as unto the Lord and not unto man. We are willing to serve whether we are praised or criticized, whether men take note of what we do or disregard it. It is true that we still have the faculty of approbativeness, and not only desire the approval of others, but feel that when we do well we merit proper recognition and approval, and we feel encouraged w hen we receive such; but the true heart is willing to go forward and do for God even if men withhold what is due. It will serve whether conditions are favorable or unfavorable.

When we are wholly sanctified, we have power to accomplish for God, and need not be faltering and weak workers; but, being clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit, we accomplish what others cannot do, not because we are greater than they, but because he that worketh in us is greater than he that worketh in the world. Oh, for more men and women with the power of the Holy Ghost in their souls! That is the need of the hour. That is the need of the world. "Ye shall receive power" is the promise. Reader, has that been made true in your own life? Is the power of Christ resting upon you - the power to be and to do and to act for Christ, the power to witness, the power to conquer, the power to serve? It is your privilege to have it; it may be your possession.

In this higher life there is a greater illumination of spiritual understanding. The Spirit takes the things of Christ and shows them unto us. He broadens and elevates our vision. He reveals to us the mysteries of God. He unlocks the secret of the Scriptures and makes us to truly know the Almighty. Our spiritual perception increases in keenness, so that we can understand more readily the things of the Spirit. The Bible sometimes appears as a new book. Jesus promised that when the Spirit of truth was come, he should guide us into all truth. This does not mean that he will lead us into all truth at one time, but that step by step he will lead us from truth to truth; and not only so, but he will protect us against error if we will care fully follow his leadings.

Entire sanctification brings us into an evenness of life and temperament‚ not possible before. It brings a stabilizing of our lives, so that we are not so easily moved by outside influences. We are not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine like children. We are not easily affected nor moved by every one's opinion. Our feet are planted on the Rock of Ages; we are solidly anchored there. Sanctification brings a calmness into our lives. It is like oil on the troubled waters of life. There is a holy quietness that broods over the soul and keeps it serene.

People do not backslide from the sanctified life every little while and get restore to it over and over. Those who claim to do so, do not reach this grace. It is not an "up-and-down" life. One of the qualities of truly sanctified souls is their steadfastness. They are settled, established, rooted, and grounded in God; therefore they are not swept off their feet every little while. Doubt may sometimes cloud the life and obscure the light and dim the assurance; but the sanctified state is far re moved from sin, and people do not, except under extraordinary circumstances, fall from a high state of grace into sin. There is almost always a preparation for sin by a previous declension of the spiritual life. Backsliding from a sanctified life is not merely stepping over a line; we must go far before we reach that line. It is true that we may sin at any time, but we are not inclined to sin. It is not a "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it" experience. Sin is unnatural to the purified ma n. His natural element is holiness. In it he delights. It is only when the channel of grace is obstructed so that it no longer flows into his heart as before that spiritual declension begins. He may decline rapidly, for it is not possible for him to be spiritual without this inflow of grace; but it is only when his supply of grace has greatly dwindled that sin comes to have any attraction for him. In the normal state it repels him, and he repels it. It is obnoxious instead of attractive to him. So long as his experience is normal, he is altogether unlikely to do that which is evil.