71. What is the beauty of entire sanctification?
It is being delivered from the power of sin; loving God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength; and loving one’s neighbor as one’s self.
—
Entire sanctification is “love excluding sin; love filling the heart, taking up the whole capacity of the soul. It is love rejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, in everything giving thanks” (Wesley, “The Scripture Way of Salvation” I.9). It means arriving at the place where one truly and consistently lives out the twin commandments that Jesus elevated as the weightiest: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5); “you shall love your neighbor as yourself ” (Lev. 19:18; see also Matt. 22:37–40; Mark 12:29–31; Gal. 5:14). It occurs when this twinned love becomes the driving impulse of the believer’s life, indeed, to the exclusion of every contrary impulse.
Holiness is not burdensome. It is not drudgery. It is beautiful! It is more than human beings living at their best; it is human beings living at God’s best for them, sustained by God’s love. It is noble! It involves people giving their lives over to live for the one who handed over his life to death for them (2 Cor. 5:15). It is the absence of all that debases human beings and poisons their relationships—all those attitudes and behaviors that Paul labels “the works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19–21). It is the presence of all that ennobles human beings and makes their relationships life-giving—all those attitudes that Paul labels “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22–24) and the actions that spring from such virtues.
Charles Wesley captures in his hymn “O for a Heart to Praise My God” something of the beauty of the heart that God has brought to a place of entire sanctification:
O for a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free,
A heart that always feels thy blood
So freely shed for me. . . .
A heart in every thought renewed
And full of love divine,
Perfect and right and pure and good,
A copy, Lord, of thine.
The last stanza is especially informative. The ultimate beauty of entire sanctification is that it has brought Christ’s own heart to life in us and allowed his beauty and virtue to come to light in us (see also Gal. 2:20; 4:19).
—
One of the scribes . . . asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28–31)
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Rom. 6:14 ESV)
The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom. 13:9–10)
See also Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5; Gal. 5:13–14; 1 Thess. 5:23; 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.
Perfect for:
- Teachers and leaders discipling and catechizing others
- New Believers in the Global Methodist Church and Christianity in general
- Seekers curious about the Christian faith or the Wesleyan tradition
This resource will help you:
- Encounter faithful teaching about God’s character and his saving work in our world
- Train disciples to understand, recall, profess, and enjoy the church’s essential teachings
- Understand and internalize the beauty of historic orthodoxy
- Become catechized in the richness of Wesleyan faith and practice