How Many Stages

How Many Stages?

In an interesting conversation with a Pentecostal believer, I was sharing my joy over the wonderful truth of the grace of God. I explained how thrilled I was to know that I was justified by faith in Christ alone. Rather than join in my rejoicing, this person made the comment: "Oh, isn't that just a first baby step for Christians?" This one statement hit me as typifying the serious error of many advocates of subsequent works of grace. This is the crux of the issue for Pentecostals who appear to not truly understand the Gospel. It is also the reason these persons are on a spiritual treadmill, never quite able to reach maturity and fulfillment in their relationship with Christ. What is this "crux" to which I refer? It is that they see justification by faith as only a small, first step necessary to enter salvation. Also, this first step must be followed by subsequent and greater steps of spirituality or apportionments of salvation, in order to maintain or continue in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. For them, faith in Christ is only part of the package of being a Christian. What must be added to the work of Christ are other "stages" or "steps," usually of the Holy Spirit, manifest as personal, individual, subjective experience. They do not see the work of Christ as the finished work for the Christian, but only one-half or one-third of what it takes to make one fully saved or right with God.

One of the perennial questions among Christians is, "How many stages are there to the work of salvation?" This is a loaded question. For most, the Christian life and experience is one of ongoing and unfolding transformation into the image of Christ. It would be obviously wrong to say that a Christian does not experience a variety of spiritual landmarks, over time, by which to appreciate the work of the Spirit. There is no question that there are various stages of growth, and a number of significant moments whereby a Christian is made aware of God's work in their life. However, what is of greater concern here is a different and far more grave idea. This is the idea that salvation comes into the believer's life as a set of stages or steps. To be more precise, it is the idea that Christian conversion or initiation is only a first stage - an entry level measure of salvation. And, because it is, one must add with that other "stages" of salvation. Sometimes even greater experiences are necessary for the believer to possess "full salvation."

I believe one of the greatest errors to infect the Christian Church is the notion that justification by faith is only a ground level aspect of salvation. Because of this, the believer is told he/she must have further stages, additional works, or the experience of a "higher Christian life" beyond what was begun in justification. For example, the Methodists after John Wesley saw Christian Perfection as a greater measure of spirituality or salvation. This led more radical Methodists to produce the Holiness Movement, which taught that a believer must have a second stage or work of grace called holiness or "entire sanctification." From the Holiness teaching logically developed the belief that something more than the second work was needed. One branch of the Holiness Movement was know as Keswick. The Keswick Movement did not believe in a second work for entire sanctification. Rather, they saw the second work as a "baptism with the Spirit" for greater power toward a higher life in Christ.

This eventually led to the emergence of Pentecostal theology. Among the Holiness people who became Pentecostal this experience was called a "third blessing." Later on, a group now known as the United Pentecostal Church International, came to teach salvation as a series of steps. They would not say they believe in steps. But, for all practical purposes what they believe is steps for appropriating the work of Christ. Their faith statement asserts that the "plan of salvation" is Acts 2:38 which consists of 1) repentance, 2) water baptism, 3) Spirit baptism. They interpret these three components as distinct things which can occur separate in time. Nevertheless, these are not all of the steps or stages in their salvation paradigm. Let me list the "parts" they believe to be essential to personal salvation.

First, one must "believe" in Christ. However, this "faith" is only an entry level. For them, believing is not the Reformation view of faith. It is more mental assent (assensus). Next, as though it is separate from truth faith, is repentance. But, these are only two "parts" of the program. Next, a specific formula and mode of baptism is required to "appropriate" the blood of Jesus for the remission of sins. This rite is believed to obtain for the believer what did not come through "initial" faith in Christ alone. But, this is not the end. There is another part, step or stage. After these, one must seek for a specific experience understood to be the "baptism with the Spirit," which is only evidenced by tongues speaking. Spirit baptism occurring at the moment of justifying faith is rejected. It must come through a separate seeking and obtaining of this experience by a separate act of faith. This is very important! Because a separate act of faith, from the "initial" believing in Christ as stated above, is necessary for Spirit Baptism, it places the UPCI in the "second work" of grace category. They would reject this (and many call them "Finished Work" Pentecostals), saying that the Baptism of the Spirit is part of the New Birth "experience". What they fail to realize is that because they require an act of faith in repentance, and another act of faith for Spirit Baptism, this essentially makes them "second work" in theology. If all of this was not enough, added to all these steps is the belief that personal holiness, separate from Christ's own saving holiness, is a necessary part of salvation. One is not saved by Christ's righteousness alone. It is a combination of the initial righteousness of Christ (which they really do not allow for in their understanding of salvation), and one's personal righteousness in Christian living, which make up saving righteousness. One's righteousness in sanctification is added to Christ's righteousness received in Justification (a doctrine that is totally confused in the UPCI theology). Incredibly, this view of holiness trumps the Holiness Movement, which saw holiness as a gift given by faith. In contrast, the UPCI goes back to Rome by espousing that personal works of holiness are essential to holding on to the righteous initially given by Christ. This is a serious error!

The mistake of teaching stages grows out of a misinformed or confused understanding of what the Gospel is. Often it is a confusion of the work of sanctification with justification. Justification is that work where the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believer, who is counted by God as possessing the righteousness of Christ at the moment of true faith in Christ. At the moment of justification, one is included in Christ, whereby all the blessings and privileges of Christ are accorded to the believer. The believer is not saved by any personal, inward righteousness or spiritual quality. Rather, the believer is accepted by God only on the basis of Christ's imputed righteousness. Justification is the moment of forgiveness, remission, atonement, Spirit baptism, sealing and anointing of the Spirit, sonship, the beginning of sanctification and the moment of acceptance into the Body of Christ. On the other hand, sanctification is a result of justification. It occurs over a process of time and is predicated upon one's justification. That means that forgiveness, spiritual life and empowerment, and inclusion into the Church all are derived from justification and not sanctification. Sanctification is growth in the grace of justification - not a separate work in itself. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit, coming through justification, by which the believer's nature is transformed. He/she is already right with God through the imputed righteousness of Christ. Then, by sanctification, the believer is changed inwardly to reflect in his nature, the righteousness of Christ, already imputed to him. A good page to read on this is Justification: Its Relation to the Work of the Holy Spirit" and a smaller article "The Imputed Righteousness of Christ."

Prior to the era of the Pentecostal Movement, many conservative Christians were faced with the claims and teachings of the Holiness Movement. One of the leading Evangelical preachers at the turn of the century found himself in a deep struggle with the "stages" or "second work" teaching of this movement. In his book, Holiness: The False and the True (1912), H. A. Ironside, offers one of the greatest testimonies, most powerful insights and effective Scriptural refutations of the Holiness claim of stages or works of grace subsequent to justification. I cannot say this strongly enough, that every present Holiness, Pentecostal and especially every United Pentecostal person, needs to read this book. It addresses so many of the issues of the Gospel, sanctification and the search for increasing levels of experiences and blessings. One could not begin to list the benefits of this book here. Nothing short of reading the whole book is enough to grasp the importance of Rev. Ironsides journey to the truth of the Gospel.

I hope that everyone who visits this web site will read this book. The link to it is in PDF format which means it opens in a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this reader you can download it free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html. Then click on Holiness: The False and the True, and it will take you to a page listing the chapters of the book. Click the link for the first chapter, and it will be displayed in the reader. The speed of the download will depend on your modem. It may be a long download, but believe me, it is well worth the wait!

I would appreciate your impressions and responses to what you read. I found reading this book to be profoundly insightful. I pray that you will read it with an open heart.