1 Th. 5:23-24
Sanctify You Wholly
Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, focusing on the doctrine of entire sanctification. He establishes that this complete holiness, encompassing spirit, soul, and body, is authored by God himself, is total in scope, and will be fully realized at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, not before. Martin offers consolation and encouragement to struggling saints, warns against false teachings that promise present sinless perfection, and convicts false saints who lack a longing for holiness, urging unbelievers to repent and enter the conflict against sin.
Primary Texts
Topics
Outline 7 sections · 40 min
- Introduction to Entire Sanctification as the Sermon's Subject 0:02
- Establishing Entire Sanctification as the Text's Subject 4:06
- The Author and Scope of Entire Sanctification 9:03
- The Timing and Certainty of Entire Sanctification 18:42
- Consolation and Encouragement for the True Saint 26:38
- Warning Against False Teachings and God's Timing 31:41
- Conviction for the False Saint and Exhortation to Unbelievers 34:47
Key Quotes
“There is no aspect of biblical truth more frequently or clearly emphasized than that the salvation of the gospel, the salvation set forth in the gospel of Christ, is a salvation from sin unto holiness.”
“Therefore the longing to be entirely sanctified, to be fully sanctified is a biblical longing. In fact it's the natural longing of the renewed heart.”
“No, not really. There's no conscious sin. There's no known sin. And they begin to lower the standard of perfection so that man can meet it.”
“It's in the realm of anticipation not present participation. It's not yet held in reality but it's hoped for in expectation.”
“The accomplishment does not rest on our weak endeavors nor on the apostles fervent longings but on God's almighty and unfailing faithfulness.”
“Conscious in a real sense that it's because God's laid his hand upon me that I have this problem.”
“But you see it's the certainty that the God who's called me and set me against the stream of my own lust and against the stream of the world and against the power of the devil he has himself pledged that what he has begun he'll accomplish then as Paul says I know my labors are not in vain I know the certainty of the issue and that nerves me for the conflict.”
“The greatest longing for the child of God is to be rid of this terrible terrible terrible terrible evil the greatest longing for the child of God is to be rid of this terrible terrible terrible terrible terrible towel and ever in every department is being so that when a true Christian hears a text like this the God of peace himself complete the work faithful is He who calls you who will do it His heart lives within Him and says O God thank you for the cross back the person who's only got a name that he's alive that he's dead he doesn't get entire sanctification what's been your inner reaction to it has your heart leaped within you and said oh god hasten the day maybe the preacher will even tell us that we can expect it now lord when i came to that text i said lord if there's something you've got for the now that i've never seen show it to me i would love to have been able to stand up and say here is a blessing that god”
Applications
All listeners
- Take consolation and encouragement from the certainty that God will ultimately resolve the struggle against sin.
- Let the certainty of God completing His work give you nerve and strength to continue in the conflict against sin.
- Do not let the certainty of God's work make you careless in your spiritual struggle.
- Do not mess up God's life or God's timing by trying to bring future glorification into the present.
- Examine your heart: if you have no longing to be rid of sin, question whether you are truly a child of God.
- If you are a stranger to the struggle against sin, repent and flee to the Lord in faith, turning from your present course.
A full transcript is available on the tab. 73 paragraphs, roughly 40 minutes.
Introduction to Entire Sanctification as the Sermon's Subject
Let me do 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and our attention this morning will be focused upon verses 23 and 24. And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved and tired without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it.
There is no aspect of biblical truth more frequently or clearly emphasized than that the salvation of the gospel, the salvation set forth in the gospel of Christ, is a salvation from sin unto holiness. As we've been studying these two chapters of 1 Thessalonians 4. some months now, we have reminded you again and again that the great theme of these chapters is the walk that pleases God, the sanctified walk. For he says in verse 8, God hath not called you unto uncleanness, but unto or in sanctification. The very sphere of God's effectual call is the sphere of sanctification. We have also emphasized that sanctification is not just a theological term, nor is it some kind of an inward, emotional state or experience. It consists in nothing less than the increasing conformity of heart and life to the revealed will of God.
