The Biblical Doctrine of Salvation: Sanctification. Part 4

Notes taken from Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible by Myer Pearlmen. p.251

Part 4 Consecration to God.

When we are consecrated to God we live holy (separated from sin and the world) and righteous lives (right with God and His Word).

What is the difference between righteousness and holiness?

Righteousness represents the Life of a Born Again’ Believer as conformed to the Divine Law. You can’’t be living in adultery and be living righteously, because the Children of God live right.

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1Jn 3:6  No one who continues in union with Him lives in sin: no one who lives in sin has seen Him or knows Him.

1Jn 3:7  Dear children, let no one lead you astray. The man who acts righteously is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1Jn 3:8  He who is habitually guilty of sin is a child of the Devil, because the Devil has been a sinner from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for the purpose of undoing the work of the Devil.

1Jn 3:9  No one who is a child of God is habitually guilty of sin. A God-given germ of life remains in him, and he cannot habitually sin--because he is a child of God.

1Jn 3:10  By this we can distinguish God's children and the Devil's children: no one who fails to act righteously is a child of God, nor he who does not love his brother man. WNT

This is amazingly strong stuff, The Word of God Through the Apostle John.

Did you Grasp this. Read theses verses again.

Holiness is the life of a Born Again believer as conformed to the Divine Nature and dedicated to Divine Service.

This calls for the removal of all defilement. I have a niece who ‘sleeps around’, and goes to church and thinks that she is a Christian. She is not a Christian she is a child of the Devil.

1Pe 1:15  but according to the Holy One who has called you, you also become holy in all conduct,

1Pe 1:16  because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Thus, true sanctification includes the removal of the spot and defilement which is contrary to the Holiness of God’s Very own nature. Like our Father is the Likeness of His Children.

Following Israel's consecration to God the question naturally arose.

How should a Holy people live?

In order to answer this question, God gave them the code of His Holiness Laws which are found in the Book of Leviticus.

Thus from Israel’s consecration followed the Obligation to live and Holy separated Life unto God.

The same is true for every Christian. Those who are declared to be sanctified Hebrew 10:10 are exhorted to follow Holiness Hebrews 12 :14 ; Those who have been cleansed 1 Corinthians 6:11. Therefore, they are exhorted to cleanse themselves 2 Corinthians 7:1.

Heb 10:10  By this will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Heb 12:14  Follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord;

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you. But you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

2Co 7:1  Then having these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilements of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Doctrine of Salvation: Cleansing by The Word, the Blood and the Spirit

Notes from Myer Pearlmen Pps 250 and 251

The word “holy”, is used mainly in connection with worship. When applied to men or things it expresses the thought that they are used in His service and dedicated to Him. You know that in a special sense, they are His property.

Publish His Deeds

 

Israel as a holy nation because it was dedicated to the service of Jehovah. 

The Levites are holy because specially dedicated to the services of the temple.

The Sabbath and Feast days were holy because they represent the dedication or consecration of time to God.

c) purification. 

While the primary meaning of ‘holy’ is that of separation unto service, the idea of purification is also involved.  Jehovah's character reacted upon whatever was devoted to Him, Therefore, men dedicated to Him must share His nature. Inanimate things devoted to him must be clean. Cleanliness is a condition of holiness but not the holiness itself which is primarily Separation and Dedication.

When Jehovah selects and separates a person or object for His service; He does something or causes it to be done which constitutes the person or object holy.

Inanimate objects are consecrated by being  anointed with oil.  Exodus 40: 9 to 11.

The Israelite nation was sanctified by the blood of the Covenant sacrifice.  Exodus 24 V8  compare Hebrews 10:29

The priests were sanctified by a representative, Moses, who washed them with water and anointed them with oil and sprinkled them with the blood of consecration read Leviticus chapter 8.

As Old Testament sacrifices were typical of the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ they show the various washings and and anointings of the Mosaic system were typical of the real sanctification made possible to the work of Christ.

Thus, as Israel was sanctified by the blood of the Covenant so “Jesus, also, that he might sanctify the people with His own blood suffered without the gate. Hebrews 13 12 Jehovah sanctified the Sons of Aaron to the priesthood through the mediation of Moses and by the means of water or oil and blood.

God the Father, sanctifies believers to a spiritual priesthood 1 Peter 25 through the mediation of His Son 1 Corinthians 1:2 and 1 Corinthians 1:30 and by means of His Word(John 17:17 and the blood(Heb 10:29) and the Spirit.

