Scriptural Holiness
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Have reason to be thankful for this wise and benevolent arrangement. When one touches hot iron, pain at once follows, as a caution to let it alone, to avoid physical injury. Had the sensitive skin been placed next the bones, and the outer surface been made insensible, then we might have ruined ourselves before we were aware of danger. A similar law is found in spiritual things. When we do wrong, condemnation follows, our peace departs, and doubts takes the place of light and confidence, because we have grieved the Holy Spirit of God.
These are kind warnings from him to keep us from doing such things any more; but if we persist in the wrong doing, we become hardened and insensible to the loving rebukes of our dear Savior, causing him to cut us off as worthless branches of the vine.
“To Spread Scriptural Holiness over the Land” | Catalyst Resources Catalyst Resources
If he were to continue to smile upon us in our disobedience, of course, we should be most likely to continue in the wrong doing. Let us praise him for chastisement, as an act of special kindness for our spiritual benefit. The question now arises In what does Christian perfection consist if not in deeds words or thoughts? In the heart, will, motive, intention, or choice.
We read "Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days. We do not sin until the will consents to that we know is not right. Hezekiah had a perfect will. The following is a text that every one will do well to commit to memory; It reads thus: The next important question is, How may we secure a perfect heart?
scriptural holiness
The secret is expressed by Jesus, when he says: Now let us turn again to that startling text: A green apple in June, if it has no defects, is just as perfect, what there is of it, as it will be when ripe in September. A child may be as perfect bodily as a man. What strength he has is just as perfect as the same amount of strength in the adult. The gold in a gold dollar is just ase perfect as the gold in a twenty-dollar gold piece; so honesty in a man may be as perfect as honesty in an angel.
It is sometimes objected, that the doctrine of Christian perfection is opposed to growth; whereas, the opposite is the truth. The fact that all the parts of the green apple are perfect, affords the assurance that it will continue to grow and advance to maturity. If it was imperfect, then it would fail to become a perfect ripe apple.
SCRIPTURAL HOLINESS.
There is a wide difference between purity and maturity. There is no limit to Christian growth in this world, provided the heart is kept pure. The child that is physically perfect grows to be a perfect physical man. So, only "the pure in heart '' can continue to grow up into Christ, their living head. We read about "perfecting holiness. But the question is asked, is not holiness perfect in and of itself, and can it be called holiness if it is not perfect? And if it is perfect, can it be afterwards perfected?
Certainly, just as the perfect green apple and the perfect child are perfected by growth. The little oak is perfected into a large oak by yearly additions of more oak, not of some other kind of wood. So "perfecting holiness'' is adding more holiness, and not allowing any unholy thing to be incorporated. The faith, love, patience, meekness, brotherly kindness, gentleness, and all the other graces that make a Christian, continue to grow stronger from year to year; thus holiness is perfected.
The heart of the young convert may be as perfect as that of the oldest saint; but he is not as strong.
That the true believer is one with Christ and Christ in him, no careful reader of the New Testament will think of denying for a moment. What is the medium of communication with God? The third is to understand how to distinguish between the old and the new natures, to be able to say of the motions of the flesh, the active principle of evil in me, "It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. More consecrated he doubtless can be, and will be as his grace increases; but if he was not consecrated to God in the very day that he was converted and born again, I do not know what conversion means. Crowds, and crying, and hot rooms, and high-flown singing, and an incessant rousing of the emotions, are the only things which many care for.
The oak wood in the little tree may be just as perfect as that in one a hundred years old; but the young one could be pulled up very easily, while it would require much labor to dig up the aged tree. The young Christian should be as honest, truthful and virtuous, as he will be after he has been in the Lord's service forty years.
He does not grow more honest, but grows stronger in honesty. He cannot start in the service of the Lord till he becomes honest, truthful and virtuous; nor remain in Christ after he has become dishonest, untruthful, or licentious. If a person is as honest and truthful as he knows how to be, with the help of the Lord, is he not perfectly honest and perfectly truthful? Can an angel do more? This brings us back again to the question, How can we have a perfect heart? All must admit that the Holy Spirit of God is perfect and that it is the privilege of the Christian to be ''filled with the Spirit.
