I have a good friend that asked me how a person can tell if someone is perfect or not. I thought it was a good question and maybe some others might wonder about this also. So I am sending on my response to my friend to all that might be interested.
“How can you identify when someone is perfect?” Good question. Most would not ask this question, because either they think of this as judging someone, or they don’t believe anyone can do this except God, or they are really fearful of knowing the answer.
To think and act perfect before God, a person must live totally by unselfish love. When a person lives by the love of God, they will automatically be holy and righteous. But the terms “unselfish love, holy, and righteous” can be defined in many ways other than by their true godly meanings. So how does perfection really look in a true born-again believer?
The perfected (sanctified/saint/born-again) believer:
Being perfect is when a person loves God with all their heart, soul, mind, body, and strength: Mark 12:30 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. NIV Some might say “I do the second greatest commandment, which is: Mark 12:31 - The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ NIV If I do this second commandment, doesn’t that prove I love God by loving others?” The answer is NO. There are probably many people that think they love God by trying to please and love others the way they would want to be loved, but the way a selfish person wants to be loved is not the way God loves us or the way we need to love God. If anyone switches these two commandments around to be like: Love your neighbor with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love the Lord God as yourself. This is how some people might see how to love God, or what they might end up doing sub-conscientiously. People can easily have some form of a relationship with a real physical person, but how do they have a relationship with a God they can’t see or touch. So people resort to trying to love people instead of God. What does all this have to do with being perfect? Unless we FIRST love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; we cannot truly love others as God loves. If we try to love people without having God as our first love, then we will try to please others instead of giving them what they need. When we love others perfectly, we will help them with what they need and not necessarily with what they want. God’s perfect love doesn’t give people what they want, but instead gives them what they need. A perfect person will be willing to give the other person what they need, even when it might cost their relationship; whether the relationship be a spouse, father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, or friend.
A perfect person loves God above everyone and anything else. He/she will please their Father in heaven first, even if that love for God causes problems with others being displeased with them. If anyone is more concerned about pleasing someone else more than God, then their love is not perfect. Anytime anyone loves anything of this world, including people, more than God, then that worldly love will make them desire to please what they love instead of God. God’s perfect love is not about pleasing people, but doing what is best for His glory and their eternity. So a perfect person will have God first in their life, then people second, and then things and money after that.
Jesus tells us how to be perfect:
Matt 19:21 - Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." NIV
To understand God’s priorities of how to be perfect, we must read the sections of the verse above in reverse order. Our first priority is to follow Jesus Christ – “come, follow me.” Our second priority is to take care of people – “give to the poor.” Our last priority in life is to acquire wealth – “sell your possessions.” For most of us, having wealth will get in the way of following Christ. Also for most of us, getting to attached to un-perfected people will get in the way of following Christ – when we end up loving other people more than God.
A perfect person will not sin against God’s will. If any person is knowingly sinning against the good and right will of God, then they are not perfect. For they love someone or something else more than God. Their love for themselves, others, or things are really their God. God commands: Ex 20:3 - You shall have no other gods before me. NIV
A perfect person will not worship anything or anyone else other than God. A lot of people put other people up on a pedestal and worship them as higher than other men. One man is no better than any other man or women. The only one good is God. Any man/women can only be considered good if God is perfectly controlling their life. It is not the man/women that has any good value of their own, but only the good of God living in them. To be perfect, a person must consider themselves worth nothing and God worth everything.
A perfect person will always love what God loves and hate what God hates. They will hate evil (selfishness) and always love what is good and perfect. They will hate the sin of a person, but love the sinful person.
A perfect person will have no damming anger for another, but will always return good for evil.
A perfect person will always value the person and not the sex of the other person. Their sexual tendencies will always be overridden by the value they place on the other person. The pure love that a perfect person has, will always value the other person over their own sexual desires.
A perfect person will value other people and the other person’s possessions and not envy what the other person has. If anyone envies other peoples possessions, then they still are selfish and not perfect. The only thing a perfect person needs or wants is God Himself.
A perfect person never steals. Anyone that steals, even for food to eat, is not depending on God for all their needs. God is all we need and He will supply all our needs.
A perfect person never lies. Not even a little white lie. Perfection has nothing to hide. Anyone that lies is still of the devil’s spirit.
