Theology beacon dictionary of theology
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- GOD, ATONEMENT, OFFER (OFFERING), SATISFACTION, DAY OF ATONEMENT, EXPIATION, PROPITIATION, SIN OFFERING.
- PHARISEES.
- HOLINESS, CHRISTIAN PERFECTION, CHRISTLIKENESS, SANCTIFICATION. For Further Reading: Wiley, CT, 3:7-67; GMS, 462-507; Sangster, The Pure in Heart.
- LIGHT, LEAVEN. For Further Reading: NBD, 1125. BERT
- REDEEMER (REDEMPTION), CONVERSION, SANCTIFICATION, RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. For Further Reading: Stevens
- Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.
- ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION, SECOND WORK OF GRACE, HOLINESS. PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION. PURITY AND MATURITY, SERVICE, MORAL ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. For Further Reading: Lindstrom
- Turner, The Vision Which Transforms; Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. W, T. PURKISER SANCTIFICATION, PROGRESSIVE.
SACRIFICE. "Sacrifice" is a translation of a Hebrew noun (zebah) meaning literally "slaughter" and referring to the killing of a domestic animal as an offering to the Deity. A sacrifice may function in two ways: as a gift to God or as an atonement in overcoming estrangement between man and God. Since the OT gives no rationale for sacrifice as atonement, one must decide how it functions on the basis of theological analysis. There are two options: (1) propitiation, in which the sacrifice appeases the Deity and changes His attitude toward man; (2) expiation, in which the offerer's sin is removed so that he is "qualified" to stand in God's presence. Pagan sacrifices are merely propitiatory in nature and thus do not necessarily call for an ethical response on the part of the worshipper. By contrast, the preexilic prophets constantly rebuke Israel for a lack of ethical responsibility. In fact, SACRIFICIAL LAMB—SAINT, SAINTLINESS 467
they condemn the sacrificial system so severely, even in some instances seeming to question its place in the divine order (cf. Amos 5:21-25; Jer. 7:21 ff), that many scholars have felt that they were against sacrifices per se. However, a more adequate interpretation suggests that they were actually condemning its misuse, that is, practicing it as propitiation as defined above rather than as expiation. Since the term "propitiation" has traditionally been included in atonement vocabulary, most Wesleyan theologians retain it by redefining it so as to include expiation as still the primary element. This is done in terms of the holiness of God which is seen as love's opposition to sin and experienced by the sinner as wrath. His holiness stands as a barrier to a divine-human relationship, since love cannot abide the presence of sin. When the sin of man is removed, he then finds acceptance by God and, in his experience of being reconciled to God, senses that God is reconciled to Him. The removal of sin "satisfied" the holiness of God in this sense, and to that "satisfaction" the term "propitiation" is applied; but its meaning is radically altered from the pagan concept of changing God's mind by an offering. As H. Orton Wiley states it, quoting W B. Pope, "Strictly speaking the atoning sacrifice declares a propitiation already in the divine heart" (Wiley, CT, 2:287). The NT applies the symbol of sacrifice to the death of Christ. Hebrews stresses the inadequacy of the OT system to "really take away sins" (10:4, tlb), that is, to change the worshipper. It provided for a justification in which the worshipper is forensically declared righteous (a relative change) but not for sanctification (a real change). In contrast, the sacrifice of Christ "made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (v. 14, Niv). The death of Christ was not a sacrifice which appeased God or changed His attitude toward man; rather, it was the act of God in Christ reconciling the world to himself. See GOD, ATONEMENT, OFFER (OFFERING), SATISFACTION, DAY OF ATONEMENT, EXPIATION, PROPITIATION, SIN OFFERING. For Further Reading: Gray, Sacrifice in the Old Testa-
During the postexilic period, these men, who came from the upper levels of society, controlled the life of the Jews through religious sanctions. The views of the Sadducees may be summarized as follows: (1) They accepted only the written law, the Torah, and rejected the oral tradition which grew up around it and which was accepted by the Pharisees. They were very literal in their interpretation of the Torah. (2) They were antisupernaturalists to the extent of denying the existence of angels and the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. (3) They insisted on a very formal style of worship, a natural consequence of their control of the Temple. History has not been too kind to the Sadducees, in that it has perpetuated the idea that they were very this-worldly and were materialistic in their outlook. Being the ruling party in their time in a small country whose existence, at the best, was tenuous, they tended to act according to expediency with respect to matters of culture and politics. They have been accused of capitulating easily to the Romans and to the Greek culture, much to the dismay of the rank and file Jews. The attitude of the Qumran community toward the Temple practices and the priesthood in Jerusalem is a clear witness to this fact. The Pharisees constituted the part of the people and for that reason were constantly at odds with the Sadducees. With the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 the Sadducees disappeared from the life of the Jews. See PHARISEES. For Further Reading: Bruce, New Testament History, 69-81; Lohse, The New Testament Environment, 74-77; Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of fesus, 222-32.