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. When men become holy temples, because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, they are then said to be ''partakers of the divine nature,"[2 Pet. The Holy Spirit filling the heart of the Christian will lead him to be as honest as God is honest from whom the Spirit proceeds, and as truthful; thus he becomes perfect, even as his ''Father which is in heaven is perfect.
The man deserves no praise for being perfect, but the glory all belongs to the Lord for devising such a plan, by which man can have a perfect heart, will, or motive; because the Lord abides in him by the power of his perfect Spirit. Then the man is as perfect in his sphere as any other object or being can be in his.
“To Spread Scriptural Holiness over the Land”
He is then up to the plane which the Creator designed man to occupy in this world, as a farmer, mechanic, sailor, merchant, or any other relation in life; in short, be should do in his situation just as he thinks the Lord would do, if engaged in the same business. The moment a man wills to cheat to the value of one single cent, or to say one word he knows is not true, his heart ceases to be perfect.
The man who makes a hundred mistakes in a day may have a heart, or will, as perfect as the one who makes none. He made his mistakes because he lacked knowledge. Both are alike free from condemnation. When God said to Abraham: A perfect heart practices no cheating, no lying, no stealing, no licentiousness, nor any other known evil. Will any one presume to say that men should sometimes be dishonest, deceitful, untruthful and licentious?
He would thereby show beyond all controversy that he had an impure heart, and could not be trusted. The Lord only requires men to come up to the standard that every good being loves and admires. Would any respectable person desire a life companion who was dishonest, unchaste, untruthful, cross and full of selfishness?
The Lord has not forbidden one thing desired by a holy being.
A person who has a pure heart is willing everybody should know why he performed any action. No one with a perfect heart is ashamed of his motive. If he is mistaken he loves to be corrected. It is his delight to be as near right as possible. It is only the impure who try to conceal their motives. Purity never seeks concealment. A man with a perfect heart loves to obey God. It is no burdensome task. He would not have one commandment changed. He chooses to do the will of the Lord at any cost, under all circumstances, and in every situation.
Obedience is a pleasure. In a "perfect heart" will be found no anger, pride, impatience, strife, envy, covetousness, hatred, jealousy, unbelief of God's word, variance, emulation, peevishness, lasciviousness, or other wickedness. He always speaks the truth so far as he knows, and is perfectly virtuous. David asks the question: If anyone should undertake to live a perfect life without the help of the Lord, his effort will prove an utter failure; for if he could do it in his own strength, he would not need the aid of the Holy Spirit. The secret of having a perfect heart consists in perfect submission to the will of the Lord, so far as he makes it known to our understanding, when he will fill us with the Holy Spirit, causing us to love him with all our hearts, and our neighbor as ourselves.
Such is the fruit of the true Christian religion. Perfect hearts make martyrs. Because Daniel had a perfect heart he was thrown into the lion's den; and for the same reason the Lord preserved him from all harm. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were bound and thrown alive into the midst of the burning fiery furnace, because they would not bow down and worship the image set up by Nebuchadnezzar; but the Lord gave them a wonderful deliverance, because they had perfect hearts, causing them to refuse at all hazards to do wrong.
Perfect-hearted men are bold defenders of the word of the Lord, and all righteousness. They do not seek the praise of men and the honors of this world, but their chief aim is to please the Lord in all things. Being joined to Christ they bear the same kind of fruit that he would if in their places. They forget themselves in order to be a benefit to others. Theirs is a sunny life amid the surrounding darkness.
Jesus said of such: There are two or three texts which most people can. One is as follows: Only one reasonable answer can be given, - not any. Again he says, " All unrighteousness is sin. And yet verse eight, in between these two plain statements, reads: Such an idea is absurd. It would be like saying to one who had a violent pain removed, that he was deceived if he believed it was gone.
The tenth verse reads: This makes all plain in verse eight, which teaches the same thing as verse ten ; that is, ''If we say. Christ "was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. It is certain that one cannot live in sin without condemnation but Paul says: One is "free from sin," and the other is full of sin. Sin is the only thing that will keep a man out of the kingdom of heaven. There are two other passages sometimes quoted to prove that no one is free from sin, one is in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple.
Adam Clarke renders it: There is not another text in the divine records that is more to the purpose than this. The doctrine is flatly in opposition to the design of the gospel; for Jesus came to save his people from their sins, and to destroy the works of the devil. It is a dangerous, destructive doctrine, and should be blotted out of every Christian's creed.
