November 5, 2017
taught by Ken McGarvey
First Baptist Church of Tellico Village, Tennessee
What is the Second Work of Grace? Is it an event or a process? What difference does it make in the life of a believer?
Followers of John Wesley began what came to be called the Holiness Movement. Wesley’s emphasis on personal holy living became the heart of the movement. He taught that our primary task after being saved is to become totally committed to and controlled by the Holy Spirit. The New Testament word Sanctification was central to this whole concept.
Sanctification, or being completely set aside to do God’s will with our lives comes in two ways. It can be an instantaneous experience, or it can be a gradual process. But it can bring the believer to a point where he has victory over sin in his life. Wesley would not use the words “sinless perfection” as some of his followers have, but the concept is quite close to it.
Wesley believed that subsequent to trusting Christ for salvation one may have a time of deeper commitment which will result in that sanctification. Many of the followers of Wesley’s teachings came to referring to this as a “Second Work of Grace.”
I had cousins who went to a Free Methodist Church. One time they invited us to visit their church for a Sunday evening service. Their teens had just returned from a week at camp. They gave their testimonies in front of the congregation. Several of them stated that they had been saved at such and such a time, but that week they had become sanctified.
As a teen I had no theological knowledge of this, but thought I had heard the word sanctify used as something that happens at salvation. So I related the experience to our youth pastor and asked him about it. He explained that “we” believe one is sanctified when one is saved, but that some groups teach it as a separate experience of deeper commitment.
John Wesley is considered to be the founder of Methodism. Today there are dozens of denominations and organizations that follow Wesleyan principles, some of them who call themselves Baptists. Many of our members here at First Baptist of Tellico Village come to us from these churches. These are considered part of the Holiness Movement.
So the questions we want to consider in this study are: Is this a correct understanding of the Bible? Is it important? Is it harmful? Are they really that different from those of us who understand it differently? And does it matter?
The Importance of Holy Living
Throughout the Bible, Old and New Testaments, God’s people are called to live holy lives.
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (Leviticus 20:7-8)
For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45)
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
In the Old Testament the emphasis is on following the law, of course. But within the law are many things about being separated from that which is unholy, from the eating of unclean animals to worshiping of false gods, to the desecration of the Sabbath, to contact with dead bodies and all kinds of sexual sins. The idea was that God’s chosen people were under God’s Covenant, and were to remain a distinct people, holy unto God. They were not to be “just like everybody else.”
They were saved from slavery in Egypt and taken into the Promised Land, which God gave to them. Yet at every turn they failed to be faithful to God. They violated all of his commandments, and ended up being no different than the nations that surrounded them. God gave them priests, judges, kings and prophets to lead them back to faithfulness and holiness, but without any long-term success.
Finally, God allowed the northern kingdom, Israel, to be conquered by the Assyrians and to be dispersed among the Gentile nations. In Judah, the southern kingdom, God raised up Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians to conquer them and take them into captivity in that nation. After 70 years they were returned to their homeland, where they rebuilt the temple and went into survival mode for 400 years, looking forward to God’s sending them a Messiah.
That Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, came to redeem the world from sin through his death on the cross. That redemption comes through faith in Jesus Christ and makes us children of God, with eternal life with him.
Unfortunately, the church has often failed abysmally at living the holy lives we are called upon to live. Jesus didn’t die to give us a ticket to heaven, but to make us holy, Christlike sons of God, to live with him and glorify him now and forever.
There have been, of course, godly leaders in all historic traditions who have emphasized holy living. But the those in the Holiness Movement have taken it to a far greater level, making it a central emphasis in the whole life of the church.
Looking for that extra impetus in reaching the sanctified life, they have found it in the emotions of life given by a fresh, new commitment to live a closer walk with the Lord, and the power of the Holy Spirit upon such an obedient heart. This is and has been a common experience in many denominations and traditions. But no special theological emphasis was placed on it, as it was in the Wesleyan tradition.
So then, how should we view this “Second Work of Grace”?
I see no scriptural connection to such a second work of Grace. God continually extends common grace to the world, and saving grace to those who receive Jesus Christ by faith. God’s grace is continually being expressed to mankind. However, if such an experience enables believers to live holy lives more effectively, I’m all for it.
Denominations that emphasize the Covenants also believe in something else not so clearly stated in the Bible. They believe in the sacraments. The Roman Catholic Church believes in seven sacraments. Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed and other Covenant groups believe in two — baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They believe the covenants are a “means of grace.” How is one of these more scriptural than the other? As I see it, you do not need a second work of grace or a sacrament to receive all the grace God has to offer. But if either or both of these enable you to more effectively live a life holy unto the Lord, I’m in favor of it. But don’t let the experience take precedence over actually living every moment in total commitment to God.