Precious Treasures of Understanding
If you examine the scripture with a ready mind you will
see for yourself that having a fallen nature has nothing to do with
physical genetics. There was a spiritual change in our original
parents as
soon as the forbidden fruit was eaten: "Then the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they
sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings".Genesis 3:7
Examine the verses that follow this, and you will see that at the
same time that they became haunted by their
own nakedness and guilt, they began to be unhealthily separated
from God. They were
not
capable of this dysfunction before, but now they cannot help themselves
since
they
now possess a nature that had never been on earth before. A fallen
nature.
But now this malignant fallen nature rules the world, and is hidden
within
every person on earth, (saved and unsaved) except those in His
Rest... They have been cleansed from it by His stripes.
"10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto
Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These
were more noble than
those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily,
whether those things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed; also
of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few." Acts
17:10-12
There is much treasure here, but it takes some digging. So be
noble, be ready of mind......
Earnest Seeker
The Heritage of
Holiness
All our churches have lost the way to heart-purity and fallen
into the ancient deception of Antinomianism. This error is the cause
the regular occurence of acts of sin amongst believers and of
many slowly losing devout ground as they age -instead of obaining the
magnified
Godliness hoped for. True understanding of the
place and function of God's perfect law in our lives is as rare as it
is crucial. 25 page PDF by H. E. Jessop Two column
layout. (See also Fletcher's famous "Checks to Antinomianism" in the
Classics section of the History page.)
The
Carnal Mind and How to Cure it
This is a brief and exceptionally clear document. Others
will
have more scripture, or more colour, or get into more detail, or be
more personal, but regardless, this one is very hard to beat for an
overview of the carnal mind and what to do about it. Contains perhaps
the best description of what the carnal mind actually is on this
website. 31 page PDF by H. A. Erdmann. Very
lightly edited by Earnest Seeker. Two column layout.
A Presentation of Perfection
The Holiness Movement has a long heritage that displays
great spiritual wealth and diversity of approach. The authours
below represent many different periods
of history and a variety of doctrinal perspectives. Some of you may
wish to objectively understand where these authours stand in the broad
historical sweep of thought within the movement. Dr Mark
Eckhart's recent doctoral thesis does just this for us, with charts
and all! "An Historical Look at Sanctification in the American Holiness
Movement and Specifically in the God's Revivalist" 118
pages by Dr. Mark Eckhart (long 393 KB download excerpted from
the Wesleyan Heritage Library CD in such
a way as to illustrate the exact format of the CD.)
Pentecostal
Sanctification
A list of thirty-one special scriptures exactly on
sanctification with a pithy paragraph comment attached to add light to
each by the illustrious Rev. Beverly Carradine. (1848-1931) Each
one is on a different sub-topic. 9 pages (enhanced by ES)
Holiness -Is It Worth The Cost?
Extraordinarily clear and brief descriptions of the four main
benefits of entering His
Rest as experienced by one from before Asuza Street. But these
days there is another one: His Rest is the ideal stable foundation for
the Holy Spirit to work from. No fuss, no muss, no variance. 4 pages by
Joseph Gray (enhanced by ES)
On to Perfection
A clear point-by-point scriptural exegesis of sanctification
and the sanctification experience that is given to “furnish a
foundation for a faith to secure a pure heart out of which will flow a
holy life in the sight of God”. This superb short article expands
upon some explicit scriptures that are not often used in this
context. Dynamite. 6 pages by Benjamin Franklin
Neely (enhanced by ES)
The Two Covenants
This is absolutely the best study of God's Covenants that I know
of.
"My one great desire has been to ask
Christians whether they are really seeking to find out what exactly God
wants them to be, and is willing to make them. It is only as they wait,
"that the mind of
the Lord may be showed them," that their faith can ever truly see, or
accept,
or enjoy what God calls "His salvation." As long as we expect God to do
for
us what we ask or think, we limit Him. When we believe that as high as
the
heavens are above the earth, His thoughts are above our thoughts, and
wait
on Him as God to do unto us according to His Word, as He means it, we
shall
be prepared to live the truly supernatural, heavenly life the Holy
Spirit
can work in us the true Christ life.
