Class Ideas

I am currently in college at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and I am learning some interesting ideas about Christian tradition and what new ideas are being thought of.  A current aspect that I am discovering more about is entire sanctification, or as some people like to call: "the doctrine that no one likes to hear".  My question is: why?  Why do people not like to talk about this?

I believe that people are  more confused on what this really is.  Entire sanctification is about our journey with God.  It's about our walk with God. An example is Enoch in Genesis 5: 22-23.  My professor Dr. Doug Matthews calls this "walking with God" aspect a "relative perfection" (not a full perfection, but partly).  This could also be represented in the stories of Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Abraham, or Mary.  Our walk with God can then be seen in the example of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is our example in our everyday lives.

One place in the Bible where I see entire sanctification beginning to be explained is in the Old Testament.  It is more of a  key representation of our "walking with God".  God made the 10 commandments for the people be the people that He calls us to be.  He wanted His people to walk with Him and "⁶ you^[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”  It's about restoring our lost image that we have received from the Fall (see Genesis 3).

These words are then fulfilled by Jesus Christ when Christ says, "I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them" (Matt. 5:17).  From this, our image of God is restored, but it is not fully restored.  Our perfection is what my professor, and other scholars, call the "already/not yet".  Our perfection is already, but is not yet.  Perfection, or our walk with God, can begin now, but is fully perfected when we die.  As I understand and have come to believe, we are not perfected fully until we die.

Now,  to my question of why people do not like to talk about this.  A friend of mine at school says that not too many people want to hear it because we like to brag that we are perfected.  We as Christians typically) tell people that we can reach a "relative perfection with God", but instead of saying this and taking the time to explain it we say that we are "entirely" sanctified.  We like to feel that we are better than other people, where Paul says that we can all be perfect (Phil. 3: 12-16).  I want to argue that we need to relate this message with others.  I believe we can do this in five simple ways:

5) Our lives are focused on our example.  Our example is to be Christ, we are to be focused on Him, teach others and bring people to a closer walk with Him.

4) We do something.  We do not hide away and just not talk about it, we do something and explain it.

3) We are humble.  We hold Christ above ourselves, and serve others as well.  God's will and plan for our lives are more important than just focusing on how "perfect" we are. 

2) We make it relational.  Jesus taught in parables and taught in relating it to others.  Lets teach people so they can understand, not over their heads (which I hope I did not do :)).

1) We are to be examples.  Paul as well as Abraham and others were our examples, lets show how people can be humble in our walk and how to teach others as well.

I hope this was made simple and not over the top.  This is something I love to talk about and hope that I get some responses on this.