BIBLE READINGS ON THE SECOND BLESSING
CHAPTER 02 -- SANCTIFICATION
(Bible reference, as associated with a testimony: Psalms
68:12-13: "And she that tarried at home divided the spoil. Though ye have
lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with
silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.")
First, I want you to note that the Trinity, the Triunity of
the Godhead, is engaged in this question of our sanctification; and a matter
that is of sufficient importance to interest and engage the Trinity should
certainly be of sufficient importance to engage our attention.
I Thes. 4:3: "For this is the will of God, even your
sanctification." "This is the will of God, your sanctification."
The word even is supplied. "Your sanctification." To the obedient
child the will of the parent is law. To the obedient child of God the will of
God is paramount to everything else. If sanctification is the will of God
concerning me, than I am not what God would have me to be until I measure up to
that experience. God the Father wills our sanctification.
There are so many passages that I could give along the same
line of thought, but I must he brief. The next thought is, Christ the Son died
to provide our sanctification; turn to:
Heb. 13:12: "Wherefore Jesus also, that He might
sanctify the people with His Own blood, suffered without the gate." God
the Father willed our sanctification, and Christ died to provide our
sanctification. The same thought is in:
Eph. 5:25-27: "'Husbands love your wives, even 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 wrinkle, or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without blemish." "God so loved the
world;" Christ, also, loved the church, and gave "Himself for it that
He might sanctify and cleanse it."
Next you may turn to:
Romans 15:16: "That I should be the minister of Jesus
Christ to the Gentiles, ministering
the Gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles
might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost." "Being
sanctified by the Holy Ghost." God wills our sanctification; Christ died
to make it possible and to provide our sanctification, and the Holy Ghost is
here to execute and
accomplish our sanctification. There is another reference on
this same point:
2 Thes. 2:13: "But we are bound to give thanks to God
alway for you brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to
salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."
"Chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit." Note
that the word Spirit there has a capital "S," signifying the
"Holy Spirit." Now it seems to me that if God wills our
sanctification, and Christ died to provide our sanctification, and the Holy
Spirit is here to accomplish our sanctification, that a man might get
sanctified. No man can make an honest pretense of believing the Bible and not
believe in sanctification.
The words sanctify, sanctified, and sanctification occur no
less than one hundred and
fifty-two times; the words cleansing and purity occur no
less than six hundred times; the words perfect, perfected, and perfection occur
fully one hundred and fifty times; the words holy and holiness occur no less
than six hundred times. These terms, all having reference to this identical
grace, -- representing different phases of the experience, perhaps, but all
treat of the same experience; not less that fifteen hundred references at least
upon this subject. When a man says he does not believe in sanctification, he
simply says he does not believe the Bible, or else he expresses his ignorance
concerning the Bible. Certainly a man might say, "I do not understand it as
you do," but you are bound to believe in some sort of sanctification if
you believe the Bible.
There are five or six different theories regarding this
subject. The first theory is that
sanctification occurs simultaneously with regeneration.
Second, that sanctification is obtained by a gradual development after you are
justified. A third theory is that sanctification occurs at the moment of death,
and cannot be experienced until you die. The fourth theory is that
sanctification is a sort of post-mortem affair, and takes place after death.
The fifth theory, -- more properly the first, is that sanctification is a
definite experience subsequent to regeneration, conditioned upon entire
consecration and faith, -- the privilege of every believer as pardon is the
privilege of every penitent-to be experienced and enjoyed in this life.
Now these five theories cover the consensus of opinion of
the religious world concerning
this subject. We want to investigate and carefully review
these theories. First that sanctification does not occur simultaneously with
regeneration but that sanctification is a second experience. Now to prove that
we will take a passage that we read a moment ago:
Eph. 5:25-27: "Husbands love your wives, even 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 wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it
should be holy and without blemish." "Christ also loved the
church." Who constitutes the church? It is the family of God. How do you
get into a family, join it? No. You are born into it; so the members of this
family, the church, are born of the Spirit, born again, horn from above. All
members of this church are horn from above. There is a difference, you see,
between belonging to a church and belonging to the church. Multitudes belong to
a church, so-called, a religious organization, -- a sort of mutual admiration
society, who do not belong to the church at all. The register of the church is
kept in the skies. And it was for this company, this class, -- the church, the
ecclesia, or called-out ones, Christ gave Himself, that He might sanctify it
and cleanse it. A man becomes a member of the church when he is born again, and
not until then does he become eligible to this experience. "Christ also
loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse
it."