A perfect person fears nothing, for he/she knows God is in control of all things. If anyone fears anything, then they have not been made perfect yet. 1 John 4:18 - There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. NIV We are called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but after fully being made perfect by the fullness of God’s love, there is no longer any need to fear. A perfect person no longer has to fear God, because they have been made perfectly in Christ’s image (love) and have become one in Spirit with God. If a person is one in Spirit with God, then fear is gone. A person that is one with God cannot fear the perfect love that now fills every part of his/her heart and soul. There is no selfish left and Satan cannot touch him/her any longer because there is no selfishness left for the devil to tempt.
A perfect person always has the choice to return to sin, but since all selfishness has been defeated by God’s love, sin has no power over a perfected person.
A perfect person is a brother of Jesus Christ and is no longer under the priesthood of Christ. The priesthood of Christ is only for the sanctification process to enable a person to become perfect. During the perfection process, Christ is our High Priest, but after perfection Christ becomes our brother instead. A perfect person has the same Spirit of Christ and the spirit of the devil (selfishness) is gone.
Michael W Reid
Showing posts with label Christian Perfection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Perfection. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Yearning for Perfection
I give up. Have it your way. What I mean is, I have been trying to get people to believe that perfection and living by God’s righteous perfection needs to be done before we physically die, but most will not believe this truth. Around 99% of the people that believe in God in our world today believe that perfection cannot be attained until after we physically die. So, I have decided to write to these people in the context of their beliefs and see if their beliefs make sense.
First off, I will not be quoting much scripture since there is not much scripture that goes along with these beliefs. For example, I can’t quote “Matt 5:48 - Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. NKJV”, because people no longer think this is possible in our life time. And I can’t quote “1 Peter 1:15-16 - But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy. NIV”, because people no longer think this is possible in our life time. And I can’t quote “Rev 21:7 - He who overcomes (overcomes sin) will inherit all this (heaven), and I will be his God and he will be my son. NIV”, because people no longer believe that all sin can be overcome or that a person is able to live a sinless life.
I can quote a few scriptures like “John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. NIV” I can quote this as long as a person understands the term “believe” to mean a belief in the existence of Christ and that He died on the cross to pay for all our sins. I can quote this scripture because people believe that Christ did it all and we don’t have any responsibility except to believe in what Christ did on the cross for us. This belief is all about saving them to eternal life, but not about being the Lord of any person’s life. I can’t quote about Christ being the Lord of our lives, because Christ being Lord of our life would require the lordship of Christ to take control of a person, which would mean we would have to give up control of our own life. The lordship of Christ does not fit into this belief because it would require a changed life, a life that would have to die to all the sinful nature. It would mean submitting all to Christ as Lord. People would loose control of their life and this is not believed to be required anymore.
People believe that all we have to do to have eternal life is to take up on the offer of being fully forgiven by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice which paid the cost for all our sins. No repentance, holiness, or perfection by living by God’s love is required. Since Christ did it all on the cross for us, all we have to do is say that sinner’s prayer and that heavy load of the consequences of our sins are removed from us. So only God’s forgiveness is required and all we have to do is take advantage of it. It is a win-win situation for us. Everybody goes to heaven as long as they are forgiven. Everyone that is forgiven is automatically converted from a sinful being to a perfect being at the point of the death. This perfect conversion from a sinful soul to a perfect soul has to be accomplished because nothing imperfect or impure can enter God’s heavenly kingdom. This is the belief of most believers even though this belief goes directly against God’s Word. God’s Word is considered out of date for the time we live in and people believe God has changed to compensate for the changing times.
Either way, people believe we become perfect. It is just a question of when and how. All believers are looking forward to heaven and believe we have to become perfect to enter heaven. So, do we really want to be perfect? Do we really want to be like God? Do we really want to be rid of our evil selfish nature and have it replaced with a perfect holy and righteous nature? Christ’s nature. If we do, how much and how soon do we want to become perfect?
If we believe that our goal is to become perfect and be made perfect by becoming pure love like God is love, wouldn’t we want that to happen as soon as possible? If we believe that we have to die to become perfect, wouldn’t we want to pray to God and have Him take our life as soon as possible so that we could become that perfect soul? Wouldn’t we want to leave this evil filled world for a life in a perfect world as soon as possible? When someone dies, don’t we try to help the grieving ones left behind by saying the one they lost is in a better place? If we believe this, shouldn’t we be throwing a big party because God has chosen to take that person and make him/her perfect and have that soul live in a perfect heaven for eternity?