And in these chapters, the apostle has been touching on some minute details of the life of sanctification. He's touched the whole area of our emotional response, our emotional responses to death, our attitude to those who rule over us in the church, our attitude to friends who may wrong us and hurt us and step on our toes, our attitude to brethren who are weaker, brethren who are disorderly. All of these areas of great detail touched upon by the apostle in terms of some of the peculiar needs of this body of people. So the great theme of these chapters, these chapters has been that of sanctification, practical conformity in every area of life to the revealed will of God. There have been these admonitions, these exhortations, these directions, and now the apostle comes to this tremendous climax in the general theme of sanctification and announces with these almost overpowering words, and the God of peace himself sanctify you, holy. So then the subject of our text this morning is nothing less than entire or complete sanctification of the child of God. I jokingly said to someone downstairs between the Bible class and the morning service,
I said I'm going to preach good alliance doctrine this morning, I'm going to preach on entire sanctification. Good Wesleyan holiness doctrine, for this is a term that the Wesleyan groups use quite frequently, they say, they speak of entire sanctification. Well, that's a biblical term. For the apostle sets it before us in this text, and the first thing I want to do this morning is to establish with you that this is indeed the subject of our text, entire or complete sanctification of the child of God.
Establishing Entire Sanctification as the Text's Subject
How do we know that's the subject? Well, first of all, we find these words, the God of peace himself sanctify you. This sanctification, is not what we might call positional sanctification, the fact that in Jesus Christ we are set apart unto God positionally, but it's speaking of experimental sanctification, God doing something in us and for us. God himself sanctify you.
This is speaking of that whole realm of the Christian's own experience. It is dealing with entire sanctification, as it relates to the man where he lives. Then he uses the term holy. The word means totally and finally, completely.
It's a compound word, this is the only place it appears, and he takes the word for whole and the word for complete, and he puts the two together. He says may the God of peace sanctify you totally, finally, completely. Then he piles another term up. May your soul and spirit and body be preserved, entire, not lacking in any parts whatsoever.
And then he piles another term on top of that. May it be preserved entire without blame. No cause for accusation for failure to attain the ideal. Then the subject, it is sort of a prayer, sort of a longing, I don't know what you'd call it.
Most of the commentators call it a prayer, but it's not formally a prayer. It's just the, the pouring out of the apostles' longing for these people. Try to feel with him. He's been saying, I want you to know how to walk so as to please God.
This is the will of God, even your sanctification. Then he goes into these specific areas, their sexual life, their reaction to death, their relationship to one another, their relationship to trials and sorrows and persecutions. He deals with all of these, and then it's as though he realizes, if I went on for another ten years, I'd only begin to touch the surface of what it means to be totally sanctified. And so there bursts from his heart this expression of longing.
Half a prayer, half an admonition. Now may the God of peace carry this work on to its total and final completion. May the God of peace sanctify you fully. This is his longing then.
For a moral renovation in these young believers that is intensive and extensive in making them like unto the Lord Jesus. And he does this in such a way that he indicates that this is not an unattainable ideal. Is he simply holding something out here as a longing that will never be realized, the same way some of you kids might wish you got all As? But you know it ain't never going to be so.
Is that what he's saying? I wish you all get As, but I know it'll never be? No, no. No, no.
There is an element of certainty in his very expression of desire that God of peace himself do this very thing. And if there's any question, verse 24 should settle it. Faithful is he who calls you who will do it. This is no unattainable ideal.
This longing for the complete and entire sanctification of these young believers is an attainable ideal. It's something that he says is certain to come. He has exhorted them to press on to perfection. Now he prays for their perfection and in verse 24 he affirms that that perfection will yet be realized.
So we may say in summary that the subject is very obviously in the text the subject of entire sanctification. Christian perfection. Therefore the longing to be entirely sanctified, to be fully sanctified is a biblical longing. In fact it's the natural longing of the renewed heart.
But great confusion, great delusion, all kinds of frustration and spiritual shipwreck have been the portion of many for failure to grasp what this text teaches about the very subject it announces. For the very text that says entire sanctification is the goal and will be the experience of the child of God answers such practical questions as these. What is that entire sanctification? How will it come to pass?
The Author and Scope of Entire Sanctification
When will it come to pass and why? And if you don't answer those questions scripturally even though you have a scriptural goal entire sanctification you're going to end up in frustration and confusion. So we move to the second area of our thinking this morning the specific aspects of entire sanctification set before us in the text. The subject, obvious, entire sanctification.
Now what are the specific aspects of that entire sanctification? Consider in the first place the author of that entire sanctification and the God of peace himself. Sanctify you wholly. And in the original this is very emphatic.
It starts off with the word himself the God of peace sanctify you wholly. So that as this letter was being read to the Thessalonians even before they're introduced to the subject of entire sanctification the apostle fixes their eyes upon the one who is its author. Himself the God of peace? Well what can I expect from him?