Take the seventeenth chapter of John. In this chapter Jesus
is testifying concerning the disciples. First, "they are not of the
world;" three times he repeats that statement. Second, "they are
Thine and they are Mine; they are Mine and they are Thine." Third,
"they have kept Thy Word." Fourth, "I have kept them."
Fifth, "None of them is lost" -- excepting Judas. Sixth, "I am
glorified in them." Seventh, "they have known surely that I came out
from thee." To know Him is to have life eternal, based on that third
verse. I have not given the references here, because I have done so in a former
lesson. He is praying for them, as stated clearly in the ninth verse: "I
pray for them, I pray not for the world." He is not praying for the world.
He says in the seventeenth verse: "Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy
Word is truth." So Jesus evidently believed in sanctification, and He did
not believe that they were sanctified when they were converted, for He
certainly would not pray for something they already had. We learn from this
prayer that Jesus believed that Sanctification was a second experience.
I Thes. 4:3: "This is the will of God, even your
sanctification." To whom does that apply;
to sinners? To backsliders? Let us see what kind of people
the Thessalonians were. Turn to the first chapter, -- we will read the entire
chapter:
I Thes. 1:1: "Paul and Sylvanus, and Timotheus, unto
the church of the Thessalonians
which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus
Christ." We note that this epistle was addressed to the church "which
is in God our Father" -- not to sinners, but to the church.
I Thes. 1:2, 3: "We give thanks to God always for you
all, making mention of you in our
prayers. Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and
labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of
God and our Father." "Work of faith, labor of love, patience of
hope;" would that indicate that they are sinners?
I Thes. 1:4: "Knowing brethren, beloved, your election
of God." They were elected of
God. Some people are afraid of the doctrine of election; but
I believe in it. However, a man cannot be elected unless he becomes a
candidate. As it was in my case, the Holy Spirit nominated me, and I accepted
the nomination and became a candidate; then God the Father, and God the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost elected me by a sweeping majority. "Elected of
God."
I Thes. 1:5, 6: "For our gospel came not unto you in
word only, but also in power, and in
the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what
manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us,
and of the Lord, having received the Word in much affliction, with joy of the
'Holy Ghost." Followers of the apostles, and followers of the Lord;
"received the Word in much affliction, with joy."
1 Thes. 1:7: "So that ye were ensamples to all that
believe in Macedonia and Achaia."
Not ensamples only to sinners ' but "ensamples to all
that believe." They were most exemplary Christians, and "ensamples to
all that believe in 'Macedonia and Achaia." I Thes. 1:8. "For from
you sounded out the Word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also
in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to
speak anything." "In every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad."
There was no need of telling people that they have been converted; the thing is
out; and it is astonishing how it will get out when a man gets converted in the
old fashioned way.
I was converted about nine-thirty Sunday night, and went
home, and thought I would start
out the next morning and tell the folks about it; but the
thing had been all over town before breakfast; and before I could get the
privilege of telling them, they took me by the hand, and greeted me warmly, and
said: "Glad to hear it." You get a good case and it will get out.
With some people, the first intimation you get that they ever have been
converted is at their funeral, when the preacher announces that they have gone
to heaven; the preacher had found some old dusty, rusty, musty church record,
and found that they had been members of church, and so concluded they had gone
to heaven too, when there had not been the slightest suspicion in the
neighborhood that they ever had religion.
Beloved, it is like the measles; if you keep warm, it will
break out, and the community will know about it; it is a little contagious
then, but I would not mind if there came an epidemic of it in this
neighborhood. We need not tell them that you are followers of Christ, -- the
thing is out; the thing is commented upon, spoken of in every place.
I Thes. 1:9: "For they themselves show of us what
manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to
serve the living and true God." They had turned to God from idols, to
serve the living and true God."
I Thes. 1:10: "And to wait for His Son from heaven,
whom He raised from the dead, even
Jesus Christ, which delivered us from the wrath to
come." "Delivered us from the wrath to come."
Let us recapitulate just a moment:
First: They constituted the church at Thessalonica.
Second: Paul rejoiced in them.
Third: They had "works of faith," "labor of
love," "patience of hope."
