[this was my paper for Sanctification, for ThM, Westminster Cambodia, May 2022]
Contents
Introduction
Life and Ministry of Charles Finney
Charles Finney's View of Sanctification
Holiness in the Eyes of Most Filipinos
Resolution
Conclusion
Introduction
For the past seven months in the Philippines, people have been so
indulged into politics because of the upcoming May 9, 2022 national election. I
just thought that it is very timely to think about what is happening in my
country at the moment and connect it to our subject, Sanctification. Why? Because
objectively, if you try looking at social media platforms and attend rallies
from different parties, you will see how fanatical the stances are for most Filipino
audiences. Subjectively, this is a reflection of how our culture has taught us
about righteousness all throughout history.
What is holy for Filipinos may be the same with other cultures or
may be so different from some at certain levels. The purpose of this paper is
to reflect on what really lies underneath the view of holiness amongst Filipinos,
surely without the intent to stereotype. This paper further intends to compare such
view to Charles Finney’s idea of perfectionism.
It may seem illogical to bring up issues about politics in this
paper but I am confident that what is being reflected in the stances of Filipinos
toward politics is a window that is good enough to let us establish the view on
the culture’s religious roots and tradition. Certainly, religion and faith have
something to do about how Filipinos respond to politics since this is a platform
to lay down each one’s ideas about what is right and what is wrong. Also,
religion and politics in the Philippines have a very thin line in between. Most
of the time, these two overlap each other although the law states that there should
be separation in between.
Moreso, I intend to not limit this paper to the current political event
in my country alone. Other aspects about the Filipino culture are also
dissected in this paper to further understand the concept of holiness and
righteousness in the Philippines as a whole and connect it to Finney’s view and
then see possible resolutions thereof.
Life and Ministry of Charles Finney
Charles Grandison Finney was born August 29, 1792 on a farm in Connecticut
that is by the city of Warren in Litchfield County.
When he was two, they moved to New York and received some schooling but later
on moved to Lake Ontario. He belonged to a non-Christian family and said to
have never seen his father pray.
This sounds quite a challenge because in a family where the father does not
function the way God intends him to be, there is always a tendency for a broken
home because of a weak foundation. Apparently, Finney’s type of family is very
common even up to this day but for sure, God has a great plan as such situation
usually becomes a great testimony for those who go straight through the dark
tunnel and see the light in Jesus Christ.
Finney worked as a teacher in New York for a time and later studied
law under Judge Benjamin Wright in Jefferson County, from 1818 to 1821. It was
a long journey of reading course, passing the bar, and finally practice his new
profession. Such status has brought him to reading the Bible because in studying
elementary law, he found the old authors frequently quoting the Scriptures. He realized
that there were so much references to the Mosaic Institutes as basis for the common
law.
As Finney continued reading the Bible, he was continuously being convicted
by the Holy Spirit and became convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. He was
led to accept Jesus Christ over living a worldly life.
The way Finney got soaked into the Word of God is amazing and it gives hope especially
for the highly opinionated people. The Word of God indeed can transform the
minds of even the highly intelligent human beings. Finney surely was an
intelligent lawyer and having the Word change him is a strong testimony proving
that the Word is alive and organic.
Finney’s conversion happened when he started praying to God in the
woods, where he realized in the middle of his prayer that he “received a vision”
from God about his pride and intellectual belief as becoming superficial. As he
prayed, he experienced a great release that came to his soul. Subsequent to that,
he lost all desire to eat, work and even for his passion in music. All he did
was wept and pray. He wrote:
“… my heart seemed to be liquid within me. All my feelings seemed to
rise and flow out;: and the utterance of my heart was, I want to pour my whole
soul out to God… I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going
through and through me, Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid
love; for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very
breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense
wings. No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my
heart. I wept aloud with joy and love; and I do not know but I should say, I
literally bellowed out the unutterable gushing of my heart. These waves came
over me, and over me, and over me, one after the other, until I recollect I
cried out, "I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me." l
said,- "Lord, I cannot bear any more;:" yet I had no fear of death. bear
any more;:" yet I had no fear of death.”
