JCnot4me.com
“Am I therefore become your enemy for telling you the truth?”
The Apostle Paul Galatians 4:16
Entire Sanctification = Entire Nonsense
Mark Smith 1978, 1993, 2002 JCNot4me.com
There is a little group that calls itself The Church of The Nazarene. They were started in 1908 by Phineas Bresee as a split off of the Holiness Movement, which itself was a split off of the Methodist movement, which was a split off of the Protestant movement, which was a split off of the Catholic movement, which was a split off the Christian movement, which was a split off the "John the Baptist" movement, which was a split off the Essene movement, which was a split off the Judaism movement… you get the picture. Anyway, they have a doctrine all to themselves, having looked around and seen a niche in the marketplace of religion. They call this doctrine...
It’s like the “Instant Karma” that John Lennon sang about, in that it supposedly comes to you in an instant, but has less credibility than Karma. They claim that by its power one can be made into an instant “saint”, perfect in every way, thought and deed; sin-
I recall a story from the pulpit of a (non-
During the “testimony” period of the church service an old woman stood up and praised God that she had lived the past umpteen years sin-
Most non-
John Wesley was the man who started all this nonsense about Entire Sanctification along time ago. On page 248 of his Plain Account of Christian Perfection he wrote that:
God usually gives considerable time for one to receive light, to grow in grace, to do and suffer the will of God, before he is either justified or sanctified; but He does not invariably adhere to this. Sometimes He "cuts short His work"; He does the work of many years in a few weeks; perhaps a week, a day, an hour. He justifies or sanctifies those who have not had time for a gradual growth in light or grace.
(see: http://gbgm-
George Orwell could not have thought of a better example of “Double-
First of all, who is Dr. Greathouse? Is he a recognized authority within the Nazarene denomination? Yes he is. According to a quick web search on Google: Dr. Greathouse is a graduate of Lambuth University, Trevecca Nazarene University, Vanderbilt Divinity School, and holds a D.D. from Trevecca Nazarene University. He has spent a lifetime serving in the Church of the Nazarene as pastor, professor, Dean, President and General Superintendent (which is like being the Pope of the Catholics). He was president of TWO Nazarene institutions of higher learning: Trevecca Nazarene University, and Nazarene Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous books. His two most recent books are Love Made Perfect: Foundations for the Holy Life (1997) and Wholeness in Christ: Toward a Biblical Theology of Holiness (1998). He was also voted "Preacher of The Year" in 2000. He is currently a professor at Trevecca Nazarene University, and his homepage is:
http://homepages.trevecca.edu/faculty/wgreathouse/
Obviously, with such a list of credentials, even having been in charge of the entire denomination at one time ("General Superintendent"), Dr. Greathouse certainly qualifies as an authority, if not THE authority, on official Nazarene doctrine. Some may be asking at this point why am I going to such lengths to establish the credentials of Dr. Greathouse. This is the reason: I have received numerous emails from Nazarenes around the country, ignorant of their own religion, who have never even heard of him, and thus question my using him as an authority. Such ignorance in Christians even about their own denominations is not encouraging, but is commonplace. Americans in general, as Steve Allen pointed out, are just plain dumb. So to all the Nazarenes out there who know their own religions less than us non-
Dr. Greathouse, while giving the inaugural address at Nazarene Theological Seminary in 1969, described “Entire Sanctification” as being:
“…imperfect perfection”
That's a phrase that would have made Bill Clinton (Mr. "is-
“Christian perfection is not absolute”
And for another example of Double Speak, he says,
“Hence the fully sanctified man* feels deeply his imperfection”
*[NOTE: remember, this means the man who is perfect]
To fully appreciate the humor of this Double Speak going on here, you must realize that Entire Sanctification teaches Christian Perfection, which means a sinless life; the total removal of not only sin, but even the ability to sin. In other words, a good Nazarene could not make a mistake, a sin, even if he tried! In fact, he couldn't even THINK a sinful thought. Or as another Nazarene theologian#2 W.T. Purkiser wrote,
“…true justification in Christ does away with a life of sin.”
W. T. Purkiser (1910-
The Free Methodist Church (NOTE: this is a close cousin to the Nazarene church) believes and teaches the doctrine of ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION, or SINLESS PERFECTION. Free Methodists believe that a person who has been saved and born-
http://www.gospelcenterchurch.org/freemethodists.html
Of course, regardless of what Greathouse or Purkiser or any other Nazarene may write, we know this is all horse-
For any who wish to argue with the Nazarenes regarding this gem of a doctrine, they might want to use this Bible verse as their trump card. And by the way, this verse was written to Christians, not to non-
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. ...If we say that we have not sinned,
we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1st John 1:8-
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#1) Nazarene Theology in Perspective, Wm. Greathouse, Nazarene Publishing House, 1970, pp. 23, 20, 21.
Also in: NAZARENE THEOLOGY IN PERSPECTIVE Inaugural Address/Naz Theol Sem/January 6, 1969
#2) Exploring Our Christian Faith, W.T. Purkiser, Beacon Hill, 1969, p. 318
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Additional Information & Documentation}
What We Believe (from the official Nazarene website)
13. We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect.
It is wrought by the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service.
Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.
This experience is also known by various terms representing its different phases, such as "Christian perfection," "perfect love," "heart purity," "the baptism with the Holy Spirit," "the fullness of the blessing," and "Christian holiness." ( http://www.nazarene.org/gensec/we_believe.html )
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November 28, 2005} I just did a Google online search for the phrase "entire sanctification". Guess which website was second out of 42,600 hits? You guessed it-
October 27, 2011} Another Google search for "entire sanctification", and this site is now #5 out of 179,000 hits.
February 5, 2016} Google search for “entire sanctification” results in this here page of mine showing up on the 6th Google page of hits.