Rom 15:16  that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the nations, ministering the gospel of God, so that the offering up of the nations might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

1Co 6:11  And such were some of you. But you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

The Biblical Doctrine of Salvation: Sanctification.

Notes from Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible, by Myer Pearlman.

Understanding the Biblical teaching about Sanctification.

The key to understanding the New Testament doctrine of the Atonement is found in the OT Sacrifices. Similarly, we can only understand the Word “Sanctification” by studying the OT usage of the word, “HOLY”.

Note that sanctification; holiness and consecration, are all synonymous terms; so are “sanctified” and “holy”; to sanctify is the same as to make holy or to consecrate.

Important verses.

The tabernacle in the Wilderness was HOLY as was the altar and all the furnishings of the tabernacle.

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Exo 40:9  And you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle, and all in it, and shall sanctify it and all the vessels of it. And it shall be holy.

Exo 40:10  And you shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all its vessels, and sanctify the altar. And it shall be a most holy altar.

Exo 40:11  And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and sanctify it.

No mercy for those who despised the Blood of the Covenant

Heb 10:28  He who despised Moses' Law died without mercy on the word of two or three witnesses.

Heb 10:29  Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy of punishment, the one who has trampled the Son of God, and who has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Heb 10:30  For we know Him who has said, "Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, says the Lord." And again, "The Lord shall judge His people."

Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Sanctified by the Word of Truth

John_17:17  Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth.

Joh_17:19  And I sanctify Myself for their sakes, so that they also might be sanctified in truth.

Eph_5:26  that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word,

Complete or entire sanctification

1Th_5:23  And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus suffered so that we might be sanctified.

Heb_13:12  Therefore Jesus also, so that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

The word ‘holy’ contains these ideas: a) Separation from; b)Dedication to; and c) Purification or cleanliness and d) Consecration

1. a).Separation from. “holy” is a word which describes the principle characteristic of the Divine Nature. Its root meaning is “separation”; therefore holiness represents that in God which makes Him separate from all that is earthly and human- namely, His absolute Moral Purity and perfection and Divine majesty.

When the Holy One wills to use a person or object for His service, He separates Him or it from common use, and by virtue of this separation the person or object becomes “holy”.

1. b). Dedication to. Sanctification includes both a separation from and a dedication to; itis “the condition of all true believers as they are separated from their sin and worldly living, and are made partakers of the Divine nature. They are consecrated to the fellowship and service of God through their Mediator.
   

To be continued.

What is that faith that saves a soul?

Notes from Myer Pearlmans Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible.

Memorize

Rom 10:9  Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

Rom 10:10  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Questions for Research and Review.

1. How many different types of Faith does the Bible speak about?
2. What are the main elements in Faith? and how much knowledge is needed
3. What is the crowning element of SAVING FAITH?
4. Who is the Object of Saving Faith?
5. Does a real Christian always have the Assurance of Salvation?
6. How can he cultivate this assurance?  Louis Berkhof Pp 137

The Meaning of Faith.

Faith in a Scriptural sense means belief or trust. It is the assent of the mind and the consent of the will. In regards to the intellect it is belief in certain revealed truths concerning God and His Christ.; in regards to the will it is the acceptance of these truths  as directing the very principles of life.

Mere intellectual faith is not sufficient for Salvation.

Jas 2:19  You believe that there is one God, you do well; even the demons believe and tremble.

Act 8:13  Then Simon, (the sorceror). himself believed also, and being baptized, he continued with Philip. And seeing miracles and mighty works happening, he was amazed.

Act 8:21  You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.

A person may give intellectual assent to the Gospel without committing his life to it.

BELIEF IN THE HEART IS ESSENTIAL.

Rom 10:9  Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.

Rom 10:10  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.

Intellectual faith means the acknowledgement that the facts of the Gospel are true; heart faith means a WILLINGNESS to DEDICATE ONE'S WHOLE LIFE to the obligations which those facts involve.

Faith as truth implies also an emotional element; thus saving faith is an act of the entire personality, thus involving both the intellect, the emotions and the will

Faith is also used in Greek to mean the whole body of truth believed itself. Note these expressions:  “He now preaches the faith which he once destroyed.”(referring to Saul of Tarsus)

“shall depart from the faith;” “ the Faith once delivered to the saints.”  This is sometimes called objective faith. The act of believing these truths is known as subjective faith.

Followed by certain Greek prepositions the word “believe” conveys the thought of reposing or resting on a sure foundation.

