72. Is entire sanctification gradual or instantaneous?
Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be received in this life either gradually or instantaneously.
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Wesley taught that entire sanctification is something that we seek and receive on the basis of faith. It was something that God promised (Deut. 6:30; Ezek. 36:25–27) and the apostle Paul affirmed (see, for example, Gal. 5:16; 1 Thess. 5:23–24). Trusting that God can do what he has promised, it should follow that God was “able and willing to do it now” (“The Scripture Way of Salvation” III.15–16). Wesley himself thus arrived at the idea of receiving entire sanctification instantaneously at the end of a chain of deductive reasoning.
Scripture leads us to expect a more gradual process as the norm. For example, Paul’s exhortations to put away the remnants of the old person that we were and to put on more of the habits of the new person that the Spirit is making of us suggest a process of transformation that takes place over time (Eph. 4:22–24; Col. 3:5–17). Wesley himself appears to have expected that God would more regularly bring people to “perfection in love” through the disciplined work of prayer, investment in doing good to others, and banding together with people similarly committed to this end to encourage and pray for one another. Such expectations are evident, for example, in his “Collection of Forms of Prayer for Every Day in the Week,” a spiritual exercise program of prayer and preparation in the morning and self-examination and prayer in the evening. The resource focuses its users on the intentional cultivation and practice of a particular Christian virtue each day (love for God, love for neighbor, humility, self-denial, resignation, meekness, and gratitude) in the expectation that the Spirit would use a person’s diligent engagement of these exercises over time to make these virtues instinctive.
The point of central importance is to expect it and to trust God’s promises concerning it, which have admittedly been downplayed or even overlooked in many Christian circles. The corollary to this point is to value the gift of entire sanctification sufficiently to desire it and to place a high, daily priority on pursuing it in conversation with God and in mindfulness of intent throughout our daily lives.
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The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (Prov. 4:18 NIV)
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1–3 ESV)
As we continue to speak the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head, namely, Christ. (Eph. 4:15 DST)
See also Acts 15:9; 1 Thess. 5:23–24; 2 Peter 3:18; CoF XI
This is an excerpt from Christian Faith and Doctrine: An Annotated Catechism for the Global Methodist Church. Seedbed is pleased to partner with The Global Methodist Church to offer this companion resource to A Catechism of Christian Faith and Doctrine for the Global Methodist Church.
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