Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost.Tit. 3: 5.
In dealing with the nature of justification and of
sanctification, I have shown the distinctiveness of these experiences; in this
chapter I shall point out and clarify their distinctiveness. Since the words
" justification " and " sanctification " have been
previously defined, and since the nature of the two experiences has been clearly
set forth, it will now be necessary only to examine the Christian experiences
recorded in the New Testament with the view of ascertaining whether or not the
perfect redemptive experience was received in two works of divine grace.
The first recorded experience I shall notice is that of
the apostles. A careful study of their experience will bring out the following:
I. They were converted before the day of Pentecost. 2. They needed a more
perfect work. 3. They received a second and more perfect work of grace on
Pentecost.
Some persons have held that the apostles were not
converted before the day of Pentecost. The principal proof-text is Luke 22: 32,
where Jesus speaks thus to Peter: "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith
fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. " An
examination of the context clearly reveals the fact that the conversion to which
Jesus referred was the conversion that Peter should need after his denial of
Jesus foretold in this chapter. In the preceding verse Jesus said, "Satan
hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." In the following
verse Jesus said, "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day,
before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." Peter's fall, as
foretold by Jesus, came soon afterward, when he even cursed and swore that he
did not know Jesus. "And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter
remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow,
thou shalt deny me thrice. " Peter's conversion immediately followed his
denial of Christ (Luke 22: 62). Some have asked why Peter's faith failed if
Jesus prayed that it fail not. It should be noticed that it was Peter's courage
that failed, and not his faith. That his faith in Jesus was unshaken is manifest
by his bitter remorse and sorrow for his sin.
When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his
resurrection, he repeated his admonition previously given to Peter, that he
should strengthen his brethren, in the words, "Feed my sheep" (John 21
:16). We should infer from this that Peter was then converted. As previously
mentioned, it is unmistakably clear, also, from what Jesus said of his disciples
in his prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John, that the disciples
were justified believers previous to the day of Pentecost.
The disciples needed a more perfect experience than that
of justification. Referring again to the prayer of Jesus in the seventeenth
chapter of John, we hear Jesus, after saying of his disciples, "I have kept
them in thy name, " " I have given them thy word, " " They
are not of the world, " pray to the Father, " Sanctify them through
thy truth .... and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be
sanctified through the truth." It can not be held that this second work, or
sanctification, was intended for the apostles only; for Jesus said,
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on
me through their word." As we have before noticed somewhat in detail, Jesus
taught his disciples to expect a purging that should make them more fruitful.
Jesus specifically instructed his disciples to tarry at Jerusalem until they
should be endowed with power from on high (Luke 24: 49).
This second work, this endowment with power, this
purging, this sanctification, prayed for by Jesus was received by the disciples
on the day of Pentecost. "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).
This outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the purification of heart were associated
as one work by Peter when he was relating to the elders how God enjoined them to
preach the gospel to the Gentiles. He said, "God which knoweth the hearts
bare them witness, giving them [the Gentiles] the Holy Ghost, even as he did
unto us [the Jews]; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their
hearts by faith" (Acts 15: 8, 9).
Were the experience of the disciples the only recorded
instance of the two distinct works of divine grace, the argument that the Holy
Spirit had not yet been given might seem to militate against our conclusion, but
recorded experiences subsequent to the day of Pentecost are parallel with that
of the disciples just mentioned. I will notice the experience of the Samaritans,
the record of which it will be necessary to quote somewhat at length. "Then
Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the
people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing
and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud
voice, came of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies,
and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city . . . But
when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God,
and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women
Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that
Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and
John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their
hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost" (Acts 8).
From this passage we note the following facts: 1. Philip
preached Christ to the Samaritans. 2. They of one accord gave heed. 3. Even
unclean spirits were cast out and the sick were healed. 4. There was great joy
in the city. 5. They believed Philip's preaching. 6. They were baptized. These
are unmistakable marks of true believers. 7. Sufficient time elapsed for the
news to reach Jerusalem that the Samaritans had "received the word of
God." 8. The church at Jerusalem realized the necessity for a second work
of grace and " sent unto them Peter and John." 9. When Peter and John
reached Samaria, they prayed for the Samaritans, laying their hands on them, and
the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit. It is reasonable to conclude that the
reception of the Holy Spirit in this and in every other instance, like that
experience of Peter preaching to the Gentiles, was accompanied by the
purification of heart by faith.
The Christians at Ephesus received two distinct works of
grace. "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with that holy Spirit of promise " (Eph. 1: 3). This text makes it
unmistakably clear that the Christians at Ephesus received the Holy Spirit, not
when they believed, but after they believed. The plain statement of this text is
in perfect harmony with the facts recorded in the nineteenth chapter of Acts:
"And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having
passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed! And they
said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost ....
When Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied" (Acts 19:1-6). These twelve men at Ephesus
were disciples of John who had believed on Jesus, but had not heard of the miraculous
descent of the Holy Spirit. Paul evidently considered them true believers; for
as soon as he had instructed them, he permitted them to be baptized. Then
after their baptism Paul laid his hands upon them, and they received
the Holy Spirit. So the Ephesian Christians first believed and
afterward were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
From the first chapter of Paul's letter to the
Thessalonians we learn that, though the Thessalonians had labored in love, were
patient in hope, were elect of God and called of the Lord, and were ensamples to
all that believed in Macedonia and Achaia, yet Paul perceived that they still
had need of entire sanctification, for he said to them in the fifth chapter,
" The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Faithful calleth you who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5: 23,
24).
Texts might be multiplied in proof of the doctrine of
sanctification subsequent to justification; but these four instances are clear
and, on the whole, parallel, uniform, and unmistakable in their teaching. This
doctrine of a second distinct work of grace agrees also to what we have learned
of man's moral need and nature. Sanctification as a second work is a completing
of the supply of man's double need, a climax of the double cure.
The length of time that may elapse between the obtaining
of justification and of sanctification is irrelevant. Whether sanctification
follows justification by only a few minutes or by a few years does not affect in
any way the nature and distinctiveness of the two experiences. Naturally, it is
desirable that entire sanctification should follow justification as soon as the
heart feels its need and the mind comprehends the mode of the perfect
experience. Since the second work is somewhat dependent upon the consciousness
of the need, the comprehension of its availability, and the active faith of the
individual, no rule can be laid down as to how much time should intervene
between the two experiences. In short, the time element in the two works of
grace is not a matter of doctrine, but one of experience.
The doctrine of two distinct works of grace has been
objected to upon the ground of a supposition that God never does things by
halves. In answer to this objection we may refer to the blind man of Bethsaida
(Mark 8: 22, 25). When Jesus had spit on his eyes and laid his hands upon him,
the blind man saw men as trees walking, was partly restored; again Jesus touched
him and he saw all men clearly, was fully restored. This incident of healing
has, of course, no relation to the twofold plan of the soul's salvation; but it
does most conclusively prove that God may and does, for reasons of his own,
sometimes do in two parts things which he could, if he pleased, do in one act.
The forgiveness of personal transgression and the removal of native halves of a
whole, but two distinct works, differing in nature and requiring different
treatment.
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