That he shall take me in hand and sanctify me wholly. You see in this present process God is at work in us to will and to do of his good pleasure Philippians chapter 2. But in the outworking of this present process of sanctification there is the very valid involvement of our conflict, of our struggling of our wrestling of our fighting, of our laboring all of these are scriptural words. And so the apostle says in essence you're struggling, you're laboring I'm struggling, I'm laboring I'm exhorting, you're listening I'm giving direction, you're pressing on but oh dear child of God it won't always be that way. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly. There is a mighty work of God himself that will issue in your entire sanctification. And he calls him in this text the God of peace.
Now why does he do that? There are only several other places in the scriptures where he's called the God of peace. Now why did he call him that here? I believe the answer is this.
He's reminding them that though God is the author of this work of entire sanctification he only performs this work in those who have been brought into peace with himself on the basis of justification. God's work of sanctification whether we view it as begun in conversion carried on in that process or completed in glorification sanctification, the Spirit's work in me is always based on justification Christ's work for me at the right hand of the Father. And until I've been brought into a state of being justified by faith and therefore having peace with God and know him as the God of peace I will never know his sanctifying power and work in my life. So the one who sanctifies us wholly is God himself. When he is known as the God of peace to the justified soul. So much then for the author of this work now notice the scope of this work of entire sanctification.
And in giving the scope he gives a general statement and then he gives specific details. What is the scope of this work of entire sanctification? Here it is. The God of peace himself sanctify you wholly.
And as I indicated earlier the word means completely totally, finally a sanctification which when accomplished leaves nothing to be desired. Now, many who talk about entire sanctification and even use this term they bleed some of the force out of the word holy. When you ask them if you've had this experience this second work of grace that's brought you into Christian perfection do you mean by that? That you are keeping the law of God perfectly?
No, not really. There's no conscious sin. There's no known sin. And they begin to lower the standard of perfection so that man can meet it.
The apostle doesn't do that here. He says when God puts forth his hand to do this work of entire sanctification it will be just that. It will be a sanctifying of you wholly, completely, totally finally a sanctification which will allow of no improvement. Development? Increase? Yes.
But not improvement. Then he enlarges as to what that means. And we have that in the next phrase. And may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we must not press these terms as though the apostle was speaking as a Christian psychologist. These terms are used interchangeably often in scripture. Spirit and soul. Mary said my soul rejoices my spirit rejoices and my soul magnifies the Lord.
That's a poor paraphrase but she uses the terms interchangeably. The prophet Isaiah does. Sometimes man is considered as just body and soul other times body and spirit. Jesus spoke of loving God with the mind, the heart, the soul, the strength.
We must not press these terms as though he were speaking with some kind of scientific or psychological precision. What he is doing is enlarging upon the general statement the God of peace sanctify you wholly by that I mean may your entire being from all of your physical faculties to the faculties of the soul to the faculties of the spirit the entire outward and inward life the physical and the non-physical the material, the immaterial may the totality of your being this is what he is saying be preserved entire. Now he uses a different word. This word means to be completely whole having all of its parts and faculties in full operation. In the third chapter of Acts we read about the lame man who was healed and as a result of his being healed this is what that man was physically. I read now Acts 3 and verse 16 And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong whom ye behold and know yea the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Here is a man he's been lame all his life his hands work all right his eyes work all right his ears work all right his tongue works all right
but his feet they just won't function. So he was a cripple. Now he's been healed by the power of Christ through the apostles and seeing the healed man they say he now has perfect soundness. What does he have?
He has all of his faculties in their full operation. Now Paul says this is the scope of entire sanctification. All the faculties with which God has endowed us as creatures made in his image shall be restored to their full and harmonious use in the service of God. You see sin has been a great thief.
This body with all of its marvelous faculties fearfully and wonderfully made sin has been a great thief and has stolen its appetites and made them its servant. Sin has stolen its faculties and made them servant to the devil. The mind, the soul, the spirit, the inner light with all of its great potential sin has been a thief. It has robbed these faculties and made them the servants of sin as we read in Romans chapter 6.
Now what is this entire sanctification? What is the scope of this sanctifying work of God? It will be one in which we will be preserved entire. All the parts and faculties in full operation for the purpose for which God gave them.
The body doing nothing but what God made the body to do. The soul and the spirit thinking, feeling, desiring nothing but what will glorify and magnify God. So the author, God himself. The scope, a general statement sanctify you wholly and in large statement spirit, soul and body preserved entire.