Beyond this religious and/or biblical use there is the formal, official practice of the Roman Catholic church of the beatification and canonization of specially chosen people. More than 100 days of the year are dedicated to some saint. There is also the diverse, rather loose, usage of the term saint in naming people, places, events, or even birds and beasts. One net result of all of this is the obscuring of the true biblical meaning and the avoidance of its serious use lest one be regarded as spiritually proud. Nevertheless, biblical basics remain. (1) Man is hopelessly lost and away from God, sinful in act and disposition. (2) God, by His redeeming grace in Christ and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, can deliver man from all sin and make him a saint fit for heaven. "This sainthood is not an attainment, it is a state into which God in grace calls men" (Vine, ED, 2:226; cf. Eph. 5:25-27). The order of salvation by which God makes saints is conviction (convincing people of their sinfulness), conversion (initial sanctification), progressive sanctification, entire sanctification (the baptism with the Holy Spirit), further progressive sanctification, glorification. In this saint-making process there are both continuity and crisis, both human and divine elements; but the origin and adequacy are all of God. See HOLINESS, CHRISTIAN PERFECTION, CHRISTLIKENESS, SANCTIFICATION.
Highly valued, salt became a symbol of fidelity and constancy, and was used in salt agreements —covenants between man and man and between God and man (Num. 18:19; 2 Chron. 13:5). In the Levitical cereal (grain) offering salt was the key preservative, symbolizing God's faithfulness and man's constancy (Lev. 2:13). While usually a symbol for that which was held in esteem, occasionally salt suggested the result of destruction, the wasteland, the desert (Deut. 29:23; Job 39:6; Jer. 17:6). Abimelech sprinkled salt on Shechem after his destruction of the city, thereby symbolizing its perpetual desolation (Judg. 9:45). Jesus spoke of His disciples as "the salt of the earth," referring to their seasoning and preserving qualities (Matt. 5:13). He did note that when they lose those spiritual qualities, they become insipid and worthless (Luke 14:34-35). Paul urged that the Christian's speech be "seasoned with salt," a metaphor meaning gracious wholesomeness (Col. 4:6). Salt is also a symbol of Christian peace and unity (Mark 9:50). See LIGHT, LEAVEN. For Further Reading: NBD, 1125. BERT h. hall SALVATION. Deeply embedded in the record of the OT is the Exodus from Egypt. The vocabulary of salvation harks back to this birthday of the nation of Israel. Israel saw itself as having been saved from bondage to foreigners and given civil and religious freedom to worship Yahweh their God, and henceforth attributed their deliverance to their miracle-working Deity. Gradually this concept acquired a more spiritual and personal meaning of deliverance from sin and/or sickness. This is especially evident in Psalms and Isaiah. Most of the occurrences of the term "salvation" occur in these two OT books. The concept came into prominence during the Exile when once again God was asked to save them from their Assyrian and Babylonian captors and restore them to their homeland. Accordingly the connotation given the term "salvation" is best determined by its immediate context. The idea of salvation is often presented under different terminology. Thus, in Ezekiel the sinner will "live" if he repents (chap. 18). In the Psalms the trend is from the national and corporate to the personal and individual. The deliverance sought in the Psalms is from enemies (7:1), from disease (6:2-4), from bloodguiltiness (51:14), and from sin (38:8; 79:9). It is in the Epistles that the concept of salvation acquires its most specific Christian expression. As stated in Romans, all have sinned, whether Jew or Gentile, and hence all need salvation from sin (1:18—3:18). Mankind is "dead in trespasses and sin" (Eph. 2:1) and therefore is powerless to save itself by good works or attempts to keep the Mosaic law. The law itself is not the means of salvation; it simply exposes the sin; hence the need for salvation only through Christ. Salvation comes only through Jesus Christ who offers His own sinless life as a substitute for the guilty. He died that believers may live eternally. This idea of a sinner, treated as though he had never sinned