FIRST PRINTING, 1938

REVISED EDITION

FIRST PRINTING, 1952

eISBN 978-0-8341-2648-0

DEDICATION

To all lovers of truth as it is found in the Holy Word.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

INTRODUCTION

Just the other day a pastor of one of our larger churches asked about Dr. Ellyson's book, Bible Holiness. I was happy to tell him that it was soon to be reprinted. When it was available before, it was read by many of our pastors and laymen, and I am sure that this printing will have a large sale.

Dr. Ellyson was my first teacher in systematic theology, and I am delighted to write this brief introduction for his book. One of his many gifts as a leader, preacher, and teacher has been his ability to present Bible truth in a simple, clear, and vital way. Nazarenes and holiness people everywhere should read Bible Holiness.

—STEPHEN S. WHITE

Editor, Herald of Holiness

CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT PAGE

I.  TRUE HOLINESS

II.  HOLINESS—THE GLORY OF CHRIST

III.  DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF HOLINESS

IV.  HOLINESS—SIN DEFINED

V.  HOLINESS AND CHILDHOOD

VI.  HOLINESS AND REGENERATION

VII.  HOLINESS AND THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST

VIII.  HOLINESS AND THE SECOND BLESSING

IX.  HOLINESS—THE STATE

X.  HOLINESS AND LIVING

XI.  HOLINESS LOST AND RESTORED

XII.  HOLINESS PERFECTING AND PERFECTED

LESSON I

TRUE HOLINESS

But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you (Ephesians 4:20-32).

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The Bible is the Book of Christianity. It is God's revelation of truth to man. It reveals God to man and man to himself. The Bible makes known to man his true nature, his moral condition, and his need as they cannot be known without the Bible. It reveals the fact of sin and of redemption that is otherwise undiscoverable by man. It reveals inerrantly “the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation; so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith,” Manual of the Church of the Nazarene. Holiness is the only moral standard held in the Bible. It recognizes the fact of unholiness but gives to this only disapproval and condemnation. The Bible offers no compromise with sin; its only offer is salvation from sin, and this results in holiness.

The expression “true holiness” in the Bible portion for this lesson clearly suggests the possibility of a holiness that is not true, or the use of this word in such a way as not to present true holiness, a use of the word that misrepresents its correct meaning and thus leads to misunderstanding regarding the true nature of holiness. Men use the words holy and holiness quite freely and with much variety of meaning, sometimes right and sometimes wrong. Holiness is not alone a Bible word. It has a place in the vocabulary of all religionists and of moralists. But it is in the Bible that we find true holiness; the Bible is the Source Book on the subject of holiness. Our subject in this unit of study is Bible holiness.

In the Bible this word holy is used with some variation of meaning. Its root or general meaning is always the same, but there are different shades of meaning as it is used in different relationships. It is sometimes used in referring to places and to things and to institutions and to persons, and the meaning will be to some extent colored by that to which it is attributed. Holiness cannot carry just the same meaning when it is used in referring to persons as when it is otherwise used, and it is with persons that our present study is concerned. This being the case, if we are to succeed in this study it is necessary that we shall first give attention to the meaning of this word, especially its meaning when used in referring to persons. In both writing and conversation misunderstanding must necessarily result from a lack of clear definition. And unless all those concerned have the same understanding of the meaning of the words being used, there will be no common understanding of that which is being said.

It is not alone what I mean by the words I use, but also what the other person understands these words to mean. It is quite necessary, then, that in the very beginning of our study we should come to a common understanding both as to the general meaning and then the particular phases of the meaning of these words, especially holiness as it is used in the Bible and the true holiness of Christianity. Unless this understanding is reached, more or less confusion is sure to result.

It is very evident when we hear or see the words holy or holiness used by a Buddhist or a Confucianist or a Mohammedan or by any non-Christian religionist that these words do not mean in their thinking the same as they do to the Christian. This, however, will not give us so much trouble as the fact that when they are used by those who are professed followers of Christianity the intended meaning is often quite different. In Christian Science, in Catholicism, and in different Protestant denominations they are used quite differently. Of course there must in all cases be something of sameness in the root meaning; but there are often certain essential elements in the meaning of true holiness left out and real holiness may be entirely missed, or at least it is greatly misunderstood. It is imperative, then, that we shall find some clear Bible definitions. We may first note some special places of danger.

1. Sacerdotal Holiness. Possibly the greatest example of this may be found in the Roman Catholic church. Here almost everything is called holy—“his Holiness the Pope,” “the holy Father,” “the holy Catholic Church,” “the Holy Communion,” and “the holy water.” Sacerdotal holiness is holiness by the decree or arrangement of the church, its appointments and sacraments. There is a proper sacredness about the church and its decrees and sacraments and appointments; we do owe to these respect and a certain reverence, and it is always our shame when this is missing. There is a sense in which the word holy may be used correctly here. But holiness must mean more than having a mere sacerdotal use; it must find its root in more than any act by any official group of the church. It must be because of its relation to God and His program. Especially can there be no personal holiness through a decree of or relation to the church. Christians should all be loyal members of the church, but holiness does not come through this membership or by the partaking of any church sacraments or service, or by any association, with the church.

2. Theological Holiness. This is theoretic holiness, holiness as a creed or an intellectual belief, holiness as formally stated in words. A correct theology of holiness is necessary in order to any common understanding and teaching. There must be no carelessness or neglect or speaking lightly of this. But one may he intellectually correct in his thinking, straight in his doctrine as to holiness, able to go over the formula and stock phrases of holiness to perfection, able to pass judgment on the correctness of others, and even contend for the doctrine, without knowing personal holiness. True holiness is more than an intellectual conception; it is a personal heart experience, a life condition, and a state of standing before God.

3. Pharisaism or Legal Holiness. This is holiness by works, by rule, by the keeping of the law. It is the holiness of “Thou shalt” and “Thou shalt not,” which places the first emphasis upon doing rather than upon being. This type of holiness is very exacting and critical; it is hard and cold. There is an obligation of right doing that is a part of holiness, and holiness does fulfill the moral law as it is known; but holiness is life under grace rather than under law. Keeping the law is not holiness; righteousness is not by the law. No amount of good works can bring one into an experience of holiness.

4. Professional Holiness. If one has the experience of true holiness he should humbly and gladly witness to it; but the mere profession of it does not make it a fact that one possesses it. Faith is something more than assertion, more than saying a certain thing is so. Holiness is not to be professed in order to obtain it, but because one has it. Faith lays hold of the fact and then makes profession.

5. Limited Holiness. Sometimes the word holiness is used as meaning the “second blessing” of cleansing from indwelling sin in such a way as to confine its meaning to this particular experience. But holiness has a part in the meaning of all of Christian experience. We will speak more of this in the next lesson.

We must now seek to get as clear a general definition for holiness as possible. And in seeking this definition we will first discover that there are two quite distinct phases of true holiness, that holiness is both a moral and a religious term. In true holiness both of these phases are essential to its meaning. One or the other may predominate in a particular use of the word, but both are in some sense always present. We will note these two phases and then state the general definition.

1. Holiness a Religious Term. Holiness has a distinctly religious meaning. Religion is man's belief in God, his attitude toward and experience of God; it is faith, devotion, worship, and service on this level. Webster defines holiness as “set apart to the service and worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from the profane to the sacred and to God and His service.” It is full devotion to God, loving God with all the human powers, life fully devoted to the fellowship and service of God.

All men are religious, and there are very many religions in the world. But there is only one true religion; all others are false religions. These all have their holy places and things and persons, which express devotion to their gods. But a devotement to such gods is far from true holiness. It may be a deep devotion and be manifested in great sacrifice, but it cannot be true holiness when it is devoted to a false god, to that which is not God. True holiness is devotement to the true God and to His program. It is a condition of being set apart from the common, the secular, the worldly, the temporal, for the sacred. One who is holy must still have to do with the temporal and secular, but he is no longer of the world; he is in the world but not of it; he does not belong to the common herd. He has a citizenship at present in this world, but his chief citizenship is in heaven; One is his Master, even Christ.

2. Holiness a Moral Term. Holiness being devotement to the true God, and He being a moral Person, holiness must have moral values. True holiness is freedom from sin. Webster gives the further definition of holiness, “Spiritually whole or sound; unimpaired innocency and virtue, free from sinful affections, pure in heart, guiltless,” And the Bible says, “God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (I Thessalonians 4: 7). Holiness is the absence of moral uncleanness; it is moral purity.

True holiness then may be quite simply defined as devotement to God and freedom from sin. Applied to places and things without moral qualities, the chief thing may be devotement or being set apart. But even in this the other element is somewhat present, for that to which it is set apart is pure, is sacred, is righteous. Applied where there are moral qualities, it must be freedom from sin.

With this understanding of the meaning of holiness, that it is both religious and moral, let us turn now to our scripture reading for a confirmation of this definition and learn a little more practically what this means.

Verse 22. True holiness is negative, is subtraction, is elimination, is eradication. “That ye put off concerning the former conversation,” concerning the life you have been living, your natural inherited nature, “the old man,” your inherited Adamic nature, “which is corrupt” through the fall. This calls for forgiveness and cleansing and a changed moral nature. Sin has once changed this nature from holiness, and grace can change it back again to holiness.

Verses 23, 24. Holiness is positive, something received, something that one is really made by divine grace. “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” being born of and baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is “that ye put on the new man,” and Christlike nature, “which after God is created in righteousness,” which is the state of true holiness. It is a state of Tightness with God and with man, of purity of heart, and of blameless behavior. It is not faultless, not free from temptation or mistake, not perfect in thought and action, but blameless as to motive, and pure in heart. It is not sinless as judged under the law, but is free from guilt as judged under grace; all guilt and pollution are gone. Holiness is an inward condition or state which manifests itself in certain characteristics of living, so it may be known by its fruit.

Verse 25. They that are holy put “away lying” they put away the false, the deceptive, the hypocritical, and “speak every man truth with his neighbour.” They are genuine and dependable. They recognize their membership in the neighborhood group, that “we are members one of another” and must not misrepresent or in any way injure the others by our speaking. They may sometimes be mistaken and that which they speak may on this account not be the truth, but they do not lie because they are sincere in believing that what they are saying is the truth. If they discover their mistake, they immediately correct it.

Verse 26. Holiness destroys none of the normal faculties nor does it interfere with their normal functioning. These faculties were given to us in the divine creation for our benefit; they are essential to the present life, and their normal and legitimate gratification is helpful to life at its best These are all to be used, but holiness calls for their functioning without sin. “Be ye angry, and sin not.” Have a keen displeasure and disapproval of evil with no wrong feeling toward the person doing the evil. So are we to have affection and sin not, to have joy and sin not, to serve with our hands and sin not.

Verse 27. Satan is opposed to God and to holiness, and he seeks to destroy holiness. He is the enemy of man's highest interests and ever seeks to prevent his becoming holy. To become holy and to maintain holiness one must resist all of the attacks of Satan. “Neither give place to the devil.” Resistance is always the attitude of holiness to the temptations from the devil.

Verse 28. He who is holy will not knowingly take that which does not belong to him, that to which he has no right. “Let him that stole steal no more.” He will carefully respect the property rights of others. He will not feel that the world owes him a living and must give it to him. He will not be a beggar or a charity sponge calling for dole. If he is able, he will work “with his hands the thing which is good” and earn his own honest living, and then go beyond, “that he may have to give to him that needeth.” He prefers giving to, rather than receiving from, charity.

Verse 30. The life of holiness must be lived under the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit; no man is sufficient of himself. He is our Keeper. Therefore the one who has been made holy will have great carefulness against displeasing the Holy Spirit and breaking the fellowship with Him. “Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” The life of holiness is a life wholly under the mastery of the Spirit, a life of obedience to His leading.

Verses 31, 32. Holiness calls for right attitudes toward other persons. It feels kindly toward and treats others with consideration. It holds no grudges and forgives freely “even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” The two great commandments of Christianity are: “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” and, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

QUESTIONS

1.  Why the expression “true holiness”?

2.  What is the importance of definition and clear understanding?

3.  Name five danger points. What is the danger in each case?

4.  Define in your own words holiness as a religious term.

5.  Define in your own words holiness as a moral term.

LESSON II

HOLINESS—THE GLORY OF CHRISTIANITY

For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy;. … for I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for 1 am holy (Leviticus 11:44, 45).

Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One?. … Thou art of purer eyes than to behold, evil, and canst not look on iniquity (Habakkuk 1:12,13).

Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven (II Chronicles 30:27).

And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein (Isaiah 35:8).

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life (Luke 1:74, 75).

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Ephesians 1:4).

For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness (I Thessalonians 4:7).

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

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There are many religions in the world, and there is much that is called Christianity; but there is only one true religion and one true Christianity in the world. Christianity is a religion, but it is more than a religion. It is more than a particular kind of religion. It is something more than religion; it is the true religion plus salvation. Man has a religious nature, and all men are in some sense religious; but all men are not holy. There is but one true religion and this is a holy religion revealed from heaven. God created man holy and in the beginning he was religious. Adam's religion was the true religion, but he was not a Christian; he had no need of Christianity. By the Eden fall man lost his holiness and became a sinner. But God requires holiness of man, and there can be no fellowship with God short of holiness. Having now lost his holiness, man requires more than religion to bring him back to holiness; it will take more than devotion to God and formal acts of worship to make him holy again. He is a sinner and sin must be dealt with; forgiveness and cleansing must be provided; salvation is required. It is Christianity that provides this salvation, and Christianity alone does this. Christianity is religion plus salvation; it is the true religion plus salvation. No other religion has or can have this plus. This plus salvation is unto holiness; it is holiness restored. Christianity and holiness are in a true sense synonymous, for they are inseparable. There is no Christianity that is not in this true sense holy, and there is now no holiness possible to man apart from Christianity. If one becomes a Christian at all, he becomes holy insofar as Christianity has wrought a work with him, and none is holy who is not Christian. Only through this plus experience of salvation can one be restored to an experience of true religion, for this religion requires holiness. In Eden Christianity was not needed; there was no need of a plus to the true religion which was the religion of Adam. He was holy by creation, was free from sin, had fellowship with God, and could worship God in spirit and in truth. He needed no salvation; he needed only to be religious and maintain his religious experience. But with the fall and the entrance of sin, Christianity, with its Saviour, its atonement and forgiveness and cleansing, its new birth and sanctification, became necessary; without this there could be no true holiness and man could not experience the true religion. This salvation that restores man to holiness, to fellowship with God, is the glory of Christianity.

There is quite a strong movement today in certain educational and religious circles to emphasize religion, to promote devotion to and worship of God, without Christianity, without any atonement or experience of definite salvation. Oh, yes, they will often refer to this as Christian, but they have really eliminated that which makes religion Christian. Christianity is more than devotement to a supreme being, even a holy being, even the true God; it includes something that must come before real devotion and the true worship of God are possible. Man is now fallen and sin has separated him from God. Sin must be dealt with and gotten out of the way before there can be any true worship and fellowship with God. We cannot have the true religion and pass by or discard the Blood of the atonement and the salvation that is thus provided. Christianity means a work of salvation unto holiness in the person who accepts it, as well as a devotement to and worship of God. All that Christianity touches becomes holy insofar as the touch is effective. Christianity is intolerant in that it offers no quarters to sin; it provides salvation from sin—holiness. Here Christianity stands alone, separate and superior. No other religion, no system of philosophy or work of man has this to offer. The attempt to worship the true God or to have true religion without Christianity and its salvation is futile. No one can come to God but by Jesus, through His provision of grace (John 14:6). Christ removes the barriers and brings man to holiness. Yes, holiness is the great glory of Christianity. The way the Church has sometimes slighted and neglected and rejected this subject is a very great shame, even a crime, We should face this truth frankly and give to holiness its rightful place of prominence and glory. Let us note where some of the points of this glory are to be found.

1. In Christianity we have a holy God, a God who is absolutely holy. He is many times called the “Holy One.” Holiness is His essential moral nature. This is perfect morality, spotlessness of character, divine purity, absolute freedom from all sin (Psalms 99:9; Habakkuk 1:13). When we examine the other religious systems and the philosophies of the world we are disappointed in their gods; we do not find God. Often their gods have immoral attributes and perform immoral deeds, and immoral practices are sometimes a part of their worship. We recall that on two occasions when we were listening to the addresses of returned missionaries, there being each time a different speaker, certain images of gods that had been actually used in worship were shown, Two or three of the idols had been exhibited and described, and one was withheld with the statement that it could not be described in a mixed congregation. Imperfection and weakness are manifested in all of these gods; true holiness is not to be found in them. None of these gods can really satisfy the heart of man. The Bible presentation of God is the only presentation that satisfies. And this presentation satisfies not alone because it represents God as being omnipotent and omniscient and omnipresent and eternal. He must be all of this, and yet all of this is not enough to satisfy fully. Why is it that we are satisfied with the God of the Bible, the God of Christianity? It is because He is a holy God. Nothing short of absolute holiness in the character of God can satisfy man. The heart of man calls for holiness, and because he finds this in the God of Christianity he is satisfied. This is the true God.

2. In Christianity we have holy angels. That there are beings that exist between God and man seems quite evident. What a great difference there is in the teaching of the Bible relative to these spirit personalities and that found in all other religious systems, in the teachings of the so-called spiritualists and the ancient mythologies! Elsewhere we find that which is unreasonable, foolish, and even disgusting; the appeal is to the occult and to magic. The Bible tells us of angels who are created beings, created by the holy God, and that in their original created state they were all holy. They were created free moral agents with intelligence and will. Some of these angels fell and became demons, but two-thirds of them are still holy. These are the “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). This teaching of Christianity relative to spirits brings a satisfactory reaction in the human mind, and such ministering spirits are satisfying to the human heart. And it is the fact that they are holy that contributes much to this satisfaction.

3. In Christianity we have a holy heaven. Other religions and philosophies give us very unsatisfactory theories and descriptions as to the future state and home of man. They give us the heavenly harem, the happy hunting ground, absorption into deity, transformation into some other form of being, annihilation, and such like things. The Bible tells us of a real place, a prepared place, a place of individual consciousness and eternal happiness and satisfaction. It is a place described as having jasper walls, many mansions, golden streets, with continuous light and fruit-bearing. But these things do not represent its glory, nor are they the things that make it a satisfying place. No amount of such things can fully satisfy a human person. The heaven of Christianity is a place where there is no sin, no evil, none of the effects of sin—no sickness or sorrow, or “anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie” (Revelation 21; 27). It is a place of perfect holiness. Here we have eternal life that is holy, in an environment that is eternally holy, and an eternal fellowship of holy persons. There is nothing to be found in any literature that approaches the glory of this Christian heaven described in the Bible. And its glory is its holiness.