Do we need to wait to have God take our life or can we end it ourselves? If we commit suicide, we would be sinning against God’s Word, because we would be acting as our own God and killing ourselves. But God has probably changed His law for our times and aren’t all sins forgiven through Christ anyway? Most believers believe that someone that has committed suicide can still go to heaven. It is unthinkable to think a loving God would reject anyone for wanting to escape this evil world. Since this understanding is an excepted belief and even taught by many churches, this might be a person’s way to perfection and heaven. At least we need to commend them for acting on their beliefs. At least they are willing to put action to their beliefs. After all, what ever a person believes, they will act on. If we say we believe in something and don’t act on it, we don’t really believe what we say we believe.
So how soon should we want to physically die to become perfect? Some would argue that we need to have children (procreate) before we die so that the circle of life can continue. There is some logic to this consideration, but for the ones that don’t want to have children or can’t have children, wouldn’t it be best to die as soon as they come to Christ to have their sins forgiven? For the people that want to procreate, it would probably be best to die right after their kids have come to Christ by their children asking for forgiveness for their sins. In this way they would insure that their children are saved to eternal life and the parents could then leave this evil world to go onto the perfect realm of God. With the parents gone, the kids could use the assets left by the parents, grand parents, and so on, to get a good start for them to get ready to have kids of their own.
Some people might think that they need to stay living in this life to nurture and help their children and other people. Well this might sound fine and good, but what does an evil selfish person have to offer anyone else but to share in the consequences of their own sin? We can understand that there is some good in almost everybody, but the selfishness (evil) in a person will always out way any good that a person is trying to do. Since we believe that we never can get rid of our evil nature, then we have to believe that we really can’t offer anything to others that will be good for them. It will always be like dirty rags. We can’t help someone become good or cleaner by wiping them with our dirty rags. Since sin never leaves us until we die, every good thing we try to do will be tainted with evil. Let me give you an example. Say you have a favorite drink, like Mountain Dew, it being pure and good to the taste. Now let us add some sin into that drink. Suppose you go to the bathroom and take some of the feces (poop) from your own body and put it in the drink. Now the drink is tainted and anyone that drinks that drink will not be able to enjoy the goodness it had before it was tainted. Since we still have our sinful nature, when we share with ourselves, we are really sharing a tainted drink to our children and others. Why would we want to do this to people? Isn’t it better if we stop sharing in our consequences of our sins with others and just decide to die and be perfect?
So, after saying all this, why wouldn’t anyone want to die and be perfect? After all being perfect would be like heaven, which represents all of what God is and has to offer us. Being in heaven would be sharing in pure love, righteousness, holiness, and eternal life with God. Why wouldn’t anyone want this as soon as possible? Some might say, “They want it eventually, but they will wait until after they die after a long life.” These people are really saying, “I don’t want all of God right now. I want to still live my own life the way I desire. I want to still be my own God, and after I die I won’t have anything left to loose, so then I will accept perfection.” These people are trying to save their own life for themselves. Or, maybe people might say that they believe in perfection after death, but they really aren’t sure if they totally believe it to the point of wanting to die to get it. The bottom line about all this is, for most people, receiving perfection has to high of a cost – themselves.
So, if you want God and His perfection and you have decided that you can’t be perfected and totally set free of your sinful nature until after death, then you should desire to die so that you can finally be perfected and enter heaven. Come on people, stop fooling yourselves, you need to admit that you don’t want God’s perfection and His heaven and stop calling yourself a Christian, or start believing God’s Word, repent, and live a perfected life by living through the power of His Holy Spirit. Please figure out what you really believe and then show what you believe by acting on that belief.
God gives us the choice of what we want to believe. For me and my house we will believe God’s Word.
Michael W Reid
First off, I will not be quoting much scripture since there is not much scripture that goes along with these beliefs. For example, I can’t quote “Matt 5:48 - Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. NKJV”, because people no longer think this is possible in our life time. And I can’t quote “1 Peter 1:15-16 - But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy. NIV”, because people no longer think this is possible in our life time. And I can’t quote “Rev 21:7 - He who overcomes (overcomes sin) will inherit all this (heaven), and I will be his God and he will be my son. NIV”, because people no longer believe that all sin can be overcome or that a person is able to live a sinless life.