because his guilt is borne by SANCTIFICATION 469 the Son of God himself, is the central and most distinctive feature of the Christian religion. Thus salvation from personal sin involves the removal of guilt and also the sentence of death. Positively it bestows the new status of adoption or sonship, and hence of "joint-heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17; cf. 1 Pet. 3:7). It may be experienced immediately when one believes. It is also a continuing process as one grows in grace and in the knowledge of Christ (2 Pet. 1:3-11). Finally, salvation occurs when one receives the commendation following the Last Judgment, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; .. . enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matt. 25:21). The climax of the salvation theme, and of the Bible itself, is found in Rev. 21:3—"Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them" (rsv); God and man in at-one-ment. During the intertestamental period the idea of a future judgment became increasingly prominent as the doctrine of a general resurrection was stressed by the Pharisees. Such was the situation when John the Baptist began to call people to repentance to escape the "wrath to come," the "day of wrath"—not as catastrophe to the nation, as in the prophets (Zeph. 1:14-16), but rather a day of general judgment on all mankind to determine their destiny (cf. Matt. 3:6-12; 12:41-42). Salvation of the individual and of the nation was linked with increasing emphasis on the individual (cf. 12:36; 25:31-46). Repentance, as the condition for salvation, stressed first in the prophets (Amos 4:11-12; Isa. 1:16-18), addressed to the nation, became more personal in the exilic and postexilic periods (Ezek. 18:5-24), and received its most emphatic expression in John the Baptist. In the period of Jesus' ministry, salvation of the lost was focused on such villages as Capernaum and Chorazin (Matt. 11:20-24). They failed to receive Jesus' message and repent. By contrast the Samaritans did receive the gospel (John 4:39-42) with great joy (Acts 8:5, 8, 25). Increasingly the emphasis was on individual repentance, faith, and salvation from sin in this life. In the Fourth Gospel salvation is equated with eternal life, a spiritual life, given by God, and experienced now, and not limited to an extension of this life in heaven. Salvation here is a quality of life, not simply an extension of life 0ohn 5:21-29). In addition to the salvation of the soul is the resurrection of the body into a new level of personal existence (1 Cor. 15:21-28). Paul speaks of the "redemption of our body" in connection with "adoption" as sons (Rom. 8:23). Salvation also involves all of creation in a manner not specifically indicated—"the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay" (v. 21, niv) and ultimately there will be "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet. 3:13, rsv). Accordingly, "every knee [shall] bow . . . and . . . every tongue . . . confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). See REDEEMER (REDEMPTION), CONVERSION, SANCTIFICATION, RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. For Further Reading: Stevens, The Christian Doctrine of Salvation; Denney, The Death of Christ; Cullmann, Salvation in History. george allen turner SANCTIFICATION. This is the English translation of the Greek hagiasmos (10 times in the NT; noun form of hagiazd, "sanctify," 29 times; adjective hagios, "holy," 229 times). The OT equivalent, qa-dosh (830 times in various grammatical forms), is often translated "holiness." The English terms "sanctification" and "holiness" mean the same in derivation and translate the same Hebrew and Greek terms ("sanctification" from the Latin root sanctus, "holy"; "holiness," from the Anglo-Saxon root halig "holy"); but sanctification is popularly used to describe the act or process whereby a state of holiness is realized. The OT qadosh includes ideas of radiance, separation, and purity. The NT hagiazd is characteristically defined as separated, consecrated and/or purified, made free from sin. Biblical theologians characteristically note two basic elements in sanctification in both OT and NT but related in different proportions. In the OT, the idea of separation or consecration is predominant. Sanctification is separation from the profane and unholy and devotement to God, and thus may be used of things—days, mountains, altars, cities, priestly