scroll down and read this statement of belief of Zion Assembly Church of God under the heading of “subsequent grace”.
What are your thoughts?
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scroll down and read this statement of belief of Zion Assembly Church of God under the heading of “subsequent grace”.
What are your thoughts?
Order the Abstract of Faith in English (U.S. Domestic Shipping Only):
Just a comment not being COG. Is the statement below really possible where a person this side of heaven is not tempted to sin? I may join your group. 🙂
Here’s the quote from you link.
“Sanctification is the second definite work of grace wrought in the regenerated heart by faith. In sanctification, the carnal nature is eradicated (“the old man is crucified”) so that the believer no longer has the inclination or propensity to sin; that is, in sanctification the desire to sin is removed (Hebrews 10:10; 13:12,13; “
Why, it is exactly what we believe.
Terry Wiles, you are incorrect in your statement, “a person this side of Heaven is not tempted to sin.” Instead, “THE BELIEVER NO LONGER HAS THE INCLINATION OR PROSPENSITY TO SIN.”
they do say this:
It is important to understand that Christian perfection is not the same as absolute perfection: for only God is absolutely perfect (Exodus 9:14; 1 Samuel 2:2; 1 Chronicles 17:20; Job 11:7; Mark 10:18). Thus Christian perfection is defined and explained in the Scriptures in ethical terms, rather than in legal terms; that is, Christian perfection is a state of grace attained through a perfect relationship with God. As such, it is rooted in and springs forth from “perfect love” (Matthew 5:44-48; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 John 2:5; 4:12, 17). Love is in fact the “bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:14). Christian perfection is therefore essentially grounded in love and wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit (1 Chronicles 28:9; 2 Chronicles 15:17; 16:9; 19:9; Romans 5:5; Hebrews 10:22). Accordingly, a believer may err in mental judgments, be forgetful, be sick or afflicted physically, have moments of anguish and perplexity, etc., and yet not be charged with sin or willful rebellion and disobedience against God’s will and law (Romans 8:33; Ephesians 4:26; Hebrews 10:26). The human condition therefore does not necessarily mitigate against the saint’s perfect relationship with God and with his fellow man.
There is, moreover, growth in sanctification and in perfection unto a more glorious state of perfection in Christ. Thus the saint is transformed ever more perfectly by the Spirit of God into the image of Christ “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Sanctified believers are admonished to continue to “perfect holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). The Good News is “we know that, when [Christ] shall appear, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2; Ephesians 5:27).
There is really no growth in sanctification. When you get sanctified, then you are sanctified. You are no more sanctified today than the day you first got sanctified. The same thing applies to salvation. A person who has been saved for a while is no more saved than the day he first got saved. There is, of course, a growing process but it is called Christian Growth.
Melvin Harter, so do you think people who are saved aren’t holy? Are they saints at salvation or not?
Are new saved believers part of God’s people?
Is God’s people a holy people or not?
Link Hudson, we have had this discussion already many times. Getting SAVED does not mean you got SANCTIFIED.
Melvin Harter, so do you think new believers are not holy, and are not part of God’s holy people? Are they a part of the ‘holy nation.’
Link Hudson, holiness is the result of a sanctified life. Christians can be saved but yet not sanctified. Therefore, believers should seek for the experience of sanctification in their life.
Melvin Harter, is abstaining from fornication the result of having a one-time Wesleyan movement experience of sanctification of salvation, or is it something expected of all believers? Paul wanted the Thessalonians to be sanctified and to abstain from fornication. No believer is going to read that as being about a one-time experience of sanctification after they are saved unless they are ‘pre-programmed’ to think that way by hearing it in church. But where does the Bible teach it?
The reason much of the Pentecostal movement quickly abandoned this teaching of sanctification is that they couldn’t find it in the Bible. That’s the same reason large numbers (maybe even most) of Pentecostal denominations from the Holiness tradition have abandoned the belief over time.
Can you show it in the Bible, aside from saying it’s hidden in the Greek usage of the aorist somewhere? Were there any early Greek speakers and readers who read the Bible and found this teaching in it? The teaching is derived from Wesley’s thoughts on the issue and how the doctrine evolved over time, not the direct teaching of scripture.
Link Hudson, a sinner is not regenerate because he believes rather (clearly) he believes because he is regenerate. The act of believing is sanctification. It is a subsequent work of salvation and clearly apart from regeneration. It brings about the worthiness of one prepared to receive the fullness of the Spirit for service. God is looking for clean vessels and doesn’t find a clean vessel in the regenerate.
You don’t hand a shovel to a new born child and say dig a hole.
Melvin Harter, is there any use of the aorist regarding sanctification that you believe shows that sanctification was a completed action in the past BETWEEN an individual’s conversion and the time the statement was written? I showed an aorist that points back to the believer’s sanctification at the time Jesus was sacrificed.
did you see the aorist regarding sanctification before you believed? We have not heard whether there be any aorist!
I do believe in legal sanctification rooted in Jesus’ sacrifice and ethical sanctification applied by the Holy Spirit in our obedience to the preached word and following in time from the time of our new birth.
Ethical, actual sanctification is by the regenerate’s faith in God’s word and cooperative with the Holy Spirit. It is a work of grace.