Finney characterized his experience as
Spirit baptism, which allowed him to understand what it meant to be justified
by faith in Jesus Christ. He vowed to preach the Gospel to as many people as he
can and left his profession as a lawyer from then on. This is something that
sounds like the parable of the rich man as taught by Jesus in Matthew 19:16-30.
However, in Finney’s case, he was able to leave everything for the sake of
following Christ. On another note, some would say that he could have still continued
his profession while following Christ but only Finney knows the exact
instruction of the Lord for him so who are we to judge? Perhaps, it is case to
case basis and in the case of Finney, he seemed to have a success in his early
ministry.
Charles Finney later became a revivalist and theologian in frontier
America. He was sometimes called “the father of modern revivalism” because of
the impact that he has brought about in Christianity and American society in
the 19th century. He wrote some books that became popular such as Lectures on
Revivals of Religion (1835) and Lectures on Systematic Theology (1846).
From 1792 to 1875, the United States was in a state of social and
political unrest and Finney was among those who was deeply burdened and fought against
social injustice. He preached against slavery and fought for abolition. His
care for African-American civil rights was so immense that he supported the
Underground Railroad’s efforts to rescue slaves. He taught at Oberlin College
that was the first American college to allow African-Americans and women to become
students. He was later elected the president of the said college and served for
about a decade more.
Finney was described as a highly energetic man whether on or off the
pulpit. He was one of the key persons in the Second Great Awakening, which was a
Protestant revival that happened in the middle of 1800s. If the First Great
Awakening had its roots in Calvinism, the Second Great Awakening was much more
Arminian. The latter was more leaning toward postmillennialism and was characterized
with a lively and energetic worship style.
The ministry of Finney was indeed a success until some parts of his
theology on salvation became questionable for many in the mainstream
Christianity and evangelical circle so to speak. The sad thing about it is that
some people take his position and modify to make it convenient in their context,
risking a lot of souls along the way.
Charles Finney's View of Sanctification
One of the popular views of Charles Finney regarding soteriology is
his denial of mankind’s sinful nature as inherited from Adam. He said that our
sinfulness is the result of moral choices made by each individual and that upon
the initial sanctification and regeneration, the believer can achieve
perfection later in his/her Christian life. Thus, making election conditional.
In Reformed theology, sin was imputed to humanity after the fall
thus making every person totally depraved to be holy, but by God’s unmerited favor
and grace, a person is saved. And through the foreknowledge of God, He already
knows who will remain faithful until the end, who are the elect. God elects
people to salvation by His own sovereign choice and not based on some future
action that will be performed, neither a condition that will be met. Hence, the
salvation of the elect does not depend on the work of the believer but on God’s
“freewill” that has been restored upon regeneration and initial sanctification.
Finney’s theology is the opposite having the believer pursue holiness and somehow
taking the credit for salvation making it a ”cooperation” with God instead of “participation”
in God’s plan.
Christ’s death on the cross was not a payment for sin according to
Finney.
He said that it was God’s way of showing us how serious He is about keeping the
Law.
And in connection to the Law, Finney stressed that the transformation of a person
is the essence of Christianity.
This means that each sinner is responsible for his own regeneration while the
Holy Spirit influences his decision.
Finney said that “The sinner actually changes, and is therefore himself, in the
most proper sense, the author of the change while obeying the law in the most
accurate way.”
Now this sounds like a pitfall to humanism because such principle
makes a human being to be in a position to have a capacity to save
himself/herself. Where the Bible teaches us that when we receive Christ, it is already
Christ living in us who guides us and enables us.
In connection to how Finney was unknowingly crossing the line toward
Pelagianism and Humanism, he then taught about the doctrine of Christian perfection
or sinless perfection that is based on Matthew 5:48 where Jesus says, “Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” For him, God would not ask us to be perfect if
attaining perfection is impossible. Finney’s logic seems air-tight but it is
all about how the pursuit to perfection is rendered: either by God’s grace or
by human works. In his case, it is the latter.
