In exploring this full salvation, I have shown from the scriptures that full salvation is first, a complete salvation. It needs no work of any kind added to it. The only thing that “full salvation” needs to become actual in a man’s life is faith. Full salvation is the Lord’s work, and we just trust solely upon His complete finished work to be saved completely. Full salvation is not only a complete salvation; full salvation is secondly a deliverance salvation. It is not the repetition of a prayer. Included in the package of full salvation is deliverance from sin! Thirdly, I have shown in depth that full salvation is justification. We are, at the moment of salvation, declared “not guilty,” even before we have the chance to perform one single good work. As for those who claim to believe the “full gospel,” many of them are ignorant as of these great aspects of full salvation. The benefits of full salvation are not limited to the conditions mentioned thus far.
Full Salvation is a Sanctified Salvation
Sanctification is a blessed Bible doctrine. Though its principle is forsaken by many, and its practice is forsaken by many more, it is yet a Bible doctrine that needs to be preached in this unsanctified generation.
What is sanctification? Though the dictionary gives several definitions, those definitions can be narrowed down to two explanations. First, to sanctify means, “to cleanse.” Secondly, sanctify means, “to set apart.” Oh, how the sinner needs a cleansing! And we have a fountain opened for sin and uncleanness!
So many argue over the method by which one is sanctified that they miss the beauty of the great teaching. Sanctification is the means by which we are made HOLY, like God is HOLY. Sanctification is the means by which we are made LIKE JESUS CHRIST! It is through sanctification that we are conformed into the image of Jesus Christ! Oh, to be more like Him! I do not spend all my time arguing over HOW it occurs; I wish to spend my time, rather, preaching its truths so it can occur!
Now, there are basically two schools of thought regarding sanctification among our Full Gospel churches. The first school of thought teaches sanctification to be a second definite work of grace. A person who believes sanctification this way may claim to have been saved in January, but did not get sanctified until July. Those who believe that sanctification is a second definite work of grace believe that sanctification, like salvation, is a definite, instantaneous experience, separate from salvation. According to the adherents to this teaching, the results of such an experience are described often as deliverance from the lusts of the flesh, the pull of the world, the snares of the devil, and even temptation. The second school of thought regarding sanctification is called progressive sanctification. This means that sanctification is attained gradually. We grow in our sanctification.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH REGARDING SANCTIFICATION?
I will show, with the Bible, that neither of these schools of thought is correct entirely, although both schools of thought contain truth.
First, the Bible teaches that sanctification is a definite experience. Acts 20:32; Acts 26:18; I Corinthians 1:2; I Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 2:11; Hebrews 10:10; Hebrews 10:14; and Jude 1 all refer to people who “ARE SANCTIFIED.” That is the group in which I am. I am not “striving to be sanctified;” I am not “trying to live sanctified;” I am not becoming sanctified,” I am in the group of people that “ARE SANCTIFIED!”
Now, the next question then is “When was I sanctified?” The Bible gives a clear answer to this. I was sanctified the very moment I was saved. When a person says, “I was saved in January, but I wasn’t sanctified until June,” that person is in error. Friend, if you were not sanctified until June, you were not saved until June! Sanctification is a definite work, but not a SECOND definite work! You were not saved in one experience, then sanctified in another.
There are simple verses in scripture that show us that we are sanctified at the time of salvation.
I Peter 1:2 – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit.”
This verse deals with the believer’s election to salvation. Without muddying the waters of election, let me say it as simply as possible. Election simply means, “chosen.” Every saved individual is saved because God chose you to be saved. How are we “elect,” or “chosen?” We are, according to this verse, elected first, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father; and second, through sanctification of the Spirit. Let me say it slower, so we will all get it. I am elected to salvation; that is, God chose me to be saved. How did He choose me? THROUGH SANCTIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT. If you are not sanctified by the Spirit, you have not been elected to salvation. Let us look at another verse.
II Thessalonians 2:13 – “…God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”
Here again, the subject is the act of God choosing us to salvation. How did He choose us to salvation? Through sanctification of the Spirit. What do these verses mean? To put it simply, when you believe on Jesus Christ to be saved, the Spirit of God, at that moment, sanctifies you. You are chosen to salvation THROUGH sanctification of the Spirit. You cannot get to salvation, except you come THROUGH sanctification of the Spirit. If you have not gone THROUGH sanctification, you have not attained salvation.
