January 9

Read: Acts 15:7-9

And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost,… purifying their hearts by faith (Acts 15:8-9).

Holiness And Entire Sanctification

God is holy and He desires men to become like himself in this respect. Here is a doctrine of well-nigh universal acceptance. Every branch of the Christian Church would officially recognize the supreme place of holiness when we use the term in this broad and general sense. However, we also use the term to designate a specific experience in which the heart of the Christian is made holy by an act of God. This experience is more commonly known as entire sanctification.

It is at the point of our belief in sanctification as a definite work of grace, experienced in this life, that holiness people are unique in doctrine. We believe not only that God calls men to a holy life, but also that the Bible teaches well, defined spiritual crises by which men enter and move forward into such a life.

The Scriptures are clear that if men are to please God they must repent of their sins and be forgiven. When this takes place, God regenerates spiritual life within the soul, God’s Word teaches us that after this there is a second crisis (hence the expression second-blessing holiness) in which the Christian must consecrate himself wholly to God, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and thus be entirely sanctified.

In our text, Peter testified to having received this kind of experience. He also told of others who had received the same blessing in the same way: “And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;.., purifying their hearts by faith.”

Affirmation For Today

What God has revealed so clearly in the Bible, I gladly accept as my rule of faith and my guide for life.