In this symposium we are focusing upon what may be called. Methodism's most distinctive emphasis - scriptural holiness. John. Wesley wrote: "Christian. The Spirituality of 'Scriptural Holiness'. A paper prepared by Rev Dr Stephen B Dawes. The word 'spirituality' did not feature in John Wesley's.
It is claimed by many good men, that when a sinner is pardoned, all actual sin is forgiven and removed, but that "inbred sin'' will remain till he is sanctified, when it will be taken away. It is most certainly true that when the Lord pardons a sinner, at that time all his sins are forgiven.
But it is said "inbred sin" will remain till we are sanctified, or filled with the Holy Spirit. There is not one word in the Bible about "inbred sin. It is freely admitted by those who use it that we are not required to ask pardon for the existence of "inbred sin," because we are not to blame for its presence, it being something inherited from the first Adam. When does one become a sinner? Not till his will consents to something which he is satisfied is not right. Then it follows that it is not possible for a man to inherit any sin.
In harmony with this we read, the son "shall not die for the iniquity of his father. Is it a fact that there is any such thing as "inbred sin? We are taught to "hold fast the form of sound words. Let Paul speak on this subject: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For instance, it us a common animal law to return evil for evil. If a horse kicks his fellow, he must expect a kick to be returned. If a man strikes another in anger, he may look for a return blow. But "the law of the Spirit" is the opposite. That leads us to return good for evil, blessing for cursing, and leads us to even love our enemies.
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- Those Damned Diamonds.
This is the natural fruit of the Holy Spirit. The drunkard and the licentious person, the fighting man will admit that temperance, virtue, and kindness are right and best. The law of conscience thus affirms, but the law of the flesh has gained such a controlling power that he is brought "into captivity to the law of sin which is in" his "members"; and every time he yields "to the law of sin," he is growing weaker and more liable to yield again, till his will becomes so prostrated he cannot be persuaded to make another effort to escape from his sinful bondage.
It is the same law, but under divine direction instead of devilish. The laws in our members were all made by our Creator. There is no sin in any law. Sin begins when the will consents to let the law act in a wrong direction. After conversion, when all sin is pardoned, the young convert may go on for weeks, and even months, without yielding to temptation; but in an unguarded moment some sharp insult or abuse may get him out of patience, when he loses his peace and joy, and is brought into condemnation. This is said to be the fruit of the "inbred sin," "birth sin," "original sin," or "depravity;" whereas, it should be said to be the fruit of an inbred law, which had been controlled since his conversion, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This young convert prays for pardon, is forgiven, and his sweet peace is restored. All is well again, and the "law of sin" is once more under divine control. He may go on for weeks before he is again overcome, but the time arrives when Satan gains another victory, by some special assault, and the young Christian is again a victim to impatience or some other sin, and consequently brought into condemnation. As before, he seeks and obtains pardon, when his peace returns to cheer his heart. These experiences may be repeated many times, occurring more or less frequently, till he becomes discouraged over his many failures.
After all these failures and victories he may learn that it is his privilege to be so filled with the Holy Spirit as to have a perpetual triumph over all his besetting sins; be filled with continual, perfect peace; full assurance, complete rest in Christ, and be freed from all worry and perplexing anxiety about the future.
He is informed that the only way to secure this delightful condition is by an unconditional surrender of himself to the Lord, so that he can honestly and sincerely say, "Thy will be done. Observe what is called "inbred sin" has had a place in his heart up to this time of entire surrender. Because of his full submission, the Lord fills him with the Holy Spirit, or as expressed in the Scriptures, he receives " the gift of the Holy Spirit,"[Acts 2: Then the Lord abides in him, and he in the Lord. But what has become of that " law of sin? For instance, the law of combativeness, which is in the natural man, leads him to fight with carnal weapons, but now it leads him to fight against sin in all its forms.
This is the healthy, holy use of combativeness. It is now under the control of holy power; because the man has become a "partaker of the divine nature. As the man is under holy control, all the laws of his being, mental, physical and spiritual, are used only for holy purposes. He is then up to the standard of a perfect man in Christ Jesus. He has a perfect heart. But let that same man backslide from the Lord, then that "law of sin," may be as active as ever for Satan, and become even worse.