I can quote a few scriptures like “John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. NIV” I can quote this as long as a person understands the term “believe” to mean a belief in the existence of Christ and that He died on the cross to pay for all our sins. I can quote this scripture because people believe that Christ did it all and we don’t have any responsibility except to believe in what Christ did on the cross for us. This belief is all about saving them to eternal life, but not about being the Lord of any person’s life. I can’t quote about Christ being the Lord of our lives, because Christ being Lord of our life would require the lordship of Christ to take control of a person, which would mean we would have to give up control of our own life. The lordship of Christ does not fit into this belief because it would require a changed life, a life that would have to die to all the sinful nature. It would mean submitting all to Christ as Lord. People would loose control of their life and this is not believed to be required anymore.
People believe that all we have to do to have eternal life is to take up on the offer of being fully forgiven by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice which paid the cost for all our sins. No repentance, holiness, or perfection by living by God’s love is required. Since Christ did it all on the cross for us, all we have to do is say that sinner’s prayer and that heavy load of the consequences of our sins are removed from us. So only God’s forgiveness is required and all we have to do is take advantage of it. It is a win-win situation for us. Everybody goes to heaven as long as they are forgiven. Everyone that is forgiven is automatically converted from a sinful being to a perfect being at the point of the death. This perfect conversion from a sinful soul to a perfect soul has to be accomplished because nothing imperfect or impure can enter God’s heavenly kingdom. This is the belief of most believers even though this belief goes directly against God’s Word. God’s Word is considered out of date for the time we live in and people believe God has changed to compensate for the changing times.
Either way, people believe we become perfect. It is just a question of when and how. All believers are looking forward to heaven and believe we have to become perfect to enter heaven. So, do we really want to be perfect? Do we really want to be like God? Do we really want to be rid of our evil selfish nature and have it replaced with a perfect holy and righteous nature? Christ’s nature. If we do, how much and how soon do we want to become perfect?
If we believe that our goal is to become perfect and be made perfect by becoming pure love like God is love, wouldn’t we want that to happen as soon as possible? If we believe that we have to die to become perfect, wouldn’t we want to pray to God and have Him take our life as soon as possible so that we could become that perfect soul? Wouldn’t we want to leave this evil filled world for a life in a perfect world as soon as possible? When someone dies, don’t we try to help the grieving ones left behind by saying the one they lost is in a better place? If we believe this, shouldn’t we be throwing a big party because God has chosen to take that person and make him/her perfect and have that soul live in a perfect heaven for eternity?
Do we need to wait to have God take our life or can we end it ourselves? If we commit suicide, we would be sinning against God’s Word, because we would be acting as our own God and killing ourselves. But God has probably changed His law for our times and aren’t all sins forgiven through Christ anyway? Most believers believe that someone that has committed suicide can still go to heaven. It is unthinkable to think a loving God would reject anyone for wanting to escape this evil world. Since this understanding is an excepted belief and even taught by many churches, this might be a person’s way to perfection and heaven. At least we need to commend them for acting on their beliefs. At least they are willing to put action to their beliefs. After all, what ever a person believes, they will act on. If we say we believe in something and don’t act on it, we don’t really believe what we say we believe.
So how soon should we want to physically die to become perfect? Some would argue that we need to have children (procreate) before we die so that the circle of life can continue. There is some logic to this consideration, but for the ones that don’t want to have children or can’t have children, wouldn’t it be best to die as soon as they come to Christ to have their sins forgiven? For the people that want to procreate, it would probably be best to die right after their kids have come to Christ by their children asking for forgiveness for their sins. In this way they would insure that their children are saved to eternal life and the parents could then leave this evil world to go onto the perfect realm of God. With the parents gone, the kids could use the assets left by the parents, grand parents, and so on, to get a good start for them to get ready to have kids of their own.