May God lead every reader into the secret of His presence, and "
show him His Covenant." 51 pages by Andrew Murray
in 1898 -some testimonies
are
included.
Please note: this article was witten before Asuza Street, and so
often uses the term "Baptism in the Holy Ghost" as a synonym of
sanctification
and entering His Rest.
Love Militant
A detailed comparison between the mixed state given by
justification and the fullness found in entire
sanctification. "But a pardoned criminal is not necessarily
a good citizen. Pardon has changed his relation to the law, but not his
hostility toward the governor. A change must take place within him. He
must be reconstructed. We now come to the second step in the conquest
of the soul by love divine." The Land of Beulah beckons us
onward.... 5 enhanced
pages by Daniel Steele (10/5/1824 - 1914)
Beulah Land
O the flawless beauty of Beulah Land and the marvels of His Rest
are Christ's legacy to His Church. "My peace I give unto you."
Elsewhere this peace is described as the peace of God, because He is
its source and origin. It is the peace which Christ had with the Father
from the beginning, the peace in the heart of the Eternal, the
stillness of eternity entering the spirit, causing a waveless,
breathless calm. It lies not in the emotions, nor in the absence of the
emotions. It is a peace not springing up in the course of nature, but
handed down from heaven, and implanted in the believing soul."
9 enhanced pages by Thomas Cook
The Call to Holiness
Sanctification is not attained; it is obtained. For it is of grace
through faith and not of merit by works. It is without price, because
it is priceless, and it is not of works, because it is beyond man's
possibility. He who wills our sanctification is Himself the Sanctifier.
"We do not grow into the experience of sanctification. But we grow in
it; there is no perfection beyond which there is no perfecting. The
holy have their fruit unto holiness. The branch in the
vine is cleansed, that it may bring forth more fruit; the call to
holiness is a call to a holy life. It is a tragedy when “holiness”
people are not holy people. The act of God in sanctification is
followed by the work of God in holiness of character and life."
4 pages by Samuel Chadwick . (1860 - 1932)
enhanced
 |
 |
The Progress of Mr. Wesley’s View
Through the years of walking in as well as, seeing and
interviewing thousands who obtained entire sanctification, Wesley’s
view of the sanctification experience gradually matured, and
strengthened although he had the right view from the
beginning. 5 pages by Rev. D. A. Whedon (1808 - ? )
The Eternal Purpose
The need of revelation, faith and of consecration, to live the
“normal Christian life”. 7 famous pages by Watchman Nee
(11/4/1903 - 1972 died in Chinese Communist prison and so the date may
be lost)
Inspired Directions in Seeking
Matt. 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled" Hunger and thirst is the true
sign of that new life on which those born of the Spirit have entered;
and it is after righteousness, i.e., perfect conformity to the will of
God. Hunger has its reward. This is a list of key
quotes on sanctification from 28
famous Holiness saints.
5 pages by L. M. Campbell
Selected
Scriptures of Rest
This full listing of all meaningful scriptures that use the
word “rest” reveals the Lord’s own view of His Rest. It may
surprise you! Virtually nobody preaches this. Mostly
scriptures -with brief comments and context.
7 pages by Earnest
Seeker
The
Perfecting of our Faith
A holiness preacher lays out his formula for the perfection of
faith. This insightful article explores the very source and
nature of faith itself as it relates to specific souls the
authour has seen obtain His Rest. Influences which effect the
essential completeness of this faith must be
addressed.
10 pages by J. G. Morrison
Sanctification
After abiding in His Rest for just one year
Rev. Carradine wrote this book to explain his new state of grace.
This apologetic work contains some of the best reader-sensitive
explanations available for those who have not yet entered His Rest, but
his later
books give more complete entry directions.
"The writer once saw a man receiving brick. Several fellow-laborers
were tossing two and three at a time to him. With an adroitness and
expedition admirable to behold, this man caught the brick tossed toward
him, and in a flash cast them from him in another direction on a
neighboring pile. If he had paused long enough, he would have been
covered up and walled in with brick; but the transferring movement
saved him.
