Sanctification by F. R. Richmond

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 27, 1875

Sanctification.

By F. R. Richmond

We often meet with a class of persons who claim to have “perfect love,” to have “peace that is like a river,” to be “freed from sin,” &c. They are very sanctimonious and manifest a mild, lamb-like disposition when no one crosses their track, or thinks them inconsistent with their profession. They are willing to fellowship any one who speaks well of them, and says nothing of their faults.

They are often at the prayer-meeting, and take an active part there, the burden of their work being, not to search out and confess their sins, for from these they think themselves free, but to tell what great things the Saviour has done for them, and to exhort others to seek that high degree of holiness to which they themselves have attained. Should any one attempt to show them any deficiencies in their Christian character, though it might be done through a desire to do them good and in a spirit of love and meekness, he would be immediately reckoned as a persecutor and an enemy, and they would console themselves with the words of Jesus: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”

But are these individuals really what they profess to be, sanctified, or cleansed from all sin? We are told that we may know them by their fruits. One of the fruits of the Spirit is righteousness. Eph. 5: 9. “Every one that doeth righteousness is born of God.” “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” “Sin is the transgression of the law.” In Gal. 5: 22, 23, Paul says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” They profess much love, and seem to have abundance of joy and peace. But another fruit is meekness; do they bear this? If a person is so near the Lord that he commits no sin, he will be very meek; he will be careful not to boast of having attained a higher degree of holiness than his brethren; for when he begins to glory in his own goodness, he loses sight of Christ, and thus loses his sanctification.

The Pharisee who went into the temple to pray made a high profession and was undoubtedly, to all outward appearances, a righteous man; but the publican, who could see his own sinfulness, and was ready to confess and desired to forsake his sins, was more acceptable in the sight of God than he.

Those who advocate the doctrine of perfection say that when the blood cleanses them from all sin, to confess it to the world is a cross which it is their duty to bear. They are generally very faithful in doing this duty; but cannot we honor our Saviour more by letting our daily life and conversation tell on the side of truth? Actions speak louder than words.

Another fruit of the Spirit is temperance. Do we find these individuals taking up their cross daily by denying their appetites of all injurious luxuries? or are they so absorbed in the great theme of full salvation that they have no time nor strength for so unimportant a work as battling their own appetite? The Saviour considered this work of so much importance as to fast forty days. If a person is right before God he will have ceased to care for the applause of his brethren, but those who think their work of overcoming is completed fail to see that it is to raise themselves in the opinion of others that they are laboring. They are so blinded that they cannot see the motive by which they are actuated.

When a person has worked himself into the belief that he is past sinning, he has placed himself in a position in which he cannot see himself. Says John, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Then, this kind of sanctification is nothing but self-deception.

Overcoming this sinful nature is not the work of a moment. Christ says, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate,” thus showing that if we would gain eternal life, we must make an effort. Those who are unwilling to deny self and labor in earnest to overcome, would gladly believe that the Saviour will do the work for them which he has given them to perform themselves; but there is danger that such will not understand this deception of the enemy until it is too late.

John in one of his visions saw a company who had “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” Christ had not prepared them for the home of the saints in a moment, but they had had severe conflicts with the powers of darkness and their own sinful natures; for they had come out of great tribulation. The Saviour had provided the blood, but the work of washing the robes had been performed by the saints; and this work we all must do, if we would wear white robes in the kingdom of God.

We cannot climb up some easier way, but we must dig deep and examine our hearts thoroughly, and with God’s help, root out everything of a sinful nature. We must subdue our passions, overcome our appetites and resist the devil. If we set about this work in earnest we shall find we have a continual warfare, but we may be of good courage; for the Saviour has promised to help us and the conflict will soon be over. Time is short, and we have none too much of it in which to wash our robes, or form a character for the earth made new.

F. R. RICHMOND.

Brightwood, Mass.