SESSION 6 Looking to Jesus Our Tenth Doctrine

We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Believers… Those who are saved Who have been born again Whose sins are forgiven Who are the children of God

Wholly sanctified ? Means to be entirely cleansed and separated from all sin. To be completely dedicated to God’s will and purpose for our lives. Since we still possess a sinful nature which we inherited from Adam, we need deliverance or cleansing which the Bible calls being ‘wholly sanctified.’

The Struggle of the Heart From Paul the Apostle The Struggle Romans 7:19 (NIV) “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing.” Deliverance from the struggle Romans 7:24,25 (Phillips) “It is an agonizing situation and who on earth can set me free from the clutches of my own sinful nature? I thank God there is a way out through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Cleansed and sanctified Christ knew that no only do the ungodly need to be forgiven and saved, but the saved need to be cleansed and sanctified. So the atonement, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, was for both purposes. When God sanctifies His child, He sends a fullness of the Holy Spirit to fill the heart so that there is no room for the sinful nature from which He has delivered and cleansed him.

Gift of Sanctification It is conditional It depends on our wholehearted cooperation as a child of God. It requires: A conviction that we need to be sanctified. A renunciation of all that is sinful. A consecration of everything to God’s will. Faith that God can—and will—sanctify us completely.

QUESTIONS In what ways does our being descendants of Adam make it necessary for us not only to be forgiven of our sins, but also to be cleansed from a sinful nature? Who is eligible to seek for holiness of heart? What was the twofold purpose of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross? How can sanctification help us not to backslide?

Scripture to Ponder Philippians 2:15 …so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.”