4. In Christianity we have a holy earth. Other religions and philosophies and human science give us fanciful theories of world making, theories of beginnings and original conditions, such theories as the hatching from a winged egg, spontaneous generation, nebular hypothesis, and various forms of evolution, The Bible tells us of a direct creation by God, and one of the divine creations was the earth (Genesis 1:1). And according to the divine pronouncement this creation was all very good (verse 31). This appraisal coming from God can mean nothing short of holiness; there was no sin in all the earth in its original created state. The beauty and the glory of Eden were akin to heaven.

5. In Christianity we have a holy man. Here again men are putting forth their speculative theories of evolution, of man's development from the lowest cell life up through uncounted stages to his present form, and from ignorance and barbarism through learning to knowledge and civilization. The Bible tells us of another direct creation by God, the creation of man in the image and likeness of God. This is not the birth of a baby from some animal form, the near approach to man; it is the creation of a man that is intelligent to a high degree, to whom the dominion of the earth is given (Genesis 1:26). Being created in the image and likeness of God, who is holy, man was holy in his original created state. His original state was more than a state of innocence, for he was created free from all sin. And now with man present to have dominion, what a wonderful place the Garden of Eden becomes! A beautiful place with vegetation without thorns and thistles and weeds, with no pests and no faulty fruit; animals with no carnivoracity in their nature; and a holy man in fellowship with the holy God. The picture is perfect, the condition is ideal. And the great glory of all is holiness. Behold what God has made!

How sad it is that there is a story of sin to tell, the story of how sin has spoiled all of this original condition of holiness and has so marred this beauty relative to the earth! Idolatry and wickedness have developed; and in some instances barbarism and uncivilized conditions have resulted. Only a fallen man could make the world's history such as it has been, a history of war and crime, of class and national and race jealousy and hatred. Only a fallen man under the dominion of Satan can be responsible for the present condition of our world. Man has fallen into sin and come under the curse. Man is a sinner and is under the sentence of eternal death. What a terrible change sin has made! If there is nothing more than religion and philosophy and science, if there is nothing more than nature and education and human government to look to for help, there is no hope; we are all eternally doomed. But there is something else, In the face of these facts, this story of sin, Christianity is equal to the situation and is able to maintain the great glory of holiness.

6. In Christianity we have a holy Saviour to meet this condition of sin. The holy God has sent His holy Son, the God-Man, the divine-human One—Jesus Christ—into the world where sin had entered and wrought this terrible work and man had lost his holiness, to live a holy life and be an example of holy living for man. Jesus came to provide a blood atonement in order to make salvation possible to man, that he might be restored to holiness here on this earth. The mission of Jesus here on this earth was not one of mere reformation, of evolution, of education; none of these things are sufficient to meet the need. It was a mission of salvation, of redemption, of restoration, of new creation. “He shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This is a salvation unto holiness. “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify [make holy] the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12). “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it. … that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

7. In Christianity then we have a holy salvation, a salvation that brings man back to holiness. There are stages, there are both crises and processes, in reaching full redemption; and holiness is a part of it all. There is a second crisic experience of salvation that is frequently called the experience of holiness, and in this second crisic experience there is a particular and definite work of actual holiness wrought. But we must not think of this special experience as being one of holiness in such a way as to exclude holiness from the other experiences of salvation. The Bible clearly teaches three crisic experiences of salvation. First, man is saved by the work of regeneration, “He saved us, by the washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5). But this is not all of salvation. Second, sanctification is a work of salvation. “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification” (II Thessalonians 2:13). And still this is not all of salvation. There is a salvation when one enters into heaven, “Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (I Peter 1:5). All of these crisic experiences include some work of holiness, as we shall find in our further study. And then there is the process, the growth, the perfecting of holiness (II Corinthians 7:1). There is something of salvation that we ourselves are to “work out” (Philippians 2:12), This is a glorious redemption. And it ultimately means more than this restoration of holiness to man. It also means the restoration of all earth conditions. The Bible tells us that the time will come when “the wicked shall not inhabit the earth” (Proverbs 10:30), but the “earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Numbers 14:21), and the Eden condition will be restored (Isaiah 11:6-9). Christianity provides the only salvation there is, and this is a salvation unto holiness. Yes, holiness is the glory of Christianity.

This is Christianity. There can be no Christianity without holiness. God is holy and there can be no fellowship with Him without holiness. Heaven is a holy place, and none can enter there without holiness. Christianity has no standard of experience or living lower than holiness. Man was created holy; hence his normal state is holy. Man has fallen into sin and must be brought back to holiness in order that he shall be normal and live a normal life, have fellowship with God, and enter heaven. Christianity provides this holiness through the redemption by Jesus Christ. Christianity has, and only Christianity can give, this normal life to man, this holy manhood. Is not this a very great and indeed the chief glory of Christianity?

And then we may add to this that we have a holy Book, the Holy Bible, that tells us of this holiness.

QUESTIONS

1.  Define religion, the true religion.

2.  Define Christianity. What does it add to religion?

3.  Wherein is holiness the great glory of Christianity?

4.  Where do we find this glory in the original creation?

5.  Where do we find this glory after the Eden fall?

LESSON III

DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF HOLINESS

And the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy (Exodus 26:33).

And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all (Hebrews 9:3).

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1).

There is none holy as the Lord (I Samuel 2:2).

Cornelius the centurion. … was warned from God by an holy angel (Acts 10:22).

Because it is written, Be ye holy; for 1 am, holy (I Peter 1:16).

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The word holy might be considered as being in that group of words which according to the rules of grammar cannot be compared, words which stand for the complete, so that if there is anything lacking or any falling short in any degree the word cannot be properly used. For example, if a thing is white it can be no whiter; and if it lacks anything of whiteness it is not white. This, however, is but a theory and it does not work in practice. In the thinking and in the speaking of all of us there is that which we say is white, that can be called nothing else but white, and yet there is something else that is whiter, and there is that which is whitest. And so it is with the word holy; there are different aspects of holiness and some of this difference is in degree. In its Bible use it is a word that can be compared; there are conditions of holiness, and then there is that which is more holy and most holy. In the Tabernacle, the pattern for which was given from heaven, there was first the outer court and then the tent with its two compartments divided by a veil. All was holy, but the first room of this tent was called the “holy place” and the second was called the “most holy place” or the “holy of holies” or the “holiest of all.” The Apostle Paul also recognized this fact of degrees of holiness when he told us that a person might be holy and then be “perfecting holiness.” Certainly there is that holiness which is perfect beyond compare, holiness that cannot be increased or perfected, holiness that is absolute; but this is not all there is of holiness. If this is not true, then men cannot be holy; then only God can be holy, for none beside Him are capable of the absolute. But the fact is clearly taught in our Bible that man can be holy, and that he is required to be holy, There is that holiness which is not beyond compare, which is not absolute, that may be correctly called holiness, and there is nothing else that it can be so correctly called as holiness.

It is quite essential to our clear understanding of Bible holiness that we shall recognize this fact of the different aspects of holiness. Holiness is not always the same in all respects. All holiness must be holiness; that is, it must be both devotement to God and freedom from sin. But there are some different aspects in the meaning of the word holy as it is used in different relationships, and we should know something as to what these aspects are and how they are related to that to which holiness is attributed, We need not expect to find holiness the same in God and in angels and in men. But wherein is this difference? In the answering of this question we must remember that we are studying about Bible holiness and, while the dictionary may be helpful, it is the Bible that is our final authority.

1. There are degrees of holiness as to its perfection. Under this consideration we may say that holiness is either absolute or relative. Absolute holiness is that which is perfect beyond comparison; it is complete and full, and beyond it there is no advance. Relative holiness is that which is not to the same degree, or in the same sense, holy. It is holiness that is not beyond comparison. It is perfect only in agreement with the nature and capacity of that of which it is attributed, perfect only on the level of that which is holy. It is holiness the same in nature as absolute holiness but not the same in degree. Relative holiness which is attributed to that which is capable of moral growth may be developed; it may be increased, intensified, perfected through the effort of the one possessing it, for there may be a growth in holiness.

2. Holiness differs in its origin. Holiness may be either original or derived. Original holiness is innate, is natural, is independent; it is a part or condition of the person or thing from its beginning and is independent of any other source. Derived holiness is that which, by some means, comes through some other source, that which is received from another, the prime source not being the individual possessing it.

3. Derived holiness differs relative to the method of its derivation. Holiness may be derived either by imputation or by impartation. Imputed holiness is the holiness of another credited to or set to the account of one who is not actually holy but who is adjudged as holy because of this imputation. This imputed holiness gives one the standing of holiness before the judge. While he is not actually holy, he is positionally holy and is made safe under this provision so long as it holds good; his guilt and pollution on this account are so cared for as not to stand against him. This imputation of holiness is the result of a sovereign act whereby God, on the ground of the atonement of Christ, bestows certain of the benefits of that atonement upon the individual, thus placing to his credit the righteousness of Christ. There are times in life when the conditions are such, conditions of ignorance and inability (as we shall see in our further study), when a person can be holy only through the sovereign imputation of divine grace. And there is probably never a time in any finite life when some bestowal by imputation is not necessary for a safe relation to God. Imparted holiness is found when one is made actually holy, when he not only has a standing of holiness but he is holy. There is a school of theology that allows to man in this life only imputed holiness. They tell us that we may reckon ourselves to be free from sin and that this will on the account of this reckoning be considered as true but it really will not be true, that man cannot be in any sense actually holy until after death. That this is not the teaching of the Bible we shall show. On the other hand, there is another school of theology that teaches the possibility of imparted holiness when certain conditions that must be met are complied with, but they often overlook, if they do not deny, all imputed holiness. Both schools are in equal error, as we shall also show, There is truth in and a necessity for both imputed and imparted holiness.

With these definitions and brief explanations relative to the different aspects of holiness before us, our next step will be to consider these differences in their relation to those who are or who may become holy. The application of these differences in the practical life will greatly help us in our understanding of Bible holiness and the living of the holiness life.

1. The Bible attributes holiness to God. There are many direct texts of scripture for this, as, “For I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). But what shall we say as to these aspects of holiness and the character of God? God being what He is, the holiness of God must be absolute and independent; it is original. “There is none holy as the Lord” (I Samuel 2:2). There is nothing lacking as to the perfection of His holiness; it is entirely beyond comparison. “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (Psalms 145:17). “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13).

God has many attributes and there is perfect harmony between these; they are all holy. God is perfect in all of His attributes and qualities. In Him we have holiness at its highest, holiness that is perfect beyond compare. God is eternal and the Great First Cause. He is dependent upon no one and no thing. He is and always has been holy. Holiness is the original state of His being. With Him holiness is the original condition of His uncreated and eternally existent personality.

God's holiness then is original, independent, absolute. Since God is the only infinite One, the only eternal and immutable One, He is the only One in the universe capable of holiness as thus described, If any others are or may be holy, it must be a different aspect of holiness. It must be the same in kind if it is holiness, but it will be less in degree and different in origin. There is none other holy as God is holy.

2. The Bible attributes holiness to angels. They are called “holy angels” (Matthew 25:31; Acts 10:22). Angels were holy from their beginning; their original state was holy, but this holiness was not original with them. Angels are created beings. “Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host” (Nehemiah 9:6). Angels are limited beings; they are neither omnipotent nor omniscient nor infinite nor eternal. They are immortal but not eternal, for they had a beginning. Their holiness cannot be such as the holiness of God. It can be neither absolute nor original; it must be relative. The holiness of angels is derived by importation; it is theirs from God through creation; they were holy by creation. It is not the holiness of God; it is from God, but it is the holiness of angels; it is holiness on the angel level. It is the same in kind as that on the God level in that it is freedom from sin, but it is not holiness in the same degree. Angels are a lower order of beings and all of their attributes belong on this lower level; hence their holiness must be on this level. It is holiness adapted to, fitted into the conditions and abilities on this level The holiness of angels is relative, derived, imparted, and is real holiness.

3. The Bible attributes holiness to primitive man, man before the fall. From his beginning man was holy. But man's holiness was not original with him; it was derived. Man was a created being and his holiness came from God in his creation. “God bath made man upright” (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Since man was not created equal with God, his holiness cannot be equal to that of God. But he was created in the image of God, which image is “in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24), Primitive man, Adam, when created was more than innocent; he was actually holy, and this was true holiness. He knew only the good and was pure in his nature; he was holy (Genesis 2:25). Man being such as he was, a created being, this holiness must be relative; it could be neither original nor absolute; it was like that of the angels, derived and imparted through his creation. But since man was created “a little lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7), his holiness must be a little farther removed from the absolute holiness of God. Man's holiness is neither on the level of God nor on that of angels. He could be but a holy man.

With man, this holiness being relative, and man being a person capable of growth, this holiness was capable of being developed through the continued choice of right and obedience in service. As the personality grew and the faculties increased in their ability to function, as there was increase of knowledge and light was walked in, there would be a growth in grace, a growth in holiness. This possibility of development also means the possibility of losing this holiness.

The holiness of primitive man was relative, derived, imparted, and there was the possibility of development.

4. Primitive man fell from his created moral state. But the Bible, attributes holiness to fallen man under certain conditions. Man did not lose his moral nature in the fall; he is still a moral being. But he did lose his condition or state of holiness and he became sinful. As a result of this fall and its attendant loss, none of the human race are now born holy; there is no holiness of man transmitted from his creation through his natural birth; his hereditary nature is now fallen. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10), and all are now “by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). But this fallen man is called back “unto holiness” (I Thessalonians 4:7), and commanded, “Be ye holy” (I Peter 1:15); hence there is holiness for him. This holiness, however, will of necessity be somewhat different from all of the holiness that we have yet considered because the conditions are different. It can in no sense be original and must be yet farther removed from the absolute holiness of God. It will be relative and derived, but in this it must be different from that of the angels and of primitive man who had not sinned. With fallen man holiness must be a recovery from the results of the fall, and this is possible only through a work of redemption and salvation; it must be a new creation. The Bible brings us the good news that such a salvation has been provided through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12). “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (II Corinthians 5:17). This was the only way holiness was possible to the one who had once been holy and had fallen from it. “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Under the atoning Blood man may find forgiveness and cleansing, may find holiness.

The holiness now possible to man is of the same nature as all holiness must be; it is both devotion to God and freedom from sin, but it differs in certain respects from all other holiness. It is holiness after a special arrangement of God, an arrangement (as far as we know) that is made for no other creature. It is like but not equal to the holiness of God. It is not the holiness of the angels. It is holiness on the level of man, but it is not the holiness of primitive man. It is relative and derived holiness, as was that of primitive man, but it is derived after a very different manner and under very different conditions. It is not now the result of the original divine creation, but it is through a divine redemption from a lost state. It must not then be judged or understood by the standard of the holiness of God, or the holiness of angels, or the holiness of primitive man; it is the recovery of a fallen, lost man, a sinful man made holy. This lost state through which man has passed means conditions of weakness and imperfection that did not exist in primitive man. This must be taken into account, for as a result there will be in man further coming short of the absolute holiness of God. But though there be this coming short of the holiness of God, there will still be true holiness on this level of redeemed man. Being holiness on the level of man where there is growth, holiness here is capable of development and it will differ somewhat in its perfection according to the growth in knowledge and grace, and the walking in the light. With man there is first holiness that is perfect; it is perfect love and a clean heart, it is freedom from sin, and is devotion to God. And then it is perfecting; it is growing in strength and more perfect manifestation. And finally it is perfected. And with man it is holiness that is imputed and imparted according to the conditions present. The Bible reveals the fact of the holiness of God, the holiness of angels, and the holiness of primitive man; but it is particularly a treatise on this redemptive holiness of fallen man. It is the story of the great salvation of man from sin to perfected holiness, through divine grace, under the Blood, by free choice, faith, obedience—redemptive holiness.

QUESTIONS

1.  How may holiness differ as to its perfection and origin?

2.  Explain imputed and imparted holiness.

3.  Describe the holiness of God in the light of these differences.

4.  Describe the holiness of angels in the light of these differences.

5.  Describe the holiness of man before and after the fall in the light of these differences.

LESSON IV

HOLINESS—SIN DEFINED

All unrighteousness is sin (I John 5:17).

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4).

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17).

And if a soul sin. … though he wist it not, yet he is guilty, and shall bear his iniquity (Leviticus 5:17).

For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law (Romans 5:13).

And Adam. … begat a son in his own likeness, after his image (Genesis 5:3).

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalms 51:5).

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others (Ephesians 2:3).

Now then it is no more 1 that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more 1 that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me (Romans 7:17,20).

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Because holiness is freedom from sin, because man is a sinner and holiness is required of him, because any holiness for man requires a deliverance from sin, if we are to understand the holiness that is possible to man we must have as clear an understanding of the meaning and nature of sin as is possible. Practically all heresy and much of the theological controversy that exist grow out of a wrong understanding of sin. To make of sin a small thing will weaken our conception of God and belittle the work of the atonement of Christ. On the other hand, sin may be so defined as to make salvation from it in man's present state in the world an impossibility. But holiness is demanded of man, and no lower standard for him is permitted by Christianity. It must be, then, that holiness is possible to man, and the correct definition of sin must be consistent with this fact. Since it is so important that we shall have a clear understanding at this point, where shall we find a correct definition? It is clear that we cannot depend on the opinions of men, for they differ so in their thinking. The dictionaries will give us some very good definitions which will help some; but these, being the work of man, are not sufficient. We must remember that sin is what it is, and no statements that are made by men can in any degree change its nature. The only definition that will do us any real good will be the one that tells us exactly what it is. The Bible is the final authority in this field, and we must go to it at last.

As a free moral agent man was and is capable of sin, and sin will affect man's nature and behavior, but sin has its roots deeper than mere human nature and behavior. Sin is an attitude toward God, and without God there would be no sin; where God is not involved there is no sin. The story of man's first sin is recorded in the third chapter of Genesis, and from this record we may get much help in our understanding of sin. The temptation of Satan was directed to the physical appetites of man, suggesting that certain of these be gratified in a certain way. But the mere gratification of this so-called lower nature of man would not in itself be a sin. These very faculties were given to man by God for his use, but to be used in right ways. The temptation was to use them wrongly. But this temptation from Satan was not all on this lower physical level. There was also an appeal to the higher mental nature, “knowing good and evil”; and to the yet higher spiritual nature, “Ye shall be as gods.” All of this, however, has not yet brought us to the real sin. God had said, had indeed commanded, “Thou shalt not”; and this temptation suggested by Satan was for man to disbelieve and disobey God and do the thing that Satan advised, which thing he said would bring advantage and pleasurable gratification to man. This suggestion realty meant that man should transfer his loyalty and obedience from God to Satan; it was to disobey and rebel against God's government, to break the law of God. This would be to sin. This is sin—the transgression of the law or revealed will of God (I John 3:4).