The Timing and Certainty of Entire Sanctification
Now here's the crucial issue. What is the time when this should be accomplished? And we must grasp it. Some say why it's obvious here and now.
And so they teach a doctrine of a second work of grace by which we are sanctified wholly. And we come into a state of various degrees of sinless perfection. But the text does not leave us any question as to Paul's understanding as to when this God of peace himself would wholly and totally and completely sanctify these people. For notice he says may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire without blame after coming literally translated in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This mighty work of God will come to light in the context of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the coming of the Lord Jesus. Now we know from this very book that bodily perfection for the Christian awaits the return of Christ. He had told them in chapter four that when he comes back again the dead in Christ shall rise first.
We shall arrive in the world and the dead in Christ shall come first. We shall arrive and remain shall be caught up and then with these new bodies we shall be with the Lord. First Corinthians 15 makes it very very clear that bodily perfection awaits the return of Christ and the resurrection. Philippians chapter three he says our citizenship is in heaven from whence we look for the appearing of the Lord Jesus.
And he says at that time we'll change this body of our humiliation for a body like unto his own glorified body. Romans chapter eight in verse 23 he speaks of this groaning of the child of God. Second Corinthians chapter five we that are in this tabernacle do groan. The unified teaching of scripture is that the entire sanctification of the body awaits the resurrection.
The coming of Christ. I think we're all clear on that. Now we can reason from there by inference and then we can see other scriptures that teach it explicitly that if this perfect perfection if this entire sanctifying of the body awaits the coming of Christ that this entire perfecting of the spirit and the soul awaits his return as well. And passages like first John three one to three teach this very clearly.
Beloved now are we the sons of God but it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. When he shall appear we shall be like him. We see through a glass darkly but then face to face we shall know even as we are known. Therefore this entire sanctification though attainable and though certain is still in the realm of petition for the child of God.
Not possession. It's in the realm of anticipation not present participation. It's not yet held in reality but it's hoped for in expectation. And at the return of Christ God himself will accomplish this work sovereignly completely suddenly.
The God of peace himself sanctify you holy and your whole spirit soul and body be preserved entire in or at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Having considered the subject of the text entire sanctification some of the aspects of it the author the scope the time now in the third place consider with me the absolute certainty of entire sanctification. As one has so ably said the accomplishment does not rest on our weak endeavors nor on the apostles fervent longings but on God's almighty and unfailing faithfulness. Verse 24 Faithful is he who calleth you who will also do it. Not only may a Christian be absolutely perfect in all departments of his being he shall be. Faithful is he who calls you who will also do it. Now this word call is all has in it all the richness of the biblical concept of calling it's not a mere summons but it's God putting forth his hand laying hold upon his sheep bringing them to the shepherd and into the fold.
Now here's the reasoning of the apostle. He says in verse 8 of chapter 4 I'm sorry verse 7 for God called us not for or in uncleanness but in sanctification. He said the reason you people at Thessalonica are Christians is that God has called you through the gospel he's called you out of darkness into light. Now the very realm of his calling is sanctification a life of holiness.
And he has purposed nothing less than your complete moral renovation into the likeness of his dear son. Romans 8 whom he foreknew he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. He's put a tag on us and said as he puts us if I may use the illustration of the production line that thing is marked to be like the Lord Jesus. And there is the process going on but we're so unlike him in so many ways.
There's so much about us in the activity of our bodies in the activity of soul and spirit that is unlike the Lord Jesus and we say when will I ever be totally like him? Can I have any assurance that I will indeed be like him? If so upon what is that assurance based? And the apostle answers the question it is based not upon anything in you what you are or anything in you what you do but it's based upon the very character the unfailing unchangeable character of the God who has called you.
He has called you and he has marked you for complete conformity to his son and he is faithful that is he can be counted upon to perform the thing which he purposes. So the certainty of our entire sanctification rests in the purpose and power of the author of salvation. He has taken us in hand and he will not forsake his own work. Jesus said the man who begins to build and can't finish is called the foolish man.
God will never be accused of that folly. What he has begun he will carry on to completion and bring it to light in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ as we read in Philippians 1 and verse 6. The absolute certainty then of entire sanctification rests upon the unchanging faithfulness of the God who has called us out of darkness into marvelous light. So much then for the meaning of the text.