For example:Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Faith is thus the connecting link between the soul and Christ.

The Assisting Grace of the Holy Spirit in cooperation with the Word of God, is implied in the producing of faith in the heart.

Joh 6:44  No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. MKJV

Rom 10:17  And this proves that faith comes from a Message heard, and that the Message comes through its having been spoken by Christ.WNT

Heb 12:1  Therefore, surrounded as we are by such a vast cloud of witnesses, let us fling aside every encumbrance and the sin that so readily entangles our feet. And let us run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

Heb 12:2  simply fixing our gaze upon Jesus, our Prince Leader in the faith, who will also award us the prize. He, for the sake of the joy which lay before Him, patiently endured the cross, looking with contempt upon its shame, and afterwards seated Himself-- where He still sits--at the right hand of the throne of God.

Gal 5:22  The Spirit, on the other hand, brings a harvest of love, joy, peace; patience towards others, kindness, benevolence;

Gal 5:23  good faith, meekness, self-restraint.

WHAT IS SAVING FAITH?

“Faith in Christ is a saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon Him alone for Salvation as He is offered to us in the Gospel.” It is “the act of a penitent sinner only, as especially aided by the Holy Spirit, and resting upon Christ.”

It is the act or habit of mind in the penitent, a person who repents of his sin; by which, under the influence of the Grace of Holy Spirit, HE PUTS HIS TRUST IN CHRIST AS HIS ONLY AND SUFFICIENT S A V I O U R. IT IS TO BELIEVE, TO RELY ON THE MERITS OF CHRIST, THAT FOR HIS SAKE ALONE GOD IS CERTAINLY WILLING TO SHOW US MERCY.(Pardon and forgiveness.)

God commands us all to repent and believe the Good News. Have you trusted in Christ to save your eternal soul. Now is your opportunity. TRUST IN CHRIST RIGHT NOW.

The Application of Redemption in the Conversion of a soul : Repentance.

While Faith in Christ looks to the future, repentance looks at the past life and actions.

A Litmus Test for True Repentance

Memorize:

2Co 7:9  Now I rejoice, not in your grief, but because the grief led to repentance; for you sorrowed with a godly sorrow, which prevented you from receiving injury from us in any respect.

2Co 7:10  For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, a repentance not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world finally produces death.

Mat 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance;

Questions for Research and Review.

1. What does it mean to repent?
2. What is the main motivation for turning to God in Repentance?
3. How does a person under conviction of guilt mend his ways and turn to God?
4. What did Jesus preach in the Villages of Israel? Explain.

Mat_3:2  and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Mat_4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent! For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Mat_11:20  Then He began to upbraid the cities in which most of His mighty works were done, because they did not repent.

Mat_21:32  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax-collectors and the harlots believed him. And when you had seen it, you did not repent afterwards so that you might believe him.

Definition of Repentance

“The true sorrow for sin, with a sincere turning away from it.”

“The conviction of guilt produced by the Holy Spirit’s application of the Divine Law to the heart.

A little boy once said, “It is being sorry enough to quit.” Myer Pearlman. Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible pps. 223-224

There are three elements which constitute Scriptural Repentance.: They are intellectual; emotional and practical.

Illustration. (1) A traveler learns that he is on the wrong train; this knowledge corresponds to the intellectual element by which a person realises, through the preach of the true Gospel, that he is not right with God.

(2). The traveller is disturb with this discover; he is annoyed and distraught. This illustrates the emotional side of repentance which is self-accusation and a sincere sorrow for having offended God. This is produced by the Convicting Power of the Holy Spirit.

(3). He leaves the train at the first possible opportunity and returns till he gets on the right train. This illustrates the practical side of repentance which involves “a complete about face” and a travelling now in God's right direction.

One Greek word for repentance means literally:” a change of mind and a change of purpose”. The Convicted sinner now purposes to mend his ways and turn to God.

He brings for fruit meet for repentance. Matthew 8:3 above.

Repentance honours Gods Law as faith honours the Gospel.

In contrition it mourns over its departure from the holy commandment and over personal defilement revealed in its light. In true confession he acknowledges the justice of the sentence; then in repentance he turns from his sin and makes all ammendment and reparation as possible and necessary under the circumstances.

Zaccheus returned stolen money to those he had fleeced. Some need to return unpaid taxes to the ATO.

The Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the Conscience, by touching the heart and strengthening the will and determination to turn from sin.