Just how God communicated His will to man before the fall we do not know. Man knew God and had fellowship with Him. God seems to have at times talked directly to man, as He did in giving him the law forbidding the eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Also man was no doubt at the beginning possessed with a pure intuition through which God could make inerrant revelation and direct him with entire safety. Up to the time of the fall we know of but this one prohibition given to man. This may have been the one test by which his condition of holiness and his standing were maintained. But this condition has now been changed by the fall. Man still has all of his originally created faculties, which he must use; but sin has so changed these that they can no longer be safely depended upon, and sin may now enter through any of these channels. There must now be a more dependable standard than intuition and human judgment, something more permanent and fixed than individual opinion. When every man, fallen man, does that which is right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25), we have only confusion and anarchy. God must reveal His moral standards and put them in a permanent form for man. This we have in the law as given through Moses and the prophets, the Old Testament laws. This being given, we have life under the law, and holiness on the condition of keeping the whole law—legal holiness. Under this standard God would be holy, the unfallen angels would be holy, and primitive man having never sinned would be holy. And these could retain their holiness by the perfect keeping of the law. But man had already spoiled this arrangement by his disobedience in the garden, by his breaking the first law given to man, by his sin; also in his fallen state he no longer has the power to keep the law in its strict legal requirements. The nature which he has received from the fall, “the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Law once broken, the law cannot save; there can be no holiness through the law. “By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:20). Some other than a mere legal standard, or some other arrangements than this through the law alone, must then be made if fallen man is to be made holy. Only imputed holiness is now possible.

This being the case with man and the law, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin?” Is the law useless? “God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet” (Romans 7:7). “By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). And, “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ” (Galatians 3:24), who can save from sin and bring man to holiness. The law is essential and must be upheld. The law is still needed by man, Man must be made to know that he is a sinner, to know that he is fallen and his nature is now sinful, that he is lost and under the sentence of eternal death. Christ did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17), and make salvation possible to man and enable him to live a life free from the condemnation of the law. There is a tendency today to look lightly upon the law of God. The world today seems almost to have no such law; it is but little recognized in the world life. In the church some think of the turn of the dispensations as doing away with the law, so that we have no longer any obligation to it. There is much careless thinking as to what is right and what is wrong. It sometimes looks as though nothing much is considered wrong today, at least that there is little that is sin. Where there is a weakening as to the law there will be a slackness as to moral standards and living. The idea of sin and of the law go together. If there is no law, there is no knowledge of sin. Whatever Christ brings to us, we must remember there is no destroying of the law. We are still under authority and the obligation of obedience, and there must be no looseness or carelessness of thinking or behavior relative to the law.

But Christ's coming did bring a change into the world for man relative to sin. “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Christ ushered in a dispensation of grace which made salvation possible, and all who come under this dispensational provision and become truly Christian “are not under the law” (Romans 6:14). Christ came not to condemn, the law having already done that, but to take us from under the guilt and pollution charged against us by the law and to bring us to holiness, to free us from sin. We cannot be freed from sin by the law. If we remain under the law alone, we must remain sinners and be damned. But under the covenant of grace we can be saved from sin. If sin is to be defined and dealt with by the law alone, we are hopelessly lost. But sin as considered under the standard of grace, and the enablings of grace, may now be fully cured and we may keep the law; evangelical holiness is possible to man.

With these two standards of judgment, law and grace, in mind, let us see if we cannot get a clear Christian understanding of sin. Sin is something over against right; it is the absence of right, something not right; it belongs on the side of wrong. “All unrighteousness is sin” (I John 5:17). But this at once raises the question, What is right and what is wrong? It is evident that not everything that is considered wrong in our popular thinking is sin. In traveling we may sometimes get on the wrong road. And probably everybody at some time violates the traffic laws. Children often do the wrong thing according to the judgment of their elders. We often use words wrongly and spell them incorrectly according to the accepted rules. At times we do our work wrongly and must do it over again. While there might be sin in some of these things, yet sin is something more than all of this. There is such a thing as natural wrong, hut for it to be sin the moral element must be involved. But this brings us to yet another question, What do we mean by moral? And here again men differ in their opinions. We are accustomed to saying that the moral has to do with the relation of man to man, which may be largely true. But this is a low and limited form of morality that does not reach the point of sin if it is but man to man as man. The realm of the truly moral where sin is involved must reach beyond the level of the natural and human. There may be sin between man and man, or against man, but this is because of man's relation to God, because man is the creation of God and God is concerned in what he does and how he is treated.

What is wrong? What is moral wrong? What is sin? What is it that makes one thing wrong and another thing right? Why is one thing a sin and another thing not a sin? These are our questions. And in the Bible we read, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalms 51:4). There is no sin until God is involved. All sin is against God. We do not sin primarily against men or things, but against God. Human laws and customs and obligations in themselves cannot make anything a sin. All sin must in some way go back to God, to His will, to His law. This mates of sin a very serious matter. It is not an offense against the government of man; it is an offense in the government of God, the government that has to do not only with the best things for this life but also with eternal destiny. Sin, any sin, is the worst thing in the world and is followed by the most terrible consequences both here and hereafter. It has its terrible effect upon the natural and temporal, but its most fearful effect is in the realm of the spiritual and eternal.

While sin thus goes back into the government of God and has to do with His law, yet He is not arbitrary in His requirements. God does not say, “Thou shalt not,” and by thus Saying make that thing wrong. He does not say, “Thou shalt not,” in order to make that thing wrong. A thing is not wrong just because God says so; it is wrong and therefore God says, “Thou shalt not.” The ground of wrong is deeper than God's saying it is wrong. God not only forbids the wrong and commands the right, but God himself is right, His very nature is right. God's will and His law, what God says and commands, grow out of what He is. The ground of right is God's nature.

We have said that all sin is against God, and that where God is not involved there is no sin. God is involved in all of His creation, and sin may be committed against God by a misuse or mistreatment of that which He has created. While sin cannot be committed against a man alone as a man, yet sin may be committed against a man as God's creation. In the sin that David confessed when he said that he had sinned against God, as referred to above, two persons were wronged and sinned against grievously—Uriah and Bath-sheba. It was a sin first because he had wronged those who were God's by creation, and second because his act was a violation of God's law. This is the way Jesus puts it. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). And this is where the sin comes in.

We may then define sin broadly as any lack of conformity to God's nature, any rebellion against His will, any violation of His law; sin is all that is out of harmony with the nature of God. The nature of sin is revealed to man as the nature and will of God are made known to him, and this is done through God's Word and His law—His law in nature, His works of creation; in the human conscience, the voice of the Holy Spirit; and in the Bible, the Word of God. Webster's dictionary defines sin as “transgression of the law of God; disobedience of the divine command; the violation of God's will either in purpose or conduct; moral deficiency of character.” This definition suggests to us that, while sin is one, yet there are two phases or forms of sin: there is sinful conduct and there is deficiency in the moral character. These two forms must be very carefully noted and differentiated clearly.

1. There is sin that pertains to the will—sin in the conduct or behavior, sin as a choice and act, committed sin. It is this sin that brings personal guilt. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4). The law of God of course is meant. Sin is disobedience, breaking the law, crime within the government of God. This may be a sin of commission or of omission, but it always pertains to an act. God says, “Thou shalt,” and we do not; or He says, “Thou shalt not,” and we do.

2. Sin is moral deficiency of character. This is sin in the nature, “sin in the flesh,” in the sensibilities; an indwelling state or condition of the moral nature, of the heart. “Now then it is no more I that do it. … For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” (Romans 7:17-20). Here we have not only the sin of the will, the act, the thing I do or do not, but also sin as a condition of the nature, the character back of the will, an indwelling presence of sin. But you will note carefully that this is not the original and normal “I,” the ego or self life as originally created. It is something foreign to the original nature, something that has come into this nature through the fall that is now dwelling in the self life and polluting it—“sin that dwelleth in me.” Elsewhere Paul calls it “sin in the flesh” (Romans 8: 3). This sin is ever manifesting itself in the feelings, tempers, tendencies, and disposition, influencing the personality, the “I,” to the wrong attitudes, choices, and actions. The unaided human will is powerless to prevent this influence; it may to some extent suppress and restrain it but cannot destroy it.

Sin, according to this broad definition, as viewed under the divine law and the absolute holiness of God, would he: all lack of conformity to God's nature and will, either in act or state. A less comprehensive definition than this will undermine the divine government and misrepresent the character of God. Now all of divine creation, as created, is free from sin according to this definition. And where there is original moral agency there is power to maintain this freedom. But there was a group of angels that did not maintain this freedom. By their own free choice they became demons. Man also did not maintain this freedom; by his own free choice he became sinful. And now in this sinful condition, with the will weakened, man is unable to fulfill the law as thus stated and there is no hope for his salvation under the law; he is hopelessly condemned and lost forever. And if this is all there is to say about sin, if this legal judgment relative to sin is the only consideration, then they who tell us that man cannot live without sin and cannot be cleansed from all sin are correct. If man must live under the law and be judged alone by the law, he will sin every day in both word and deed. If forgiven, he will but sin again and come under the sentence again; and if cleansed, he would become polluted again, for he could not live without sin. But this legal situation is not all there is in regard to sin. God has arranged a way whereby we may, under certain conditions, be freed from the condemnation of the law and brought under the provision of grace. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). “For ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6: 14).

What shall we now say as to the law and sin under this provision of grace? Grace is unmerited favor, is mercy, and provides divine empowerment; but is it license, and does it permit carelessness and promiscuous behavior? Are there no requirements, no standards; is there no law under grace? Grace is very far from license; it gives one no liberty to sin; obligation and justice still exist under grace. But it is now more than legal-justice; it is mercy-justice. Sin has not been changed, the definition remains the same; but grace has made a change as to the degree of man's responsibility to the law, and as to that which is accounted sin bringing guilt to the individual—note, to the individual. We now have the atonement of Jesus Christ. He has fulfilled the law and fully answered the requirements of the law, and has arranged so that we may now live under the provisions of this atonement, in the kingdom of Christ under grace. In this Kingdom of grace there are moral standards and requirements; there is a grace obligation to the law which places man within the bounds and reach of his ability and measures his responsibility according to his knowledge. Under grace the requirement is not that he shall perfectly keep all of the requirements of the letter of the law irrespective of his knowledge, but that he shall walk in his light. Of course, one must faithfully and sincerely seek light and be open-minded toward the truth. He is responsible not alone for what he knows, but also for what he may reasonably be expected to learn. As he receives light and walks in the light received, the blood of Jesus Christ will keep him clean and safe (I John 1:7). James puts this grace responsibility this way, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). The important word here is “knoweth”; because he knows, it is sin to him. If he did not know to do good and then did not do it, it would not be counted sin to him. Note that it does not suggest that it would not be sin in the abstract, but it would not be sin to him because of his lack of knowledge. It is because of what Jesus has done for man through His atonement, and man having come under grace, that it is not sin to him. If we were yet living under the law it would be sin; but it is not sin when one is living under grace. Under the law, all transgression of the law was sin. There was no allowance for ignorance. “And if a soul sin. … though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.” The only hope was through a grace provision through their ceremonialism looking forward to the atonement of Jesus. “And he shall bring” an offering for his sin of “ignorance” (Leviticus 5:17, 18). Under grace, through the atonement of Christ, which is the fulfillment of all the ceremonial sacrifices, “sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Romans 5:13), when there is no knowledge, when it is a sin of ignorance. In such a case the atoning Blood covers the act; there is no guilt charged to him. It is not charged as sin to him; it is a mistake. It is a wrong, but not a sin to him. Under grace only known, willful acts of transgression are sin bringing guilt.

No man can ever estimate the fearful results of sin. Sin is the worst thing in the universe. All of the misery and woe and sorrow and crime and corruption and evil and death are traceable to sin. The most serious result is that it separates from fellowship with God. “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you” (Isaiah 59:2). And it has changed man's character from its normal state of purity and holiness to a depraved state of sinfulness. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And it has excluded man from the eternal heavenly home. “There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth” (Revelation 21:27). And it has brought the sentence upon man to eternal hell “The wicked shall he turned into hell” (Psalms 9:17). “Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever-lasting fire” (Matthew 25:41). Sin's present control over man is a terrible thing. Since the fall in Eden all men are sinners, “they are all under sin” (Romans 3:9). If it were not for the restraints that are now about men, the restraints of conscience, of law, of public opinion; if men should live out just what is in them and follow their unrestrained desires and passions and live out their fallen tendencies, the world would be a near approach to hell.

Sin is an act bringing one under guilt, and sin is a state bringing one under pollution. There are two standards of judgment relative to sin, to wit, law and grace. Christianity has made provision whereby God is justified in judging man under grace when he comes under this provision of grace by his own free choice. Under the provision of grace the measure of man's responsibility is equal to his knowledge. He is held responsible for walking in the light he has and for his sincerity in seeking light. Man is thus responsible for his own character and destiny. Under grace only known and willful sin is charged against one; this alone brings guilt and pollution and the doom of the lost.

QUESTIONS

1.  What is the necessity for a clear understanding as to the nature of sin?

2.  Differentiate between wrong and sin? What is the ground of moral right or wrong?

3.  What is the purpose of the law?

4.  Explain the difference between law and grace.

5.  Formulate your own definition of sin.

LESSON V

HOLINESS AND CHILDHOOD

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life (Luke 1:74, 75).

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3).

For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law (Romans 5:13).

As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (I Corinthians 15:22).

For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many (Romans 5:15).

Therefore as by the offence of one judgment come upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life (Romans 5:18).

For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and 1 died (Romans 7:9).

Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them, not: for of such is the kingdom of God (Mark 10:14).

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How harsh and cruel was the old theology that damned the infant because of the sin of Adam and told us there were babies in hell not more than a span long! No place of safety was found in the provisions of the atonement on the ground of its innocence.

How dangerous and false is that theology that sees nothing morally wrong with the child's birth nature, that it is not fallen and sinful, and if it is trained right it will not need to be converted!

How very wrong are they who say, “Nothing can be done for the child in these early years because he is too young”! In the past we have well-nigh damned our race because of our lack of intelligent understanding of the child conditions and the correct methods of Christian religious education for this age group. We have thought that all religion was beyond them and hence have done nothing for them. But there is a definite religious work to be done with the child from its birth. It should be surrounded by an environment that is property religious, and its training should have in it that which makes for Christian character and living.

Some are telling us that the more recent years have been the time of the discovery of the child. It is at least true that these have been days of much child study. Many conferences for special child study have been arranged. Much interest has been taken by certain scholars in the study of child psychology. The public school forces have given special attention to the technique of child treatment and teaching. In the college, in the field of religious education, strong courses have been introduced for a study of work with the children's group. And in the field of Christian religious education there have been much research and experimentation in the children's division. This has resulted in considerable helpful knowledge relative to the nature and ability of the child and the teaching methods for this group. But we must freely admit that in the application of this knowledge we have not reached into the religious, the fully Christian, the truly spiritual field as deeply as we should. Much of the knowledge has been good, but there has not been the right Christian background, and hence the application has often missed the mark. It has stopped short with the intellectual and the humanitarian, and we are not seeing the Christian results that there should be in our growing children.

And shall we now confess our own faults and weaknesses as a group of “holiness people”? Have we not been so busy with our adult program of evangelism and church building that we have neglected our children? We have brought them somewhat into our program in children's meetings and in the Sunday school. But have we not been too busy to study the task carefully, and often have ignored that which has been learned by the study of others (which we might have used to good advantage), and have been a bit careless in our work? Do we really understand our children? Especially do we understand them in the light of our fundamental religious beliefs? Do we understand the child's religious condition, the religious knowledge and experiences that are possible in the growing child life, and the best methods of successfully bringing these to the child? Have we not worked with our children too much in ignorance, or with a knowledge that has been largely assumed without sufficient intelligent study? As a result of this situation have we not often failed with our children, and has not this been reflected in their later life?

No matter how young the child may be, his is a human nature; he does not become human, for he is human by birth. A part of this human nature is moral and religious. The child is born with a moral and religious nature, in a certain moral state; and as he grows in intelligence this moral and religious nature will grow, and its education should be a part of his training from the beginning. It is just as important that he shall develop correctly in this part of his nature as in the physical and the intellectual. And he will develop this part of his nature whether or not we give attention to it. The child cannot escape his religious nature and growth. He will attain knowledge and have experiences that make for correct or wrong religion. The child does have a place, and an important place, in any complete treatise on holiness, and holiness must enter into his training or he will suffer great loss.

The child being born with a moral and religious nature, there must be a birth state of that nature. All children are now born of fallen parents and partake of the fallen or sinful nature from their birth according to the divinely set law of heredity—to bring forth after the parent likeness. Today an apparently increasing number of persons are denying this and telling us that our children are all born normal, that they are in the kingdom of Heaven in their birth with no hereditary moral taint. This is the voice of much modern psychology and some modern religious education. But this is not the voice of the Bible. Had Adam remained in his original state of holiness this would have been true, and his offspring would then have been holy; but Adam fell from his condition of holiness and became a shiner. And now the record has it that he “begat a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Genesis 5:3); not after God's moral likeness—holiness—but after his own fallen nature—sinful. Many centuries later David tells us, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalms 51:5). And after other centuries have passed Paul tells us, “Among whom also we all had our conversation [manner of living] in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:3). And now that more centuries have passed we have the witness of all history to support this fact. If we are to deal with children intelligently, we must understand something of this abnormal moral condition that is theirs through their heredity. Unless we do recognize this condition, we are almost sure to be at fault in our training.

This being a hereditary condition, a state of the birth nature of the child, he can in no sense be personally responsible for this state of sin. But there it is, and it is sin, and has necessitated the divine condemnation, which is separation from fellowship with God, and the closing of the door of heaven against the person—no sin can enter heaven. Also with this fallen nature the child will come under the judgment of the law for sins of ignorance (Leviticus 5:17), and under the law will become guilty. Unless something is done for the child in this birth and infant condition, it must be lost, should it die at any time after birth. We must not belittle the awfulness of sin in our effort to save the child. There is positively no hope for the salvation of the child through its heredity. Neither is there any hope through the law. And yet further, there is no hope for it during these early years through any choice or attitude of its own. It is as yet morally irresponsible, is ignorant and unable for a time to learn sufficiently to make the intelligent choice necessary to receive the divine forgiveness and experience of conversion. But if the statement of Zacharias is true, that we may serve God in holiness all the days of our life (Luke 1; 74, 75), there must be some provision whereby this childhood condition may be reached and the child made safe, in some sense holy.