Fourth: "Elected of God."
Fifth: They had received the Word with much joy through much
affliction.
Sixth: They were followers of the Apostles and of the Lord.
Seventh: They were "ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia."
Eighth: Their faith was generally acknowledged and commented
upon.
Ninth: They had turned from idols to serve and worship the
true and living God.
Tenth: They had been delivered from the wrath to come.
Were they Christians? Were they converted? To that class He
says: This is the will of God, even your sanctification." But, you say,
possibly they are backslidden; so turn to:
I Thes. 3:6: "But now when Timotheus came from you unto
us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have
good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see
you." Brother Timotheus had paid them a visit, and Paul had wanted to know
his opinion about them. He brought us good tidings of your "Martha
Washington Tea Party," and your "Oyster Supper," and your
"Broom Drill," and your "Ice Cream festival," and your
"necktie-socials." All that sounds too modern! That is the report
that would suit some churches, no doubt. But Timotheus "brought us good
tiding of your faith and charity," -- the two cardinal graces.
I Thes. 3:7, 8, 9, 10: "Therefore, brethren, we were
comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith; for now we
live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again
for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sake before our God; night
and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that
which is lacking in your faith." What does he want to see their faces for,
and praying so earnestly, "by night and by day exceedingly," -- what
for? Something still "lacking in your faith." They evidently did not
get all at conversion.
I Thes. 3:13: "To the end He may stablish your hearts
unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, with all His saints." "To the end that He might
stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness." They did not get it when
they were converted; and, to show that they were not backslidden, take:
I Thes. 5:5: "Ye are all the children of light and the
children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of the darkness."
"Ye are ALL the children of light and children of the day." According
to that there was not a single backslider among them.
He concludes the epistle by a prayer:
I Thes. 5:23:24: And 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 is He
that calleth you, Who also will do it." Not, "Who also did do
it?" "Who also will do it." Would Paul pray for something they
already had? It would seem to me that nothing could be clearer than that they
were not sanctified when they were converted. Paul believed sanctification was
a second experience. "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, -- and
preserve you blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
"Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it."
I am not particular as to when you get the blessing, where
nor how, just so you get it. But a man who says he was sanctified when he was
converted claims an experience contrary to Scripture, and contrary to universal
experience and testimony. The facts are that no man would think of claiming
sanctification unless he obtained it as a second experience, unless he be
caught in a "second blessing" meeting. He says: "I was
sanctified when I was converted, and I have been converted forty years and
over." He never said so before, and nobody ever suspected that he was
sanctified; it comes as news to the community that he is sanctified; it is the
first time he has ever told it; his next door neighbors never suspected it.
Sometimes there are ministers who preach that we are
sanctified when we are converted, and yet they would not be heard to say to
sinners: You come to the altar and let the Lord sanctify you. Not a preacher
would think of inviting sinners to come to the altar to seek sanctification; it
does not come to sinners.
The next theory is, that you may obtain it by growth. There
is a growth in the grace of justification, and there is a growth in the grace
of sanctification, but there is not a growing into either. Why may you not grow
into justification or regeneration? Because it is something which God must do
for you, -- a divine act. Why may not a man grow into sanctification? For the
same reason: it is a divine act, the act of divine grace: "The very God of
peace sanctify you wholly.""Jesus, also, that He might sanctify the
people, suffered without the gate." You cannot grow into something which
God must do for you.
If it were by growth, then time would be a factor, for it
requires time to grow. If time is a factor in our sanctification, the question
would naturally arise: how much time is required? Suppose that men might grow
into sanctification in two years; this would be a very short period; very well.
That man has been growing just one year into sanctification, and, at the
expiration of one year, he dies; just grew half way there; then what about the
other half? The Lord would have to fix the other half up instantaneously. If He
had to fix up the last half instantaneously, why not fix up the first half
instantaneously. And again, if by growth, there must be degrees in
sanctification: some would be a little sanctified, some would be more
sanctified, and some would be most sanctified, determined by the length of time
they had been growing; it would be hard to tell the class to which they belong.
Did you ever meet persons who testified that they had been
growing so many years and had grown into sanctification? Did you ever meet such
a person? Or did you ever see a person who
had met a person who testified he had grown into
sanctification? Did you ever see a person that had met a person that had ever
heard of a person that had grown into sanctification? No, and you never will.
