" I am forgiven for my sin but haunting memory gurgles up in technicolor. Memory of past sins and fantasy of erotic relationships pop into my mind and create a vivid picture of sinful lust." These exercises in carnality are as natural to the sinner as taking a breath. Why do symptoms of carnality still remain after a person seeks and finds the pardon of God and adoption into His family?
1. Pardon is not Purity.
2. Symptoms of the un-blessed.
3. What is the perfect cure?
One of the great errors of modern theology is to marry the words pardon and purity. When we respond to the Holy Spirit's moving and choose to accept God's pardon for our sins, it does not imply that we are pure. Filthiness, the opposite of purity, is not our fault. It has been in the world since Satan abandoned his place of purity for selfish ambition (Revelation 12: 7-9 Ezekiel 28: 12-17).
Your sinful appetite (carnal nature) is inherited. Paul says "...Nothing good lives in me that is in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good but I cannot carry it out." (Romans 7:18).
You can't help it. The root of sinfulness is inbred. It cannot be pardoned. You didn't commit the sin that caused your carnal nature, Adam did. You cannot be made pure by pardon. The sinful nature cannot be forgiven. It must be put to death (Romans 8:13-14). Pardon is not purity. It is clear to all who will take an honest walk through the deepest recesses of their own mind. A monstrous carnal voice continues to haunt the inner spaces of our mind even though we are forgiven. You are not crazy. You have simply come to the point in your growth where you must rid yourself of the filthy, selfish, greedy, and angry inclinations of your sinful nature. Symptoms of the Un-Blessed.
The ministry is filled with people and preachers who share in the miracle of pardon, but feel un-blessed. Consider Genesis chapter 37. This account of the life of Joseph shows the clear distinction between those who are the dearly loved of the father and those who simply trudge along and feel burdened by life. Joseph is an excellent model of holiness. He shares his father's gift for dreaming. He knows without a doubt that God has great things in mind for him. Joseph never abandons his dreams. Even though sold by his brothers, enslaved by Potiphar, and thrown into prision by false accusation. Joseph is truly blessed. He feels the indwelling presence of God and never wavers in his faith. Let us explore some of the symptoms of un-blessing.
Selfishness Reuben, the first born, was the true heir to his father's birthright. He could not overcome the desire to be the lord of the manor. He takes control and tries to be blessed but his plan is foiled by the crowd. In the families and kingdoms of today we still see the un-blessed efforts of would be lords and kings. Our earthly nature leads us into the snares of selfishness.
Satan fell to the sin of selfishness. He traded great beauty and power for the opportunity to be god. Selfish ambition has taken many good people into the arena of earthly manipulation. Selfishness must be put to death. It cannot be pardoned. It must be destroyed (1 John 3:8). Purity is only possible after the root of selfishness has been purged from the human heart. To believe that God can pardon but cannot purify is to limit the power of God.
Potiphar's wife, a beauty to be sure, is not one of the family but certainly a player in the world of carnal nature. Joseph was not immune to the lure of sex. Lustful pleasure has taken control of the earthly realm. Relationships scarred by selfish lust lead husbands and wives to believe that what God has provided is not enough. Somehow men and women who know the pardon from sin slip in a single moment into the black mire of casual sex. True marital bliss can only be viewed from the perspective of a pure heart. Many have fallen to the carnal root of sexual pleasure. There is a glorious intimacy which can only be shared by two partners, who are truly pure in heart. This state of holiness is entire sanctification. God wants you to have it. But He cannot tolerate the presence of sinful lust.
All of the players in the story of Joseph qualify for this symptom. How many of your own greatest failures were placed like stone in a moment of rage. Many of the greatest achievements of human history were implemented by rage and anger. We worship rage. Billions are spent every year watching good guys filled with rage bloody the flesh of those considered bad. We have created whole societies of victims avenging the victims of evil. Anger has become the god of America. Salvation by society does not work. Men from Marx to Johnson have tried to create a great society and failed. Why? Because only God can remake mankind. Only God can pardon sins we have committed. Only God can destroy the carnal nature and transplant the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
The "Great Awakening" of Wesleyan fame was not a work of men. It was a work of God. Cycles of human history prove that the nature of man is to self destruct. The same is true of governments because they are of men. The perfect cure for the ugliness of human nature is a work of entire sanctification which is recieved by a simple act of faith. God wants it for you. You can have it this moment. His treatment for inbred sin is total eradication. You must first acknowledge its existence, place your "Old Man" on the cross, and keep him there until dead. As you put to death these earthly things God will remove that old self and give you a new single minded will to obey God's Word and His Spirit's voice (Colossians 3: 1-17).
His will is your purity.
Two objects of divine love: --
"God so loved the world..." John 3:16.
"Christ also loved the church." Eph. 5:25
Two purposes of the atonement:--
"To save sinners." I Timothy 1:15; Rom. 5:8.
"Sanctify believers. Heb. 13:12; Eph. 5:26.
Two expressions of his will:--
Concerning sinners, -- "Not willing that any should perish." II Peter 3:9.
Concerning the church, -- This is the will of God even your sanctification." I Thess. 4:3.
Two prayers of Christ: --
For sinners, "Father forgive them." Like 23:34.
For believers, "Sanctify through thy truth." John 17:9, 17.
Two calls: --
Sinners to repentance Mat 9:13.
Believers "unto holiness." I Thess. 4:7
Two Requirements: --
"If we confess our sins." I John 1:9
"If we walk in the light." I John 1:7
Two promises: --
"To forgive us our sins." I John 1:9.
"To cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9; Jer. 33:8.
Two offices of the Spirit: --
"Born of the Spirit." John 3:5
Baptized with the Spirit. Matt. 3:11
Two Witnesses of the Spirit: --
"That we are the children of God." Rom 8:16.
Sanctification, "whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us." Heb 10: 14, 15.
Two Experiences: --
"You hath he quickened." Eph. 2:1. A making alive of our moral nature.
"Our old man is crucified." Romans 6:6 A putting to death of our carnal nature.
Two Rests: --
The first rest He gives us on condition that we "come". Matt. 11:28.
The second rest we "find" after we have His yoke upon us and learned of Him: soul rest.
The first is the rest from guilt and condemnation; the second is rest from fretting and worry and unholy tempers - rest from inward conflict. Matt. 11:29; Heb. 4:3, 10.
Two steps of faith: --
"Justified by faith." Romans 5:1
"Sanctified by faith." Acts 26:18
In view of the fore-going we can understand why John Wesley spoke of "the second blessing, properly so called;" and Mr. Charles Wesley spoke of it as "that second rest;" and Toplady taught us to sing,
"Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make us pure."
While in justification a man obtains "life';in sanctification he obtains life "more abundant." In justification he has "peace with God;" in sanctification he obtains "the peace of God;" In justification he obtains the love of God; in Sanctification his love is "made perfect;" In justification he is made "free" from guilt and condemnation, because he is saved from sin as a practice; in sanctification he obtains the "deed" to his freedom, with all mortgages paid off, because he is cleansed and made free from sin as a principle.
It is this complete cleansing and deliverance from original or inbred sin by the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire, that we refer to as the second crises in Christian experience. Seeing it is not obtained at the time of conversion, nor by a gradual development or growth in grace, but by a definite act of consecration and faith as an instantaneous experience subsequent to regeneration, it invariably marks a distinct epoch, or second crisis, in the life of him who obtains it.