Finney was careful to define the difference between his concept of natural
perfection and
moral perfection. The former pertains to the nature, essence and the law of God
while the latter is about the “perfect obedience to the law of God.
Finney stressed that the law of God requires perfect and impartial love
to God and love to our neighbor and this further requires that we should be motivated
by the same feeling, thus acting on the same principles of God.
For Finney, every Christian should do neither more nor less than the law of God
prescribes.”
Christian perfection or what Finney also pertained to “entire
sanctification”, therefore
is attainable, necessary, and required. Hence, he is suggesting to every believer
that it is a must to attain perfection before finally joining God in eternal
glory. Nonetheless, it appeared also that Finney pointed that there is still a
“desperate unwillingness” to obey in every believer, making his claims inconsistent.
Finney stressed so much on the moral laws of God and that these should
be interpreted consistently with physical laws.The
moral laws, according to Finney, must not be understood as something that will
extend its legislation over man’s nature so as certain attributes will be born
but actually prescribes a rule of action. Meaning, the moral law and the understanding
of it should lead to the right use of all the faculties that is already in man
and that no original attribute will be produced.
Hence, man has a choice to have faith in God and be confident that through that
faith, wisdom will increase and the intellect and perception will finally allow
man to use his life and existing faculties according to the will of God. Finney
implies that the awakening in the soul through knowledge will pave the way to
the entire sanctification. And again, this is a must for every believer as he
asserted.
While Finney maintains that perfection is a must, many scholars among
the evangelical circle would argue that God does not really require us to be
perfect prior to our full fellowship with Him. We have to look at Christ’s role
in our lives to be able to understand this. For example, is looking at what
Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, where He said that He did not come to
abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them. Indeed, Jesus Himself was
the fulfillment of all the Old Testament covenants from the garden of Eden, to
Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets. Clearly, it is Christ’s role to fulfill
and complete the law and not the Church or any individual believer, in contrast
to how Finney treats the law of God being something to be fulfilled by a Christian
who is pursuing perfection.
Finney maintains that entire sanctification is normative or a duty
of every Christian.
He taught that such is a promise of God based on the scripture as: “The Lord
your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so
that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.”
(Deut. 30:6), and what was prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and confirmed in Hebrews
8:8-12:
“The days are
coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people
of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like
the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them
by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did
not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the
Lord.
This is the
covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my
laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their
God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will
they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they
will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will
forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Finney stressed that God has already given the tools that a believer
needs so that perfection becomes possible along the way. He holds to what the Scriptures
says that God puts the law in the believer’s mind and writes it in his heart.
Hence, the law indwells a new believer and all that is needed is to awaken that
on a daily basis as a Christian. Nonetheless, Finney’s theology of the law has questioned
many evangelicals.
The law is not a box of knowledge that is set by God in a believer’s
mind and open it whenever the need arises. In Gal 3:24, Paul said that “the law
was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith”. The Law
itself therefore showed us our inability to be perfect resulting to our great
need of a Savior, who is Christ.
It is not a piece of arm amongst the arsenal that a Christian can use or not
use because the theological concept of it (the law) is so comprehensive as
traced back from the Garden of Eden up to the time of the prophets. If a
believer indeed has Christ within him, the law has already been written in his
heart and mind and it becomes a lifestyle, being part of regeneration.
Every believer has to confess that the lawgiver Himself (God) was the
one who came to perfect it in Christ. Hence, perfection comes with Christ and
not by anything that the human faculty produces on its own. Now, is perfection
attained within the believer’s lifetime as Finney suggests? Reformed theologians
would humbly disagree.
The Bible asserts that the perfection we can gain is just possible
through the cross and this is totally the opposite of Finney’s claim that we
are to attain perfection through our own effort. Christ made it possible for us
to not only be justified but also sanctified as the author of Hebrews said in chapter
10, verse 10. We are saved by grace through faith, which per se comes from the
Lord as well. God gives faith because of His grace and mercy and that is because
He loves us (Eph. 4 and 5). Hence, Faith is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8) and not
something that believers produce from within.
