What if Article X Said THIS??

Hi, Folks -
As you've probably figured out by now, I hope there are lots of comments and even samples submitted that would clarify Article X of the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene. Article X is currently entitled, "Entire Sanctification." Let me say up front that I am a firm believer in the doctrine of entire sanctification as expressed by John Wesley. That means many things to many people, but to me, it at least means that God not only wants us to be forgiven and reconciled to Him through Christ, but God also desires for us to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live lives that exemplify Christlike love consistently.

There are several choices one makes when seeking to suggest writing (or re-writing) an article of faith. One way is to take the existing article as is and simply clarify/update the language, using terms that connect more with one's audience while still maintaining the basic gist of the exiting article. Another option is to keep the basic structure of the article and "tweak" it so that it is more internally consistent and clearer in language. A third way (among many) is to simply start from scratch and rewrite the entire article. I would assume that many such methods will be attempted between now and the next General Assembly in regard to this very important and often misunderstood article of faith. I will begin with the third way expressed above, but I hope that many other ways are attempted on this blog in the days ahead.

I further hope that these attempts evoks consistent (and Christlike!!) responses from brothers and sisters all over the world.

So, here's a thought. What if Article X read the following way?
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Article X. Sanctification.

Sanctification describes the ongoing journey of the Christian life that begins with justification, or "initial sanctification." An unbeliever is "raised to life in Christ," according to Scripture, by responding to the call of God to be forgiven for past sins, and is given a relationship with God through Jesus Christ which Jesus calls being "born again" (John 3).

We believe that the initial growth in grace that takes place in a believer's life leads the believer to a realization of a need for further surrender ("consecration") of the will to the will and purposes of God. We call this initial realization and action of surrender "entire sanctification."

By this we mean that there is a God-given desire for a life of Christlikeness and deeper fellowship with God that is preceeded by the surrender of one's entire future to God. God responds to this surrendered life by empowering the believer to live more and more in accordance with His purposes.

Entire sanctification does not imply that one cannot sin. Rather, it implies that one is fully participating in the call of Christ to love God with all one's heart and to love one's neighbor as oneself. By this empowered living in Christlike love, one's desire to sin becomes less as one's desire to serve Christ becomes greater. The Holy Spirit empowers sanctified believers to become consistently more like Christ by teaching them to overcome temptations, to actively serve others, and to seek to be an agent of change in regard to the injustices of the world.

We further believe that at the return of Christ and the resurrection of believers, the work of God's sanctifying grace will be completely realized in what the Bible calls "glorification," when all who belong to Christ will experience an ultimate removal from sin and its effects.
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OK. . . . . There's a (very) rough draft of a very altered Article X! I'm sure there is much more to be said, and I'm sure that my approach will grow and change a bit during this process of conversation! So, let's have at it (in love, of course). . . .

God bless,

Charles