1. Pardon through Christ’s Atoning Blood
The first move of love is the offer of forgiveness through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
Justification — being forgiven through faith in Christ — is an act that takes place not inside the human soul, but in the mind of God, the moral Governor of the universe. In justification, God removes guilt. God breaks the connection between sin and punishment and treats the believing sinner as though they had never sinned. This does not mean the person’s inner nature is instantly changed from sinful to righteous. Justification is something done for the soul, not in it. It is entirely external and is received by faith alone.
No one in the human family—Jesus being the sole exception—can honestly claim to have perfectly obeyed God’s law and therefore earned divine approval. Scripture settles that matter: “By the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified.” That argument silences every mouth. We are not acquitted on the basis of innocence; we are pardoned after conviction and condemnation. Our forgiveness comes by executive mercy, made possible through the mediation of the Son of God.
But forgiveness alone does not make a person good. A pardoned criminal may no longer be under sentence, but that does not guarantee loyalty to the government. Pardon changes a person’s standing with the law, not their heart. Something deeper must happen. The soul itself must be remade.
That brings us to the second stage in love’s conquest.
2. Regeneration, or the New Birth
By nature, people are spiritually dead and under judgment. The capacity for faith exists, but it is paralyzed when it comes to spiritual realities. Regeneration begins when God plants the seed of divine life in the soul. This seed is love itself. Scripture speaks of, “the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” That phrase can mean either God’s love for us or our love for God. Here, it clearly means God’s love toward us.
We are told that God is love, but that truth alone does not bring peace if we still believe ourselves to be objects of his anger. As long as guilt remains unresolved, fear dominates. What the soul needs is personal assurance — confidence that I, in particular, am no longer condemned, but reconciled to a God who truly loves me.
That assurance is given through the witness of the Spirit, which marks the third advance of divine love. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Adoption because one of his chief roles is to assure believers of their forgiveness and their status as God’s children. When that inner testimony rings true within the heart, love toward God rises in response to his love toward us. A new power is born within the soul.
This love strengthens our moral sense. Before, we might clearly recognize what is right, yet feel little power to choose it while desires pull us the other way. That inner tug-of-war — the spirit striving against the flesh — creates a miserable sense of bondage:
“I see the right, and I approve it too;
I see the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue.”
But when love enters, obedience becomes easier — not because the law is discarded, but because the Lawgiver is loved. Love fulfills the law, not by replacing obedience, but by inspiring it from within.
Still, this new love begins as a seed. It must grow. It must mature. Over time, it spreads through the heart, absorbing all its strength and gradually crowding out every competing desire. Until that process is complete, the inner life remains mixed. Good and evil struggle for dominance. Yet if faith in Christ — the weapon of victory — remains firm, outward actions can still be right, even when obedience requires effort.
There is no new principle here — only growth. The oak is simply the acorn fully unfolded.
Yet even sanctification is not the highest point of spiritual life; it is the beginning of wholeness. For the first time, all the soul’s powers move in one direction — toward God. The Psalmist prayed, “Unite my heart to fear thy name.” He longed for perfect love, where no inner enemies remain and every faculty serves God freely.
Up to this point, the old nature, though dying, has lingered alongside the new. Destruction and reconstruction have happened together. When sin is finally gone, the destructive work ends. But the positive work of growth, strength, and spiritual beauty never ends, as long as the soul can advance.
At this stage, we must clarify the differences between the new birth and the mature Christian life that Paul calls “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
3. Adoption
Adoption brings the believer into God’s family, granting all the rights of sonship and heirship. Earthly honors fade beside the dignity of standing among God’s children, with Christ at their head. Adoption happens alongside justification and regeneration and is confirmed by a special inner assurance.
4. The Witness of the Spirit
This witness was powerfully emphasized in the great revivals under George Whitefield and the Wesleys, where the vast majority of converts testified to receiving it.
For most believers, especially early on, this assurance may fluctuate. But in lives of deep devotion and strong faith, it becomes increasingly constant, tending toward uninterrupted fellowship with the abiding Comforter.
This truth is clearly taught in Paul’s letters and throughout Scripture. Jesus himself promised it in his teaching on the Comforter. The Old Testament hints at it as well: “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” From this flows the blessedness of the one whose sin is forgiven and whose guilt is covered.
Regeneration and Entire Sanctification Compared
Regeneration relates to entire sanctification as a part relates to a whole. Beyond that, there are important distinctions.
A. The state of mind beforehand.
Before regeneration, the soul looks back on past sins with guilt and repentance. Before entire sanctification, the soul looks inward, grieving over remaining impurities, but without a sense of divine anger.
B. The goal sought.
In the first case, the soul seeks pardon. In the second, it seeks purity.
C. The way faith is exercised.
Both are received by faith, but the sinner clings to Christ dying on the cross, while the sanctified believer looks more fully to Christ reigning on the throne. The one focuses on mercy; the other on divine power.
The surrender differs as well. The sinner lays down arms like a defeated rebel, seeking personal rescue. The regenerate believer, like a patriot, gladly gives everything to the cause, offering life and strength freely. One prays, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” The other prays, “Father, glorify yourself in me.”
This consecration is more deliberate and detailed, shaped by deeper self-knowledge under the Spirit’s light:
“Welcome, welcome, dear Redeemer,
Welcome to this heart of mine.
Lord, I make a full surrender;
Every thought and power be thine —
Thine entirely, through eternal ages thine.”
D. The blessings received.
Regeneration is glorious. It is new creation, release from slavery, resurrection from death. The soul steps into light, receives adoption, and becomes an heir of God. Like Joseph, the believer moves from prison to authority.
Yet Joseph was still in Egypt. Between the new birth and full inheritance lies a wilderness. The regenerate soul longs for the Promised Land — a deeper rest in God. Though grateful for what has been received, it senses there is more to be known and possessed in Christ.
Sometimes the light fades into twilight. Clouds obscure the sky. The soul longs for a dwelling above the clouds, in the land of Beulah, where the sun never sets.
E. The witness of the Spirit.
In the justified state, assurance often comes and goes. In entire sanctification, it abides, driving away doubt. Lasting rest requires constant assurance, which comes only through the abiding Comforter. Before regeneration we believe in Christ; before entire sanctification we must trust the Holy Spirit as Sanctifier.
F. The sense of purity.
The justified soul often feels inward defilement, while the sanctified soul knows inward cleansing. This knowledge is not merely inferred from victory over temptation; it is directly revealed by the Spirit. The Comforter makes the purification known to consciousness, filling the heart with deep joy: “I have cleansed you from all your filthiness.”
G. The will.
The regenerate believer may struggle to say, “Thy will be done.” Self still resists. This inner conflict brings unrest. Entire sanctification brings harmony, enabling the human will to delight in the divine will. As John Fletcher observed, Christian perfection chiefly concerns the will.
H. Joy.
The joy of perfect love often surpasses even the joy of conversion. Sometimes it comes suddenly; sometimes gradually. But in every case, there is a moment when the light fully dawns.
I. The gift and the Giver.
It is possible to seek blessings selfishly, but perfect love welcomes the Giver himself. Gifts may fade; the Giver abides. The lamp may burn, but the oil-filled vessel ensures it does not go out.
This is a revision of Chapter 2 of Love Enthroned: Essays on Evangelical Perfection (1875) by Daniel Steele, written with the assistance of Microslop CoPilot. In addition to other updates of wording and structure, I have re-arranged some of the material — in the hope of making it clearer. The original chapter can be found here: LOVE MILITANT.
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