Holiness in the Eyes of Most Filipinos
After looking at how Finney treats
perfectionism with an almost humanistic approach, I would like to draw a line over
how it relates to the fanaticism that underlies the ancient culture of my
country, the Philippines. This perhaps applies as well to other Asian countries
which are mostly rooted from animism as traced in history.
At first, it would be illogical to think
that humanism and fanaticism are identical because they are so different in
many ways. Nonetheless, if we put both in two different circles that overlap each
other, there will be this area of sameness and that is what I wanted to stress
in this paper.
Humanism and Fanaticism
Humanism per se is basically a
belief that there is no supernatural being and that the material universe is
the only thing that exists. It also stress the capability of human faculty
alone to define his liberty and opportunity in agreement with social and
planetary responsibility. Fanaticism on the other hand involves a person or
entity that exhibits “excessive enthusiasm and intense uncritical devotion
toward some controversial matter- religion or politics”.
Fanaticism therefore is an extreme type of loyalty toward something or someone,
which can be a supernatural being in the context of the idolater. In other
words, the object of the fanatics can be considered as their gods and the
worship becomes the way of life, thus becoming their way to salvation. Humanism
and Fanaticism may be opposite when it comes to the belief of the supernatural
but at some spots, these two share a common point and that is the emphasis on
the capabilities of human to save himself or make himself prosper.
Fanaticism in Filipino Culture
The devotion of fanatics is usually happening
unknowingly as what is observed in some Filipino cultures. I say “in some
Filipino cultures” because I belong to a complex culture since the Philippines
is composed of over seven thousand six hundred islands, eight major languages,
one hundred and eighty dialects, and “14- 17 million Indigenous Peoples (IPs)
belonging to 110 ethno-linguistic groups”.
Every town in this country is unique and will offer you cultures that you may
not find in any other towns. Hence, when we talk about fanaticism, some Filipinos
have it while some do not, that is why I have no intention for stereotyping.
Politics
One example for fanaticism as what I have pointed out earlier is when
it comes to politics. Some Filipinos easily fall into worship of a politician
even if they consistently deny doing so. However, the ripple effect of loyalty
and devotion to the object or person is manifested in actions that almost
appear to be salvific. A basic example is when the supporters of a politician
devote their money, time, and effort to “serve” the said political figure and
see it as a good deed that pleases God and therefore ushering them to heaven because
for them, what they are doing is God’s will per se. Nonetheless, it is a great
deception to make unbiblical things to be Biblical.
During this month’s election, two parties are competing on the top
of surveys. The “meeting de avance’” or the very last rally campaign was held last
May 7, 2022. One party held it in one city and the other just a few miles away.
One had a final count of nine hundred and fifty thousand supporters on site and
the other had roughly one million. Aside from these two, there were also other
rallies for the rest of the political parties in other parts of Manila. All
these happened while there is still an impending surge in Covid cases. Nonetheless,
people’s undying support for their candidate is just overwhelming. It was the
biggest event of the year so far.
The sad reality about politics in the Philippines is how people fight
for their politicians. Some even claim that theirs is the true will of God but
ironically, they do not really know God for their character does not reflect the
Almighty’s attributes.
Another object of worship in politics is money. And since there is a
huge margin between the rich and the poor, the ones below the line become too
much fanatical for money. Election time is like Christmas in the Philippines
because people receive so much monetary gifts and many of them think that those
gifts are from God. It is just crazy how some look at “dirty” money as a blessing
from God.
Unknowingly, some Filipinos do not realize that they are already giving
too much reverence to politicians and their money. Sadly, it is a form of worship
so to speak. Is it considered a holy thing then? In the local context, yes,
because some people form their own principles regarding integrity, honesty, and
love and assume that these are valid before God. Thus, standing for their
chosen politicians is a form of service to God and using the money they receive
for the good of their family is a form of honoring God. Theology here is very
much twisted because not all are reading the Bible and some just sit in the
church and sleep until the sermon is over.
Religion
The Philippines is 86 percent Roman catholic
however majority is into “Folk Catholicism”, which is highly influenced with
animism. Meaning, even though many Filipinos go to the Roman catholic church,
they still hold allegiance to idols which are in the form of statues or even
personalities visible or invisible.
