Holiness

In the past few months I have been asking myself if a person can be apart of the Holiness Movement and be Evangelical at the same time. Through talking with professors and other seminary students, a metaphor of a ship has emerged. Think of the Holiness Movement as a large wooden sailing ship and Evangelicalism as a massive steamer.

U.S.S. Holiness is a ship sailing through the waters and spreading scriptural holiness. A major element of this movement is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to bring the cleaning power through faith of a person’s sins. The Holy Spirit brings an ability to maintain purity of heart as it blows through the sails on the Holiness ship.

Evangelicalism is a ship focused on evangelism and focus on personal conversion. The movement of this ship has a biblically oriented faith and a belief in the relevance of Christian faith to cultural issues. The U.S.S. Evangelicalism moves through the waters of society by proclaiming and preaching justification.

So, which ship are you on? Can a person be an Evangelical and apart of the Holiness Movement?

Through history the Holiness Ship has been evacuated to lifeboats. Once on the lifeboats, they rowed toward Evangelicalism. Thinking the mainstreamist would bring new life and passion into the movement. Unfortunately, the Evangelical-zing of the Holiness Movement has watered down the message of sanctification. Mainstream Evangelical theology flows from a deep Reformed theology focused on the justification of people. Rediscovery of the Holiness Ship and that sanctification movement being echoed on the wind. As Wesleyan’s we need to unhook from the U.S.S. Evangelicalism and row toward our Holiness Ship.

True Holiness holds the best of the Evangelicalism of taking biblical faith into the society, but connects it with a hope of Holiness and recreation that society not just justification for the individual. The Holy Spirit is still moving in the hearts of people purifying and sanctifying them in order to take the Gospel message into the land. The Holy Spirit has the U.S.S. Holiness floating off the coast, calling all people back to a life of Holiness.