Old Clothes, New Clothes
Old clothes, new clothes — and the great second work
After you give your life to Jesus, you start to discover something: even though your sins are forgiven, there is still something inside that pulls toward wrong things. Anger rises faster than it should. Selfish thoughts come back. Pride sneaks in. The Bible calls this the 'old self' — the sinful nature that remains even after salvation.
But here is the wonderful news that
Scripture has preached for decades: God does not just leave you fighting this old self for the rest of your life! After justification — being born again — there is a SECOND, DEFINITE work of grace called ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. It is not something that happens gradually over years. It happens in a moment — a crisis moment — when you say to God: 'I surrender everything. Make my heart completely clean.' And by faith in the SANCTIFYING BLOOD of Jesus Christ, God purifies and fills your heart. The old selfish root is cleansed. This is not perfection — you can still grow, and you can still choose to sin — but the power of sin at the root is broken. THEN from that clean heart, you grow and grow in holiness. First the crisis. Then the growth. Put off — put on — ALL AT ONCE, by faith!
✨ Memory verse
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Tap the words in the right order:
🎉 You did it!
Type the verse from memory:
🎵 Sing along: Put On the New You
❓ Quiz time!
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👨👩👧 Parent & teacher guide
Entire Sanctification — the heart of this precious scriptural truth teaching.
This is the most important lesson doctrinally. The official
Scripture statement: 'Entire Sanctification is a definite act of God's grace, SUBSEQUENT TO THE NEW BIRTH, by which the believer's heart is purified and made holy. It CANNOT BE ATTAINED PROGRESSIVELY by works, struggle or suppression, but is obtained by faith in the sanctifying blood of Jesus Christ. Holiness of life and purity of heart are central to Christian living.' (Eph 5:25-27, Heb 10:10, 1 John 1:7, Heb 12:14.)
Three crucial points: (1) SUBSEQUENT — it comes AFTER the new birth, not at the same time. (2) DEFINITE — it is a moment, not a process. (3) BY FAITH — not by striving, willpower or suppression of sin, but by simple faith in the sanctifying blood. Parents: have YOU experienced entire sanctification? If you have, tell your children when and how it happened. If you have not, tonight is the night to seek it. And begin to teach your children from young that after salvation, they should seek a clean heart. This is Scripture's treasure — don't let it be a doctrine they learn intellectually without experiencing it personally.
Conversation starters: (1) Can you explain the difference between the first work of grace (salvation) and the second work (entire sanctification)? (2) Why can't we get a clean heart just by trying harder? What makes faith different from effort? (3) Have you asked God to make your heart completely clean? If not, would you like to do that right now? Lead your children through a prayer of consecration for entire sanctification.