Holiness, Sanctification, and Christian Perfection — Unit 10: Living and Preaching Holiness Today

Key Verse

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age." (Titus 2:11-12, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Summarize the Wesleyan teaching on holiness as this course has set it out in Units 1 to 9.

2. Explain how to preach holiness so that it encourages and does not crush, giving both the Holiness and the Methodist views fairly.

3. Name the main pastoral dangers in the teaching of holiness: discouragement, pride, scrupulosity and neglect of mission.

4. Describe how a pastor restores a believer who has fallen, and state fairly the Calvinist objection about security.

5. Plan a short series of messages and a plan of discipleship that make holiness a living practice in a local church.

The Voice of This Unit

This course is written from inside the Wesleyan tradition for Wesleyan students. We are conservative evangelicals who hold the Bible to be the inspired Word of God and our final authority. This last unit asks a practical question: what will you do on Sunday? We state the objections of other Christians fairly, and we answer from the Wesleyan side. We also admit that Wesleyans are not of one mind in every detail. Our course leans toward the Methodist view of Christian perfection as growth in perfect love, but it respects the Holiness view of a second work of grace and asks pastors of both kinds to preach with love for each other.

Looking Back

Before we turn to the pulpit, we look at the road we have walked.

In Unit 1 we heard the biblical call: "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16). God made us for holiness, and He commands only what He gives. In Unit 2 we saw that new birth begins holiness, and that the believer still struggles with sin. In Unit 3 we learned what Wesley meant by Christian perfection: perfect love, not sinless perfection, and not freedom from mistakes or weakness. In Unit 4 we studied entire sanctification as both instant and gradual, in the Methodist view of growth in perfect love, which may be received in a moment but is approached through a gradual work. In Unit 5 we met Phoebe Palmer and the Holiness "second work" view, and weighed it. In Unit 6 we answered the Reformed, Keswick and Pentecostal objections. In Unit 7 we saw that holiness is nourished by the means of grace. In Unit 8 we learned that holiness is not legalism, because rules without love are a yoke. In Unit 9 we saw that holiness is social, reaching the poor and the oppressed. The history behind all this is told in Course 1, and the doctrine of salvation in Course 2.

If we had to say it in one sentence: God calls every believer to be made perfect in love, gives what He commands by His Spirit through faith, nourishes us by the means of grace, and sends us in love to our neighbor.

Wesley's Counsel to Preachers

Wesley wanted his preachers to preach holiness. In a letter written near the end of his life, to Robert Carr Brackenbury in 1790, he said in effect that Christian perfection is the great treasure which God has placed with the people called Methodists, and that it was for the sake of this doctrine that God raised them up. We summarize his words and do not quote them. His point was that a Methodist preacher who leaves out holiness has left out the reason the movement exists.

Yet Wesley also gave wise cautions. He taught that perfection should be preached constantly but in a way that encourages and does not condemn. He told preachers to preach it as a promise to be received by faith, not as a burden to be carried. He taught that the believer should expect it now by faith, as he is, and not wait for some future time of worthiness. And in A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1766) he warned that claims should be tested, and that nothing is proved by words alone.

Preaching Holiness: Both Views Fairly

A pastor in a Church of the Nazarene or The Wesleyan Church will often preach the Holiness view, urging hearers to seek a definite moment of full consecration and cleansing. A Methodist pastor in the line of Wesley may speak more of a growth in love which may crown in a moment. How can both pastors speak honestly?

First, preach what both hold. God commands holiness (Hebrews 12:14). God promises it (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). Holiness is love for God and neighbor. It is received by faith, by grace, and not by works. It is kept by the means of grace. The Spirit makes it real. Every Wesleyan pastor can preach these things without hesitation.

Second, preach a definite yielding. Paul urges believers "by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God" (Romans 12:1). Both views agree that there must be a point in each life at which the believer says, "All of me, Lord." Whether this is called a second work or a deepening of the first, an invitation to such a yielding belongs in the pulpit. Without a definite yielding, growth drifts. Without growth, a single moment withers.

Third, preach the road as well as the gate. The Methodist view reminds us that most believers who are made perfect in love have walked a long way in repentance, prayer, obedience and fellowship before the full blessing. The preacher should honor the road. A congregation that is told only about a moment may despise the long work of discipleship, and a congregation that is told only about the long work may forget that God can do much in a moment.

Fourth, speak charitably of those who differ. Do not belittle a brother who describes it differently. The Holiness pastor should not say that the Methodist teaches no cleansing. The Methodist pastor should not say that the Holiness pastor teaches a "magic moment." Each is trying to describe the same grace.

Pastoral Dangers

Four dangers follow the preaching of holiness in every age. A good pastor watches for each.

Discouragement. A believer hears the high call and then fails, and concludes that he does not belong. Holiness preaching must always be set in the gospel. John writes, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). The goal is that we not sin, and the comfort is that the Advocate lives. Wesley's sermon "The Repentance of Believers" (1767) teaches that a believer who falls into sin should repent and be restored at once.

Pride. A person who thinks he has arrived looks down on others. History records many examples. In Unit 6 we saw that perfect love is humble. Wesley taught that such claims should be tested by fruit: patience, gentleness, joy, and love for the weak. A person who is harsh to his family and quick to judge others is showing the wrong fruit.

Scrupulosity. Some tender consciences are always afraid that they have missed some duty. Such people need to hear the full gospel of grace, and need a pastor who helps them rest. Unit 8 showed that a yoke of rules makes this worse.

Neglect of mission. A church that studies holiness and forgets the lost has missed the point. The same love that cleanses the heart sends us to the neighbor (Unit 9). Wesley's societies were also missionary societies.