If it be claimed that "inbred sin" remains in all converted persons from the time they are justified till they are sanctified, when the "inbred sin" is said to be eradicated; how does that " inbred sin" get back into the man when he backslides from his sanctification? All admit that the " inbred sin," as it is called, is received from our parents, by the law of heredity, and in no other way. Then it follows, whenever it is taken out, it cannot get back into the man again, unless he again inherits it from his parents by another birth, which is impossible.
And yet it is a fact, that sanctified persons do backslide and manifest again the fruits of what is called ''inbred sin," the same as they did after they were justified, and before they were sanctified, or filled with the Holy Spirit. But all is plain when we admit that an inherited "law" is brought under full divine control, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit; so that this law is used to do holy work, instead of unholy; but when one turns from the highway of holiness, then the same "law" is again under human and devilish control, and bad fruit is the result.
If the same person should again surrender all to Christ, and again be filled with the Spirit, then the same law would produce only holy fruit; or "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" would become the ruling power in the man, thus keeping all the inherited powers in full harmony with the divine nature, making the man a ''new creature," or a holy person. When filled with the Holy Spirit, and abiding in Christ, "that wicked one toucheth him not.
His subject was the casting of demons out of men. So, when the Lord takes full possession of the heart, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he binds "the law of sin;" or puts it under his own control, so that the natural law, which once led the man to seek the approbation of man, now leads him to seek the honor that comes only from God.
The tongue that scolded, swore, and lied, when under the control of "the law of sin" in its natural state, now speaks the truth in kindness, and is used for prayer and praise, because it is under divine control. In short, it is the same man under the control of the Lord's spirit instead of the devil's. Catherine Booth, wife of Gen. Booth, has well said: We believe that God simply restores our faculties to their original uses, bringing them back into harmony with each other and himself.
They have regarded sanctification as consisting in the annihilation of the constitutional propensities, instead of controlling them. When the Christian is under divine control, he is in the condition described by Paul: The old man is put off. The body is no longer used for sinful purposes. It is changed, and become "a holy temple. So when a sinner is changed to a saint, the sinner is put away and cannot he found; but if the temperance man returns to the intoxicating cup, and the saint to sinful practices, then both the drunkard and sinner are again in actual existence, and the temperance man and the saint would be destroyed.
It is impossible for a person to be a temperance man and a drunkard, a saint and a sinner, at the same time. So long an one abides in Christ, he is free from sin, for we "know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. The standard of true scriptural holiness will not allow any of these evils.
They are all absent from a pure heart. But the standard is placed too high, when it is claimed that men should be perfect in judgment, wisdom, strength, knowledge, deeds, words, or thoughts; or that we get beyond temptation, while on probation. We have reached a period when the subject of holiness demands special attention, because we must be very near the second coming of Christ.
The Scriptures teach its plainly that holiness is essential for salvation. It is a noted fact that about all true Christians are being impressed that they should consecrate themselves wholly to the Lord. This is the way to obtain the gift of the Holy Spirit, and to be ready for the coming of the Son of man. The bride is preparing for the coming of her heavenly bridegroom.
She is putting away all unholy things, and clothing herself in the beauty of holiness, in order to be ready for the marriage of the Lamb. The following is worthy of a careful reading and a hearty adoption: I believe thou didst die to set me free, not only in the future, but now and here. I believe thou art stronger than Satan, and that thou canst keep me, even me, in my extreme of weakness, from falling into snares, or yielding obedience to his commands. And, Lord, I am going to trust thee to keep me. I have tried keeping myself, and have failed, and failed most grievously.
I am absolutely helpless. So now I will trust thee. I gave myself to thee. I keep back no reserves. I present myself to thee, a worthless lump of clay, to be made into anything thy love and thy wisdom shall choose.
And now I am thine. I believe thou dost accept that which I present to thee; I believe that this poor, weak, foolish heart has been taken possession of by thee, and that thou hast even at this very moment begun to work in me to will and to do of thy good pleasure. I trust thee utterly, and I trust thee now. Let the will give full consent to the foregoing, and the result will be blessed beyond description.
It was this that made the Methodist mission distinctive.
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