Grace, which is unmerited favor, is a divine arrangment through the Blood of the atonement, for the accomplishment of that which the “law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh” (Romans 8:3); nor could any natural power or process do it, to wit, the freeing of man from all sin and the bringing of him back to holiness. By “sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,” God has made this salvation possible through grace. There is in this ministration of grace no violation of the law but a fulfilling of the law, no overstepping of justice but the bringing in of mercy. Both law and justice were so met upon the cross of Calvary that mercy can be shown under the conditions set forth in grace with no disrespect to the government of God. Divine love has found a way of full salvation to meet all the need of fallen man for all periods of his life and yet preserve the divine honor and government. In this administration of grace there is, first, the sovereign bestowment of the benefits of the atonement by imputation where there is irresponsibility, where there is inability to meet the conditions. Second, there is the administration of the benefits of the atonement by impartation where and when there are responsibility and ability to meet the required conditions and these conditions are freely met. In these ways the whole field is covered; the provision is made such that one may be holy all the days of his life, that holiness is possible—note, we are simply saying it is possible—whether or not any person ever has such experience, from birth to death. If this were not true, then there would be a time in the life when one could not possibly go to heaven if he should die; for without holiness “no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Would there be either justice or mercy in damning a soul arbitrarily when there was no possibility of his being saved? If this statement in Luke is true, which it must be, there must be some provision to care for man and secure his safety in these first years wherein he cannot himself meet the conditions, in the days of his early childhood.

The Bible fully assures us of this safety for our young children for these years of their irresponsibility. Again Paul tells us that as many as be dead through the offense of Adam, an equal number are the recipients of the gift of grace by Jesus Christ, and that this free gift unto justification of life came upon all upon whom the judgment through Adam came (Romans 5:8, 15). This also can be the case only in this childhood period of life through sovereign grace by imputed righteousness or holiness. Paul then supports this position by his own experience when he says, “I was alive without the law once,” meaning spiritual life. Not that there was no law, for there was; but he was without it, as we all are without it for a certain time of shorter or longer duration. “But when the commandment came” to him, when it came into his knowing, “sin revived, and I died”; I came under guilt and condemnation (Romans 7:9). Condemnation did not come until the knowledge of the law came (Romans 3:20); guilt was not charged until personal responsibility had been reached, until the age or time of moral responsibility, and choice had been made and a sin committed (Romans 4:15).

We may then with much assurance say that in this period of childhood when, under the law, there are both pollution and guilt and the child is under the sentence of death, and when because of the immaturity and lack of knowledge there is no power of personal choice such as to bring salvation, because of this inability sovereign grace has so bestowed the unconditional benefits of the Blood of the atonement upon these at their birth as to free them from moral responsibility as long as this condition continues, and that neither guilt nor pollution is imputed or charged against them (Romans 5:13), but that the holiness of Christ is imputed to them and charged to their credit. The child still has the fallen nature and still commits acts that are sin under the law; but under this sovereign imputation all guilt and pollution are covered by the Blood and the child is given a standing—not an actual experience, but a standing—of holiness. He is made positionally holy in the government of God and is perfectly safe morally for the time being. This is not a permanent position, for it holds only until the time or age of moral accountability.

Our children, then, are not only born into a world of sin where there is a law that has been broken and has left the race hopelessly lost and sentenced to eternal death, but they have been in the same birth brought into a world where there is grace and where an atonement has been made with provisions to meet the need of the child at its birth as well as in the after years and conditions. According to this provision the child at birth instantly comes under this atonement benefit and is made safe, so that no young children are ever lost; there are no children in hell. All children are sovereignly made alive in Christ through His atonement. Through the imputed grace of God they are made safe and are given a standing of holiness. We cannot say they are actually holy, for holiness has not been imparted to them; but it has been imputed to their credit and they are now safe.

All of this work has been the work of God alone; man has had no part in this making of the child safe. But is this passive state of safety, this work of imputed holiness, the whole of the work relative to holiness now to be accomplished for the child? Most assuredly it is not. There is a work of very great importance that belongs to parents and teachers, to others who are more mature. In too many cases there is nothing definitely attempted along this line, and the child is simply left to grow up as it may. This is our great shame. Since the child is a growing person, it will grow, it must grow, and in this it needs guidance. In this growth all parts of its nature are involved and hence all should have a share in this guidance. The baby begins to learn very quickly after birth. With the beginning of knowledge the work of character building begins. In this growth the physical and intellectual and spiritual should be brought along together. The child learns both from its environment and from the purposeful teaching it receives. In these the Christian element must not be lacking. Conversion is not yet possible, but there should be teaching and learning leading in this direction. Also habits should he formed and disposition cultivated that are after the Christian pattern. The carnal, fallen nature is present, which cannot now be destroyed, and it will naturally grow as the child grows. But it must not be fed; its growth must not be encouraged. It must be curbed and suppressed as largely as possible. This is the work of the parent, the teacher, the adult working through the environment, by example and by purposeful teaching within the range of the child's understanding. If this carnal nature is allowed to go unchecked in its manifestations, if its so-called cute outbreaks are laughed at with apparent approval, if its tendencies to vanity and selfishness and kindred things are encouraged or passed over lightly, then this sinful condition will grow in strength and fasten itself more tightly upon the child nature, so that it will become more hardened, and when the time of personal responsibility comes and choice must be made the inclination will be much more strongly in the direction of wrong than it need have been, and the child will be less liable to choose Christ than he should. There is something very definite that may be done relative to this fallen nature, this carnal state, in the child through teaching—discipline and training—in early childhood. To fail here is most serious.

Not only should this fallen nature be dealt with and curbed in the early pre-conversion years, but there is a definite Christian religious content that should be given to all the teaching of these years. The child is going to learn that which has its place on the level of religion and which will be given conscious religious value when he arrives at the age where this is possible. All of this will have its bearing in favor of or against holiness. At this time there can be no formal teaching of theology; the child cannot understand doctrines as such, and will not understand the nature of that which is being done for him. But the right teaching will be a real work of Christianity, pointing toward and making more possible the acceptance of conversion and sanctification when the time comes that this is possible. There should, then, be a definite and persistent effort on the part of parents and teachers so to shape the environment, to exercise such discipline, and to do such teaching as will result in a correct religious, as well as physical and intellectual, growth. The child is safe under the Blood at present, but he is fast approaching the time when he will not be safe under this imputed grace and he must be prepared for this change. He must now be helped to such knowledge, to such ideals, to such habits, and to such character as will serve him well at this time when he must make choice and receive a new experience.

Is it not a shame that children are allowed to grow up with such incorrect ideas relative to the nature of God, ideas that often hinder them long into their life of youth? They think of Him only as a Judge and not as a Friend or Helper; as one to be feared and not loved. To them He is of the policeman rather than the father type. The same is true relative to their attitude to society; it is all self and mine and what I want and like; there is no thought of others and of being helpful. The child must not be allowed to shape his own disposition and form his own habits and develop his own ideals; he must be helped in this, and his training should have in it the religious element. These are the formative years, and if religion is not in the forming of these days the child will suffer great loss. By a proper religious teaching now we may give to him a religious bent in the right direction and make his conversion and sanctification much more probable, and that at a much earlier age. What we miss doing relative to holiness that can be done for the child during these years will be hard to make up during later years. In fact, there will be some permanent loss. Let us then give careful attention to the child's religious as well as to his physical and intellectual experience and training. The child is not yet converted, and he cannot yet be converted; but he can learn some simple knowledge of God, and be led into some simple experiences of love and prayer and devotion, and may be taught certain attitudes and habits that are after the Christian pattern. It is a most serious blunder to miss this with our young children.

QUESTIONS

1.  Describe the natural birth state of the child and give proof.

2.  Describe the grace state of the child at birth and the ground for this.

3.  How long and upon what conditions may this grace state continue?

4.  What is the parents' and teachers' religious responsibility to the child?

5.  What religious experiences are possible for the child?

LESSON VI

HOLINESS AND REGENERATION

That. … we. … might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life (Luke 1:74, 75).

For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died (Romans 7:9).

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases (Psalms 103:3).

Ye must be born again (John 3:7).

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13).

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

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 (Titus 3:5).

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (I Corinthians 3:1-3.)

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In the last lesson we learned of the child's position of safety, his standing of holiness in the government of God through the sovereign provision of the atonement, his holiness by the imputed grace of Christ. This position is contingent upon continued irresponsibility and innocency. But it is not expected, neither is it desirable, that one should continue in this condition any longer than is necessary. For life to have meaning one must come to a state of conscious personal responsibility. But this responsibility is not to be thrust upon one until he has attained a certain degree of knowledge, such knowledge as will make a sane choice possible. And it is not for the best that this knowledge should be delayed into many years when habits and ideals have been too firmly set. In these early years the drive of the parent and the teacher should be definitely toward this point of responsibility, that it might be reached at the normal time and reached in such a way as to have the strongest bias possible in favor of the proper moral and religious choices that must be made at this time.

The age of responsibility is sure to come sooner or later to all except the idiot, and, if such is possible, the one who lives under a condition of such moral and religious darkness as to make it impossible for him to receive sufficient moral and religious light to bring this responsibility. Since there is a “Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9), it would seem that this is impossible, and yet we cannot judge for others as to when their light is sufficient. It is evident, however, that it is sometimes long delayed; but this should seldom be the case in Christian lands. When knowledge has become sufficient to bring on the age of responsibility, a definite personal choice must then be made in favor of sin or of righteousness, for or against Christ and His salvation and leadership; and upon this choice will depend the continuation in holiness. If the right choice was made instantly at the first opportunity, there would be no loss of one's standing in holiness under grace. But there would be a change, which change would involve repentance and a new birth; a definite conversion would take place as a result of the choice. Instead of simply the imputed state of holiness, there would come, as a result of the personal choice, a real experience of forgiveness of all sins past, mostly sins of ignorance, and the impartation of holiness insofar as the life of choice and action is concerned. This immediate conversion, however, is seldom, if ever, the case. The fallen nature in man is such that his first intelligent choice is usually the wrong one, and he suffers a definite break; the standing of holiness and safety is lost and he is without salvation. This was the case with Paul. While he was alive without the law, when the knowledge of the law came sin revived, and he came under personal guilt and died spiritually. It must have been the same with the rest of us, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It seems that a few persons have come to this awakening and have been converted at a very early age; and, not having been properly instructed at the time as to what had taken place, they now do not remember the time of their definite conversion. Some of them now are telling us, with apparent honesty, that they never were converted and that their Christian life is a result of Christian nurture. But the Bible does not justify such an explanation; according to God's Word there must be a time of conversion.

No exact age can be set regarding the time or age when responsibility will be reached; and when it is reached it will not be a time when full responsibility, or responsibility for all, is reached. There will be a growing responsibility with growing knowledge. But there will be such responsibility that one becomes guilty before God for his now known transgressions of the law, his sins, and he must make definite choice to be forgiven. The time of this age of responsibility will depend upon the child's ability, the environment in which he has lived, and the teaching he has received. It would seem that if the influence of the home was what it should be, and if the Sunday school did its work effectively during the earlier years, this awakening should not be delayed beyond the Junior years; in rare instances it might come a bit earlier. However, it must be remembered that this awakening means more than the first knowledge of wrong in the mere human relations, such as disobedience to parents. Sin, as we have shown in another lesson, is against God. And before this awakening can come the child must be brought to some knowledge of God and his obligation to Him. Certainly this will be quite elementary knowledge; but it must be sufficient, under the divine judgment, to bring the consciousness of guilt. We are in no way the judge of this sufficiency. We may help the child to recognize it, but it is a matter of his own conscience, between God and himself.

When this responsible choice has been made, and is on the wrong side, the person has come out from under the sovereign protection of the Blood, and both guilt and pollution are now charged against him; he is a guilty and polluted sinner under divine sentence, and in need of salvation. His only hope now is to get back under the Blood; and in his present state this requires, first, a definite experience of regeneration, “Ye must be born again.” There is no way around Christ's must. Both his guilt and his pollution must be cared for. He cannot get under the Blood with one and leave the other out. If he gets under the Blood at all, he must get under with all. We may now consider how regeneration deals with these and what experience of holiness it brings.

There must first be the removal of all guilt. This can be accomplished only by divine forgiveness. Sin being a transgression of divine law, only God can remove the guilt for this sin, and the only way guilt can be removed is by forgiveness. The person having come into that position where he is responsible for his sin, there are certain conditions which he must personally meet before God can be justified in this forgiveness. These conditions are: (1) the confession of sins (Matthew 3:6); (2) the repentance of sins (Luke 13:3, 5) and the turning away from sins (Isaiah 55:7); (3) a full surrender to Christ (Romans 6:19)—a free personal choice of Christ which includes a choice against sin, and a choice to live in obedience to Christ's commands, which means to quit sinning; (4) faith (Acts 26:18). When these conditions have been fully met—confession, repentance, surrender, faith—grace is immediately operative and the person is placed back under the blood atonement of Christ. This brings, first, the full forgiveness of all sins committed, known and unknown; guilt is all canceled, and the person is now free from all charges against him in the government of God. There is also the cleansing from all of the pollution that has resulted from these personal acts of sin. This pollution was beyond the reach of forgiveness, but it could be and was cleansed at this same time. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). This verse quite clearly is speaking only concerning the acts of sin and the results therefrom where there is moral responsibility. Only such sin can be confessed. The old account of sinning is now fully settled. In the life of choice and action—the will—there is now freedom from sin—holiness.

There must, second, be a new spiritual life, regeneration as well as justification. The spirit, “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), must be resurrected, must be regenerated and brought back to life. This is accomplished by the new birth. “Ye must be born again. … born of the Spirit” (John 3:7, 8), which birth comes when these conditions as stated above are met. To be born is to become a babe, in this case “babes in Christ” (I Corinthians 3:1). The life of a babe thus born must be free from sin; this newborn life must be holy. Spiritual life that is the result of a birth by the Holy Spirit cannot be other than holy.

So far this is all very fine, but we have not as yet reached the whole of the life. We yet have the serious question as to the old life, the hereditary human or flesh life and the disposition of sin that is in this from birth. Is this sin condition yet in this nature? Has conversion in any way affected this situation? If it has had any effect, what effect has it had? The Bible teaching seems to be very clear in its answer to the first part of this question. Speaking of the babes in Christ, which can mean none other than those who have been born into Christ, born of the Spirit, converted, it plainly states, “Ye are yet carnal,” and their manifestations of the carnal disposition and attitudes are given as proof of it (I Corinthians 3:3). The true nature of this carnality may be but slightly recognized and realized by the newborn individual, especially in the case of early conversion; but it is present, and there will be the clamoring for expression of the works of this fallen flesh life, which will mean an inner conflict. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Galatians 5:19-21). These are not present as overt acts hut they are there as fallen carnal tendencies, polluting the flesh life. These tendencies will vary much in their strength and manifestation in different individuals. Some of them may not be at all consciously present with certain persons. But the fallen flesh nature, of which these things are the works, is a part of the converted person's life; there is still “sin in the flesh”; there is an inner state of unholiness and pollution. To yield to these tendencies is to sin, and “they which do such things [give way to these manifestations] shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (verse 21). Thus the case is rather serious yet, if there is not in the experience of conversion some dealing with this “sin in the flesh.”

It is evident that the conversion work of justification—pardon or forgiveness—could not reach this sinful state. This “sin in the flesh” being transmitted as it is through heredity, there is no personal responsibility for its presence; one cannot be responsible for his birth state. Where there is no personal responsibility there can he no guilt; hence there can be no repentance or forgiveness in respect to this state of pollution, and the pollution must continue. If, then, conversion does not mean more than forgiveness, the person is not made fully safe. The only way that this state of sin can he dealt with is by a work of cleansing. In the conversion work of regeneration there was some work of cleansing, but this must be confined to the field of personal responsibility, which as yet has not reached beyond the known acts of sin, so that the condition necessary to further cleansing cannot now be met. This cleansing has then reached only to that which has resulted from the personal acts. For the further work of cleansing the individual must be brought to a place of personal responsibility for the continuance of this sinful state in the life, to a place where he can meet the conditions for this cleansing. This calls for more knowledge, more learning, more light.

It is evident, then, that the hereditary sinful nature still remains after one has been converted. But if this situation is to be left entirely untouched at this time, it is to leave the individual in such a state of unholiness that the person will yet be unsafe in the event of death. If the first scripture reference for this lesson (which tells us that we may live in holiness all the days of our life) is true, there must be some further work of holiness in this conversion experience that brings this person to a place of safety. We must now discover what this is and how it is accomplished.

Here again we must look to imputed grace, to the sovereign administration of the atonement benefits. The divine promise is that “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John 1:7). Notice the one condition is, if we have knowledge or light, and if we walk in this light, all the light we have; if we are surrendered to and are obedient to this light, then there will be the cleansing—more than forgiveness, the cleansing from and the keeping clean from all sin. This walking in the light is a necessary requisite to being converted and living the Christian life, and when one thus walks in the light he becomes a converted person; he is a Christian and must be thus cleansed from all sin. But we have just seen that the state of sin still remains in the flesh life of the converted person; he is yet carnal. How then is he cleansed, or made safe, as to this pollution? It is clear that the cleansing from the pollution of this sin in the flesh at this time must be by imputation and not by impartation. In response to the full surrender and walking in the light at the time of conversion there is, beyond the forgiveness of all the acts of sin and the new birth, the sovereign bestowment of the benefits of the atonement and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. This righteousness is charged to the credit of the person, so as to clear him before God of the charge of this pollution and to give him a standing of holiness, as was the state of the little child before he came to the age of responsibility. The state of sin is still present, but under this imputation there is no pollution charged against the person.

Through this same method of imputation, grace, will now also care for those acts of the Christian which, except for this grace, as judged under the law, would be sins and bring one again under guilt. But under this imputation these acts, being sins of ignorance, are counted as mistakes and not as sins, and no guilt is charged. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17); but to him that knoweth not, that has not the light, to him it is not sin. Notice the emphasis on “to him,” Knowledge or light measures one's responsibility and is the measure of that which is sin to him. By walking in the light one is able to keep from sinning, from that which will be charged against him as sin. “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin” (I John 3:9). “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not” (I John 3:6).

Thus the truly converted person is fully and wholly under the Blood. He is justified and regenerated and under the imputed grace of Christ; he is freed from guilt and pollution under the provisions of the atonement; he is forgiven and given a standing of holiness in the kingdom of God; he is in a position of perfect safety. No converted person is or can be lost as long as he continues in this state of grace, and he has fellowship with God and grows in grace. There is the possibility of backsliding, but there is no necessity for backsliding. There will be temptation and inward struggle, but there is overcoming grace.

This is conversion! Glorious experience! Wonderful grace! This is holiness begun.

QUESTIONS

1.  What is meant by the age of responsibility and what change will then take place? dependent upon what?

2.  Describe the experience of forgiveness.

3.  Describe the experience of regeneration.

4.  What work of imparted holiness is accomplished in this experience of conversion?

5.  What work of imputed holiness is accomplished in this experience of conversion?

LESSON VII

HOLINESS AND THE BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY GHOST

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me. … he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire (Matthew 3:11).