When a Believer Falls

Every pastor must know how to deal with a member who has fallen into sin. Our tradition teaches what Course 2, Unit 9, sets out: a believer can fall away by persistent unbelief, and a believer who falls can be restored. Hebrews 3:12-14 warns the brothers to take heed lest there be in any of them an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. The risen Lord restored Peter after his denials (John 21:15-19). Paul says that those who are spiritual should restore a person overtaken in a trespass, in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1).

The Calvinist objection deserves a fair statement. Reformed teachers hold that those whom God has chosen and saved will be kept to the end. They cite promises such as John 10:27-29 and Romans 8:38-39, and they teach that true believers can fall into grave sin but will not finally be lost. They say that the Wesleyan view takes away assurance and makes salvation depend on human strength.

Our answer. We agree that salvation is God's work from beginning to end, and that He is faithful. We believe that the promises of Scripture are made to those who abide in Christ, and we read the many warnings of the New Testament (for example, Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-31) as warnings to real believers and not to the imaginary. Assurance for the Wesleyan rests not on a decree we cannot see but on the witness of the Spirit and the faithfulness of Christ to those who trust in Him now. The warnings are for the careless, not for the sincere who fear. A pastor must never use them to terrify tender consciences. He uses them as a shepherd uses a fence. Our fuller reply is in Course 2.

In practice a pastor should: go to the person quickly and privately; listen; call sin by its name without harshness; point to the cross and the Advocate; set a path of repentance and restoration with the church; and, where sin has harmed others, call for confession and making right. The goal is always to restore.

Living Holiness in Our Setting

Many students of this seminary serve in Latin America and Africa, where the church is growing among people who often face poverty, violence, and competing teachers. Holiness has practical shape in such places.

In work and money, it means honest dealing, even where bribes are common, and generous giving where need is great. In family, it means faithfulness, forgiveness, and care for children. In purity, it means plain teaching and loving discipline in matters of sex and marriage. In community, it means refusing hatred and revenge, and loving enemies (Matthew 5:44). In worship, it means putting Christ alone in the place of every fear, charm or power. Against the "prosperity" message, which promises riches to those who give, we place the cross, and against the old fears we place the Spirit of power and love.

The pastor's own life is part of the message. Paul tells Timothy, "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). A holy church seldom rises higher than its shepherd. A pastor should therefore keep a rule of life (Unit 7), have a friend to whom he confesses, and care for his own family.

Historians also give several reasons why holiness preaching grew faint in many Wesleyan churches in the twentieth century, among them liberal theology, competition from other movements, cultural change, and a shift from the heart to rules. Whatever the causes, the cure is plain: return to the Bible, to Wesley's emphasis on perfect love, and to the means of grace.

A Plan for the Local Church

A pastor may begin with a simple plan.

1. A series of six messages. Week one, the call to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Week two, what holiness is: perfect love (Matthew 22:37-39). Week three, God's promise and our faith (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). Week four, the means of grace (Acts 2:42). Week five, holiness and freedom from legalism (Galatians 5:1). Week six, holiness that reaches the neighbor (Micah 6:8).

2. An invitation each time. Give a quiet time at the end for those who wish to yield themselves fully to God, with a pastor or trained leader to pray with them.

3. Small groups. Use class meetings (Course 1, Unit 4) so that people can ask, "How is it with your soul?"

4. Hymns. Teach the hymns of Charles Wesley, such as "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," which sing of a heart made perfect in love.

5. Service. Pair every teaching with a work of mercy, so that learning becomes living.

Pastoral Application

Pastor Samuel preaches a series on holiness. After the third message, Sister Rosa, a faithful member for thirty years, says to him, "I am entirely sanctified. I do not sin. But others in this church are carnal, and you must preach harder against them." Others have complained to Samuel that Rosa speaks sharply to the young people.

Samuel does five things. First, he honors Rosa's years of faithfulness and listens. Second, he teaches her gently what Wesley meant: perfect love is not freedom from mistakes or weakness, and a person who is made perfect in love will remain a learner. Third, he asks her about fruit, and he asks her what Jesus would say to the young people she has corrected. Fourth, he reminds her that the same apostle who wrote of love as patient and kind (1 Corinthians 13:4) wrote that love "does not seek its own." Fifth, he asks her to help in the class for new believers, so that her zeal can be turned to patient teaching. He prays for her and stays her friend.

Summary

The course teaches that God calls every believer to be made perfect in love, gives what He commands, nourishes us by the means of grace, and sends us in love to the neighbor. Wesley urged his preachers to preach holiness, as a promise to be received by faith and not as a burden. A pastor can preach what both views hold, give a definite invitation to yield to God, honor the road as well as the gate, and speak charitably of those who differ. The chief dangers are discouragement, pride, scrupulosity and neglect of mission. When a believer falls, the pastor restores him gently. The Calvinist objection holds that God keeps the elect to the end, and we answer that the promises are to those who abide, and that assurance rests on the Spirit's witness and Christ's faithfulness. In Latin America and Africa, holiness takes shape in honest work, faithful families, purity, forgiveness and worship of Christ alone. A pastor can begin with a six-message series, an invitation, small groups, hymns, and works of mercy.

Further Reading

• John Wesley, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1766).

• John Wesley, sermons "The Scripture Way of Salvation" (1765) and "The Repentance of Believers" (1767).

• John Wesley, letter to Robert Carr Brackenbury (1790), in his collected letters.

• Charles Wesley, hymns, including "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling."

• John Fletcher, Checks to Antinomianism.

• Phoebe Palmer, The Way of Holiness (1843).

• Holiness Through the Ages, the Master's textbook for this course.

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