Forgive me Anna and Stew, but I would like to return to the topic of Sanctification.
My grandmother took me to Church of the Nazarene often when I was small, a teenager.
The Nazarenes were big on “getting sanctified”, they listed this as a “second act of grace” after “getting saved”.
Thier teaching as I remember was that when you got sanctified, the effect of original sin was removed from your soul. This had nothing to do with the sacrament of Holy Baptism.
And I belive you were also free of temptation. But that was long ago and I could be way wrong.
The Church of the Nazarene is a Wesleyan-Holiness church. As such, it derives its theology from John Wesley’s (the founder of Methodism) teaching on Christian perfection. This is based off of my limited knowledge (I could be wrong on the finer points).
Wesley was influenced by Catholic and Anglican mystical traditions. Particularly influential on his doctrinal development was Jeremy Taylor’s
Rule and Exercises of Holy Living and Dying and Thomas a Kempis’s
Imitation of Christ. Most important were William Law’s
Treatise on Christian Perfection and
Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. Also important was contact with German Moravian Pietists. Wesley taught two phases of experience for the believer: 1) conversion or justification, 2) Christian perfection or sanctification. In the first, the believer was forgiven of actual sins of commission. He became a Christian but retained a “residue of sin within.” The second experience purified the believer of inward sin and gave a person “perfect love” toward God and man.
It is important to realize that Wesley never taught “sinless perfection.” Wesley defined sin as “a willful transgression of a known law of God.” With this definition in mind, it was possible for the sanctified believer to live a life of daily victory over conscious willful sin. Flawed judgment, physical/mental passions common to men, temptation, and the freedom (through willful disobedience) to fall back into sin were realities that remained. Christian perfection for Wesley was a perfection of motives and desires. “Sinless perfection” would come only after death. Until then, the sanctified believer through self-examination, godly discipline, “methodical” devotion, and avoidance of worldly pleasures could live a life of victory over sin. Wesley taught that this perfection could be attained instantly as a “second work of grace,” but it was usually preceded and followed by a gradual “growth in grace.”
The perfectionist impulse within Methodism had its ups and downs; eventually, however, the Methodist Church began to emphasize the perfectionist holiness strain of its theology less and less. Methodist and other Christians that wanted to emphasize holiness gave birth to the 19th century holiness movement. Advocates of the holiness movement taught of a “shorter way” to holiness. By placing “all on the altar,” one could be instantly sanctified through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. In short, “entire sanctification” according to the holiness movement was defined as:
- an instantaneous second work of grace
- through the baptism of the Holy Spirit
- which eradicated the sin nature
- received through “appropriating faith”
- resulting in a society free from sin
Today, the Church of the Nazarene’s
Articles of Faith state:
- We believe that sanctification is the work of God which transforms believers into the likeness of Christ. It is wrought by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit in initial sanctification, or regeneration (simultaneous with justification), entire sanctification, and the continued perfecting work of the Holy Spirit culminating in glorification. In glorification we are fully conformed to the image of the Son.
We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect.
It is wrought by the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service.
Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by grace through faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.
This experience is also known by various terms representing its different phases, such as “Christian perfection,” “perfect love,” “heart purity,” “the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit,” “the fullness of the blessing,” and “Christian holiness.”
- We believe that there is a marked distinction between a pure heart and a mature character. The former is obtained in an instant, the result of entire sanctification; the latter is the result of growth in grace.
We believe that the grace of entire sanctification includes the divine impulse to grow in grace as a Christlike disciple. However, this impulse must be consciously nurtured, and careful attention given to the requisites and processes of spiritual development and improvement in Christlikeness of character and personality. Without such purposeful endeavor, one’s witness may be impaired and the grace itself frustrated and ultimately lost.
Participating in the means of grace, especially the fellowship, disciplines, and sacraments of the Church, believers grow in grace and in wholehearted love to God and neighbor.
(Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Malachi 3:2-3; Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:16-17; John 7:37-39; 14:15-23; 17:6-20; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 15:8-9; Romans 6:11-13, 19; 8:1-4, 8-14; 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Galatians 2:20; 5:16-25; Ephesians 3:14-21; 5:17-18, 25-27; Philippians 3:10-15; Colossians 3:1-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Hebrews 4:9-11; 10:10-17; 12:1-2; 13:12; 1 John 1:7, 9)
(“Christian perfection,” “perfect love”: Deuteronomy 30:6; Matthew 5:43-48; 22:37-40; Romans 12:9-21; 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 13; Philippians 3:10-15; Hebrews 6:1; 1 John 4:17-18
“Heart purity”: Matthew 5:8; Acts 15:8-9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:3
“Baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit”: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Malachi 3:2-3; Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:16-17; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 15:8-9
“Fullness of the blessing”: Romans 15:29
“Christian holiness”: Matthew 5:1-7:29; John 15:1-11; Romans 12:1-15:3; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 4:17-5:20; Philippians 1:9-11; 3:12-15; Colossians 2:20-3:17; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:7-8; 5:23; 2 Timothy 2:19-22; Hebrews 10:19-25; 12:14; 13:20-21; 1 Peter 1:15-16; 2 Peter 1:1-11; 3:18; Jude 20-21)
Interestingly, there seems to currently be debate with the Nazarene Church over just what exactly sanctification and holiness means, according to a
Christianity Today article from 2007,
“Identify ‘Crisis’: Nazarenes rethink entire sanctification”.
She had the Nazarene Manual, their own version of the Methodist Discipline.
The 2009-2013 Manual can be downloaded and read from the
Church of the Nazarene’s website.
I thought that book was misleading, since it described infant baptism by affusion, kneeling for communion etc.
But in practice they were more like baptists with the exception of OSAS. Infants were dedicated, not baptised, and those who were baptised were baptised by total submerrsion.
Apparently the sacraments were not important at least not in that congregation. I never saw a single baptism or communion service.
I know we have Nazarenes here. I wish one would correct the mistakes I made 40 years ago.
I would describe the Nazarenes as a more evangelical type of Methodist. You are right though, they do not believe in once saved always saved.