Some people might think that they need to stay living in this life to nurture and help their children and other people. Well this might sound fine and good, but what does an evil selfish person have to offer anyone else but to share in the consequences of their own sin? We can understand that there is some good in almost everybody, but the selfishness (evil) in a person will always out way any good that a person is trying to do. Since we believe that we never can get rid of our evil nature, then we have to believe that we really can’t offer anything to others that will be good for them. It will always be like dirty rags. We can’t help someone become good or cleaner by wiping them with our dirty rags. Since sin never leaves us until we die, every good thing we try to do will be tainted with evil. Let me give you an example. Say you have a favorite drink, like Mountain Dew, it being pure and good to the taste. Now let us add some sin into that drink. Suppose you go to the bathroom and take some of the feces (poop) from your own body and put it in the drink. Now the drink is tainted and anyone that drinks that drink will not be able to enjoy the goodness it had before it was tainted. Since we still have our sinful nature, when we share with ourselves, we are really sharing a tainted drink to our children and others. Why would we want to do this to people? Isn’t it better if we stop sharing in our consequences of our sins with others and just decide to die and be perfect?
So, after saying all this, why wouldn’t anyone want to die and be perfect? After all being perfect would be like heaven, which represents all of what God is and has to offer us. Being in heaven would be sharing in pure love, righteousness, holiness, and eternal life with God. Why wouldn’t anyone want this as soon as possible? Some might say, “They want it eventually, but they will wait until after they die after a long life.” These people are really saying, “I don’t want all of God right now. I want to still live my own life the way I desire. I want to still be my own God, and after I die I won’t have anything left to loose, so then I will accept perfection.” These people are trying to save their own life for themselves. Or, maybe people might say that they believe in perfection after death, but they really aren’t sure if they totally believe it to the point of wanting to die to get it. The bottom line about all this is, for most people, receiving perfection has to high of a cost – themselves.
So, if you want God and His perfection and you have decided that you can’t be perfected and totally set free of your sinful nature until after death, then you should desire to die so that you can finally be perfected and enter heaven. Come on people, stop fooling yourselves, you need to admit that you don’t want God’s perfection and His heaven and stop calling yourself a Christian, or start believing God’s Word, repent, and live a perfected life by living through the power of His Holy Spirit. Please figure out what you really believe and then show what you believe by acting on that belief.
God gives us the choice of what we want to believe. For me and my house we will believe God’s Word.
Michael W Reid
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Born Again verses Entire Sanctification
John Wesley’s definition of Entire Sanctification:
“being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin.” ….. “entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service”
Born Again defined by God’s Word:
2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! NIV
1 John 3:9 - Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. NKJV
1 John 5:4 - For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. NKJV
1 John 5:18 - We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. NKJV
It is not a decision of ours to be born again – it is God’s decision on whether we are born of His Holy Spirit. Being born of God is of the Spirit and not of flesh.
John 3:5-7 - Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ’You must be born again’”. NIV
When we are born again, it is a baptizing action taken by the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and make us a new creation.
Titus 3:5 - He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit NIV
Acts 11:16 - Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit . NIV
So how does God determine when He will baptize us of the Holy Spirit?
Acts 5:32 - We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. NIV
So do you see any differences between being “born again” and “entire sanctification”?
Below is John Wesley’s answer to explaining the process of Sanctification:
Sanctification: Initial, Progressive, Entire
236. We believe that sanctification is that work of the Holy Spirit by which the child of God is separated from sin unto God and is enabled to love God with all the heart and to walk in all His holy commandments blameless. Sanctification is initiated at the moment of justification and regeneration. From that moment there is a gradual or progressive sanctification as the believer walks with God and daily grows in grace and in a more perfect obedience to God. This prepares for the crisis of entire sanctification which is wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ, being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin. The crisis of entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service. It is followed by lifelong growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The life of holiness continues through faith in the sanctifying blood of Christ and evidences itself by loving obedience to God's revealed will.