The illustration aptly illustrates that cares are coming to and
threatening to fall upon all of us in this world. If we would allow
them they would soon bury us alive. As it is, many Christians are
covered up or borne down or heavy-laden by them for a greater or less
length of time. Sanctification is the only life
I know of that refuses to allow trouble to rest upon the soul; but with
a faith movement, instantaneous as a flash of lightning, the man throws
the mistake, trouble, besetment, annoyance, or disappointment at once
upon the altar and leaves it there forever. No matter how they come and
when and where, no matter how swiftly and abundantly they fall, the
sanctified soul, refusing to bear their sad weight a moment, places
them upon
his Lord and goes free. Glory be to God for this heaven-sent power!"
The language and idiom has been carefully enhanced
for modern readers by Earnest Seeker. 57
pg PDF by Rev. B. Carradine
The Holy of Holies
Behind the second veil is a hidden place where His silence
remains stainless, His light shines undimmed, and His life abides
unabated. We
are clearly called to Tabernacle in this
glory beyond all earthly sorrow. The sanctified authour clearly
illustrates the peerless principles involved.
6 precious pages by
John Marvin Hames
John 17
W. B Godbey, a famous Holiness preacher wrote a full and
authoritative Biblical Commentary: here is how he understands the
famous Chapter of John 17; line-by-line.
4 heavily insightful pages by the astonishing W. B. Godbey
(6/3/1833 -? )
Entire Sanctification
Adam Clarke was an early pioneer Wesleyan itinerant preacher
(1760-1832) in England that was also a scholar of distinction that
added greatly to the foundation under Wesley’s teaching on
holiness. In this article he refutes many misunderstandings
regarding sanctification with a devastating exegesis. Confusion on
these important issues is so perennial that it needs to be read
today more than ever!! 19 amazingly challenging pages by
Adam Clarke ( 1760 or 1763 - 8/26/1832)
The following three documents are
especially important to those who have lived clean lives and stayed out
of trouble. Those of us who have spent years being
"prodigal sons" seldom have trouble recognizing the fact
that trouble remains within even after we are saved. Better
behaved sons often need special revelation before they can recognize
their need for a second work of His grace, but still everybody
tends to avoid this reality -which we need to be fully convinced about.
Sanctification and its Synonyms
Do you have theological training? Do you have an especially
sharp mind? If so, you may find this incisive scholarly overview of
Wesleyan second blessing theological assumptions to be exceptionally
helpful for its deep insights.
Most writing on this website is evangelistically oriented, and so tends
to omit nuances in favour of getting the simple message accross. I also
do this, and tend to use vivid adjectives in order to communicate to
jaded pentecostals. Purkiser is not
like this at all. His concepts are plain and razor-thin in their
distinctions.
W. T. Purkiser (1910-92) was a prolific writer, respected scholar, and
well-loved preacher within the Church of the Nazarene who also had a
significant voice in the larger evangelical Christian community. He
authored and contributed to some of the most widely disseminated and
enduring works in the more recent Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. 31
pages by W. T. Purkiser
Eradication
This is a detailed and very well written scholarly discussion of "What
is Eradicated by Entire Sanctification?" from a more recent Nazarene
source. "The Wesleyan position as to entire sanctification cannot be
held without admitting that something takes place in man which cannot
be described in mild terms. The grace of entire sanctification is a
radical work and
cannot be designated with anything less than radical words. What is
asserted as to Wesley’s teaching must also be granted as to
the Bible doctrine of entire sanctification. Its position as
to entire sanctification is uncompromising, and will not permit being
watered down. Entire sanctification on its negative side signifies the
complete destruction of something. This is exactly what eradication
means. It indicates nothing less and nothing more."
The Nazarenes of the past more often preached about how horrid
the fallen
nature was than how wonderful is the glorious freedom within
His Rest. The former approach encourages preachers to shout fearsome
"hellfire and damnation" sermons while the latter encourages them to
sweetly woo hearts to Him. As the name of this website suggests, I
prefer the latter approach. Honey catches more flies than
vinegar. I include this article for your edification. 7
pages by Dr. Stephen Solomon White -Slightly enhanced for
modern readers.
 |
 |
Regaining His
Rest
Some people make mistakes while walking with God, and truly lose
their salvation (if the plain truth is told) -sometimes repeatedly.
Do people in His Rest make mistakes also? If so, what happens to
them? 24 pages of excerpts compiled by Earnest Seeker