They cannot be found.
Some one may say, "A man said he thought he had about
gotten there." But he was not there, evidently. Friends, the answer simply
is that you cannot grow into something which God must do for you. There is a
gradual approach to sanctification on the human side: there is the
consecration, the yielding to God, and seeking the blessing, just as the
gradual approach to the experience of justification. But when a man comes to
the point, and meets the conditions, and, when he believes that God does the
work, God does it instantaneously.
The third theory: We obtain it at death. That death has any
saving power we deny. Death has no saving power. Death is an enemy, a result of
sin; death can never sanctify you. Now that some people have been sanctified at
the moment of death we admit; but, if they were sanctified at death, they were
sanctified as a second experience; and, if they were sanctified at death, it
was the blood that sanctified them. Well, has the blood more power at death
than when a man is living? If the blood can cleanse me when I AM dying, why not
while I am living?
Do you remember the circumstances of that death-bed scene?
You remember just before he died, how he struggled to give up, give up his
family, give up his possessions and consent to the will of God. The preacher
came and prayed; the saints gathered and sang and prayed, then he got so happy?
In former years they called it "dying grace." Would you like to know
what happened to him then? I will tell you how you may find out; just do what
he did; make a death-bed consecration, and you will find out just what
happened. Give up to God as you would on your death-bed, and you will find out
what others got; they got nothing but sanctification, by faith in the blood.
Death is no saviour.
If death will make a Christian free from sin, why not let
death make a sinner free from sin? We would not need any Saviour at all, -- let
death do it. Satan is the father of sin, and sin is the cause, or the father of
death; that makes death the devil's grandchild. Now what is the good of people
going about expecting that the devil's grandchild is going to sanctify them? Well,
I don't expect anything from the devil nor any of his kin-folks.
"The blood, the blood is all my plea,
Hallelujah! now it cleanseth me."
Now if you insist that you get it when you die, and cannot
get it before, turn to: Jude 1: "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and
brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved
in Jesus Christ, and called." "Sanctified by death?" No.
"Sanctified by God the Father?" Exactly. If they did not get
sanctified until they died, this letter must have been written after they were
dead, and addressed to their tomb-stones and forwarded to some cemetery. For,
if it was written after they were sanctified, and if they were not sanctified
until they were dead, we must conclude that this letter was written to be put
on their tomb-stones, and set up in some graveyard. Do you believe that? I
don't. According to this letter some folks have it before they die.
Then we come to the other theory: It is a postmortem
experience, -- you get it after death. That is the theory of our Catholic
friends. They believe in a second blessing, -- all of them. They believe that
in going to the confessional, and confessing their sins to the priest they will
be absolved from guilt. But there is something which the priest cannot do, so,
in view of that, they have fixed up the purgatory theory. But the difficulty
about purgatory is to locate it; nobody seems to know where the place is. And I
notice that the time they leave a person in purgatory depends somewhat upon the
size of his purse; if one has plenty of money, I notice they will pray him
through more quickly, while they will let the other fellow sweat awhile. I am
too poor to go that route, -- I am afraid they would let me sweat.
It is nonsense. There is not a word in scriptures to hold
out such a thought. But in that very theory they recognize the fact that there
is something more needed than pardon; they need a purging; while the priest may
forgive, it takes purgatory fires to purge them. I believe in purging, but with
the fire of the Holy Ghost.
We are getting into close quarters: You say you got it when
you were converted. That is unscriptural. If I had time I would prove to you
that the Thessalonians did not get it when they were converted, but as a second
experience; that the Corinthians did not get it when they were converted, but
as a second experience; that the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Samaritans, did
not get it when they were converted, but as a second experience. Father Abraham
did not get it when. converted, but as a second experience; Jacob did not get
it when converted, but as a second experience. If you claim that you got it
when you were converted, that is contrary to the Word of God; He does not do
things contrary to His Word. God does not sanctify a man when he is converted.
If it were a mere question of power I suppose He could. He could make silver
dollars grow on trees, if it were a mere question of power; I suppose if He
did, we would all be up a tree. God has method and system, and wisdom in His work;
so in this work of sanctification, it is not according to His plan or method to
sanctify at conversion.
