2016 Holiness Series #7: Two Kinds of Holiness

This is the last article in our series on holiness, so I would like to finish up by talking about the two different, and equally important, forms that holiness can take: Personal Holiness and Social Holiness.

These two kinds of holiness are based on the Great Commandment, or the Great Commandments, since Jesus said there were two of them: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

Personal holiness, also called by Wesley “works of piety,” is about loving God.  Personal holiness can be divided into two parts.  First, it is about practicing the spiritual disciplines like prayer, worship, and Bible Study.  We could summarize this with the word “piety.”  Second, it is about living in obedience to the moral demands of the Bible which includes, but is certainly not limited to, sexual purity, honesty, and healthy habits.  We could summarize this with the word “purity.”  (In the early days of Methodism Methodist were not allowed to drink alcohol and one had to sign a pledge of total abstinence in order to join a Methodist church.  Later, only clergy had to.  Now, unfortunately in my opinion, we do not seem to care about that anymore.  However, Methodists are still encouraged to practice moderation.)

Social holiness, called “works of mercy” by Wesley, is about loving our neighbor.  Like personal holiness, it is made up of two parts.  First, it is about giving money, resources, time, and effort to help those in need, like in Matthew 25, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, caring for the sick, visiting those in prison, the list could go on and on.  We could summarize this with the word “compassion.”  Second, it is about using our vote and our voice to advocate in society for what we believe is right.  We could summarize this with the word “justice.”  (We have to be careful with this last one, because it is very easy for the church to get tangled up in worldly politics and for one part of the church to start taking sides against another.)

Often all these parts work together.  Take for example the Temperance Movement which led to the Prohibition of alcohol in the 1920’s.  Methodists were a huge part of that movement.  The reason Methodists participated in that movement (justice) is because they believed that drinking alcohol was morally wrong (purity) and that it often caused poverty, sickness, and crime (compassion).  So, out of concern for purity and compassion, they used their votes and voices, to advocate for the justice issue of Prohibition.

Both types of holiness, and all four areas, are necessary to the Christian life and are necessary in the church if we are to accomplish the mission God has given us.  So, let us be holy people.  Let us practice personal and social holiness.  Let us all be people of piety, purity, compassion, and justice.

2016 Holiness Series #6: How to Get Holiness

By now you might be saying, “OK, Pastor Brian, how do I get holiness?”  Here’s some advice…

·         The first step is admitting that holiness is necessary.

We need to understand that a relationship with a holy God requires holiness on our part.  The Bible says that without holiness no one will see God. (Hebrews 12:14)

Also, in the midst of an evil world, we need to realize that simply “believing in God” or “going to church” is never going to change our lives or change the world.

·         The second step is admitting that holiness is possible.

God calls us to be holy and promises to make us holy.  If holiness is not possible, God would not do that.  God does not command us to do what he will not make possible for us.

·         The third step is to devote yourself to being holy and seeking holiness.

o   Sanctification (being made holy), like Salvation, is a gift of God by grace received through faith.

Sanctification is not something we do; it is something God does in us when we surrender ourselves to God in prayer.

Sanctification begins the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  At that moment, we are forgiven of our past sins and, in a sense, we are already holy.  Remember from the first article, holy means set apart for God; that is what happens when we get saved.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are already holy, we just don’t always act like it.

o   Sanctification begins in the heart.

Many people get hung up on the way to holiness by focusing on their outward behavior, things we shouldn’t do or words we shouldn’t say.  Holiness, however, begins in the heart.  We can have a pure heart, “our heart can be in the right place,” even if our words and actions don’t always come out perfect.  Over time, however, if our heart is right, our words and actions will follow.

o   Sanctification is both a crisis and a process.

As I said before, sanctification begins at salvation, but it grows over time.  Sometimes we have a big spiritual experience and we take a big step in holiness, other times we grow in holiness by little steps every day.

o   Sanctification is about what we do as much as what we don’t do.

Sometimes we think of holiness as a list of things not to do.  However, it is actually more about what we DO.  The spiritual disciplines of worship, prayer, Bible reading, giving and serving in the church and the community, are what helps us to grow in holiness.

I do not claim to be holy, at least not yet, but I am on my way.  I have never been to Dallas, but I can look at the map and tell you how to get there.  I just happen to be the guy holding the map of God’s Word.  I hope you will join me on a journey to holier and healthier and happier living.