Consolation and Encouragement for the True Saint
Consider with me then in our closing thoughts this morning what does this say to us sitting here in this place this morning. And I know the first thing it says to me and I'm but preaching to you what God has spoken to my own heart in my own study. It's a word of consolation and encouragement to the true saint. There are times when your wonder will the struggle ever end.
Will this terrible problem ever be ultimately resolved? God you created the problem. There was a time when I couldn't have cared less about wandering thoughts when I come to church. I welcome them.
Anything to keep my mind off God and truth and heaven and hell and eternity. But now wandering thoughts are my enemy. They're the plague of my heart. Will I ever know what it is to go through a day without having to confess the coldness of my heart the waywardness of my affections.
Lord you've created the problem. I never had that problem before. Now I've got a terrible problem. A problem that causes me to cry out oh wretched man that I am.
Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? What a word of consolation and encouragement to the true saint. Conscious of this problem. Conscious in a real sense that it's because God's laid his hand upon me that I have this problem.
Isn't that true? You never had that problem before many of you. You couldn't have cared less. You never gave serious thoughts to wandering thoughts to carelessness in worship to indifference to God.
You couldn't have cared less. But now you do care. You are concerned with those little roots of bitterness that spring up and those seeds of jealousy that seem to take root so easily in the heart and those distracting lusts and the spirit of covetousness and you cry out within is there no end? Is there no end to the struggle?
Is there no time coming when I'll be released from all of this? You just try to start implementing chapters 4 and 5 of 1 Thessalonians. You take seriously what's said here. Rejoice always.
You say Lord that didn't like me. I can grumble always. I don't even need a command to do that. That just comes naturally.
In everything give thanks. Lord that's not like me. And you take that seriously and you begin to try to implement what it says here. Don't render evil for evil.
You say that's not like me. Always follow after that which is good. That's not like me. Rejoice always.
That's not like me. Pray without ceasing. And you take these things seriously. And you really seek to implement chapters 4 and 5 and you get weary in the conflict and you say what's the use?
Times you say what's the use? Fight! Struggle! Wrestle!
And you have this tremendous word of consolation that God have peace himself and complete the work he's begun. Faithful is he who called you who also will do it. And the certainty of the issue then gives you nerve and strength to go on in the conflict. Ah someone says Ah but if you know that the Lord is going to complete his work won't that make you careless?
No, it won't make me careless. If I thought after all this struggle and fighting the issue is still uncertain I'd say man if there's any chance that it might all prove to be emptiness and folly why bother? It's too hard. Why buck the whole stream of the tendency of your own corruption the stream of the world the pressure of the devil if after all of that it might peter out and not make it?
But you see it's the certainty that the God who's called me and set me against the stream of my own lust and against the stream of the world and against the power of the devil he has himself pledged that what he has begun he'll accomplish then as Paul says I know my labors are not in vain I know the certainty of the issue and that nerves me for the conflict. You follow it? Child of God take great encouragement from the doctrine of entire sanctification rooted in the character of God who's called you and then it should be a word of warning to us as God's people the teaching of this text. You see it's only the true child of God who longs for entire sanctification that ever gets wrapped up in wrong teachings about it. You come up to the average man in the street and say listen I've got a little secret and if you'll follow my plan you'll never have any more trouble with sin he'd say get out of here fellow I got no time for you. But you come to the saint that's weary in the conflict the saint that's discouraged with areas that he's wrestled with for years and there seems to be so little progress and you say ah listen would you like to be done your wrestling? The years are up.
Warning Against False Teachings and God's Timing
Would you like to be done with the struggle? Oh now his spiritual fangs are dripping. Here's the way and he gives you a little formula. See?