Now, I trust that the reader will stay with me. How is a person sanctified at the time of salvation? The Bible shines light upon this question as well. Earlier, we defined sanctification to mean two things. First, the one who is sanctified is “cleansed;” and second, the one who is sanctified is “set apart.” We just read two verses that state plainly that salvation is attained THROUGH sanctification OF THE SPIRIT. The Spirit of God sanctifies the believer the moment they trust Jesus Christ to save them. The Spirit of God, at the moment of salvation, CLEANSES the believer; and SETS THE BELIEVER APART from this world. How does He do this? In answering this, let us look first at a clear passage of scripture regarding salvation:
Romans 3:24, 25 – “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”
The subject of the passage is justification by faith. It is clearly a salvation passage. It is stated here that Christ is our redemption, and that through Him we have propitiation, which is simply an appeasement of God’s wrath. God is angry with the wicked every day. But when the wicked come to Christ, God’s wrath is appeased. His anger cools down – all because of what Jesus did upon the cross. How does a sinner appease the wrath of God? The answer is found in the above passage – “through faith IN HIS BLOOD.” A sinner is saved, and the wrath of God is appeased, when the sinner lets go of everything else, and places his faith IN HIS BLOOD! When a sinner places his faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, he is saved at that moment! Now, what does the blood of Christ do for that sinner? Look –
I John 1:7 – “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son CLEANSETH [sanctifies] us from ALL SIN!”
The very moment that the sinner places his faith in the blood of Christ, that blood sanctifies, or cleanses, him from every sin!
But that is not all! Sanctification is not only “cleansing,” but it is also a “setting apart.” The Spirit of God, at the moment of salvation, sets the penitent sinner apart from this world. How does this happen?
I Corinthians 12:13 – “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
This verse refers to the one body of which every saved individual is a member! When you are saved, you immediate become part of the body of Christ. You are immediately a member of the body of believers called “the church.” I do not mean that you are immediately a member of A CHURCH; I mean that you are a member of THE CHURCH. You are part of the redeemed; you are a member of the called-out ones! The word, “church,” means “called out.” When a person believes on Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God not only cleanses him from every sin and stain by the blood of Christ, but the Spirit also baptizes the believer into the body of Christ. The Spirit of God, at the moment of salvation, removes your citizenship from this world, and baptizes you into a place within the called-out ones! He sets you apart, making you a part of the true church, the church of Jesus Christ. At the moment of salvation, you are cleansed from every sin; and you are set apart from the world, baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ! Yes, I’ll say it again. If you did not get sanctified, you did not get saved!
Now, just because you have been sanctified by the Spirit of God at the moment of salvation does not indicate that you will never be tempted; nor does it mean that you will never sin. The same man who wrote I John 1:7, which states that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses, or sanctifies, from all sin, also wrote I John 2:1, where it states, “If any man sin…” Yes, sin is possible even after you are sanctified at salvation. This is why you must grow in your sanctification. There is growth. By growing in sanctification, you are not attaining sanctification gradually. Rather, you have been sanctified, and now you are growing in it. You are continually laying things aside so you can, in greater measure, set yourself apart to have fellowship with the Lord. The next question, then, is “How do you grow in sanctification?”
John 17:17 – “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
Here, Jesus is praying to the Father. He is praying for believers. And His prayer to the Father is that we will be sanctified by His word, the truth. Though we have been sanctified at the moment of salvation, we grow in our sanctification by continually studying the word of God, and obeying it! The word shows me what is right and what is wrong. Upon learning the truths of the word, I lay things aside that I might draw nigh to God. This is what I mean by “growing in my sanctification.”
Furthermore, Romans 15:16 deals with the Gentiles, being “sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” Yes, the Holy Ghost sanctifies us at salvation, but as we walk in the Spirit, He continues the cleansing, sanctifying work. The Bible teaches that, in the Christian walk, there will be a battle between our flesh and our spirit. Our spirit wants to please God; our flesh wants to please God. Even Jesus, the Son of the living God, battled this. Anyone who tells you that they are saved, and they do not have this battle, I wouldn’t believe anything else they say!
As we live in the word, the word continues to sanctify us. As we walk in the Spirit, the Spirit continues to sanctify us. As we confess our sins, the blood of Christ continues to cleanse us! Yes, full salvation is a sanctified salvation!
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