vestments, the priesthood, the nation, an army. But even in the OT, when used of persons, the idea of cleansing or purity is present and becomes increasingly so in the prophetic writings. The nature of God is seen to be reflected in what human beings ought to be who are separated or consecrated to Him (Isa. 6:1-8; Lev. 19:2; cf. 1 Pet. 1:15-16). In the NT, the idea of moral purity is predominant, although concepts of ritual purity and consecration are not absent (cf. Matt. 23:17-19; 1 Cor. 7:14). Theologically, sanctification "means to make clean or holy in the ethical sense, though the idea of consecration is not necessarily lacking" (Rail, JSBE, 4:2683, II, 3). It is the total act or process by
470 SANCTIFICATION, PROGRESSIVE—SANCTITY OF THE BODY which inner renewal takes place in the justified. Justification may be said to be "Christ for us with the Father"; sanctification is "Christ in us by the Spirit." As such, technically speaking, sanctification begins in regeneration which may properly be called initial sanctification. The Wesleyan concept of entire sanctification (1 Thess. 5:23-24) is especially related to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:16; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2). While the Holy Spirit is vitally active at every stage of the believer's experience, there is frequent reference to an infilling of the Spirit after conversion (John 14:15-17; Acts 2:1-4; 8:4-8, 14-17; 15:8-9; Eph. 5:18; Gal. 3:14); and Acts frequently distinguishes believers as "filled with the Spirit" from those who as yet lack this full grace (Acts 4:8; 6:2-6; 13:9; etc.). The essential condition for entire sanctification is faith (Acts 15:8-9; 26:18), but a faith the prerequisite of which is an act of consecration or self-surrender such as only a Christian can make (Rom. 6:13, 19; 12:1-2; 1 Thess. 4:3-8). The NT stresses the requirement that what was potential in the Atonement become actual in the believer (Rom. 6:1-14; 8:1-11; Heb. 12:14-17; 13:11-14). In the Epistles, entire sanctification as a subsequent work of grace shows up most explicitly in 1 Thessalonians (3:9—4:8; 5:22-24 in relation to 1:2—2:20). It must be remembered that the NT Epistles were written within the context of faith, as didache or instruction for believers and are not addressed to unconverted persons as such. Their frequent exhortations to sanctify must therefore be applied to believers primarily. A succinct modern formulation of the doctrine of entire sanctification is found in Article 10, "Articles of Faith," Constitution of the Church of the Nazarene: We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect. It is wrought by the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service. Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness. This experience is also known by various terms representing its different phases, such as "Christian perfection," "perfect love," "heart purity," "the baptism with the Holy Spirit," "the fullness of the blessing," and "Christian holiness." See ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION, SECOND WORK OF GRACE, HOLINESS. PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION. PURITY AND MATURITY, SERVICE, MORAL ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. For Further Reading: Lindstrom, Wesley and Sanctification; Purkiser, Sanctification and Its Synonyms; Steele, The Gospel of the Comforter; Taylor, Life in the Spirit; Turner, The Vision Which Transforms; Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. W, T. PURKISER SANCTIFICATION, PROGRESSIVE. See progressive sanctification. SANCTITY OF THE BODY. There have been two major attitudes toward the body on the part of the human race: embarrassment, because it is viewed as evil or shameful; or idolatrous, because it is viewed as the ultimate good or reality. The latter, in the various forms of the body-cult, is the contemporary mood. The body becomes, not an instrument for serving God, but an end in itself. The perspective of 1 Tim. 4:8 is lost. Frank G. Carver wrote: "There are several ways a person may regard his body. He may pamper and idolize it. He may regard it with disgust or shame. He may use it like a machine to produce work. He may use it as a weapon to gain power. He may dedicate it to carnal pleasures and use it as an instrument of vice. Or with Paul, he may look upon it as a temple" (BBC, 8:369). The