You see it's earnest Christians for the most part that get involved in false teachings on entire sanctification because in a real sense God has stamped them for perfection and put the seeds of what they're going to be in their hearts and just as that seed longs to be a stalk if it's a corn seed and that seed has not found its full expression until it's multiplied itself in many years of corn so the seeds of divine life within us are reaching up and out for that full expression of absolute likeness to Jesus Christ and that's what creates the problem in the conflict God has created it in us blessed conflict it's a wonderful thing but he's created it and in that sense he's put these longings for what we shall yet be child of God listen don't you mess up God's life don't you mess up God's timing this shall be accomplished by God himself in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ah but someone says wouldn't it magnify God more if he'd do it now wouldn't I be a better testimony if God would sanctify me holy now don't ask such impudent questions it's not a matter of what would glorify God more in our eyes but what he has determined will bring him more glory in his eyes the question is not isn't it more honoring to the Lord Jesus
to say that he can sanctify us holy now than to say he must await then that's not a question for us to ask the question for us to ask is when does he say he'll do it that's the question as one author has so ably said and I want to quote from him certainly the gradualness of the process ought not to disturb us we may not be able to explain why almighty God acts by way of process but that it is revealed to us as his chosen mode of operation in every sphere of his work and should not surprise us here he could no doubt make the soul perfect in a moment in the twinkling of an eye just as he could give us a perfect body at the very instant of our believing but he doesn't the removal of the stains and effects of sin in an evil heart and in a sick and dying body is accomplished in a slow process we grow sick and we die though Jesus is taking us on his broad shoulders among the other penalties of sin all of our sickness and death itself and we still struggle with the remainders of indwelling sin though Jesus has brought for us the sanctifying operations of the spirit to us it is a weary process but it's God's way and he does all things well and the weariness of the struggle is illuminated by hope after a while we may say after a while or as Paul puts it faithful is he who calls you
Conviction for the False Saint and Exhortation to Unbelievers
who also will do it he will do it and so after a while our spirit and soul and body shall be made blamelessly perfect all to be so presented before our Lord at that day let us praise the Lord for the glorious prospect you begin to try to bring into the now what God has reserved for there and you're going to have problems in every realm this is a principle so vital to the Christian life some people trying to bring millennial bliss into the now and what do they do they end up perverting the gospel some people try to bring the glorification of the body to the now and quote claim their healing they end up in all kinds of confusion and frustration and bondage and so this entire sanctification awaits out there and we must be content with God with God's pace of work in us and so it's a word of consolation and encouragement to the saint a word of warning to us and then it's a word of conviction to the false saint those who may sit here this morning claiming to be the children of God listen if you have nothing more than just a claim to being his child this is a text that will show it very very quickly a text like this won't excite you if it had said and the God of peace himself endowed us with a million bucks
for retirement you'd be all ears or the God of peace himself endow you with what comes to your mind did you think of life's greatest blessing if it's anything other than this to be finally and fully rid of sin there's a real question that you're a child of God the greatest longing for the child of God is to be rid of this terrible terrible terrible terrible evil the greatest longing for the child of God is to be rid of this terrible terrible terrible terrible terrible towel and ever in every department is being so that when a true Christian hears a text like this the God of peace himself complete the work faithful is He who calls you who will do it His heart lives within Him and says O God thank you for the cross back the person who's only got a name that he's alive that he's dead he doesn't get entire sanctification what's been your inner reaction to it has your heart leaped within you and said oh god hasten the day maybe the preacher will even tell us that we can expect it now lord when i came to that text i said lord if there's something you've got for the now that i've never seen show it to me i would love to have been able to stand up and say here is a blessing that god
says we're warranted to enter into now i'd love to preach that if it were there but it isn't there it isn't there what's been your reaction to that text and then in the last place it's a word of exhortation to you who make no claim to be the children of god if you're no if you're a stranger to the struggle against sin it's because you're its willing bond servant all men will be ultimately wholly sanctified or wholly sunk beneath the judgments of almighty god and there's going to be no neutral ground wholly sanctified in every department of the church being made like unto the lord jesus or wholly sunk beneath the weight of the judgments of almighty god where will you be sanctified holy pressed beneath god's judgments the only biblical evidence you have where you sit this morning that you're going to have this and not that is that you're involved in the conflict that is a part of the process as paul says in romans 6 22 being made free from sin you have to be a part of the process you have to be a part of the process you have to be a part of the process you have to be a part of the process you have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life
the mark of the man who is destined for that is that he's not content with this now he's no stranger to the conflict to the struggle to the longing to the inward grief and pain if you're just sunk down in your present state and you love it and you're content in it my friend you're in a dangerous place and unless by thorough repentance and fleeing to the lord in faith you're going to be a part of the process and you're going to be a part of the process you turn from your present course that day that will find the saints of god sanctified holy will find you utterly crushed beneath the judgments of almighty god entire sanctification the glorious prospect of the christian god himself will bring it to pass may the cry of our hearts be even so common lord jesus let us pray
This transcript was generated by automated speech recognition and may contain errors. It is provided for study and reference only; the audio recording is the authoritative source.
Passages Expounded
This passage is the central text from which Martin derives the doctrine of entire sanctification, its author, scope, and timing.
Texts Expounded
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