Chapter 6—The Sanctified Life
Our Saviour claims all there is of us; He asks our first and holiest
thoughts, our purest and most intense affection. If we are indeed
partakers of the divine nature, His praise will be continually in our
hearts and upon our lips. Our only safety is to surrender our all to Him
and to be constantly growing in grace and in the knowledge of the
truth
The sanctification set forth in the Sacred Scriptures has to do
with the entire being—spirit, soul, and body. Here is the true idea of
entire consecration. Paul prays that the church at Thessalonica may
enjoy this great blessing. “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.”
1 Thessalonians
5:23
.
There is in the religious world a theory of sanctification which
is false in itself and dangerous in its influence. In many cases those
who profess sanctification do not possess the genuine article. Their
sanctification consists in talk and will worship.
They lay aside reason and judgment, and depend wholly upon their
feelings, basing their claims to sanctification upon emotions which
they have at some time experienced. They are stubborn and perverse
in urging their tenacious claims of holiness, giving many words, but
bearing no precious fruit as proof. These professedly sanctified persons
are not only deluding their own souls by their pretensions, but are
exerting an influence to lead astray many who earnestly desire to
conform to the will of God. They may be heard to reiterate again
and again, “God leads me! God teaches me! I am living without
sin!” Many who come in contact with this spirit encounter a dark,
mysterious something which they cannot comprehend. But it is that
which is altogether unlike Christ, the only true pattern
Sanctification is a progressive work. The successive steps are set
before us in the words of Peter: “Giving all diligence, add to your faith
12
The Sanctified Life, 95
13
The Sanctified Life, 7-10
65