apostle Paul shows (in 1 Cor. 6:15 ff) that the believer's body is sacred in a way even more special than for the rest of mankind, because it is the means by which his mystical union with Christ is evidenced. The Judeo-Christian view is not that the body is an evil enemy, to be put off as soon as possible, but a holy constituent of man as divinely created. The dualism of body and spirit is also a unity, to be reestablished by the resurrection. As Wiley put it, "Christianity regards the body not as a prison house of the soul, but as a temple of the Holy Spirit" (CT 3:47). According to Wiley, the Christian care of the body includes exercise, rest, and recreation; the subjugation of the appetites to man's higher intellectual and spiritual interests; proper clothing, not only for protection and comfort but for propriety and decency. Above all, the body must be preserved holy, as an instrument of the Holy Spirit rather than an instrument of sin. "Holiness destroys nothing that is essential to man, either physically or spiritually. The appetites and passions remain, but they are freed from the incubus of sin" (ibid., 49). And Richard Taylor adds: SARX—SATAN WORSHIP 471
"Christian discipline never despises earthly blessings but consecrates them to spiritual ends" (The Disciplined Life, 42). The sanctity of the body is a matter of holy conviction with the Spirit-filled Christian. A wholesome and healthy body is as much a part of his or her divine calling as devotional exercise. He or she will follow Paul in ruling the body rather than in being ruled by it (1 Cor. 9:27). The Christian will not permit it to become an instrument of pride or incitation to lust, but will keep it consecrated always to God as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). See body. consecration, stewardship.
Because Satan is the devil, he is also cited in Scripture as being Belial, low and unworthy (2 Cor. 6:15), Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Matt. 12:24), Apollyon, the destroyer (Rev. 9:11), the serpent and dragon (12:7-17), the wicked one (Matt. 13:9), and the enemy of God and man (w. 25, 28). That the devil is a personal being is supported by three lines of evidence: First, the Bible describes Satan as having personal attributes (2 Cor. 2:11; Matt. 25:41). Second, the theological teaching about sin is that it began as personal revolt against God, an attempt to set up an autonomous existence (John 8:44; 1 Tim. 3:6). And third, God's people are often keenly and painfully aware of personal opposition in doing God's service (1 Thess. 2:18). Because Satan's power is large (Matt. 4:8-9; Luke 13:11, 16; Rev. 2:10), albeit limited (Luke 22:31; Jas. 4:7; Jude 9), he is referred to by Christ as being "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). These references, along with others, provide insight as to Satan's purposes. He seeks to dominate (Isa. 14:12-14), to deceive (Matt. 4:5, 7), to incite disobedience against God (Eph. 2:2), and to destroy God's people and God's kingdom (Eph. 6:10-18). In attempting to accomplish his purposes as world ruler, Satan seeks to blind the eyes of the unsaved to the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4), to snatch the work of God from people's hearts before it can take root (Matt. 13:19), to encourage disobedience (Eph. 2:2), and to make people subservient to his power (1 John 5:19). To be victorious in the war against Satan, it is important to realize the nature and methods of Satan's attacks. The Christian must be sober, vigilant (1 Pet. 5:8), humble (Jas. 4:6-7), strong in the Lord (Eph. 6:10), prepared for hard trials (1 Cor. 10:13), and aware of Satan's methods (2 Cor. 2:11). The judgment of Satan has already begun, and his final punishment is certain. Christ came to destroy Satan's work (1 John 3:8). He began by exposing the devil's lies (John 8:44; Matt. 4:1-11). He continued by expelling Satan's dominion 0ohn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). The climax of Satan's defeat will come when he and his angels are cast into the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:2, 10). Thus the Christian is assured of victory over all the power of Satan (Luke 10:19). See satan worship, demons (demon possession), exorcism, spiritual warfare. For Further Reading: Wiley, CT, 2:74-81; Herbert Lockyer, All the Doctrines of the Bible, 132-39.
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