Roman catholics in the Philippines
are mostly educated when it comes to the sacraments, which are to be done in
order to get a ticket to heaven. This is so because all these sacraments are
being taught in school from elementary levels. Majority then knows that if someone
misses a single sacrament, it is possible to be trapped in purgatory and will
be in need of prayers from those who are still living. If the prayers are not
enough, the soul will suffer in hell but if the prayers offered are good
enough, then the soul will enter heaven.
Hence, many Filipinos try their very best to complete the sacraments and even
do some of these in very special ways just to make sure they get their way to heaven.
Now this is where humanism and fanaticism cross the line in likeness.
The seven sacraments of the Roman catholic
church are baptism, confirmation, eucharist, reconciliation/penance, anointing
of the sick, marriage and holy orders (including prayers for the dead). Most of
these are being executed in special ways, believing that doing so will give
more merit to enter heaven.
As a sure way as it sounds, a lot of people run an extra mile even
beyond what the clergy requires. One popular example is penance. This is
especially witnessed during holy week when some catholics engage into having
themselves hurt by imitating the way of Jesus to calvary. This is believed to
be a way to holiness by many Filipinos. Some carry heavy logs going uphill just
like what Jesus did. Some do a sacrificial parade barefoot while some walk
while hitting their back with bamboo nicked with blades so they bleed horribly.
Some even have themselves crucified for an hour or so and think that God is
pleased with what they are doing since it was literally imitating what He did
on the cross.
On the other side of the picture, people watching and witnessing
those so-called “sacrifices” do not really read the Bible and think that the
ones doing such penance are holy and have the high chance to enter heaven. The
worse thing is that, they ask those people “sacrificing themselves” to include
them in prayer, making them the mediators who speak to God for them. There is
an out of context admiration and reverence happening here that was supposed to
be offered to God alone not on any human.
Some people engaging to penance make it a devotion every year and so
each year, they have a list of prayer to God, more like a wish list. Sometimes,
such list is about their loved ones, whom they are praying for, whether is it
about health, financial freedom, relationship or so. The father of my step-mother
actually had the devotion to do it yearly to keep his children from health
issues. Ironically, he died early and all his children are physically weak and
always sick including my step-mother.
Resolution
It is a
sad reality that a lot of people formulate their own strategy to enter heaven.
Some Filipinos would work hard for salvation and that is totally the humanism
approach to take. Sadly, the Roman catholic church has so much influence to
people regarding this. If only there is a grand transformation that will happen
amongst the clergy, then we will see more people understanding the will of the
Lord. But unfortunately, doctrinal and clerical problems as old as those in the
times of Martin Luther still exist, making it almost impossible for us to see transformation
in the near future.
I do not say that the Roman catholic church is all rotten nonetheless.
It cannot be denied that this huge faith group has a power of influencing the
people. If they will teach the wrong doctrines, many will suffer and this has been
proven over the centuries. But then again, I do not stereotype all priests because
I have encountered good ones along the way, giving me a little spark of hope.
For example was when I had to interview a Roman catholic priest for a research project
some years ago. The priest named Rev. Tuyo from Ligao city, Albay was a fine man.
What I will not forget from what he said was that he is always grateful of us, “Born-again”
Christians, because there were only two of them in the local catholic church
and they have to feed about forty thousand souls in the city. He said “how can
we afford to teach them about the Word of God?” He asserted that our effort as
Christians is a huge help for them when it comes to teaching the people about
the Word of God. Rev. Tuyo was one of the open-minded priests that I knew and
he changed my perception about stereotyping the clergy. I thought, there is
always hope of transformation within the Roman catholic church and we cannot
limit the Lord about the salvation of some who are still in that box of faith.
I have hope that the Holy Spirit is working and offering light to
the ones blinded by my country’s religion. One of the best things to do is to
pray for them along with grabbing every opportunity to share Jesus and the real
essence of what He did on the cross for us, telling them that there is no need
to work hard for our salvation because Jesus has paid it once and for all.