We might give many reasons why we are not sanctified when we
are converted. You say you grow into sanctification. I answer it is a divine
act; God must do it for you. You say you must get it when you die; I will show
you that some folks got it before they died. You say you get it in purgatory;
you have no scripture. This leaves us but one theory, namely, that
sanctification is an experience subsequent to regeneration, conditioned upon
entire consecration and faith. How do you prove that?
Matt. 23:19: "Ye fools and blind; for whether is
greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?" It is the
altar that sanctifieth the gift. That is taken from the Old Testament: Exodus
29:37: "Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and
sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy; whatsoever toucheth the altar
shall be holy." "Whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy."
The thought is that we do not offer on altars of wood and stone; Christ is our
altar. We do not bring lambs, and goats, etc., we bring ourselves, -- laying
ourselves upon the altar of God, "Which is your reasonable service.
Anything short of that is unreasonable. This is consecration.
Acts 26:18: "To open their eyes, and to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive
forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith
that is in me." "Sanctified by f-a-i-t-h growth?" F-a-i-t-h
death? F-a-i-t-h purgatory? "Sanctified by f-a-i-t-h, FAITH."
"The altar sanctifieth the gift," then I must lay all upon the altar;
what then? By faith trust God to do the work.
Just a few points as to what sanctification. is not: It is
not an experience where you could not sin if you wanted to; we do not say that
the possibility to sin is removed; we do not say that a man has not power to
sin, but we do say that he may have power not to sin.
It is not an experience where a man is exempt from
temptation. Temptation is not sin; to be tempted is no sin; it is the yielding
to the temptation that brings sin.
I Cor. 10:13: "There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man; but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it." We know we are tempted, and we
believe "God is faithful, and will make a way of escape that we may be
able to bear it." To be tempted is no sin. Christ was tempted; but why
should we yield, since "God is faithful and makes a way of escape?"
Again: Sanctification is not an experience where we become
infallible and cease to make mistakes. Only today or yesterday a lady said to
me: "Do you believe sanctified people cease to make mistakes?" I have
heard of only one man in all the world who claims to be infallible, and he was
on the other side of the ocean, thank God! but I noticed that when he died they
burned a good many candles, and said masses, etc., and they seemed to question
even his infallibility.
We are sorry to admit sanctified people make mistakes. We
need to distinguish between
mistake and sin: a mistake is a thing of the head, not of
the heart, while a sin is a thing of the heart. A mistake is a thing you did
when you knew no better; a sin is a thing you did when you did know better. A
mistake is not a sin. The motive determines the morality of the act. So you see
how one man might do a certain act and be wholly innocent, and another man do
exactly the same thing and be guilty: A mother by mistake administers a deadly
poison to her sick babe, thinking it was a curative, a remedy; it was purely,
wholly a mistake. The child dies, and she is frantic with grief, and is an object
of pity. That same mother might administer the poison with intent, and she is a
murderess. The motive determines the morality of the act.
Again, Sanctification is not Come-out-ism. In some places
this doctrine has become associated with some other things -- associated with a
movement known as "Come-out-ism."
"Come-outers" are a sect that try to dissect a
sect, and any sect, that is dissected by such a sect is the most dissectable
sort of a sect. We are not Come-outers. In some places we may be "Fired-outers,"
"Put-outers," but we are "Go-inners," and
"Stay-inners" by the grace 'of God. We believe in organized effort.
We have no mission nor commission against the church, although we cannot excuse
sin even in the church. We love the church, and her ministry.
Now, a few of the advantages accruing from this blessing.
The benefits of sanctification are innumerable.
Take: I Thes. 5:23: "And 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."' I want you to see
that the sanctifying grace precedes the preserving grace. That the preserving
grace is coupled with sanctifying grace.
Jude 1: "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother
of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus
Christ, and called." "Sanctified by God the Father, and
preserved." Notice that the preserving grace is coupled with the
sanctifying grace. Preserved means: "you are done up so that you will keep."