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And 1 will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14: 15-17).

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 (Acts 2:1-4).

And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith (Acts 15:8, 9).

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3).

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:6-11).

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision, of Christ (Colossians 2:11).

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In our studies together thus far we have learned that holiness is a moral condition or state of freedom from sin, that there are degrees of holiness, that God is absolutely holy, and that angels and men were created holy and enjoyed fellowship with God. We have learned also that man sinned and lost his holiness and fellowship with God, and that Christ through His blood atonement has lifted the child at its birth to the place of safety, to a standing of holiness, which is effective until the age of responsibility is reached. We have learned further that at the time of the age of moral awakening the individual becomes responsible for his own salvation and must make such choice as will bring to him a definite experience of conversion—of justification and regeneration; and that some work of holiness has been wrought in the life of the one who has been truly converted or born of the Spirit. In his conversion he has been made actually holy by an impartation of divine grace, so that all of the guilt resulting from his personal acts of sin has been removed and the newborn spirit is holy. In his life of choice and personal responsibility, the will, he has been made free from sin; his purpose of will is now to sin no more. We have yet further learned that the natural flesh nature, the inner hereditary nature of tendency and desire of the converted person, is still affected by sin; that there remains an inner heart uncleanness which conversion has not cured; that after one becomes a babe in Christ he is “yet carnal,” the hereditary nature has not been made holy; but that on the ground of his full surrender to Christ at the time of conversion and walking in his present light, thus meeting his present responsibility, all of this carnal pollution is covered by imputed grace and is not charged against him so long as he walks in the light. Thus through the imparted and imputed grace of God he is entirety covered by the atoning blood of Christ and is given a standing of holiness in the kingdom of God, and is perfectly safe as long as he remains under the Blood.

Still another thing that we have learned, which is most important here, is that imputed grace and the righteousness therefrom are effective only where there is irresponsibility, where there is no light sufficient for a choice. When sufficient additional light has been received to bring responsibility for an advanced experience, this imputed grace benefit will become ineffective, and there must be a definite individual choice to walk in this light and receive this further experience. If there has been a provision made for the actual cleansing from this inner heart pollution and the removal of this remaining depravity, as soon after one's conversion as he receives this light, as soon as he becomes sufficiently informed regarding this provision to incur responsibility, he should make the choice and meet the condition of this provision and become the recipient of imparted heart holiness, or forfeit the grace he now possesses. We may now ask the question, Does the atonement of Christ provide such a provision for inner heart holiness?

The fact of wrong tendencies in human nature from birth, and that these continue in the regenerate life, is universally acknowledged. But there are those, and their number seems to be increasing, who deny the racial fall of Eden and do not recognize anything of sin in the hereditary tendencies. They recognize these tendencies and temper manifestations and character traits that lean in the wrong direction and should be corrected, but to them all of these are but normal to infancy; they are but the result of immaturity, of infantile lack of knowledge; learning and correct training and growth will bring them out all right; there is nothing of sin in the birth nature, and if there is right education there will be no need of salvation. To follow the teaching of natural science or of psychology at this point will but lead to deception. Modernistic theology is equally in error. The “new education” has gone just as far astray. The Bible is our only safe guide. The Bible calls this condition in the nature sin—“sin in the flesh,” in the natural flesh life, “the body of sin,” “the body of the sins of the flesh,” “sin that dwelleth in me.” There is an indwelling state, an inner heart condition, as well as action of the will, that the Bible clearly classifies as sin. It is more than just something wrong; it is moral wrong. It is more than wrong as judged by man; it is wrong as judged by God, It is sin. That not all natural tendencies are of themselves sin, that this is not total depravity in the sense that there is only depravity, will be freely admitted. But that nature is now all infected by sin, that there is now a sin germ in all of human nature, is a clear truth of the Bible. To place this birth condition upon any other level is to deceive men and close the door before them to God's plan for their lives. This sin in the human nature, as well as sin in human action, certainly must be dealt with in the work of salvation.

Conversion is salvation, but it is not all of salvation. We have seen that conversion does deal with the inward state of sin in such a way that man is given a standing of holiness before God, but this is not an actual state of inward holiness. The sin is yet in the flesh nature. The righteousness is but by imputation; the sin is still present and must be suppressed. Suppression is the experience of the regenerate Christian. Some teach that this is all that present salvation provides for man, that conversion is the only salvation experience one may now receive, that the struggle against sin in the nature, the struggle to keep it down and under control, must continue throughout the life, that there is nothing better for the present than suppression except that by growth in grace there may be some strengthening of the control in respect to the carnal manifestations. Others have gone so far as to profess to believe that by this growth in grace one may after a time reach a full deliverance from all sin, hut none have reached this goal by this means. There must be growth in grace after the conversion experience, and by this there will be a greater mastery and the breaking of old and the forming of new habits; but through growth alone there can be no final deliverance from indwelling sin. There can be growth in, but no growth into, holiness. All of these theories are unbiblical and hence untrue. Imputed grace is a wonderful provision of God, and to grow in grace is a great privilege, hut these are not intended to take the place of imparted grace when that becomes possible. And the Bible tells us that this is possible. Hence there is more of salvation than conversion and more of holiness than that which is brought through regeneration.

The Bible clearly teaches us that Christ's atonement has provided a present salvation from all sin. This means not only the guilt resulting from the act and the pollution because of the state of sin, but also the freeing one from this state of sin and bringing him to perfect holiness. While in this provision there is a place for imputed righteousness where that is necessary to make one safe, this is but an emergency arrangement to be effective until an actual impartation becomes possible. Sin is not always to be suppressed, as in the conversion experience. The atonement has provided a further experience wherein there is full cleansing from the state of sin. This cleansing is a part of the work of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. To sanctify means to purify and make holy (Hebrews 9:13, 14), and we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2). On the Day of Pentecost all of those present were “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4). A little while later Cornelius received this same experience as a result of the preaching of Peter, and Peter tells us that this was the baptism with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:15-17). He tells us further that in the receiving of this experience their hearts were purified by faith (Acts 15:9). Being of the heart and by faith, this cannot mean merely a ceremonial cleansing of these Gentile converts, so that they might be received into the Jewish church; it was the cleansing of the heart from the presence and pollution of indwelling sin such as brought a state of heart holiness. This is not a suppression of, nor a mastery over, nor a covering over by imputation, but a real cleansing from sin and impartation of holiness. “Our old man is crucified with him,” is put to death, and the “body of sin” is destroyed (Romans 6:6); “the body of the sins of the flesh” is put off (Colossians 2:11), so that there is no more sin dwelling within.

John the Baptist tells us that this baptism with the Holy Spirit is the special work of Jesus. John himself could baptize with water, but it is the One who is coming after him who “shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 3:11). And Peter tells us in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost after the Holy Spirit had come upon them that “the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). The baptism with the Holy Spirit was not simply a special blessing upon the apostles in preparation for their place of first leadership in the Church. Neither was it alone for the later ministers and leaders in the Church. It is the privilege of every member of the Church. “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it” (Ephesians 5:25, 26). It is the purpose of Jesus that all should be baptized with the Holy Spirit and come into this experience of heart holiness.

One is perfectly safe in the conversion experience as long as he walks in the light, but one must walk in additional light as it is received. There are those who have been so taught before their conversion that they already have sufficient knowledge for an immediate choice, and to maintain their grace of conversion they should at once become seekers and should enter this experience. of the baptism with the Holy Spirit very soon. There are many who do not have this light, and they must he awakened to their need and their privilege. No definite time can be set for this awakening. With some it may he but days, with others it may he years, and with some it may be never. But it is the duty of the preacher and the teacher faithfully to do all that can be done to bring this light to each convert as soon as possible; and when the light has become sufficient to bring full responsibility, a favorable choice must be made or grace will be forfeited. The normal Christian is a constant seeker for more light or knowledge. It seems not to have been a very long period for the converts in Philip's Samaritan revival. Paul's first question of the Ephesian disciples was, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” When he discovered they had not, he at once began to give them such instruction that they might have the needed light. As a result they were soon the happy recipients of this experience. Evidently the carrying out of the divine program calls for this second crisic salvation experience to follow as soon as possible after the first conversion experience, If it were not for the neglect and the incorrect teaching by men, if it were not for the opposition of carnal Christians, when the Bible teaching is clearly presented without strain or fanatical interpretations, without the addition of extra affixes and manifestations, the Holy Spirit would no doubt lead very many more of those who are converted to receive this baptism with the Holy Spirit. But instead of this there has been much of teaching such as to prejudice and blind and deceive the people. There are many who are living under such teaching and environment that they may never receive sufficient light to receive this experience; but by faithfully walking in all the light they have, and such new light as comes to them, they will continue in the conversion state under the protection of the atonement all the days of their life and enter the heavenly city at death. There are those, how many we cannot tell, who, as they walk in their full light, will be led by the Holy Spirit into this experience when they have no doctrinal knowledge or understanding as to what they have received. They have come to a clear consciousness of need and a deep hunger for a deliverance and blessing which they do not understand. They have prayed for this deliverance most sincerely and have met the conditions as it were by accident, and the baptism with the Spirit has fallen upon them. They have been conscious of a great blessing, but they know it only as a great blessing; they have no understanding as to its real significance. At some later time this person may hear the clear teaching as to the second crisis of salvation, and under this teaching be shown by the Holy Spirit that this is the experience that he received as the great blessing. There will be great joy over this discovery with an immediate acknowledgment and testimony to the same. Others may live to the end of their days without coming to this light.

God, knowing our frame and remembering that we are dust (Psalms 103:14), has made every justifiable provision and arrangement to save men in spite of their weakness and ignorance. But there are hounds that even an infinite and merciful God cannot pass, and conditions under which, men must be damned. With unforgiven sins and without holiness none can enter heaven. But there are conditions of ignorance, when there are absolute honesty and sincerity, for which imputed grace makes allowance and provides a state of holiness, as has been explained. It is well that this is true or many more would be lost. But this is not God's first plan for man. It is rather an emergency arrangement, and it may not be taken advantage of by any who have light; It is but an emergency arrangement when nothing else can be done. While knowledge is the measure of responsibility, it must be remembered that we know we can learn, and we are not alone responsible for what we now know but also for what we may learn. To plead ignorance and neglect learning is fatal. There is safety only when there are sincere desire for more light and a set purpose to walk in the light. It is God's purpose that men shall be intelligently awakened, make definite choice, and enter consciously and understandingly into this second crisic salvation experience of heart holiness and that all of the preachers and the teachers of the church shall so present the truth as to bring this awakening to those who have been converted.

When this awakening has come, when one has come into light sufficient to bring responsibility, he must then walk in the light and meet the conditions for the receiving of the experience. If this is done there must be more than knowledge, there must be desire; there must be such emotion as will influence the will to the right choice. But the knowledge that is involved in this light should lead to this desire. If the desire is not sufficient, the light should be increased. At the time of conversion there was a repentance of sins required. The case is different here. No repentance is required for the state of sin, for there is no guilt, if the person has walked thus far in the light and not incurred guilt since the time of forgiveness. But there must be an acknowledgment of this inner state as a state of sin and a heart cry for deliverance from it. “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid” (Psalms 32:5). To obtain forgiveness surrender was required, but that surrender must still be in effect and need not be repeated here if so be it has continued in effect. It is a full dedication that is now required; all I am and have, and all I ever expect to be or have, must be wholly dedicated to God forever. It is a lifelong contract. Nothing short of this will bring the baptism with the Holy Spirit and its work of holiness. The Bible states this requirement thus: “Present your bodies,” with all the life within and with all its possibilities, “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:21). “Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead,” as those who have been born again, “and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:13). Sin may be entrenched in the nature, worldly ambitions and pride may have such a strong hold, and selfishness so large a place, that this consecration will cause a very severe struggle for a time; but it must be made before there can be any victory.

When the consecration is complete and all is on the altar, “the altar. … sanctifieth the gift,” and there must then follow the reckoning of faith. “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11). This is not the reckoning of a mere guess, or the accounting of something as true when it is not true, or the believing that something is true before it is true and that the believing makes it true. It is rather the reckoning of the mathematician who works his problem and arrives at a definite and accurate result Or it is the reckoning of the mariner at sea on his journey to a certain port who makes his observation and looks at his chart and compass, who thus takes his reckoning and discovers his exact location in his journey. This is not the reckoning of reason alone, though some reason is required, but it is also an exercise of faith. It lays hold on the facts discovered, the conclusion arrived at, and by faith accepts these as true. After this same manner one is “sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18). When consecration is complete, when there are full dedication and trust, God is faithful in sanctifying, and the reckoning of faith brings this fact into the personal consciousness. The person now knows he has received the baptism with the Holy Spirit and his heart has been cleansed from all sin. This is the experience referred to as “holiness” by the group called the “holiness people.”

QUESTIONS

1.  Describe the state of one who has been converted.

2.  Define sanctification and give proof that it is a part of the experience of the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

3.  Who administers and who may receive this baptism?

4.  What are the prerequisites to receiving this baptism?

5.  What is man's responsibility for receiving this baptism?

LESSON VIII

HOLINESS AND THE SECOND BLESSING

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me. … shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost (Matthew 3:11).

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. … 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. … Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:5-17).

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. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, cm Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them (Acts 19:1-6).

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth (John 17:16, 17).

Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it (Ephesians 5: 25,26).

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate (Hebrews 13:12).

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And 1 will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14:15-17).

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John Wesley said of this experience of holiness of heart through the baptism with the Holy Spirit that it was “the second blessing, properly so called.” This, however, is not a Bible expression, but this argues nothing against its use. Neither do the much used expressions “salvation from sin,” “the new birth,” and “a child of God” appear in the Bible. But all of these are Biblical expressions—that for which they stand is clearly taught in the Bible—and they are all doctrinally correct. This is equally true of this expression, “the second blessing.” It is true that there are a thousand blessings, and there are many ten thousands of blessings, but these are not blessings in the same sense as is the second blessing. There are very many general blessings but there are two, and only two, crisic salvation blessings. Seven proofs of this are here submitted.

1. The Holy Spirit is vitally related to all of the work of salvation. The Bible clearly presents two distinct operations or works of the Holy Spirit that are crisic works of salvation. The first of these is to be born of the Spirit (John 3:6). Birth is an act, and a crisic act To be born is to be brought into life. In this case it is to be “born again” (verse 7), to restore a life that has been lost; it is a new spiritual birth—regeneration; it is coming into life as a babe in Christ; it is a new life, forgiven and freed from all the guilt of sin. The second of these is to be baptized with the Holy Ghost (Luke 3:16). Baptism is an act, and a crisic act Baptism is something quite different from birth and cannot possibly be until after birth; one must be born before he can be baptized. These two figures that are here applied to the spiritual life necessitate two crisic experiences, the one following the other. With this baptism we have entire sanctification, cleansing from the inner state of sin.

It is clear also from the part each has to do in the dealing with sin that the birth of and the baptism with the Spirit are not the same experience. The one brings forgiveness and regeneration, the other cleansing and sanctification, as we have just stated. The Apostle Paul speaks of certain persons as “babes in Christ.” This can only mean that they had been born again, had been forgiven and freed from guilt, were regenerated. But he also tells us that they were “yet carnal,” they were yet in possession of inward sin and were manifesting this in their lives; they were not yet entirely sanctified (I Corinthians 3:1-3), for sanctification is a result of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Jesus paid a very high tribute to the apostles. He has said of them, “Your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10; 20, and, “I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). In His great intercessory prayer as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John He has said of them, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. … they have kept thy word. … I am glorified in them. … The world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” He speaks of them as “thine” and “mine.” He says, “Thou [the Fatter] hast given him [the Son] power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent,” and that these both know and have believed. It must be, then, that their lives have been changed, that they have been spiritually born and have eternal life. But He prays for them, “Sanctify them,” for they had not yet been sanctified. If then these Corinthian “babes in Christ” and if these apostles who were not of the world were ever sanctified, it was as a second experience or blessing. And what is the Bible testimony as to this point? It is this. Cornelius received the baptism with the Holy Spirit under the preaching of Peter, which was the same experience as the apostles received on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 11:15-17). One result of this baptism was the “purifying their hearts by faith” (Acts 15: 8, 9). This was not a ceremonial cleansing to make possible their joining the church in fellowship with the Jews; it was heart purity and was by faith. They were sanctified—sanctified by the baptism with the Holy Spirit as a second crisic blessing.

2. There are two distinct baptisms in the New Testament that are related to salvation, the one following the other. The first is John's baptism, and the second is Christ's baptism. John's baptism is “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3), and he used water as a symbol, an element of washing or outward cleansing—the washing away of guilt. Christ's baptism is with the Holy Spirit and the symbol referred to is fire (Matthew 3:11), an element of inward cleansing—the burning out of sin. For John's baptism an honest confession and a sincere repentance of sin were required (Matthew 3:6, 8), and water was the symbol of and witness to the changed faith and life. It was not a conversion that was in the full light of the after-Pentecost days, the light of the new dispensation; but it was a genuine work of grace that changed the faith and life and brought them into fellowship with Christ. All who submitted to the form of baptism, of course, did not enter into the spiritual experience; but some did, and these were converts. But this baptism of John was not administered as a sufficient baptism. John said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me. … he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). John's baptism came first, and then came Christ's baptism for those who had sincerely received John's baptism. Water baptism is Christian baptism and is administered by men. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is Christ's baptism and cannot be administered by men. Christ never baptized with water (John 4:2), and one has not received Christ's baptism until he has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Christ's baptism is a second baptism, a baptism for one who has become a Christian.

3. These two blessings are also clearly marked in the results of the atonement. First, “God so loved the world,” the unregenerate lost world, “that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), might be born of the Spirit and come into spiritual life. But this is not all of the atonement. “Christ also loved the church,” not the unregenerate world but the saved ones, the brought-out ones, “and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it” (Ephesians 5: 25, 26). “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people,” that He might make them holy, “with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12). Is it not clear that there are two crisic works of salvation provided in the atonement: one for the lost world, to forgive sin and save from eternal death; and the other for the Church, to save from the pollution of indwelling sin and give holiness of heart—one for regeneration and the oilier for entire sanctification? There is holiness as well as life in the atonement, holiness of heart and life.