Moreso, we are to encourage them to pursue holiness the way God wanted us to do
so. Not our way but God’s way so to speak.
Local Culture
The resolution I have yet presented may sound easy but in reality, there
is this huge bondage to break because such is made over years of laying on the
foundation of values and cultures. What we see on the outside is a product of
the innermost layer and hence we are to work hard on that core. We cannot just tell
people to stop all the ungodly practices and traditions in just a snap. Society does not exist in a vacuum but influenced
by external forces.
Humans also tend to resist ambiguity. This may also be the reason why many Filipinos
grew into fanaticism. The hardship in the ambiguity brought by Colonialism
centuries ago has become a huge factor. The colonialism brought by the
Japanese, Spanish and Americans brought many Filipinos into turmoil and adversity
and the transitions have forced our early people to reliance on ritual and
religion, whether indigenous or Catholic. Hence, if the root settles in that
deep sense, it will be hard to uproot the established values. This is the
reason why many behave in a way that reflects fanaticism and do not even
recognize the inclination happening, in denial so to speak. Being fanatical
became normal and seems running through our veins. Perhaps, being human per se would
be a basis for this as well.
Although it is a great wall to break, the values rooted from
fanaticism is not impossible at all to tear down because we have a God who can
make all things possible for His glory. The Word of God is alive and it is the
instrument of God for His people’s transformation. What Filipino Christians are
to do is to continue to be the light and salt in this country and beyond. We
are to live a Biblical life which others would see and imitate. We also need to
be aggressive at times, being intentional in sharing the Word of God to other
people. God will enable all of us to do what He wants us to do and we just need
to be sensitive to His direction, asking wisdom at all times.
Conclusion
Holiness in many cultures has become subjective over the centuries
but for Christians, its concept should be so basic as the Bible is very
explicit about its definition and implication in our daily lives. Hence, it is
imperative that we base our thoughts and actions on what is Biblical and in
case we stumble upon great concepts and theological perspectives, we are to go
back to what the Word of God says and pray about these.
Charles Finney’s concept of holiness may lead some into extremity as
that of humanism and even worse to fanaticism. However, personally and without
biases, I think that Finney surely was a fine, God-fearing believer.
Finney’s thoughts about the entire sanctification or Christian
perfection may have been too much, leading to the errors of modern
perfectionism up to this day, but we can also look at the brighter side of his
perspectives. His emphasis on the moral law of God is good as long as it is
preserved in the system of truth.
My takeaway from this critical study on Finney’s standpoints is that
the abrogation of the law of God is a complete road to destruction and on the
other hand, obeying it using your own human faculties alone is just as
destructive. In a more theological sense, we should never fall into either
legalism or antinomianism since both will lead us and many to ruin.
I believe that man is positionally holy when he accepted Christ, being
given the “freewill” (“being set free from every sin” by the blood of Christ,
Ac. 13:39). Although initially sanctified, a man still sins (1 Jn 1:10) but is
continually convicted by the Holy Spirit and is led to repentance.
A believer’s sanctification is a practical experience of our
separation unto God and the process is often referred to as “Progressive” or
“experiential” sanctification. Such is the result of obedience to the Word of
God in one’s life and is the same as growing in the Lord (2 Pe. 3:18) or
spiritual maturity. In this stage of a believer’s life, it is acknowledged that
it is already Christ working inside and out because He has not only brought
about sanctification but He Himself becomes the believer’s sanctification.
Perfection is not achieved within a believer’s lifetime in contrast
to Finney’s viewpoint but it does not mean that we are not to pursue holiness.
The Bible is explicit about pursuing a holy life (1 Pe. 1:15; Heb. 12:14 and so
forth) since it is the result of the application of the Word (Jn. 17:17).
Progressive sanctification is the process where us, the believers, are set
apart for the reason why God sent us into the world just as what Jesus said in
John 17 verses 18 and 19: “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into
the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified”.
Indeed, we are sanctified and sent because Jesus was, with respect to all that
were foreshadowed from the Garden of Eden down to the prophets.