The above doctrine I agree with since it states that sanctification starts at the time of justification. “Sanctification is initiated at the moment of justification and regeneration.” Did you also notice that the Wesleyan doctrine put “Justification” and “Regeneration” together? We are sanctified through a process of regenerating our desires to match God’s desires – usually one desire at a time. By this regeneration of our desires – we end up growing more and more in love with God as we are sanctified by the power of His Grace. Sanctification/regeneration are initiated at the point of justification, but as the next sentences points out – regeneration continues to the point of the “crisis of entire sanctification”. “From that moment there is a gradual or progressive sanctification as the believer walks with God and daily grows in grace and in a more perfect obedience to God. This prepares for the crisis of entire sanctification It is at this crisis point that a person has to decide to make that big jump of faith and believe with a belief that brings forth an action of intense searching to loose self and find God. A person jumps by faith with both feet into God’s hands – instead of having one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom. Entire sanctification - which is wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ”. So what is “wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ” – the next part of the sentence explains what is wrought – “being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin.” It is at this point and only at this point that the Biblical definition of “being born again” is made true in a believer’s heart and soul. Like I have tried to emphasize – it is God’s agape love living in a born again believer that purifies and perfects the heart of the born again believer – “crisis of entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service.” Did you notice that it is at this time and after that point that the born again believer is now empowered to go into effective service? After this filling of the Holy Spirit, a life of holiness continues because of the pure love that God has placed in the born again believer’s heart – “It is followed by lifelong growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The life of holiness continues through faith in the sanctifying blood of Christ and evidences itself by loving obedience to God's revealed will.”
So to conclude this comparison between the term “entire sanctification” and “born again”, we must conclude that they mean the same thing, but with different names.
God’s servant and yours,
Michael Reid
“being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin.” ….. “entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service”
Born Again defined by God’s Word:
2 Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! NIV
1 John 3:9 - Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. NKJV
1 John 5:4 - For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. NKJV
1 John 5:18 - We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. NKJV
It is not a decision of ours to be born again – it is God’s decision on whether we are born of His Holy Spirit. Being born of God is of the Spirit and not of flesh.
John 3:5-7 - Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ’You must be born again’”. NIV
When we are born again, it is a baptizing action taken by the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and make us a new creation.
Titus 3:5 - He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit NIV
Acts 11:16 - Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit . NIV
So how does God determine when He will baptize us of the Holy Spirit?
Acts 5:32 - We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. NIV
So do you see any differences between being “born again” and “entire sanctification”?
Below is John Wesley’s answer to explaining the process of Sanctification:
Sanctification: Initial, Progressive, Entire
236. We believe that sanctification is that work of the Holy Spirit by which the child of God is separated from sin unto God and is enabled to love God with all the heart and to walk in all His holy commandments blameless. Sanctification is initiated at the moment of justification and regeneration. From that moment there is a gradual or progressive sanctification as the believer walks with God and daily grows in grace and in a more perfect obedience to God. This prepares for the crisis of entire sanctification which is wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ, being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin. The crisis of entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service. It is followed by lifelong growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The life of holiness continues through faith in the sanctifying blood of Christ and evidences itself by loving obedience to God's revealed will.
The above doctrine I agree with since it states that sanctification starts at the time of justification. “Sanctification is initiated at the moment of justification and regeneration.” Did you also notice that the Wesleyan doctrine put “Justification” and “Regeneration” together? We are sanctified through a process of regenerating our desires to match God’s desires – usually one desire at a time. By this regeneration of our desires – we end up growing more and more in love with God as we are sanctified by the power of His Grace. Sanctification/regeneration are initiated at the point of justification, but as the next sentences points out – regeneration continues to the point of the “crisis of entire sanctification”. “From that moment there is a gradual or progressive sanctification as the believer walks with God and daily grows in grace and in a more perfect obedience to God. This prepares for the crisis of entire sanctification It is at this crisis point that a person has to decide to make that big jump of faith and believe with a belief that brings forth an action of intense searching to loose self and find God. A person jumps by faith with both feet into God’s hands – instead of having one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom. Entire sanctification - which is wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ”. So what is “wrought instantaneously when believers present themselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, through faith in Jesus Christ” – the next part of the sentence explains what is wrought – “being effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart from all inbred sin.” It is at this point and only at this point that the Biblical definition of “being born again” is made true in a believer’s heart and soul. Like I have tried to emphasize – it is God’s agape love living in a born again believer that purifies and perfects the heart of the born again believer – “crisis of entire sanctification perfects the believer in love and empowers that person for effective service.” Did you notice that it is at this time and after that point that the born again believer is now empowered to go into effective service? After this filling of the Holy Spirit, a life of holiness continues because of the pure love that God has placed in the born again believer’s heart – “It is followed by lifelong growth in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The life of holiness continues through faith in the sanctifying blood of Christ and evidences itself by loving obedience to God's revealed will.”
So to conclude this comparison between the term “entire sanctification” and “born again”, we must conclude that they mean the same thing, but with different names.
God’s servant and yours,
Michael Reid
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