Backsliding from Entire Sanctification

BACKSLIDING FROM ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION

No state of grace in this life excludes exposure from loss, or liability to backslide and apostatize. It is not uncommon for those entirely sanctified to lose ground and find themselves in part, or wholly backslidden. There is no necessity for this, and it certainly ought not to be.

Backsliding is a matter of degrees, whether from entire sanctification or from justification. It may be slight and partial in either case, or it may be entire -- ruinous apostasy. Christ, after commending many things in some, said, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee." Of others, it is said they made shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience. Such is the relation of faith to salvation, that when the soul makes shipwreck of it, piety goes overboard with it.

Not every degree of backsliding forfeits either justification or entire sanctification. There may be some loss in either state without a forfeiture of all grace, or a gracious condition. There is, not infrequently, some little remissnesses, both in things omitted or committed, which tend to darken our light, weaken our strength, lessen our spiritual life, and render uncertain our assurance of divine favor; which do not plunge the soul at once into condemnation and death. These should be avoided as injurious and tending to utter apostasy. They are such as occasionally vain and useless thoughts, needless, idle words, little portions of misspent time, brief seasons of hesitancy in confessing Christ, slight remissions in prayer, or in reading the Bible, slackness at times, little self-indulgences, such as occasionally overeating or lying in bed longer than is needful or healthful, and over-indulgence in the lawful physical appetites, unnecessary lightness mixed with seeming irreverence and carelessness. I do not mean the habitual and worst form of these things; but as slight and occasional items. These, with many other like things, while they do not plunge the soul instantly into condemnation, do darken and weaken it, interrupt its communion with God, and gradually sink it into a doubtful and partially backslidden state.

In this way most of the backsliding occurs with those entirely sanctified; a remissness in little things, and a fall little by little. I call these items little things because they are relatively so in a comparative sense, and are along the line of things questionable and unquestionable. We are aware there is an important sense in which they are not little, and that with God nothing is either little of are not little, and that with God nothing is either little or great. "He that is unfaithful in that which is least, is also unfaithful in that which is much."

It is often asked, Can a believer backslide from a state of entire sanctification, and yet retain a justified state? That will depend upon how he backslides, and how far he backslides. When a man backslides by any voluntary known sin, properly so-called, he forfeits both entire sanctification and justification, and lays the foundation for repentance, confession and pardon, without which he will be damned just as any other unrepenting sinner. "He that committeth sin is of the devil," no matter what he possessed, professed or was before.

Every degree of backsliding, however, does not involve the loss of justification. A person walking in the light of purity, may, by almost imperceptible degrees, through various causes, lose his hold on Christ and the keeping spirit, and gradually lose the clear light of purity and still not forfeit his sonship as a child of God. Both pardon and purity are retained, as well as obtained, by faith, and we can maintain the light of purity only by the faith on which it is conditioned.

After justification and regeneration, when we were entirely sanctified, we received simply and only full spiritual cleansing; hence, the loss of what we received at that time would be the loss of purity only, and not of justification. As there are stages in the reception of salvation, it is reasonable to believe there may be stages in its loss.

"The just shall live by faith." "We stand by faith. " -- "According to your faith be it unto you." There is a gradation in the scale of faith; there being "weak faith" and "strong faith," "little faith" and "great faith," and an "increase of faith." If there be an increase of faith, there may be also a decrease of faith, and a man may descend from "great faith" to "little faith" without a total loss of the principle of saving faith. We may backslide in a degree without backsliding totally, so as to be under the dominion of Satan. A believer may lose some ground without going over fully on to the devil's ground.

To suffer a decreasing light and a corresponding weakening evidence of God's favor, while under divine chastisement for little remissnesses, does not imply a forfeiture of heirship and all saving relations to Christ A knowledge by the witnessing Spirit, of our acceptance with God, is not necessary in order to acceptance, of a state of either justification or sanctification. And yet, it is evident that the light of justification, after the loss of entire sanctification from any cause is less clear and assuring, and admits of more doubt and dissatisfaction; and usually restoration or apostasy is the alternative.

The difference between the regenerate and justified, and the entire sanctified, is in one possessing indwelling sin, and the other cleansed therefrom. It must be admitted that indwelling sin, a conscious sinful proclivity (sinful in nature and not in indulgence) does not involve the loss of justification, though it may lead to its loss. If this were so, all regenerated, but not entirely sanctified souls, could not be in a state of justification. This sinful inclination, whether felt or otherwise, is inconsistent with purity of heart.

Mr. Wesley taught that entire sanctification might be lost without the loss of all saving relation to Christ. He says, in speaking of backsliders from entire sanctification: "Sometimes suddenly, but oftener by slow degrees, they have yielded to temptation; and pride, or anger, or foolish desires have again sprung up in their hearts. Nay, sometimes they have utterly lost the life of God and sin hath reigned in dominion over them." Sermons, Vol. II, page 247. "The rest had suffered loss, more or less, and two or three were shorn of all their strength," Journal, 1763. "On a close examination (at Manchester) out of more than fifty persons, who two or three years ago were filled with the love of God, I did not find more than a third part, who had not suffered loss." Journal, 1766. "I returned to Chester, and found many alive to God, but scarce one that had retained his pure love." Journal, 1780. In these and in many other instances Mr. Wesley taught that the loss of entire sanctification does not necessarily include the loss of justification and all religious life.