4. There are two positions or relationships of the Holy Spirit to the Christian. This is made very clear in John 14:15-17. Here Jesus is promising the Holy Spirit to certain persons under certain conditions. These conditions are: “if ye love me” and if you “keep my commandments.” The sinner meets neither of these conditions, hence this promise is to the Christian. For such a one He “will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” This other Comforter is “the Spirit of truth,” the Holy Spirit. His first statement relative to this is, “whom the world,” the unregenerated sinner, “cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him.” There is no misunderstanding this “cannot” of Christ. The Holy Spirit is faithful to work with the sinner in convicting and persuading, but the sinner must first repent and be converted before he can thus receive the Holy Spirit. But it is different with the disciple who is a believer and has been regenerated—“Ye know him.” The Christian has already in some sense received the Holy Spirit—“he dwelleth with you,” with your spirit, with your personality. Every Christian has a measure of the Spirit, a conscious relation with the Spirit. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9). But there is another further receiving of the Holy Spirit beyond this being with you that is the privilege of the Christian, a second experience which results in the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit—“and shall be in you.” This was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, for it was at that time “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” To be baptized with the Holy Spirit means to be indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and this also means indwelling holiness; it is an experience of entire sanctification.

5. We may now notice two incidents where the Holy Spirit was received. The first of these is in connection with Philip's great revival at Samaria. You will first note the content of Philip's preaching. The record tells us that he “preached Christ unto them,” and “the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus” (Acts 8:5, 12). What did this mean if it did not include repentance and faith and the Saviourhood of Christ? He certainly preached to them the gospel. And they also witnessed, in connection with his preaching, certain miracles of healing and the casting out of unclean spirits. The record then tells us that they gave heed to this preaching of Philip, that they believed and were baptized. This certainly was an experience of divine grace. It was not the custom in the Early Church to baptize unrepentant sinners. John the Baptist insisted on real repentance. Philip insisted that the eunuch must believe with all his heart (Acta 8:37). Probably some may have been insincere but others were genuine. If we were reporting this meeting today, we should call these converts. Now the news of this revival reached the apostles at Jerusalem, that these people had not only heard but had “received the word of God.” Two of their members were commissioned to visit Samaria. When they arrived, they were soon convinced that a genuine work of grace had been accomplished. So they prayed for these new converts, “that they might receive the Holy Ghost.” “Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost” (Acts 8:17). This surely was a second blessing.

6. Apollos, an Alexandrian Jew, was an eloquent speaker and mighty in the Scriptures and was instructed in the way of the Lord. He knew of the baptism of John, the baptism with repentance and belief in Jesus Christ (Acts 19:4); but he did not know of Christ's baptism with the Holy Spirit. He had been preaching in Ephesus and had evidently made some true disciples. Apollos had gone on to Corinth and Paul had come to Ephesus. Here he found “certain disciples.” This can mean nothing less than followers of Christ. No doubt these were the converts under the preaching of Apollos. They were recognized by Paul as genuine believers. It must be that they had received the first salvation blessing; today we would call them Christians. They were not in the full light of this experience and they were after further teaching, but they had received a new faith and a changed life. Paul became satisfied as to the sincerity of their faith and would lead them forward. His first question to them was, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” This baptism was an experience he expected them to receive after they had believed and become disciples. Some are telling us that this question should read, “Did you receive the Holy Ghost when you believed?” If this should be the correct rendering, the answer still shows that it stands for an experience they did not receive when they were converted. Apollos being their teacher, from him they had learned of and experienced the first blessing, but they had not heard that there was a further experience of receiving the Holy Spirit. Paul now enlightens them and they become ready receivers; he “laid his hands upon them” and “the Holy Ghost came on them” (Acts 18:24 to 19:6). Here we have the record of yet other persons who received a second blessing.

7. The necessity for a second blessing probably does not lie on the divine side. Without question there are two things that must be done. There must be both forgiveness and cleansing; both guilt and pollution must be taken away. Character as well as behavior must be corrected; the sinful state or the depraved nature as well as the acts of sin must be dealt with, and these cannot be dealt with as being the same. An omnipotent God might accomplish both results in one divine act if the human conditions would justly permit such an act. But in dealing with man God is dealing with a person whom He created as a free moral agent, and He must respect this agency which He has created. With this free agency certain conditions are necessary in the determining of God's action. These necessary conditions are such that man cannot meet the conditions for both of these blessings at the same time. To meet the conditions for the second blessing requires that which is possible only after the first blessing has become an experience. One of these conditions is a responsible personal choice, and it has already been shown that there is a certain degree of knowledge or light that is necessary before this choice can be made. And it is often true that one does not have sufficient light at the time of his conversion to make such choice as would bring the cleansing also. There must be time for the awakening. But if such light should be present at the time of conversion there are other conditions that cannot be met until after one has been converted. Just as a rebel cannot enlist in the army of the nation until he has first surrendered and been restored to citizenship, so the sinner, who is a rebel in God's government, cannot dedicate himself to the Lord. He must first surrender, repent, be forgiven, and become a child of God—a Christian, a loyal subject of God's government—before he is in a condition where he can dedicate himself to God. God does not want his old sinful life with its wrong habits dedicated to Him. He first calls for surrender and a new life. But He will gladly accept this new life in a full dedication. Only the Christian can take that attitude and meet the conditions that are necessary to the receiving of this inner cleansing and impartation of holiness. The baptism with the Holy Spirit, because of the human condition necessary to receiving it, can come only as a second blessing.

Yes, it must be a second blessing. However, there is no definite time in years or months or days, not even hours, that may be stated as the time that must necessarily elapse between these two experiences. On the Day of Pentecost they must needs tarry in the Upper Room for ten days. But this does not imply that ten days is the time necessary to meet the required conditions in all cases. Some have met them in much shorter time. In some cases it has not been hours. But in others it has been years. As has already been shown, it is a matter of knowledge or light. The ten days of waiting in the Upper Room was necessary because the day of the Pentecost feast was the set time for the dispensational advent of the Holy Spirit, when the first baptism with the Holy Spirit should occur. Since He has come into the world, just as quickly after conversion as one is able to make the entire consecration he may do so and receive this second salvation blessing. And when light is present, delay is dangerous.

There is nothing inconsistent with God's general method of work in this second blessing. Some would tell us that God always does a perfect work and that any teaching of a second salvation blessing is contrary to His way of working. It is true that God always does a perfect work; that is, whatever He does He does perfectly. But this does not mean that He does everything at the same time. When He forgives He does a perfect work of forgiveness, but this does not mean that He cleanses also. Cleansing is something else. He cleanses at another time, and when He cleanses He cleanses perfectly. In God's dealings with man we have two covenants; and there are two resurrections; and there were two touches from Jesus when the blind man was healed. Then why not two salvation blessings?

QUESTIONS

1.  What is the difference between the many blessings and the second blessing?

2.  What two crisic operations of the Holy Spirit do we have? Describe these and show that they are different.

3.  What two baptisms do we have, and what experience does each one represent?

4.  Show the two provisions of the atonement relative to sin.

5.  What is the ground for the necessity of a second blessing?

LESSON IX

HOLINESS—THE STATE

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith (Acts 15:8, 9).

For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness (I Thessalonians 4:7).

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life (Romans 6:22).

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (I Corinthians 3:16.)

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4).

Know ye not that. … ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's (I Corinthians 6:19,20).

Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49).

Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you (Acts 1:8).

That we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Ephesians 1:4).

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and 1 pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (I Thessalonians 5:23).

————

We have now followed the administration of divine grace in the interest of fallen and sinful man to the place where man has been brought not only to a standing of, but into an actual state of, holiness; to a holiness which has reached not alone his will, his life of choice and action, but also his heart, his natural flesh life; to a holiness which has brought both forgiveness and cleansing from all sin and a state of inward purity. We must now study a bit more carefully the nature of this state of holiness, that we may understand more fully just what we have received.

Holiness has introduced us into a full fellowship with God. Because God is holy He calls upon man to be holy. “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (I Peter 1:16). God is a social Being and desires fellowship with man. He will not be satisfied until He has brought back the man whom He created to the place of fellowship for which he was created. And man will not be satisfied short of this fellowship. The famous words of Augustine are very true: “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” Man cannot live happily by himself alone, and none can fully satisfy him but God. There may be other fellowships that are helpful, and some of these are very dear, but they all fall short of affording supreme satisfaction. Fellowship is the richest experience of life, and in Christianity we have fellowship at its highest. It is in this state that we may truly sing, “I'm satisfied with Jesus here.” Fellowship, of course, calls for likeness, agreement, communion. Two cannot walk together except they are agreed (Amos 3:3). It is because God is holy that He calls upon man to be holy. Sin broke this fellowship, and as long as man is a sinner there can be no fellowship with God. But with this experience of holiness restored, man is now in a condition for a life of fellowship. And, oh, what a fellowship this is! “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.” “And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (I John 1:7, 3). This is fellowship with our fellow Christians and fellowship with God. This is real life, human experience at its highest.

This holiness is not as holy as God is holy, but it is holiness similar to the holiness of God. It could not be holiness equal to God's holiness, for God is infinite and man is finite. It is not holiness equal to the holiness of the angels or of Adam in the beginning, for with these it was holiness with no experience of sin. With man in his present state it is holiness brought about out of a condition of sin, holiness through redemption. Man's holiness must be holiness on the level of his finite human nature and in the light of the fact that he has fallen. So far as we know, to no other being is holiness possible on this level of redemption. But on this level it is true holiness; it is freedom from all sin. All guilt and pollution are gone, and there is purity of heart and life. It is a full devotement to God equal to the ability of man—“All thy heart. … all thy soul. … all thy mind. … all thy strength” (Mark 12:30). There has been no destruction of any of the natural created human faculties; these are all present with their natural appetites and desires both of the flesh and of the spirit, calling for their gratification. If this were not true, we should not be human. But they have now been purified from the sin taint of the fall; the sin germ has been made ineffective, has been destroyed; there has been a restoration to normal human life. All sin is abnormal; it is no part of normal human nature; it is something foreign that has been brought in. The sinner does not live a normal life. Holiness is man's normal state. Holiness does not make man queer or eccentric. If he is such, it is the result of something other than holiness. Holiness makes him different, but it makes him normal Until man comes into this experience of holiness, he cannot live a normal life.

This is not holiness under the judgment of man in his present fallen state. Men misjudged and condemned the perfectly holy Jesus when He was living the life in the flesh here among men. They even said He had a devil (John 10:20). If this was the case with Him, how can any other man expect to escape this misjudgment? It is holiness under the perfect judgment of God, which is a justice-mercy judgment, the judgment of One who perfectly discerns all of the facts of the case and understands all of the motives and knows all the capacities and conditions of responsibility. “Man looketh on the outward appearance,” hence his judgment cannot he safe; “but the Lord looketh on the heart” (I Samuel 16:7), and hence His judgment is correct. It is before God that we are to walk and be perfect (Genesis 17:1). “That we should he holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4). Such holiness is now possible to man.

This is not a faultless holiness, a holiness of absolute perfection of character, attitude, and behavior. It is holiness by redemption from a state of sin, and sin has left the faculties weakened and somewhat impaired. There is purity, hut not perfection or maturity; there is full cleansing, but not a full restoration of all the faculties to their normal strength. While we may properly speak of this as a state of Christian perfection, it is unwise to refer to it as a state of sinless perfection. This savors of infallibility and will be misleading. In his present state of holiness man is not perfect in any of his faculties. As a result of faulty judgment he will make mistakes, and men will often judge these as sins. Under God's government of grace, that which under law is judged as sins of ignorance is given the place of mistakes. When one is living under the Blood, it is only when he commits a known, willful, purposeful transgression of the law of God that he comes under guilt. Hence, while this state of holiness is not one of faultlessness, it is a life so lived as to be free from blame; it is the blameless life before God. “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 Thessalonians 5:23).

This is not holiness that is free from temptation. Adam and Eve were tempted when they were holy, and they yielded and fell. Jesus was holy, and He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He did not yield and so conquered.. Temptation is not sin. Temptation is an opportunity to transgress the law of God, with a suggestion from the world or the flesh or the devil to do that which is forbidden or not to do that which is commanded. The natural faculties with their call for gratification and satisfaction still being present and a response to these being necessary, the suggestion to overindulge or misuse these will be presented with more or less urge behind it. Satan will suggest the use of these powers under his direction and in the interest of his cause rather than that of the leadership of the Holy Spirit and in the interest of the kingdom of God. And in this he may transform himself into an angel of light (II. Corinthians 11:14). Having these suggestions presented to one, even with the urge that may accompany them, is not sin to the one to whom they are presented until there is a yielding of the will to the urger and it becomes a personal desire, a yielding to the temptation (Romans 6:13, 16). But we need not yield to the temptation. Holiness means the possibility of constant victory. “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” (I Corinthians 10:13). We are even to rejoice when we fall into temptation (James 1:2), because to overcome works for our good and the strengthening of the character. We need not sin. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.” But if any one should be overcome, “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). There need be no permanent break; there may be an immediate victory.

This is not a holiness from which one cannot fall and be lost. Some of the angels fell from their high state of holiness and became demons. Adam fell from his created state of holiness and became a sinner. Redemptive holiness in a world of probation does not lift one beyond the possibility of falling. But it does make provision so one does not need to fall. This, however, is a conditional provision. It is conditioned on the continued choice of right. “If ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (II Peter 1:10). There is no getting around this “if,” It is only the one who trusts and obeys, who walks in his light and is open to new light, that has security.

This state of holiness as we now have it is a fourfold experience, and there are four distinct results. It is, first, a state of moral purity. One may be far from maturity, there may be much of weakness and ignorance, the judgment may be far from perfect, but the heart may be clean; there may be nothing of moral defilement or pollution. “There is therefore now no condemnation” (Romans 8:1); and we have been “freed from sin” (Romans 6:7, 18). What a great blessing it is for one who has been depraved by sin to have this sin removed from his nature and to be made pure, to be given a clean heart. We are always glad to have clean clothes to wear, and clean food to eat and clean dishes to eat it from, and clean homes to live in. A clean heart is even more to be desired and should give much greater satisfaction.

This state of holiness is, second, an experience of separation, and of being set apart. There is such devotement to God as to set one apart from the secular to the sacred. One in his consecration must thus set himself apart. In response to this consecration Christ sets him apart He is still in the world and must have to do with the secular things of the world; he cannot escape this while he lives in the world. But while living in the World he is “not of the world” (John 17:14); he is not of the fallen world system. The set of his heart is not the secular world. He is no longer common; he is devoted, consecrated. He is no longer worldly minded, for his affections are set on things above (Colossians 3:1, 2). He is set apart to a sacred life and service. His motives and purposes, his life center, have been lifted above the secular. He is now a worker together with God, a partner with God, and a priest unto God. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2; 5). See also Revelation 1:6; 5:10. Whatsoever he does in word or deed, he does as a follower of Jesus and not a follower of the world (Colossians 3:17). His life now is one of stewardship. “Ye are not your own. … therefore glorify God” in the whole of your life (I Corinthians 6:19, 20; also Colossians 3:17), He has a double citizenship: a world citizenship which is quite temporal, and a heavenly citizenship which is eternal. He is not interested in the world as such—worldliness—but he is interested in the work of God—“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). There is no sickly heavenly mindedness here that makes one useless in the world, but there is a separation from the fallen world spirit such as gives him the truest vision of the present world life and fits him for the truest world service. Holiness has the promise of the life that now is, the best things for the present, and that which is to come (I Timothy 4:8). It first takes one out of the world and then sends him back into the world (John 17:18) as a representative of Christ to do sacred service. If he is a farmer he will farm, not just as a man, but as a Christian man. If he is a merchant he will run his store as a child of God. The secular is lifted to the sacred for him as he has to do with it. It makes him a better farmer or a better merchant. But now he does not give his time so fully to these things of a secular nature but has more time for the work of the church, the more spiritual things of life. This gives to life more of meaning and makes life more worth while.

This state of holiness is, third, an experience of divine indwelling, of continued divine presence. A holy state makes a fit dwelling place for God. With this experience one is never alone, there are always two together; he is “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4; also John 14:16, 17, 20, 23). In the Old Testament times God dwelt in the Tabernacle and there He met with the people (Exodus 25:22). In the New Testament all of this was changed, so that God now “dwelleth not in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:24); the Christian's body is to be this dwelling place, this temple of God. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?” (I Corinthians 6:19.) In the baptism with the Holy Spirit God comes into this temple to dwell, and in this temple is the place of worship, communion, and fellowship. Many persons may be together in the church house where a worship service is being conducted, but only those really worship who do so in the temples of their own bodies where Christ's presence is. Man is now God's special dwelling place on earth, the body of Christ where His Spirit dwells and through which He works. What a marvelous experience this, God with us and in us! This presence may not be an immediate consciousness all of the time, but it is a constant presence and may become an instant consciousness at any moment. How little is this fact recognized, and to what a limited extent is this presence relied on for help and satisfaction! Is He not often grieved by this neglect?

This state of holiness is, fourth, an enduement of power. The apostles were to tarry in the city of Jerusalem until they were “endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). They had been converted and called to service as the first leaders of the Church; they had been in training under the teaching of Jesus for some time; but there was a heavenly enduement with power that they needed to fit them for this place to which they were called. They were promised, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). This was fulfilled in the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And the Christian greatly needs this power. First he needs it for his own victorious living. He must have this help in order to overcome in his own inner life. His being pure does not at all insure him against attack from the enemy, from invitations and persuasions to sin. And he is not sufficient in himself. But by this enduement he has power to overcome. Then he needs this power for his service. He is in the world to do service. The responsibility for the progress of the Kingdom rests largely upon him. The word to him is not only “be” but “go.” But he cannot go successfully in his own strength. Here is the empowerment to give efficiency in his service. We are sometimes told that “holiness is power.” This is true only because of the place of the Holy Spirit in this experience, for the Holy Spirit is the Source of this power. Without the presence and working of the Holy Spirit there is no power such as is here referred to. But He is present, and where He is there is power. He is present to co-operate with us, and our co-operation is necessary to the manifestation of the power. His indwelling is with our consent; we must welcome His indwelling and working in and through us. We may greatly limit Him by our attitudes. This we should not do.

The state of holiness of which we are now speaking is the state of a human person. It is a work of God in man, so that he in some real sense becomes a partaker of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4); but he is still a man. He is still finite, liable to error; but he is pure in heart, blameless in motive, is free from guilt and pollution, has fellowship with God and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

QUESTIONS

1.  What does this state mean as to the divine presence and fellowship?

2.  What does this state mean relative to sin?

3.  What does this state mean relative to temptation and eternal security?

4.  What does this state mean relative to the world?

5.  What does this state mean relative to power?

LESSON X

HOLINESS AND LIVING

I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect (Genesis 17; 1).

Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation [all manner of living], in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity (I Timothy 4:12).

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. … but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live (Romans 8:1, 12, 13).

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3).

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15, 16).

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time (Colossians 4:5).

Only let your conversation [all manner of living] be as it becometh the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (Titus 2:12).

