Sanctification Vs Calvinism

Calvinism vs. Wesleyans on Sanctification When many Christians here the words entire sanctification, perfect love, Christian perfection, and holiness. They often either try to avoid the issue because they say it is too complicated or they challenge those who are addressing them by saying it is not scriptural. Many Calvinists take a stand today that a person cannot achieve holiness, sanctification or Christian perfection in this life time. But is that truly what the scriptures teach or are Christians too willing to just parrot their favorite scholars who hold their pet positions. It is vital that Christians know what the Bible says sanctification because the Bible should be our ultimate authority to the way we live not a scholar such as Wesley …show more content…
Here is a couple of definitions to help define what we are talking about. “Entire sanctification is the act of God by which the human heart is cleansed from all sin and filled with love by the Holy Spirit who is given, through faith, to the fully consecrated believer.” We use the term entire sanctification because we believe that sanctification begins at salvation when God cleanses our heart from sin. Entire sanctification occurs when a person surrenders every part of their lives and will to God to do with as He pleases. Second we would believe that sanctification was covered in Christ’s death as was salvation and it is a gift that we must accept, sanctification cannot be achieved by works. However once you accept that gift it is person’s responsibility to maintain that gift and make sure that it does not become dusty, or broken like a gift that is placed on a shelf and …show more content…
Wesleyans feel that a person can live above sin after the sin nature is removed from the heart or as Paul states in Romans 2:29 the heart is circumcised. Wesleyans would not say infirmities and weaknesses are removed as well. So while a person can live a life in which they chose not to transgress against a law they know to be wrong, a person may still make mistakes. To say after sanctification that a person will never make a mistake again is setting that person up for failure. Sanctification is an instantaneous work in that a person will know in some way when they have been sanctified, but more than that it is a constant, continual growing closer to the Lord. A Calvinist may also ask the question “While how can we sin in ignorance?” If a person defines sin as a willful disobedience against the known law of God then that person is not sinning in ignorance. If a person who is a new Christian is a Christian for several months before God speaks to them about tobacco being sinful then in those previous months they were not sinning because they did not know it was a law or principle of God. If that person continued to use tobacco after they clearly knew it to be wrong then they would be sinning against