That is the object of preserving. So many folks don't keep. The fact is
logical, as well as scriptural. Preserved. The Lord puts up His preserves just
as you folks put up your preserves. You would not think of preserving fruit
that was partly decayed; you pare around it, pick out all the spots, and see
that it is sound before you preserve it. If you don't preserve it properly,
when you step into the pantry the next day you hear something sizz; then you
say, "'There is a can working," and you have to stew it all over
again. That is the trouble: people want to be preserved without being made
whole. God wants to take out all carnality, all unsoundness. Then it takes fire
to be preserved, to get to the boiling point. People want to get preserved with
the old man in them. Before long you hear something sizz; it has begun to work;
it foams, then it blows the lid off, then you have to get stewed over again at
the next revival meeting, -- it doesn't keep. God wants to preserve you so that
you will keep in any climate; not pickled, but preserved. Preserved includes
the thought of firmness, constancy, stability, steadfastness. What is the thing
that causes fluctuation, vacillation, and the up and down experience. God means
to get you where you will stand, by removing the thing that causes that up and
down life.
Take another passage to show the advantage of
sanctification:
Mark 8:22, 23, 24: "And He cometh to Bethsaida; and
they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. And He took the
blind man by the hand and led him out of the town, and when He had spit on his
eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw ought. And he looked
up and said, "I see men as trees walking." Yes, he had one touch, he
could see, but he saw men as trees walking. Suppose you preach a second
blessing to him. My, he had such a powerful experience t he saw men as trees,
and they were walking. If one touch would make men as tall as trees, two
touches might make them twice as tall. How could that be?
Mark 8:25: "After that He put His hands again upon his
eyes, and made him look up, and he was restored, and saw every man
clearly."
"Clearly!" He did not see men twice as tall as
trees, but saw every man clearly. He got the second touch. People say they
don't believe in a half-way work. Well, that first touch looks like half-way
work. He could have opened those eyes with one touch, but He wanted to show
that it was necessary to have a second touch in order to see clearly, and that
the second touch gives a clarified vision.
"The pure in heart shall see God." "If thine
eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light." It requires a second
touch in order to see clearly. When you get the second blessing you can see it
taught everywhere, and before you got it you could not see it anywhere.
People sometimes wonder why I preach so much about it. I am
like the brother who preached on immersion in every sermon, and the
congregation becoming wearied finally asked him if he would not preach about
something else. He told them that he could not see anything else in the Bible.
But they were inclined to think that there was something else in the Bible. So
it was agreed that they would select the text for him for the following Sunday,
and the minister was not to know what it was until he entered the pulpit. And
they had a text that had no immersion in it, -- they were sure about that; they
had decided upon a sentence in one of the minor prophets in connection with the
temple outfit: "And there were nine and twenty knives." The minister
announced his text, "And there were nine and twenty knives," and then
he said: "I don't see what they wanted with that many knives unless it was
to cut the ice to immerse someone. He could not see anything else but immersion
in the Bible. Well, when you get the second blessing you will be able to see it
all through the Book. That is why I preach on this subject so often. It
clarifies the vision.
I might multiply this, but I must stop; I want you to get
one more of the advantages and
benefits accruing out of sanctification:
2 Timothy 2:21: "If a man therefore purge himself from
these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's
use, and prepared unto every good work." The thought is: Sanctified and
meet for the Master's use -- and prepared unto every good work." It is a
preparation and qualification for service. One more:
Hebrews 2:11: "For both He that sanctifieth and they
who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call
them brethren." "He that sanctifieth." According to that there
is some one engaged in the work. "He that sanctifieth and they that are
sanctified." According to that there are some that are sanctified. And
"they are all of one." That is the beauty of sanctification; it means
unity, and oneness with Him. "For which cause He is not ashamed to call
them brethren." Some people will be ashamed to call you brother and sister
after you have been sanctified; but He is not ashamed; why? Because you have
the family resemblance. Praise God! Unity, oneness with Him. O, the benefits of
sanctification are innumerable.
The words "sanctify" and
"sanctification" are made from the Latin adjective sanctus (meaning
"holy") and the Latin verb facere (meaning "to make") and
the suffix "tion" always meaning "the act of." So the root
meaning of the word plainly means and signifies the act of making holy.
Standard Dictionary: Sanctify: -- "To make holy;
rendered sacred or morally or spiritually pure; cleansed from sin . . .
sanctification; specifically in Theology, the gracious work of the Holy Spirit
whereby the believer is freed from sin and exalted to holiness of heart and
life."
"Whereby the believer is freed from sin."
According to this, sanctification is an experience
for believers -- not for sinners. This would make
sanctification a second experience. "The
gracious work of the Holy Spirit" -- not of works, nor
growth, nor death, nor purgatory, but a work of God divinely inwrought by the
Holy Spirit.