————

Our studies have now brought us to see that holiness is a subjective moral state of freedom from sin, from guilt and pollution—heart purity; of being set apart from the common and secular to the sacred—to God and His service; of divine indwelling and fellowship—“filled with the Holy Spirit”; and of divine empowerment—“endued with power from on high.” What a glorious state this is! The work of God through the atonement of Jesus Christ for man! What sane person would not desire to come into such a state? But, while this is great, it is not all there is of holiness. Entering into this state is the result of two crisic experiences, conversion and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Both of these experiences may be obtained very quickly. But there is a part of holiness that is the work of a lifetime. Holiness is truly a subjective state, but it is a state connected with life; and life is not static, it is active. Holiness as a state must needs be manifested to some degree in the manner of living; it will affect the attitudes and behavior. Holiness is something to be lived out as well as to be possessed within, We are not only to be holy, but to be “an example” of holiness in all manner of living. There are certain things that one possessing holiness will do, and certain other things that he will not do; there is a manner of behavior that becometh holiness. There are also attitudes that become holiness. Not all, however, are as good examples of holiness as they should be. It is possible for one to have the experience and yet be a rather poor example. This will depend largely upon the individual.

It is at this point of the living, the example, that our greatest breakdown seems to appear. No doubt there are those who are deceived, those who think they have received this experience of holiness and make profession of the blessing when they do not really possess it. But the number of these may not be so large as some would have us believe. Possibly a much greater part of the trouble is in the fact that so many who do have the experience are careless and do not give the thought to the manner of their living that they should. It may be that they are under a misapprehension of their personal responsibility for this living. They have made their dedication and have received the experience and are now gleefully singing, “Hallelujah, 'tis done!” and so they largely quit their effort, with no thought that it has but just begun. They are now expecting the experience to keep itself. We have sometimes heard this instruction given to seekers who were hesitant because they feared they could not hold out: “You do not need to keep it; it will keep you.” This, however, is but a half truth and may lead to serious trouble. Holiness will not keep you unless you keep it by the continued choices by which you maintain the right relationship to God and your own living. Your being made holy has not destroyed your free moral agency and your responsibility of choosing. You still have your part to do after your consecration has been made; that to which you have agreed in your consecration must now be carried out. He who has received the experience of holiness must now give definite personal attention to holy living, that he may continue in this state of holiness and be a good example of holiness. There must be the continued definite choice of right as far as it is known and the doing of that which is thus right.

There has by no means been total failure. The witness to holiness has many times been successful. There have been those whose example has been unquestionable. But that there has been much failure, and that there has been much poor example, cannot be denied. This should not have been, and in many cases it need not and would not have been, if there had been the carefulness and thoughtfulness there should have been. A perfect or faultless example is no doubt impossible for man in the present life. Now “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (II Corinthians 4:7), and the weakness of this human vessel will of necessity to some degree color the witness. The one who has received the baptism with the Holy Spirit and has been made holy is still human and finite and is in possession of all of the human faculties with their desires and urges that call for their proper gratification and their use in the normal functioning in the various fields of life where they belong. There has been a cleansing from the sin of the fallen nature, but there still remains much of weakness and impairment and infirmity, and the human judgment is frail, so that mistakes are sure to occur and the behavior will not always be perfect. The motive will be perfect and the person will live the blameless, but not the faultless, life. This condition of weakness makes it imperative that we should give careful attention to our manner of living. But, realizing that the baptism with the Holy Spirit cleanses from indwelling sin and thus relieves one from the inner struggle with indwelling sin, many seem to forget this remaining condition of weakness and infirmity which calls for continued watchfulness and effort; and they settle down to the enjoyment of the experience and are not careful as to the guidance of life.

We may now say right plainly that this correct living, this right behavior, and these attitudes that properly support the profession of holiness, and which are an effective witness to the work of Christ, require definite personal effort, careful thinking and choosing; and to be careless in this matter is to reap serious results. There is a sufficient supply of grace to assure success when one does his part; but this grace is not given to the indifferent and neglectful, or to those who are too busy to attend to this task of holy living. God helps those who, trusting in Him, help themselves where they can help themselves. We must really work at this task of right living. We were in great earnest when we were seeking for holiness, and we must now be in great earnest about living holiness.

To live this life of holiness and to present an effective witness to the world call for a determined self-mastery. It is true that there has been a work of cleansing in the self life; but to give the reins to this normal self life in its present weakened condition, even though it has been purified and freed from its sinful state, will mean backsliding and may mean death. “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh, For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die” (Romans 8:12, 13). The natural flesh life must be the servant of the higher spirit life now under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has told us plainly what He expects of those who follow Him—not simply what He expects for one to start, for one to receive the experience, but what is required for one to come after and follow Htm. We are not alone to obtain holiness; we are also to “follow peace. … and holiness” (Hebrews 12:14), to follow as a man follows his profession or his leader. Also, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Here we are given the true Christian philosophy of life. The world philosophy as expressed by the new education is that of self-realization and self-expression and self-determination. The Christian philosophy is self-renunciation and self-denial, in order to the correct Christian life and growth, to a safe self-exaltation. The self-realization and self-expression of the fallen self is not desirable and is not to be promoted. To promote this is dangerous. There is, first, the need of a changed self and the placing of Christ upon the throne, so there will be the realization of His presence and guidance. Jesus further explains this position in the following statement: “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35). Christianity does not destroy or degrade the self; it saves the self and brings the only condition where self-expression and self-determination are at all worthy and safe. Christianity saves the self by destroying the sin and bringing the higher self, the spirit, into the mastery over the lower self, the human. It is not enough to save the inner state; there must be the saving of the outer life of activities and relationships. That there are a proper use and a proper gratification of every natural, normal human power or capacity, no reasonable person will deny. These natural faculties were all given to man by God in the original creation, and they have a right place and use in his life. Whatever may have been the original condition, these are not now since the fall, even though the cleansing has taken place, safe under their own leadership. All of these faculties in their functioning must be kept under control, lest they be overindulged or wrongly indulged. This requires self-mastery. The opportunity and suggestion to the wrong use of the personal powers, the temptation to wrong behavior and attitudes, will come to the individual but such temptation must not be yielded to. Paul says of himself: “I keep under my body,” my normal, cleansed human appetites and passions and ambitions, “and bring it into subjection,” under control, “lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (I Corinthians 9:27). This will mean the curbing of one's curiosity. There is danger in experimenting in order to know beyond that which is morally helpful.

In another place Paul clearly states the conditions of this holiness living. He says: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Here we have an “I” that has been crucified, that has been put to death. This is the old fallen, sinful self ego. And we have also an “I” that is still alive, the original born ego. The true selfhood has not been destroyed in this crucifixion; I am still myself and alive, the same self that was born. Only sin, my sin that had become a part of myself through the fall and my heredity, is gone; I still live. The natural flesh life still lives but now without sin. But this natural flesh life is not now to be lived under the natural self-guidance alone. The life that is now lived in the flesh is to be lived “by the faith of the Son of God” and the provisions of His atonement. The “I” that is now to have the mastery of the life is the higher spirit self and the possession and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Holiness brings the spiritual nature or person to the front and gives to it the mastery of the life. This mastery must now be exercised and maintained if we are to have holiness living.

There must be watchfulness here in our thinking, that we do not go to the extreme in either of two ways which will defeat us in our purpose. First, we must not in any way minimize or neglect the Holy Spirit or His work in connection with this mastery. Only the Spirit-led life is safe. There can be no self-mastery and self-direction that is safe that is not first Christ mastery and Spirit guidance. Any self-guidance that is apart from the Holy Spirit's guidance will lead to ruin. Second, we must not think of the Holy Spirit's guidance, of His mastery and control and direction, apart from the co-operation of the self where that self-co-operation is possible. We still have the self-directing of our own living; we must do our own choosing. The Holy Spirit will guide us in this self-directing if we give Him the chance; He will help us in this choosing, but He will not disrespect nor take the place of our wills and make the choice for us. The choice that brings the behavior must be made by us. He can guide us only as we accept His direction and personally will according to that which He tells us. There is no escape from our own personal responsibility in the control and direction of our own lives. But he alone is wise who says, “Nevertheless not my will but Thy will be done. I will will Thy will whenever I know it.”

This self-mastery and self-control and self-direction of the life, and the response to the divine leading, call for great caution, close attention, and clear thinking. The faithfulness and the correctness of the leading of the Holy Spirit are sure, but our choices that finally direct our activities are not so safe. We may be ignorant sometimes, but too often the fault is that we are careless and hasty; hence our living and example are far below what they should be. Some are self-opinionated, prejudiced, and unteachable and these are extreme and fanatical. And then we are up against the fact that, ever since the time in the Garden of Eden when Satan appeared to Eve and offered suggestions and leadership to her, he has sought to be the leader of all men. And it is a part of his program to present himself as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14) wherever he can secure a hearing. Also there are those who pose as human teachers, of greater or lesser authority, who are without a sound Christian experience and who have not been rightly taught themselves. Some of these go under the profession of holiness and have added much excess baggage, certain notions of their own that do not have scriptural support, to the way of holiness, making it burdensome and strained and impractical, and sometimes almost obnoxious; or have lightened it until there is but little left All of these and other conditions make it imperative that we should give diligent attention—time, thought, prayer—to our part in this way of holy living, that in this guidance we may be guided in the right way. We have no right to expect help of the Holy Spirit unless we are thus diligent. We must seek to learn the right ways of behavior, the right attitudes, that we may know how to behave ourselves as becometh holiness in our homes, among our neighbors, in our business, and in the church. We may not hope to be faultless or perfect in our living, but by giving proper attention to these things and walking according to our light we may live the blameless life, and this life will bear a strong witness to holiness.

Let us turn now to I Corinthians 13:4-7. This is the great charity or love chapter. Holiness is to love God with all the heart, mind, and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself. In these verses we are told how this love behaves. If one does not have this love, he is as sounding brass and tinkling cymbal; he is as nothing; he is without profit. This love “suffereth long, and is kind”; is not hasty or resentful, but is kind in its treatment of others. It “envieth not” the positions or possessions of others. It “vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up”; it is not proud and snobbish. It “seeketh not her own,” is not selfishly self-centered; it thinks of the comfort and welfare of others. It “doth not behave itself unseemly”; in behavior it becometh love, it becometh holiness. It “is not easily provoked,” is not hasty in judgment and quickly stirred up to criticism and condemnation. It “thinketh no evil”; it seeks the truth and is charitable in judgment. It “rejoiceth not in iniquity”; it has no pleasure in the misfortune or fall of any, has no pleasure or satisfaction in the sight of evil. It “rejoiceth in the truth,” takes delight in that which is good and right. What a pattern we have here for correct behavior! We will feel ashamed, when we examine ourselves and seek to line up with this standard, that we fall so far short of the perfect ideal; but here is where we must live, and these are the things in which we must seek to excel in our daily lives. Yes, the world needs better Christian living and we should show it. We need this for our own benefit and for our example and influence with others.

Before closing this part of our study we should note also that with the experience of holiness and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit there should be a poise and an atmosphere about such a person as is becoming to holiness and will add greatly to the witness to holiness. Many flowers throw off from themselves an aroma that fills the atmosphere about them, so that one may know of their presence even though they are not seen. In the presence of Jesus, although he did not then know Him (John 1:31), John the Baptist felt the superiority of His person to such an extent that he felt he should be baptized by Him rather than baptize Him. In the presence of Jesus, those who had been sent to arrest Him dared not go near Him and so returned without Him. Their excuse was that never man spake as He did. They felt the power and purity of His presence. There is some kind of atmosphere attendant upon every life. Something of the atmosphere that was with Jesus should be about the person and with the person who has the experience of holiness. There should be a silent influence of reality, of sincerity, of humility, of purity, of spiritual power, and of such like things, going forth from his presence. This atmosphere cannot be “put on”; it will come from what we are. Holiness is different. It is not queer, nor strained, nor impractical, nor fanatical. AH of these things spring from some other source. It is unworldly, but it is in the world and has to do with the affairs of the world—in the world but not of the world, not of the fallen world system. It is life adjusted to the world after the true Christian way; it is normal living. Only the person with the baptism with the Holy Spirit can live a really normal life. It is the way of the transgressor that is hard. It is sin, not holiness, that makes life abnormal. The life of holiness should be attractive.

The importance of holy living is very great. One cannot long be right unless he does right. The Bible has very much to say about the walking in the light. It might be helpful to go to the concordance and run through the references to the word walk. Upon, this right living depends his reputation, his standing among men. And upon this right living depends the correctness of his representation of Christ before men. We must remember that man looketh on the outward appearance and cannot see the motive; so, in order to make good our profession before men, we must give diligent attention to our attitudes and behavior. One cannot be a true example and be careless and faulty in his living. It is not enough for one to have the experience of holiness; he must also exemplify it to the best of his ability in his daily living. It is when men see our good works, as well as hear our words, that they will be led to glorify our Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

QUESTIONS

1.  In what sense is the work done, and yet only just begun, when one receives this “second blessing,” and what obligation does this bring?

2.  What is the situation now relative to mistakes and what responsibility does this bring?

3.  What place has self-mastery or self-control in the life of holiness?

4.  Explain self-control through Christ control.

5.  What is our responsibility for being an example?

LESSON XI

HOLINESS LOST AND RESTORED

If we deny him, he also will deny us (II Timothy 2: 12).

Some are already turned aside after Satan (I Timothy 5:15).

For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them (II Peter 2:20, 21).

If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned (John 15; 6).

When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby (Ezekiel 33:18).

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith (I Timothy 4:1).

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (I John 2:1).

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We have already suggested that there is no state of holiness possible during this period of probation from which a man cannot fall. Man was created holy, in the likeness of God, and was placed on the earth in a condition of probation. He was created a free moral agent and made responsible for his continuation in holiness, dependent upon his choices and actions. He fell from this place, of holiness in response to temptation presented by Satan; he committed sin and became a sinner and lost his right to heaven. Provision has been made to bring him back to holiness, but not to lift him during this present earth life above his condition of probation. Conversion does not lift one out of his place of probation. The baptism with the Holy Spirit does not lift one out of his place of probation. There is no place of eternal security during the present life in the flesh except that which is conditional. The Bible nowhere goes beyond the statement, “If ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (II Peter 1:10). This very promise, by imposing this condition, implies the possibility of falling. If “these things” are not done, you will fall. The angels were holy and some of them fell. Man was holy in Eden and he fell. And man can fall again from any state of holiness that may be his until he has reached holiness perfected. While it is a fact that no person other than himself can take the saved person out of the Father's hand and he need not backslide, yet he can by his own choice take himself out; there is a personal choice of sin which will take him out. Yes, one may backslide from holiness, and may be lost as a result.

It is needful that we recognize that this word backslide carries different degrees of meaning, and people do not always get the same understanding when they hear it. It is sometimes used as meaning on the background and yet not clear back out of the Kingdom. Any going back, of course, is a backsliding to some extent, but there is a backsliding which loses one his experience and place in the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit is the Divine Executive of salvation, and His work is necessary to salvation and to living the holy life. The Bible shows us that there are four attitudes which man may take toward the Holy Spirit. The first of these is to grieve Him—“Grieve not the holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30). Children grieve their parents, and these parents feel bad about it, but do not disinherit them. So it may be in God's family. The second is to quench the Spirit—“Quench not the Spirit” (I Thessalonians 5:19). A fire may be quenched and not put clear out. There will be no longer a blaze, but there will be some red coals and smoke. The fellowship with God is, as it were, strained and yet the family tie not fully broken. The third is resisting the Holy Spirit—“Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost” (Acts 7:51). To resist, to refuse to obey and follow the Holy Spirit, will be to lose one's experience and place in the Kingdom. The fourth is “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 12:31). This is to backslide so far that it becomes apostasy, and this leaves no place for forgiveness.

Our question then is, How can, and when does, one backslide from and lose the experience of holiness? The answer would seem to be clear. It is by purposefully committing willful sin and coming under guilt. It is sin that breaks the fellowship between God and man, that separates man from God (Isaiah 59:3). To reject light willfully and not walk in it is to leave the way of holiness and to travel in the darkness. Paul speaks of a group that had been converted and had so backslidden that “Christ is become of no effect unto you,” because they had gone back to trust in the law and were “fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4); they had turned from trusting in Christ's work of grace to a trust in the law. He also tells us that “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith” (I Timothy 4:1). And he tells us of one, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (II Timothy 4:10). The Bible clearly teaches it, and there are many examples to prove it, that men may backslide, that they may depart from the Christian faith and experience that have once been theirs.

Possibly someone may now be asking, Can one lose holiness or sanctification, the work of the second salvation crisis, and not lose his justification, the work of the first salvation crisis? Certainly not. One can lose his holiness only by losing his justification. How could one remain justified before God when fallen from holiness, or how could one remain holy after he has lost his justification? The results of the two crisic works of grace are not two different elements deposited in two different watertight compartments of personality, so that one compartment may be emptied without the other; nor are they two substances that do not mix, such as oil and water, so that one may be drawn out without the other. It is one great salvation that has been accomplished by two crisic experiences because of the necessary conditions for their reception. Whatever there is of backsliding affects the one experience of salvation, and not just a part. One forfeits grace only by willful disobedience, and this is sin that brings guilt, and to come under guilt is to lose justification, and when justification is gone holiness is gone; salvation is gone. This is to be fully backslidden, lost out, no longer under the protection of the Blood. To die in this state will be to miss heaven.

One who has ever received the baptism with the Holy Spirit must now be in either one of three different conditions. First, he must be advancing, he must be growing in grace, his experience must be getting better and better; or, second, he is for the time being somewhat on the background because of neglect and grieving the Spirit hut not entirely backslidden, not having sinned; or, third, he is entirely broken with God and fully backslidden. This first condition is to be in the place of safety. To be in this second condition is to be in the place of weakness and leanness and danger. For one to be conscious of this condition and continue long in it is to invite worse things. To be in the third condition is to be in the place of a lost soul, a sinner under divine sentence, and this will be eternal death except there be a full repentance and restoration.

What shall we now say as to the condition of this backslidden person relative to sin as a state? It is quite evident that as a backslider this person is not in exactly the same position in this respect that he was before he was first saved. In the former condition he was in possession of a state of sin, of moral depravity, received through hereditary carrying back to Adam, for which he was not personally responsible. When this hereditary depravity has been cleansed from the inner nature, there can nothing of depravity come back into the life that is hereditary, for there can be no further natural birth through which anything hereditary can enter. Also it cannot be the same hereditary sin returned. Sin is not an entity or substance but a condition or state, a depraved sinful condition of a moral personality. This being the case, when it is cleansed and removed from the person it ceases to be; it can have no existence apart from the person. Hence there can be no same sin return when one backslides, no racial sin, no hereditary sin. But there will he sin of the same nature, sin as an indwelling presence that pollutes the nature, that produces a state of moral depravity. The personal act of sin which brings backsliding brings both guilt and pollution, and the backslider is again both a sinner and sinful. The backslider again has “sin in the flesh,” “the body of the sins of the flesh,” and is carnal, but Adam and heredity are not now responsible for this condition; all is now the result of the backslider's own sin, his personal choice, and he alone is responsible.

