How shall we hold on to such a blessing?
We must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over us; and the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under our feet.
Catechism for the Global Methodist Church, question 75
19I have called to witness against you today the heaven and the earth; the life and the death I have set before you, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that you and your seed may live. 20To love the LORD your God, to hear his voice, and to cleave to him, for he is your life and the length of your days, to dwell upon the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them.
15If it seems wrong in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve: whether the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
1Of David: Do not be incensed at evildoers; do not be jealous of those who do injustice. 2For like grass they will soon languish, and like green grass they will wither. 3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and accompany faithfulness. 4Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the petitions of your heart. 5Roll your way upon the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. 6He will bring forth your righteousness like the light and your justice like the noonday. 7Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not be incensed at the man who prospers in his way. 8Refrain from anger and forsake wrath; do not be incensed: it leads only to evil. 9For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD will possess the land. 10In a little while the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11But the humble will possess the land and will delight themselves in abundant peace. 12The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him. 13The LORD laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming. 14The wicked draw the sword and bend their bow to bring down the afflicted and needy, to slaughter those whose way is upright. 15Their sword will come into their own heart, and their bows will be broken. 16Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. 18The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their inheritance will last forever. 19They will not be put to shame in evil times, and in days of famine they will be satisfied. 20For the wicked will perish, and the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish: like smoke they vanish. 21The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous is gracious and gives. 22For those blessed by him will possess the land, but those cursed by him will be cut off. 23The steps of a man are established by the LORD when he delights in his way. 24Though he falls, he will not be utterly cast down, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. 25I have been young, and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his seed seeking food. 26He is ever gracious and lends, and his seed becomes a blessing. 27Turn aside from evil and do good; dwell forever. 28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake his pious ones; they are kept forever, but the seed of the wicked will be cut off. 29The righteous will possess the land and dwell upon it forever. 30The mouth of the righteous mutters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip. 32The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. 33The LORD will not abandon him to his hand or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial. 34Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to possess the land; you will see when the wicked are cut off. 35I have seen a wicked, ruthless man spreading himself like a luxuriant native tree. 36But he passed away, and behold, he was gone; I sought him, but he could not be found. 37Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. 38But transgressors will be destroyed together; the end of the wicked will be cut off. 39The deliverance of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their security in the time of distress. 40The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
5Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 7Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
18Then, seeing the large crowd around him, Jesus ordered them to go away to the other side. 19And one scribe came near and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." 20And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 21Then another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 22But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
34And summoning the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel will save it. 36For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? 37For what can a man give in exchange for his life? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
1I therefore plead with you, brothers, through the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, which is your spiritual ministry.
20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
8Draw near to God and he will draw near to you; cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Having said that entire sanctification can be lost, the catechism asks how it is kept. The answer is again quoted from Article XI of the Confession of Faith: the Christian "must respond wholly to the will of God so that sin will lose its power over him; and the world, the flesh, and the devil are put under his feet." The three enemies named at the end are the old baptismal triad, and the article's answer to them is a whole-hearted and continuing response to God.
Respond wholly to the will of God is the language of decision, and the Old Testament references are the great scenes of choosing. Moses sets before Israel "the life and the death... the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life" (Deuteronomy 30:19), and then defines the choice: (Deuteronomy 30:20). Joshua puts the same choice to the tribes and answers it for himself: (Joshua 24:15). Proverbs gives the daily form: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart" (Proverbs 3:5). Jesus states the cost: "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34). Paul's version is the living sacrifice of Romans 12:1.
Sin will lose its power over us describes what a wholly surrendered life experiences. Psalm 37 portrays such a person, who will "trust in the LORD and do good" (Psalm 37:3) and who, "though he falls, he will not be utterly cast down, for the LORD upholds him with his hand" (Psalm 37:24). James gives the same in two commands and a promise: "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you; cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8). The double-minded heart is the one that has not responded wholly.
Put under our feet comes from Paul's closing word to Rome: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20). For a Methodist, holding on to the blessing of perfect love is a matter of renewing the surrender each day, in the covenant prayer and in the small choices of an ordinary week, while trusting that the God who gave the gift is the one who keeps it.