Christ, being our sanctification, stands as the pattern of and power
for our own. As being sent by God to His nations,
we are being sanctified at the same time. Hence, the sending and the
sanctifying are inseparable that is why, the believers who remain faithful to the
Lord are called the saints or “sanctified ones”.
The Bible teaches us that we are sanctified by faith and justified
by faith. Hence, we understand why Jesus stressed heavily about faith during
his earthly ministry. It was His constant concern when in His sermons, parables
and times of teaching the disciples themselves.
Faith is God’s instrument in us so that we understand our union with
Christ, which is the heart of sanctification.
Our being born-again or regeneration is God’s work for us to achieve such union
and becoming able to have faith. The same faith, which is given by God, lets
Christ dwell in our hearts
as we go through continuous sanctification, having our old self left in the
past and the new self being lived with in the present.
From the initial sanctification preceded by the progressive
sanctification, the believers are to look forward to the “complete” or
“ultimate” sanctification which the Reformed theologians call “glorification”. Paul
defined glorification in his prayer in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “May the God of
peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and
body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. From this
verse, Paul speaks of Christ as “the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27) connecting Christ’s
appearing in glory to our personal glorification.
This glorified state
will be our ultimate separation from sin and a total sanctification in all aspects.
And I suppose this is almost what Charles Finney has referred to as the permanent
sanctification.
In the book of Genesis, all God’s creations are “good”, meaning,
everything was perfect and pleasing to God. All is giving glory to God in the beginning
so to speak. But after the fall, such perfection is blemished.
I believe in God’s mission to restore that original perfect status
of His creation. I believe in His promise that this will happen and we call it
glorification. As a Christian pursuing holiness by God’s grace through faith,
it is important that I am letting Christ do His work in me. And as I go through
this process, I also make sure that there is a ripple effect going on in the form
of discipleship, as Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them and teaching them to obey what He has commanded us.
As a Filipino, I pray for my fellow countrymen. Nonetheless, I do
not limit myself in this geographical position. All believers are citizens of
heaven and so wherever we go, our citizenship is not Filipino, Korean,
Cambodian, American, African, and so forth. We live in this world but not of
this world because God has already set our ultimate citizenship.
Wherever we go then, we carry a badge as God’s ambassadors and we
stand accountable. We are to pursue holiness, not through our own capacities or
faculties, but through Christ alone, who is our true sanctification.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:
Douglas, Mary, Purity
and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Routledge,
New York, 2002.
Ed. Louis Gifford
Parkhurst Jr. Charles Finney- The Principles of Sanctification. Bethany
House Publishers: Minnesota, 1986.
Hoffman, Fred. Revival
Times In America. Boston: W., A. Wilde Company, 1956.
Ed. Gundry,
Stanley, Five Views on Sanctification. Zondervan: Chicago.
Electronic and
Online Sources:
Grandle, Marvin, Charles
G. Finney's Doctrine of Sanctification. Western Evangelical Seminary, 1968.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=wes_theses
Finney, Charles, Memoirs.
New York Fleming H. Revell Company, 1876. http://swartzentrover.com/cotor/E-Books/holiness/Finney/Memoirs/Memoirs%20of%20Rev.%20Charles%20G.%20Finney.pdf
Finney, Charles,
Sinners Bound to Change. 1836. http://inside.sfuhs.org/dept/history/US_History_reader/Chapter4/Finneysermon1836.pdf
Finney, Charles, Lectures
on Professing Christians. https://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Text.Only/pdfs/Lectures_to_Prof_Chri_Text.pdf
Meriam Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fanatic
Fast Facts:
Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines. https://www.ph.undp.org/content/philippines/en/home/library/democratic_governance/FastFacts-IPs.html
“Religion in the
Philippines”
https://asiasociety.org/education/religion-philippines
Ibid. Finney suggests that a believer should be truly willing to give up
all sin in able to yield absolutely to God’s will and that way “filled with the
fullness of God.” But on the other hand, he also maintained that, while believers
desire this perfection and pray for perfection, there is “agony,” thus making it
deceiving when it comes to tracing the true motive.
1 John 1:8–9 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.