Our next consideration is, under these conditions of personal responsibility, can one be reclaimed from a state of backsliding from holiness? There is a condition of sin, which may be a condition reached before one has been saved or the condition of one who has backslidden, where a sin may be committed such as will not be forgiven. “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men” (Matthew 12:31). But this is more than backsliding; it is apostasy. To blaspheme is to disrespect and to mistreat extremely. To what extent one may go in the rejection of the Holy Spirit before it becomes blasphemy or apostasy we do not know, but it is clear that this is something beyond backsliding. There is a possibility of being reclaimed from backsliding from holiness to full favor with God. The Bible is full of the call to the backslider to return.

The backslider, being both guilty because of the act of sin and polluted because of the sin in the flesh, in order to be fully reclaimed must be both forgiven and cleansed and must meet the conditions for these as he did at first. To be reclaimed is to be brought back. One is not back until he is back; partly back is not fully back. If one has backslidden from holiness, he is not fully reclaimed until he is back to holiness. At the first, two crisic experiences were required which might be a considerable time apart. This should not be the case in the reclamation of the backslider. There are the two things to be done: there must be forgiveness and there must be cleansing, and one must come after the other. But the seeker now has full light upon both and is under personal responsibility for the entire situation. To seek forgiveness only is to seek for but a partial reclamation, and to stop with this is to stop short of light. Can one expect an answer to such seeking? Is not walking in the light required? Can one thus stop short of knowledge and hold the favor of God? Certainly it is presumptuous to expect this. When one begins to seek reclamation, it should be the seeking of a full return. To receive forgiveness in the case of backsliding from holiness should mean the going on immediately to cleansing; there is no necessity for a delay between these two works of grace. A young man who was a backslider came to the altar for reclamation. With a little instruction and urging he soon prayed through to a clear experience of forgiveness. We turned our attention to other seekers. But he did not get up; he remained upon his knees in continued seeking. We went back to him and asked whether he was not yet satisfied. He told us that he should have sought sanctification when he was a Christian before, but he did not and backslid. He did not want this repeated, and wanted to be sanctified before he left the altar. Since he already had the light, this was possible and he was baptized with the Holy Spirit before leaving, the altar. Much more should this be the case when one has backslidden from holiness. But this is often not the case. Too often there are those who in their reclamation have said that they were restored to forgiveness, again converted, but were not yet sanctified and have continued for a considerable time in this condition. It is rather difficult to see how, if they ever have been really sanctified, they can long hold any justification under such conditions. Are they not rejecting light that incurs responsibility, and thus sinning against light? Our ignorance probably is the explanation of some inconsistent experiences, and we may sometimes have a better experience than we know. The Lord knoweth our frame and remembereth that we are dust; He deals with us in great mercy and always blesses us when we come to Him in sincerity and faith. But we should be careful not to trifle with our seeking and our experiences.

Without hesitancy we may then say that it is possible to backslide from and lose the experience of holiness, and that one may be fully restored from this backsliding and be brought back into the full state of holiness the same as before his fall if he will repent, surrender, dedicate, and believe. He will be the sufferer to some extent because of his backsliding, and in his growth and perfecting of holiness there may be for a time some things to work against that need not to have been. But the sentiment of the song of the bird with a broken pinion that represents it as never being able to fly so high again is not correct. The backslider can never go so high as he might have gone had he not backslidden, the lost time can never be made up; but he can go higher than he has ever yet gone. Backsliding is indeed bad business and greatly to be regretted, but God's mercy is great in forgiveness and cleansing and restoration.

We have said that there is no necessity for backsliding, that no one need to backslide. This being the case, very great care should be taken to prevent any such tragedy from coming into the life. But there are those who do backslide, and this is a very great shame. We may give a closing word here in suggesting how one may keep from backsliding. This may be done by constant obedience and walking in the light; by keeping the heart always loyal to Christ, by keeping all under and all the time under the Blood; by a quick correction in case of accident and discovery of a mistake, and the confession of faults; by continued prayer and faith. But the actual experience may not be so easy as the saying these words. We are quite sure that there are those who give up, who surrender their faith and backslide, when they need not have done so. For one to receive new light that shows one something he has been doing that he should not do, or something he has not been doing which he should have done, is no sign he is backslidden. This is new light, and that which has been done or not done has been in ignorance and hence has not been disobedience or sin. The new light has come, and if he now walks in this new light there is no backsliding. But Satan may take advantage of this and work upon the tender conscience accusingly and cause one to give up his faith; and this giving up will be to backslide and go back into darkness. Again when by haste or carelessness one does something that at once brings him under condemnation and he feels himself broken with God, Satan may at once suggest to him, “There, you are backslidden; you are sure gone now,” and he may listen to Satan and at once give up and let down and backslide. But he need not do this. While he has made a momentary break and there is what may be a momentary backsliding, this may be but momentary and need not be a giving up and backsliding. This break may be quickly repaired by immediate right attitude toward God and that which has made the break, a quick repentance and confession and faith, so that one keeps right on. Listen to what the apostle John tells us. “These things write I unto you, that ye sin not.” You need not sin, and you must not be careless. But “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I John 2:1). If we do sin, if we should get entrapped and sin, we are to flee immediately to the Advocate in repentance and recommitment and faith. Let us learn the secret of this quick action and never give up to backslide for any length of time. This Advocate arrangement can never be made available and can never be successfully used as an excuse for carelessness. He is not an Advocate under such conditions. But there is a true Advocate for the sincere and honest person, and he who will may be kept from falling. Having put the hand to the plow, let us now keep the will set and the eye looking forward. “If ye do these things, ye shall never fall.”

QUESTIONS

1.  How may one backslide from holiness?

2.  What is the condition of one thus backslidden?

3.  What is the difference between this backslider and the one who has never been sanctified?

4.  What is the process of restoration for this backsliding?

5.  How may one prevent backsliding?

LESSON XII

HOLINESS PERFECTING AND PERFECTED

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1).

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18).

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (I Peter 2:2).

Grace and pence be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (II Peter 1:2, 5-7).

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (James 1:3,4).

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints. … till we all come. … unto a perfect man. … may grow up into him in all things (Ephesians 4:11, 12, 13, 15).

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and 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 (I John 3:2).

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24).

That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:28).

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 (Ephesians 5:25-27).

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Through the atonement of Jesus Christ and the executive work of the Holy Spirit, in response to his surrender and dedication of himself wholly to God, we have man brought back to a condition of holiness before God; his acts of sin are all forgiven and his state of sin is cleansed and he is so under the Blood that all of his weakness and ignorance is cared for by imputed grace and he is kept clean as he walks in the light; and now he is being divinely helped to live the life of holiness. This is very wonderful, and yet this is not all. Holiness is always purity and power and fellowship, but it may not be maturity. It is perfect holiness in that it is freedom from all sin, but it may not be perfect holiness in that it is beyond growth. That holiness which is the result of the two crisic experiences is now subject to a process of growth in holiness; there is now a work of “perfecting holiness.” One can never grow into holiness, but one must grow in holiness, must be perfecting holiness, after he has obtained it. This perfecting of holiness should be constant throughout all of the remaining life.

In our tenth lesson we were studying together about holiness and living and we found that one could not in his present world life be faultless or perfect in behavior, that mistakes will occur. But there can, and should be, a work of perfecting here. There seems to be a rather large tendency to treat our mistakes too lightly, to think that because they are covered by the Blood and not charged against us it matters little how many we commit. But it does matter much. As they stand alone out from under the Blood they are sins; they are sins of ignorance. It is only because he is under the Blood that they are not sins but mistakes to the one who is holy. But those with whom we mingle often are not charitable in their judgment and will not recognize this ignorance and will overlook this fact of the Blood covering; they will call them sins. Thus our testimony will be questioned and our example of holiness will be poor. This being the case, there must be no carelessness here; there must be a constant, strong effort to reduce our mistakes to and keep them at the minimum, that we may have the best and largest influence for holiness over others that is possible.

A wrong attitude toward his mistakes may also result in one's losing the experience of holiness. A mistake may easily become a sin if the person committing it treats it with indifference and carelessness. When a mistake has been made and later becomes a matter of consciousness, there should then come a sense of sorrow because it has been committed and a purpose not to do lie same thing again. And if the nature of this mistake was such as to call for an apology or the asking of forgiveness, this should yet be done. If one refuses to take the right attitude toward a mistake when it becomes a matter of knowledge, he will then become guilty of Sinning. And the repeating of this same mistake when light has been received will be sin. A right attitude toward mistakes when they become known will help one to reduce their number and thus be perfecting holiness on this level of life.

In order to reduce these mistakes to a minimum there must be a strong desire for and a seeking for more light, for more knowledge and better understanding, that one may have as clear a discernment as possible as to what is right and what is wrong. One who neglects learning pays a dear price for his neglect.

In this work of perfecting of holiness there will be some subtraction. This will have to do with the remaining impairment and defects of the nature. In the language of the athlete these are referred to as weights—“Let us lay aside every weight,” that we may run successfully the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). These may be weights in the disposition and the mannerisms, in the methods and the attitudes. There must be a strengthening of the weak places, an overcoming of the infirmities, a breaking off of undesirable and hindering habits, and a correcting of certain traits and faults—things that are not now considered sins to us, but they are faults that are more or less hindering to the best experience and greatest usefulness. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16). He who is conscious of his places of weakness, and of his faults, and of the things that are hindering to his advancement and service, and does not make every reasonable effort to overcome these, is certainly very remiss in his Christian duty. It is not enough for one to apologize for certain conditions in his life, saying, “Oh, that is a result of my weakness,” and do nothing about it. Such a careless attitude will mean the increase of the weakness and make the impairment more apparent. The fact that one is conscious of the place of weakness calls for some effort to strengthen that place. One's faults are not to be fed. When we know our faults we must confess and pray about them, resist them, quit them. To feed them means they will live on and grow. It is starving out that they need. Wrong learning can be unlearned, wrong habits can be broken, disagreeable dispositions can be overcome if there are prayer and faith and watchfulness and effort. Is it not a shame that we are no stronger and have not overcome more largely than we have? Yes, there is need for the perfecting of holiness here.

This perfecting of holiness means also the positive growth of Christlike character, the developing of holy personality. At birth children receive the family likeness, and through growth they become more and more like their parents. In the new birth one becomes a babe in Christ with the Christ family likeness, which is holiness. Actual holiness, as we have seen, is begun in regeneration and is perfected in the inner nature in the baptism with the Holy Spirit. These crisic experiences must be followed by the growth of this likeness, more and more of the family likeness, the development and perfecting of holiness ever approaching the holiness of God.

Holy character is a unit, but it is made up of a harmony of elements or Godlike traits. These are called graces, and we are called upon to grow in grace. The perfecting of holiness will be the strengthening and developing of these graces. A partial list of these graces is given in Galatians 5:22 and in II Peter 1:5-7. They are: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith, virtue, meekness, knowledge, temperance, patience, goodness, brotherly kindness, and charity. What a wonderful and beautiful character these elements will make! What can be more desirable? The seed of all these graces is to be found in the new life of one who has been truly converted, the work of God's own planting. The baptism with the Holy Spirit greatly improves the soil for their growth. This growth will mean the perfecting of holiness. Paul prayed “that your love may abound yet more and more” (Philippians 1:9). And he might have prayed the same for all of these graces. More love, more joy, more peace, more faith, more temperance, more patience, more brotherly kindness, etc., should be a constantly increasing fact in the life of holiness. But how much is this a fact to me, and how much am I working at it?

The work of perfecting holiness is a co-operative work. In it “we are labourers together with God” (I Corinthians 3:9); we are to “work out” our own salvation (Philippians 2:12). There is a part God must do or there will be no work of growth in holiness. But there are also human conditions of co-operation which God requires if He does His part. We became definite and persistent seekers and met the requirements when we received the experience of holiness. After receiving the crisic experience of salvation, shall we then cease our special efforts and take all the rest for granted? To do so is defeat and death. When we quit, the work quits. For a growing Christian personality, for the perfecting of holiness, there must be continued seeking and effort on our part It is work as well as pray; it is obey as well as trust. To this work we are to give “all diligence.”

Holiness is an experience, but it is more; it is a real business to be followed. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). To have it is not enough. It must be followed as a man follows his business if he is to reach heaven at last. This will take time and attention. It takes time to be holy. If our time is all, or too largely, to be given to temporal, material, or worldly things there will be no growth in holiness and the experience will finally fade away. Did you get the warning of the Master to “take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with. … cares of this life,” and the spiritual goal be missed? (Luke 21:34.) The perfecting of holiness is something that men should work at as they do a successful business. If we were really to work at this task as we might, most of us would he able to present a much better example of holiness than we are doing.

Someone may now be ready to ask the question, How long must this perfecting of holiness continue and what is the final condition of character to be expected? We are now about to get over our heads in the fording of this river. The human mind cannot go far into divine truth until the feet cannot touch bottom and nothing is left for one but to swim or drown. So far as we know there never will be a time to stop this perfecting. We have no evidence that man will ever cease developing. God is absolute holiness, and man by growth may ever approach this absolute holiness yet may never fully reach it. We may only be like God; we can never be God. Yet we are told that there is coming a time when every man will be presented perfect in Christ, presented “faultless before the presence of his glory.” It would seem that no lesser word than perfect can be used to express the final condition of character. But if we are right, then we have the paradox of perfect and perfecting. When we are dealing with God and trying to express His truth in human language, the paradox is inescapable.

It must be very clear that the perfected state of character cannot be absolute perfection. Such perfection belongs to God. This word perfect must be interpreted in the light of the field in which it is used. There is a correct use of this word relative to a present Christian experience that is possible to man. It is when man has paid the full price of surrender and dedication, has done all that is now possible for him to do in the way of meeting the conditions to be a Christian, has received the full experience of forgiveness and cleansing, is all under the Blood, and is a full Christian as far as he can be by crisic experience. One who has thus come into the experience of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, is freed from sin with nothing between him and God, may be said to have an experience of Christian perfection. But we have seen that in this state there is still a condition of weakness and of infirmity; there are mistakes in this perfection, so that there is a work of perfecting to be carried on toward a higher state of perfection. Since absolute perfection is impossible to man, it must be that there is another aspect of perfection to which man may be brought, a state of perfection beyond this of Christian perfection. This is perfected holiness. By this we understand a state of perfected holiness where there are no defects—not perfected where there is no more possibility of perfecting, or of growth; where there is no longer anything calling for any special provision of imputation; where there are no infirmities or moral weakness and where there will be no mistakes. All has been recovered from the Eden fall and there is no further work of salvation required. This is an experience that is now more than blameless; it is faultless, and one is now like Christ. This means a condition of final full satisfaction. “I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalms 17:15); all desire is fully met. Not that desire ceases, but all is being fully, constantly, completely met. This is perfected holiness in quality, but not in extent and degree; there is now an eternal perfecting toward the absolute holiness of God.

And when shall this perfected state be realized? It is not an experience that is possible while we are living in this faulty flesh. It must await the time when He “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). It is at the time when He shall “present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). We must now give ourselves diligently to the perfecting of holiness, working out our fuller salvation in the fear of God; and if we endure faithful to the end we shall enter into this reward of perfected holiness.

Let us now study the picture presented to us in the scripture portion from the Ephesian letter which we have quoted at the beginning of this lesson. What a beautiful scene it is! It is a picture of courtship and marriage. While the apostle is speaking of husbands and wives and his advice to them is to be taken seriously, he tells us plainly that his great message is deeper than this—“But I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32). It is Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as the bride. We have it first that “Christ also loved the church,” and since the Church is made up of individual men and women it is these that He loved. And, oh, such love! How greatly He loved—He “gave himself for it.” He loved when man was so unworthy of this love and unfit for his bridehood. But He loved so much as to give himself in atonement to prepare men for this bridehood. He loved them so much that He might not only bring them forgiveness but “that he might sanctify and cleanse” them. Christ could have nothing short of a holy bride. It is absolutely absurd to think of anything short of the blameless life of holiness fitting one thus chosen. “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 Thessalonians 5:23). Made blameless and preserved blameless is the necessary preparation for the bride.

And now we come to the great wedding. Can you visualize this scene in the great cathedral of the universe? A cathedral which for greatness and grandness and beauty has never been imagined by man! Of course you cannot fully visualize it, for it is far beyond you. But here is stated that which is to take place. “That he might present it to himself”; the bride presented to the Bridegroom at the wedding service. He died for her and arose again; He has won her to himself and to holiness. And how He does His own presenting. Watch this bride as she comes walking down the aisle marching to the heavenly music. And what music! What does she look like? The Lamb's “wife hath made herself ready” and has on her beautiful wedding garment “To her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Revelation 19:7, 8). What does she. look like? “A glorious church”—and, oh, what glory! “Not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Spots and wrinkles, infirmities and weakness, all defects all gone! And now she is presented “faultless,” holiness perfected. We can now sing in truth, “ 'Tis a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle.” “And so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:17). There is now no more fear of falling.

The history of our world is full of great tragedies. Individuals have their tragedies. Some of these have been nothing short of terrible. We are facing that in the future that may be just as great a tragedy as any that ever has been. But how carelessly and recklessly we often drive on, giving no heed to the danger signals and warnings along the way! We know better and yet we drive on. Let us say very frankly that of all the tragedies of the future there will be none so serious and none so terrible in its results as to miss this holiness perfected. Yet in no other place is there apparently so much carelessness as here. There is much carelessness in the seeking of salvation. After one is saved too often there is indifference as to the perfecting of holiness, and this is tragedy already begun. To miss this eternal glory and satisfaction, this perfect man after the likeness of Jesus, this perfected holiness, is tragedy beyond description. But we need not miss it. Every provision has been made for us to reach this goal. No, conversion is not enough. No, the baptism with the Holy Spirit is not enough. Perfected holiness is our goal. In order to meet this there must be an entering into the experience of holiness and then the perfecting of holiness. Let us give great diligence to our present task.

QUESTIONS

1.  What perfecting of holiness is expected relative to our mistakes, and how may this be accomplished?

2.  What is the danger of carelessness relative to mistakes?

3.  What growth of character is expected and how shall this be accomplished?

4.  What state of perfected holiness is promised?

5.  When may this be expected?

Table of Contents

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT PAGE

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

X.

XI.

XII.

LESSON I

LESSON II

LESSON III

LESSON IV

LESSON V

LESSON VI

LESSON VII

LESSON VIII

LESSON IX

LESSON X

LESSON XI

LESSON XII